Meet Our Team Members

 Bijoy Misra

Dr. Bijoy Misra comes from a family of scholars in Puri, Odisha. He was trained in Physics and joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974.  He taught Imaging Technology in Harvard University and worked in the United States space initiatives.   With interest in children's education, he spent time in developing skills in Sanskrit language and analyzing Indian scriptural literature. Currently he serves as an Honorary Research Associate in South Asian Studies at Harvard University.   With the goal of educating the youth and the public on India's history and her culture, he organized India Discovery Center which was formally registered as a nonprofit educational institution in 2014.  He serves as its Founding President.  He was initiated to Valmiki Ramayana by Yogi Dr V S Rao and Swami Sarvagatananda of Ramakrishna Vedanta Society.  He started the group reading of the text in Dwarkamai Vidyapeeth, the local Sai Temple in Billerica, MA, in 2013..  The material in this site is a result of reflection and discussion that evolved through the reading sessions.    

Bijoy Misra served as the President of India Association of Greater Boston from 1987-1989 and initiated India Day activities in Boston.  The India Poetry Reading group at Harvard University was initiated by him in 1997 and has evolved into the larger South Asian Poets of New England.  He has served as the Trustee of the New England Hindu Temple and has been organizing Sri Ramacharitamanasa recitation at the Temple since 1994.  He lives in Lincoln, MA and serves as a volunteer Commissioner in the Town administration.  He is associated with the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries in Newton, MA for his efforts in interfaith understanding.

Sonal Jhaveri

Dr. Jhaveri’s early training was in Physics and Math (BS Physics, St Xavier’s College, Bombay; M.I.T. ‘70), after which she moved to graduate work in Psychology (MS, M.I.T., ’72) and Neuroscience (PhD Anatomy, Harvard University); she was Senior Research Scientist at MIT, with a focus on Developmental Neuroscience.  Currently, she is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Director of Building 46 Postdoc Affairs, at M.I.T., and Science Program Director in the Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Affairs Office at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). Dr. Jhaveri has many years of experience with free-lance medical and science writing, and with editing a wide variety of books and manuscripts in a number of different fields. She also teaches writing and science communication to undergraduate, graduate and medical students as well as to postdocs, and oversees professional development training for postdoctoral fellows – both at MIT as well as at DFCI.

Sanjeev Tripathi

Born and raised in a family with deep religious roots, Sanjeev Tripathi was mentored by his grandfather to take interest in literature and the scriptures.  He studied Mathematics and Computer Science and also gained proficiency in Hindi and Sanskrit.  He works as an Information Technology professional and is a small business entrepreneur.  He is a poet and is associated with various cultural and charitable organizations in the greater Boston area.  He is known for his rendering of Tulasi Dasa’s Ramacharitamanasa and is an active participant in the Valmiki Ramayana group in Boston.  He leads the student outreach efforts for India Discovery Center, the evolving educational group engaged in research and study of the cultural history of India.