Anjana Raghavan
Narrative Consultant & Sociologist
PhD in Sociology & Cultural Studies | MA in Narrative Therapy & Community Work
I come to this work witnessing both in myself and others, the power of timely support, love and care, as well as the fear of falling through the cracks into invisibility. I spent over fifteen years studying and teaching in the UK and India. I was teaching, researching, and writing in and about social identities, decoloniality, gender, and embodiment. I received inspirational teaching awards, supervised doctoral researchers, and published widely, including a book on decolonial solidarities. What I really loved about the classroom space was the ability to create an environment to grow together, to say “I don’t know” safely and to hold people’s experiences and feelings. I loved co-creating a space of presence, joy, accountability, and care.
Koodu, is an exploration, and an invitation into what makes us feel welcome, and cared for.
In terms of training and background, I hold a PhD in Sociology and Cultural Studies from IIT Madras and an MA in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London. I also have an MA in Narrative Therapy and Community Work from the University of Melbourne; a practice-based programme that shapes the space and support I offer. Expressive arts and the body are both critical to my work, so I am training further in these areas, although I have been an arts practitioner and worked with different movement-practices for over twenty years.
In my practice, I welcome people as webs of interconnections between their ancestry, institutions, biology, cultures, values, relationships, systems, feelings and beliefs that we have been raised in and conditioned by. Understanding the web is key to understanding ourselves. Through years of being an educator, I also appreciate that we are incredibly diverse in how we show up and what works for us. This means that I use a lot of different mediums, knowledge, approaches and meet people where they are.
Nests are conduits to freedom. The koodu exists only to make a bird’s flight possible. My hope at Koodu is to journey with you until you are ready to take wing.
My journey has been one of unlearning and relearning and then doing it all over again. Wherever I taught, I tried to co-create spaces that could hold us, with all our brilliance and chaos. Pagir, a community space that I co-founded in Chennai, is built on the simple longing for connection. Being together in time and space, making art, sharing stories, being ridiculous and honest or just sitting quietly weaves its own magic.
