Govind-19: Presence, Innovation, and Continuity among UK Gujarati Hindus during and after COVID-19 Lockdown

Wood, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9826-3452 (2025) Govind-19: Presence, Innovation, and Continuity among UK Gujarati Hindus during and after COVID-19 Lockdown. International Journal of Hindu Studies. doi:10.1007/s11407-025-09425-5 (In Press)

Text 15439 Wood (2025) Govind 19 Presence, Innovation, and Continuity among UK Gujarati Hindis during and after COVID19 Lockdown.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 12 October 2026. (Publisher Embargo). Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (419kB)

Abstract

This article draws upon recent ethnographic research with the VishnuSahasranam Prayer Group UK (VSPG) in West London. It argues that despite thepotential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on post-lockdown in-persongathering, devotional participation has far exceeded expectati ons of a return to face-to-face communal religious activity for the VSPG. Key to this is the experience ofthe presence of the deities Laks˙mı¯-Na¯ra¯yan˙a as they negotiate and move freelythough physical and digital realms during the recitation of the thousand names ofVis˙n˙u known as the Viṣṇusahasran ā m. The article locates its contention in recentscholarly discussions framed by Veronica della Dora, Nicole Karapanagiotis,Robert. A. Orsi, and Heinz Scheifinger. It focuses upon three key aspects: thecreation of multiple “infrasecular” spaces; innovative use of digital media; and thedirect experience of the presence of La ks˙mı¯-Na¯ra¯yan˙a before, during, and afterlockdown. These three aspects converge to illustrate how one Hindu community inthe UK has maintained a sense of identity and coherence during periods of extremesocial anxiety and, in the process, transformed itself from a localized prayer groupinto a diasporic religious phenomenon.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	COVID-19 lockdown; Hinduism; diaspora; infrasecular space; digital religion
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Arts, Culture and Environment
Depositing User:	Anne Pengelly
Date Deposited:	14 Oct 2025 12:25
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2025 12:30
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15439

University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record