Naomi Ellinor Kvalstad-Luraas is a Master’s student in Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen, currently conducting six months of ethnographic fieldwork in Hyderabad through a collaborative partnership between the University of Bergen and the University of Hyderabad.
After completing an academic exchange year at the University of Hyderabad (2024–2025), Naomi returned to Hyderabad to continue her research under the joint supervision of Professor Ajailiu Niumai (University of Hyderabad) and Professor Christine M. Jacobsen (University of Bergen). Her project reflects the value of long-term academic collaboration, international exchange, and shared learning between India and Norway.
Her fieldwork is carried out in collaboration with Shaheen Women’s Resource and Welfare Association, founded by poet Jameela Nishat, where she works alongside women from diverse communities in the Old City of Hyderabad. Through six months of long-term participant observation, her research explores how women navigate everyday life, community participation, and cultural expression through voice, music, and embodied practices, with traditional Qawwali serving as the central ethnographic lens through which these questions are explored.
Alongside her written ethnography, Naomi is also producing an ethnographic documentary, using visual anthropology to document aspects of everyday life, music, and community through collaborative and ethically grounded filmmaking. As an international researcher working across languages and cultures, Naomi approaches her fieldwork with reflexivity, humility, and a commitment to collaborative knowledge production. Rather than speaking for others, her research seeks to learn from and alongside the communities with whom she works, recognising ethnography as a process of mutual learning, trust, and shared understanding.
The findings from this research will contribute to Naomi’s Master’s thesis at the University of Bergen and to ongoing academic conversations on ethnography, music, gender, performance, and community in South Asia.
Naomi extends her heartfelt gratitude to the women who generously welcomed her into their lives and shared their time, knowledge, experiences, and cultural traditions. Their trust, hospitality, and generosity have been the foundation of this research. She also extends her sincere appreciation to Nordic Center in India, the University of Hyderabad, Professor Ajailiu Niumai, Shaheen Women’s Resource and Welfare Association, and Jameela Nishat for their invaluable guidance, collaboration, and support throughout this research journey.
Ethnopoesi from Fieldwork in India;
“My hands wear pencil smudges, yellow curry caught beneath my nails”
جس طرح پنسل سے داغ رنگ لگ گئے تھے
سے بعد ہمارے ہاتھ پر اس کے نشانات
رہتے ہیں اسی طرح پیلی کڑی کھانے
بعد ہمارا ہاتھوں / ناخنوں میں
ہلکا زرد )پیال( رنگ رہ جاتا ہے۔
Ethnopoem by Naomi Ellinor Kvalstad-Luraas
Urdu translation by informants in the field