http://tdudspace.texicon.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/566 2026-04-07T05:39:35Z http://tdudspace.texicon.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/732 Title: Epithelial fusion is mediated by a partial epithelial–mesenchymal transition Authors: Tamilkumar, Varsha N.; Purushothama, Harsha; Ladher, Raj K. Abstract: Epithelial fusion is a fundamental morphogenetic process critical for the closure and compartmentalisation of developing organs. While widely studied in systems such as neural tube and palatal closure, the cellular transitions that enable fusion remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate epithelial fusion during chick otic vesicle closure and identify a transient population of cells at the epithelial interface that mediate this process. These otic epithelial edge (OE) cells exhibit distinct morphology, reduced apicobasal polarity, and dynamic junctional remodelling, including altered distribution of ZO-1, CDH1 and RAC1. 2025-08-01T00:00:00Z http://tdudspace.texicon.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/730 Title: Transgressing Narrative Boundaries: Exploring How Indigenous Faith—Healing Rituals from Kerala Move Beyond the Limitations of Narrative Therapy Authors: Guruvayoorappan, Sukanya Abstract: This paper focuses on two indigenous healing rituals from Kerala, the South- Western state of India. The first one is uzhinjuvāngal, a ritual of warding off evil spirits. It is practised as part of the mantravāda healing tradition, at pūṅkuṭil mana, an ancestral house belonging to brahmin priests. The second is, gaddika, a ritualistic art form practised as part of ritual healing by the Aṭiyān, a scheduled tribal community residing in the Wayanad district of Kerala. These faith healing practices are conducted complementary to biomedical treatments and provide relief to patients. This must be understood in their rich cultural context. As an alternative to modern medicine, unique traditional healing rituals are used to provide specific treatments based on the antiquity and integrity of beliefs and practices. Significant aspects including phenomenological and narrative influences which contribute to the efficacy of these practices were observed from ethnographic data collection after the emerging narratives were analysed thematically. 2023-05-01T00:00:00Z http://tdudspace.texicon.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/729 Title: Placing well‑being: The role of ecology in Āyurveda and Māvilan healing traditions Authors: Guruvayoorappan, Sukanya; Menon, Sangeetha Abstract: The role of ecology in shaping notions of well-being in indigenous healing traditions is often overlooked in contemporary well-being discourse. This study examines how ecological systems contribute to notions of well-being in two Indic healing traditions– Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions. We focus on the ecological place (or eco-place) as a living and dynamic space within which cultures of knowledge emerge, and healing identities become constructed, fostering multiple somatic, psychological, social, and spiritual correspondences between its human and other-than-human members, and through which a variety of well-being experiences emerge. Three lenses are used for this purpose (i) a narrative ecology of healing, (ii) agentic herbs and co-creative healing, and (iii) healing of natural ecological systems. For the first, the concept of narrative ecology is examined, alongside how healing knowledge emerges in both Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions from human and other-than-human understandings of the world; for the second, we examine how, despite significantly differing engagements with forest ecosystems, the notion of plant-agency can recast healing as a co-creative process in both traditions. For the third, we explore ideas regarding other-than-human illness and therapeutics in Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions. 2024-07-01T00:00:00Z http://tdudspace.texicon.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/728 Title: Adiyan of Wayanad District of Kerala: An Ethnographic Portrait of a Lesser-Known Tribe Authors: G, Sukanya Abstract: The paper delineates an ethnographic account of a Scheduled Tribe named Adiyan of Wayanad district of Kerala, the South-West Indian State. The community speaks a dialect of Malayalam and Kannada, which is known as the Ravula bhasha (Language of Adiyans). The data was collected during the ethnographic fieldwork from the selected settlements of Mananthavady municipality of Wayanad. The paper further addresses Adiyan traditional house structure, ethnic food, socio-political organization, economic organization and life cycle rituals. 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z