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Yale anthropologist K. Sivaramakrishnan retires after 18 Years
The Indian-American scholar helped expand South Asian and agrarian studies programs during his tenure at the university.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 28, May 2026
- 18:26 EDT
- 32
Kalyanakrishnan “Shivi” Sivaramakrishnan / macmillan.yale.edu
Indian-American anthropologist Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan is retiring from Yale University after 18 years on the faculty, where he helped expand South Asian and agrarian studies programs.
Known popularly as Shivi, Sivaramakrishnan, the Dinakar Singh Professor of India & South Asia Studies in Yale’s Department of Anthropology, also served as co-director of the university’s Program in Agrarian Studies and played a key role in strengthening interdisciplinary scholarship related to South Asia, environmental humanities and inter-Asian connections.
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Scholars, former students and colleagues gathered at Yale’s Luce Hall and Humanities Quadrangle on May 8 and 9 for a two-day event titled “Tending the Banyan Tree: Celebrating Branches and Roots,” reflecting on his academic contributions and mentorship.
During the gathering, faculty members and former students described Sivaramakrishnan as an influential figure in the growth of Yale’s South Asian Studies Council, Agrarian Studies Program and InterAsia Initiative.
“I think of Shivi’s generosity as having a kind of multiplier effect,” Sunil Amrith, director of the MacMillan Center and Yale’s vice provost for international affairs was quoted as saying by the university press.
“Whatever his own formidable scholarship would have achieved — and that itself would have been gargantuan — the multiplier effect is what Shivi has made possible for so many others, myself included.”
Speakers at the event also reflected on Sivaramakrishnan’s mentorship and collaborative approach to scholarship. Former students recalled his extensive engagement with researchers across disciplines and his reputation for accessibility and detailed feedback.
The event revisited Sivaramakrishnan’s academic journey beginning at St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, where he studied mathematics before later pursuing anthropology following a stint in the Indian Administrative Service.
Sivaramakrishnan first arrived at Yale in 1989, earning a master's degree in environmental studies in 1991 and a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1996. After serving on the anthropology faculty at the University of Washington, he returned to Yale as a faculty member in 2008.
Sivaramakrishnan has maintained a long association with Yale’s Program in Agrarian Studies, beginning as part of the inaugural Agrarian Societies seminar and later serving as the program’s first graduate assistant before eventually becoming co-director.
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