Varsha S. Shirgaonkar

Dr. Varsha Shirgaonkar, Professor and Head, Department of History, S.N.D.T. Womens University, Mumbai is a well-known scholar of international repute. Her area of specialisation is cultural history of eighteenth and nineteenth century Maharashtra and Bengal. Her study of lavanis ? as a source of cultural history of Maharashtra ? fetched her invitations to participate in international conferences at the University of Venice (August 1997) and University of Sydney (January 1999) and to give a talk at San Diego Museum of Art, California (July 2003). Her project, for which she obtained grant from the UGC, is entitled, ?Language and Culture: History of Maharashtra through Lavanis? (2000- 2002). She received a research grant of the Royal Numismatic Society of the British Museum, London in June 2003 for her project on Indian Tokens. She was the Sectional President of Modern India in two state-level conferences in Maharashtra (Islampur ? January 2000 and Satara ? January 2004). Her research on Mumbai was duly recognized when she was invited as Sectional President of History of Mumbai in a state-level conference jointly convened by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune and Department of Sanskrit, University of Mumbai in May 2007. Being a Project Coordinator, she completed a project, ?Listing Present Fabric Status and Conservation Plan for the Fountains and Pyaavs in the City of Mumbai?, which was awarded by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Heritage Conservation Society to Department of History, Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga, Mumbai (March 2007). Dr. Varsha Shirgaonkar has five books and several research articles to her credit.