Bishal is from Odisha, India. He has completed his undergraduate programme in Psychology, Sociology and English Literature (2015) from Christ University, Bangalore. He has also completed his postgraduate programme in Sociology (2017) from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. During his undergraduation days, he volunteered at the Centre For Social Action, the social work wing at Christ University in Bangalore, where he worked with Women Self Help Groups in the villages of Karnataka. He helped in organising workshops for children and documenting the organisational activities. He has also interned at SUTRA in Himachal Pradesh working in close collaboration with Ekal Nari Shakti Sanghathan (ENSS) on Single Women Rights and reproductive rights. This has contributed to his broader understanding of the ground realities and the foregoing debates on public health & infrastructure. With particular interest in policies and cultural politics his primary areas of engagement have been in mental, maternal and reproductive health. His research interests include healing practices in indigenous societies such as shamanism and witchcraft. His current work focuses on the epistemologies of energy-based healing systems such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Reiki and Acupuncture.
