Amita Kanekar is an independent writer and researcher. She has an MPhil in Architecture from the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, has previously taught in the Bachelor of Architecture and the Comparative Mythologies courses of the University of Mumbai, and also worked as research assistant to Adam Hardy, Cardiff University. She has been the recipient of research grants from the Luigi and Laura Dallapiccola Foundation, Edinburgh, for her studies of the temple architecture of the Ikkeri Nayakas, and the Goan temple. An internationally published author in the field of architectural history, she also writes historical fiction, and op-eds on issues connected to history, architecture and politics. Her books include the novel A Spoke in the Wheel (HarperCollins 2005, and Navayana 2014), a guidebook to the Portuguese sea forts of the Deccan (Deccan Heritage Foundation 2015), and a second novel, Fear of Lions, (Hachette, 2019). She also teaches courses in History and Theory at the Goa College of Architecture, and is a member of the Social Justice Action Committee-Goa. She is currently working on a study of Goan temple architecture.