Kachru Lecture Series

The annual Kachru Lecture Series is named after late Braj and Yamuna Kachru, faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and long- time residents of the Indian community in Urbana Champaign. The Kachrus contributed immensely to the field of World Englishes and Multilingualism and pioneered the teaching of Sanskrit, Hindi, and Kashmiri at the University of Illinois. They were actively involved in the establishment of the Indian Cultural Society of Champaign-Urbana and the Hindu Temple and Cultural Society of East Central Illinois.

The first memorial lecture was given on April 30, 2022 by Professor S.N. Sridhar, Professor of Linguistics and India Studies and Director, Bishembarnath and Sheila Mattoo Center for India Studies at the State University of New York, Buffalo. Professor Sridhar is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and had worked closely with the Kachrus as their student and research collaborator. The title of his lecture was “Hinduism, The Indian Cultural Experiment, and the Contemporary World”.

The second memorial lecture was given on June 1, 2023 by Professor John Stratton Hawley, Claire Tow Professor of Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University. Professor Hawley has authored or edited 25 books on Hinduism, Hindu religious life, and Bhakti poetry. The title of his lecture was “Vrindavan Now: Krishna’s Playground after 50 Years”.