Sean Prenter
Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia, Reimagining India with IndoGenius
Introduction
Kia ora!
Ko Sean taku ingua, my name is Sean and I’m studying my Masters in Politics Philosophy and Economics at Victoria University of Wellington.
Study aaside, I’m a keen surfer, snowbaorder, badminton player and love a boogie! Though most of the time you’ll find me putting in the mahi (work) for the National Disabled Students’ Association as Co-President for this year. My pūmanawa, what makes my heart beat is ensuring disabled peoples access, inclusion and dignity. I plan to dedicate my life to empowering disabled people.
The opportunity to be exposed to a different cultural context is a privaledge that I hope to channel towards empowering disabled people at home and overseas. What excites me most about the opportunity is understanding the role that faith, technology and globalisation plays in the lives of local disabled people as we emerse ourselves in the rich Indian culture.
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Disabled Sages and Warriors: India’s Disability Dignity from Myth to the Ground
India’s rich cultural heritage sees disability as a warrior queen and a revered sage. In the Rigveda, an Indian collection of hymns and poems written 3500BC-1800BC, Queen Vishpla loses her leg in battle and fights on with a prosthetic limb. Ashtavakra, a Vedic sage, is said to have authored central Hindu religious text the Ashtavakra…Continue…
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Breathing India’s History
My third blog post explores India’s tradition of religious plurality. Now what does religious plurality look like in today’s India and what may it look like in the future? What lessons might India’s plurality provide for Aotearoa New Zealand? These are the questions this blog post will examine. Examination of this topic has been motivated…Continue…
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Sun-kissed stone
I’ve recently started to enjoy paintings for their story telling; the medium is a portal to a perspective of a time unknown. Architecture, however, I’ve only ever enjoyed with a jaw drop of awe when confronting the beauty of creation. India was about to change all that. In Hampi and Ahmedabad, architecture’s story is breathing. …Continue…