Working with Nilesh Oak

The Early Spark

It was sometime before the COVID-19 pandemic—before Prachyam had a name, before we knew where any of it was headed. At the time, I was working with Praveen and Abhishek on what we then thought was a side project: a short film exploring the Guru-Shishya Parampara, tentatively titled Sadguru: Finding a Sadguru. We were planning to travel across South India and shoot in Gurukuls—part research, part pilgrimage, mostly curiosity-driven.

Around the same time, I stumbled upon a video that would radically shift my trajectory: Shri Nilesh Oak’s work on the scientific dating of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

A Mind-Opening Encounter

The rigor, clarity, and fearless logic of Nileshji’s research pulled me in instantly. I dove deep into his work, devouring video after video, paper after paper. Eventually, I reached out to him—half-expecting no reply. But what I received was not only a gracious response but the beginning of a generous mentorship.

Despite my initial misunderstandings and naive questions, Nileshji responded with patience, sharp insight, and a rare willingness to engage. He walked me through the nuances of his astronomical frameworks, helping me build my own capacity to understand and apply archaeoastronomy—something I now consider foundational to my current work.

The First Meeting

When I found out he would be attending a Ramayana conference in Jabalpur, I didn’t hesitate. I wrote to him again, asking if we could meet. He agreed. That meeting was a fan moment I’ll never forget.

We—me, Praveen, and Abhishek—drove to Jabalpur during our South India travel break. The waterfalls of Bhedaghat thundered nearby, but all I could think about was meeting the man whose work had shaken and awakened so much in me.

That day, he didn’t just meet us—he introduced us to a wider network of Indic researchers and thought leaders, anchoring our project into a broader ecosystem of like-minded truth-seekers.

A Collaboration That Grew

What began as a fan encounter soon grew into a full-fledged collaboration. Nileshji became an executive producer on the 10 Indic Films Project, and more importantly, my intellectual compass. To this day, he continues to guide me—whether it’s to fact-check historical interpretations, shape a script grounded in precision, or simply expand my understanding of Bharat’s past.

Together, we’ve sporadically jumped onto narrative-driven projects on ancient Indian history, and even when we’re not working directly, his influence runs deep in every serious research-led initiative I take on.