New BA students at OCHS

Claire Robison and Ashiyana Nariani, OCHS

Friday, 12 November 2004

Ashiyana Nariani is a visiting student from the USA,now based at OCHS and Wadham College as one of our first two Bachelors Degree students.Her studies combine Hindu Studies,Hindi and Mathematics,and she will be studying these subjects here for the rest of the academic year. "I am enjoying this experience so much, and I 'm grateful to OCHS for taking me under its wing.I chose to study Hinduism for many reasons,but the basis of my interest was sparked by the teachings of Dada J.P.Vaswani - I realised that Hindu youth in the midst of the Indian diaspora, myself included,are not educated in their own Hindu traditions and in many cases have very little scope for understanding what Hinduism is from a larger perspective. Under the guidance of OCHS I am vastly increasing my knowledge of Hinduism."

Claire Robison already has a Ministerial Certificate from the Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium, 2003, and this year she is based at OCHS and Mansfield College to gain a BA degree in Theology from Oxford University. "My academic interests are in the study and interpretation of Hindu religious texts and the traditions founded upon them.I find that I like the independent responsibility that the Oxford system gives you.The OCHS was a major factor in my decision to come here.It has been helpful and encouraging to be part of a place that welcomes people who bring a religious commitment to their academic study of Hinduism.The resources and the encouragement that OCHS provides - it has been very valuable to have that."

Claire and Ashiyana seem to have settled happily into Oxford 's way of life and learning,and OCHS is very pleased to have them on board.