Aarti V Raman is an established novelist in the romantic thriller genre (White Knight, Kingdom Come) with several more on the way.
28 year-old Aarti V Raman graduated from Mumbai University in 2007 with a degree in Mass Media focused on Journalism, which provided her the perfect background for conducting sound research on any project. She then went on to study Creative and Professional Writing at Deakin University in Melbourne for post-graduation in 2008. It was there that she learned to hone her craft and lifelong ambition of writing romances that had strong characters and stronger stories that remained etched in the reader's minds. While waiting for her big break, Aarti pursued commercial writing and gained a vast amount of knowledge (from fishing tackle to soft toys) that she claims have helped her with molding better stories.
Her first novel "White Knight" was published by Leadstart in 2012 and gave her the impetus to continue writing. In 2013, her work was excerpted in the Tamil Edition of Mills and Boon novels. And in 2014, her short story "Post-Coital Cigarette" was chosen to be part of the Rupa Romance Anthology "An Atlas of Love" curated by bestselling author Anuja Chauhan. Her latest novel "Kingdom Come" (Harlequin MIRA) has enjoyed a brief stay at the bestseller lists in Amazon India.
Abhay K. is an Indian poet-diplomat and author of two memoirs and five collection of poems. He has been awarded the SAARC Literary Award 2013 and nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2013. His poems have appeared in An Gael (New York), Chiaroscuro (London), The Caravan, The Missing Slate, Indian Literature, Nevsky Almanac (St. Petersburg) etc. His most recent collection of poems The Seduction of Delhi has been published by Bloomsbury India. He has translated Uttering Her Name by major Irish poet Gabriel Rosenstock in Hindi and is currently editing CAPITALS -an anthology on capital cities of the world. The SAARC song penned by him has paved way towards an official SAARC Anthem. His idea of an official Earth anthem has been hailed by UNESCO as a thought that could contribute to bringing the world together. His forthcoming book The Eight-Eyed Lord of Kathmandu will be published by Bloomsbury in 2015. www.abhayk.com.
Aditya Adhikari is a journalist and author based in Kathmandu. He is the author of The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal’s Maoist Revolution (Verso in the UK and US/ Aleph in South Asia) – a political and social history of the civil war in Nepal. He was previously a columnist and the op-ed editor of the Kathmandu Post. He holds a Masters degree in political science from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Ali Aftab Saeed is a journalist, columnist, director/producer, actor, and documentary maker. My experience in mainstream media production and journalism goes back 8 years. Apart from all this, I also have a knack for composing melodies. This, paired with the passion for singing, was what gave birth to Pakistan’s first political rock 'n' roll band Beygairat Brigade. Beygairat Brigade has by now three songs out on issues such as derailing of democracy, interference of the military in Pakistani politics, religious extremism, terrorism, corruption, and the judicial system.
Dr Alka Pande is an art critic, cultural theorist, teacher, curator, and a prolific writer. After a PhD from Panjab University, she was recipient of the Charles Wallace Award in 1999-2000 and completed her post-doctoral studies in critical art theory from Goldsmith College, University of London. Responsible for curating numerous significant exhibitions in India and abroad, and giving a name to some of the most upcoming and influential artists, Dr Alka Pande is currently engrossed as the Curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the India Habitat Centre. She has authored several well-acclaimed books, with a strong focus on Indian aesthetics and Ancient Indian erotic literature and art. Shringara- the many faces of Indian beauty (Rupa, 2011), Kama Sutra- The Quest for Love (Brijbasi, 2008), Ardhanarishvara the Androgyne (Rupa, 2005) and Indian Erotic Art (Roli Books, 2002) figure amongst her publications. In December 2006, she was made "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" - Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters - an award bequeathed by the French government to recognise significant contributions in the fields of art and literature.
Amita Kanekar is a novelist and architectural historian. Her novel A Spoke in the Wheel was published by HarperCollins in 2005; a new edition is now being released by Navayana. She is currently in the middle of two book projects, one on the architecture of the Portuguese sea forts from Goa to Bombay, and the other a novel set in the Mughal era. She has also published essays on the architecture of the Ikkeri Nayakas of Western Karnataka, is a regular columnist in the Goa press on issues of history, housing, and settlements, and teaches at the Goa College of Architecture
Amrit Gangar is Mumbai-based author, film theoretician, historian and curator. Writing both in English and Gujarati languages, he has to his credit several books on cinema and the city of Mumbai. His writings have also been part of anthologies, catalogues and journals published in India and abroad. He was part of the Hyderabad and Ahmedabad Litfests held this year. His latest books, viz. The Music that Still Rings at Dawn, Every Dawn: Walter Kaufmann in India 1934-1946 and Roopantar (from Literature to Cinema), in English and Gujarati have been published by Goethe Institute, Mumbai and Arunodaya Prakashan, Ahmedabad, respectively. A conference on his new theoretical concept Cinema of Prayoga will be held in Paris early next year.
Angela Ferrao is an illustrator, cartoonist and writer, who works both in traditional pencil-and-paper and digital media. Angela began writing and illustrating for children about a decade ago. In 2013, she published a children's book that she both wrote and illustrated, titled Fuloos Plays with the Sun, about a cheeky baby camel who dares the sun to test his endurance. When she is not writing and illustrating colourful stories to entertain children, Angela combines her desire to make people laugh with her observations relating to politics, current affairs, and the world around her to create cartoons that she posts daily on her Ferraodesigns Facebook page. She has published articles in Goan Review and Gulab.In addition, a short graphic story that she wrote and illustrated as part of an anthology dealing with women's issues, in collaboration with the Goethe Institut and Zubaan Publication, is slated for publication this year. Angela is currently working on a follow-up to her last children's book, and she divides her time between Goa and Mumbai.
After 20 years of working in the fields of journalism, communications and graphic design, Aniruddha Sen Gupta has returned to his first love – writing – since he moved to Goa in 2006. So far, he has authored a couple of books in a children's adventure series, a graphic guidebook on environmental matters, and a sprinkling of short stories and comics in various anthologies. He is currently working on a chronicle of his travels by road around India with his wife Anjali and their dogs. Interspersed with all this, he enjoys setting, conducting and participating in quizzes, and is a founder-member of Goa's Sunday Evening Quiz Club.
Anuradha Goyal is author, blogger, travel writer, book reviewer and an innovation consultant based in Goa. She is author of 'The Mouse Charmers - Digital Pioneers of India' published by Random House India and the co-author of 'India Innovates’ series published by CII. These publications chronicle the Innovations of contemporary India and highlight the opportunities for next generation of entrepreneurs.
Anuradha has been blogging for more than a decade on travel. Her travel stories appear in various print publications. Her book reviews blog is in Limca Book of Records for posting maximum number of reviews across genres by a single author. Her favorite part of life is being a student of Kabir's poetry and Indian Art History.
Anuradha Majumdar lives in Auroville. A dancer-choreographer, writer and poet, her fiction includes Refugees from Paradise and God Enchanter and Infinity Papers for young adults. Her short stories have appeared in various journals and anthologies while poetry has been part of art installation and choreography projects. In 2007, she participated in the Focus India Literature-Cinema conference in Rome. She edited Light Matter: Atelier Pierre Legrand and is presently working on a book about Auroville. www.anumajumdar.com
Aparna Jain is India's first certified Integral Master Coach. She graduated with a double specialisation from Switzerland and a post post-graduate diploma from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management.
She has worked in tech, telecom and internet marketing for a decade and also worked in media for many years. She founded Zebraa Works, her own consultancy that specializes in Integral Coaching and Consulting.
Her first book was a cookbook called the Sood Family Cookbook, which was published in 2013. (Sood from her mother's side of the family) By HarperCollins and she is now writing her second book on leadership and Indian women.
Arun Khopkar got his diploma in film direction from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He is known for his films on various art forms, which have won many national and international awards, including the Golden Lotus, the highest national award in India.
He is a former Homi Bhabha Fellow and is an internationally acknowledged authority on Sergei Eisenstein. He has lectured in FTII, NFAI, NSD, JNU and Institute for Advanced Studies in Cinematography in Moscow. He has contributed papers at various international seminars. His book on Guru Dutt got the National Award for the best book on cinema. He has published two collections of essays various art forms in Marathi in 2012.
Arun Mhatre was born in one of the tiny hamlets of Alibaug on 25th October, 1954. Later, his family migrated to Mumbai where he completed his M.Com from Mumbai University. He served in a company called Modistone for almost 18 years and another company called NSB for 2 years before finally giving up everything for writing poems and becoming a part of the literary movement. In recent times, Arun Mhatre has turned into an indispensable name in the realm of Marathi Poetry and Literature. He has 5 major poem anthologies to his credit. He has been a recipient of several state and national level awards for his contribution in the field of literature and social work. Besides poems, he is a regular writer of Editorials, One Act Plays, Travelogues, Street Plays, Story and Poetry Criticisms.
Arundhathi Subramaniam has four books of poetry to her credit, most recently When God is a Traveller (published by HarperCollins in India and Bloodaxe Books in the UK). Widely translated and anthologized, her new book is the Winter Choice of the Poetry Book Society, UK. She is also a prose writer on spirituality and culture, and has worked over the years as arts journalist, curator and poetry editor. Her prose works include the bestselling biography of a contemporary mystic, Sadhguru: More Than A Life (Penguin, 2010) and The Book of Buddha (Penguin, 2005). As editor, her books include Another Country (a Sahitya Akademi anthology on contemporary Indian poetry in English), Pilgrim's India (a Penguin book on sacred journeys), and Confronting Love (a co-edited Penguin anthology of love poems). She divides her time between Bombay/ Mumbai and a yoga centre in Coimbatore.
Ashish Vikram graduated from IIT Delhi in 1987 and went on to do his masters in Computer Science from Purdue University in US. He has had an illustrious career in the software industry and is known for quick fire solutions of software problems. This talent has stood him well not only in in his professional life but also in writing his debut novel, which draws upon one such solution for the resolution of its suspenseful predicament. He worked for 4 years in the Silicon Valley in US in Rational before moving to Bangalore in 1993. The IT industry was about to take off in India and he became a major player in its technological advance. He started Rational’s Product Development Center in India and guided it to grow into a highly productive software development lab. Rational was acquired by IBM in 2003. He set up two more successful Product Development Centers in Bangalore before joining Yahoo as a Vice President of Engineering in 2011. Ashish is currently Vice President of Engineering at Flipkart, India’s largest bookshop.
“The House With The Green Roof” is Ashish’s first novel. It is a comedy set in an intricate suspense plot, built around the IT brigade. It is enriched by his personal experiences as an idiosyncratic IITian as well as his successful confrontation with software conundrums.
Astri Ghosh is a translator, journalist, and teacher based in Panjim, Goa. She translates from Hindi, Bengali and Urdu to Norwegian and English, and from Norwegian to Hindi and English. Some of the authors she has translated are Qurratulain Hyder, Rabindranath Tagore, Lars Saabye Christensen and Per Pettersson. In Sanger fra Adigranth she translated a collection of hymns from Sikh scriptures. She is currently translating twelve contemporary plays of Henrik Ibsen to Hindi and the crime novelist Jo Nesbø. She also organises jazz festivals, curates art exhibitions and does poetry performances.
Augusto Pinto, Associate Professor at S. S. Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, teaches English and Business Communication. He is a satirist, reviewer, translator (from Konkani into English) and a critic known for his outspokenness. Instrumental in taking Konkani stories to a wider English readership, his translations have appeared in the local and national magazines/journals. As a Moderator of the Goa Book Club, he keeps closely abreast with the literary scenario of Goa.
Born in 2000 , in the beautiful state of Goa, Master Aumkar Kishore Shah is a student of Std IX , Sharada Mandir School ,Goa He has been into creative writing since he was 8 years old. In 2013 he was chosen as a winner of the igenius Young Author Talent at National level.
His award winning story was published in a book ‘A twist in the tale’ edited by Ruskin Bond and Chetan Bhagat, published by Rupa – Red Turtle publication. He also received a scholarship.
His book ‘The Magical newspaper & other stories’ was published in March 2014 and launched in Goa ,Pune and Mumbai by Broadway Publishing House and Distributed by Book World Enterprise. The book is registered in the Central Library of Goa Acc
C-22388 ,Call nu:823.1/SHA. His stories /articles are published in the school magazine ‘Dreamz’
Balancing a consistent impressive academic record with his varied interest of being a ‘Black Belt’ in Karate ,PADI certified Scuba Diver ,computer programming and Robotics. He was awarded Science Talent scholarship for the year 2013-14 by the State council of Educational Research & Training ,Govt. Of Goa .He is nominated for the ‘Samraat Student of the year award -2014’
He was invited as the youngest author at the ‘Goa Art & Literary festival-2013’
Brian Mendonca, poet, writer and blogger teaches English language and literatures in English at Carmel College, Goa. He has self-published two volumes of poems, viz. Last Bus to Vasco: Poems from Goa (2006) and A Peace of India: Poems in Transit (2011). He was guest editor of Muse India’s special issue on Goan Literature (Volume 50). Brian chronicles the life and times of Goa in his column titled ‘On My Mind’ in Weekender published in Goa on Sundays. He lives in the port town of Vasco with his wife and son. His work can be accessed at www.lastbustovasco.blogspot.in.
Born and schooled in the east Uttar Pradesh countryside, Chandra Bhan Prasad is cited by a host of thought leaders including a couple of Nobel Laurites.
Himself a Dalit, Mr Prasad is aiming at setting up a Caste Museum, works with Devesh Kapur of CASI/Upenn on Changes that Dalits are experience.
Member Board of Governors, IIM Lucknow, and a Guest Faculty IAS Academy Mussorie, Mr Prasad is exploring conflicts between Caste and Capitalism. Lives in Delhi.
Charles Correa Is a major figure in contemporary architecture around the world. His work covers a wide range, from the Mahatma Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya at the Sabarmati Ashram, to the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, to the Brain & Cognitive Sciences Center at MIT, Boston, and most recently, the Chamapalimaud Center for the Unknown in Lisbon.
Because of his pioneering work addressing India's urban issues, in 1985 Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi appointed him Chairman of India's first National Commission on Urbanisation. Correa has received the highest awards of his profession, including the Gold Medals of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the UIA (International Union of Architects), and the Praemium Imperiale of Japan.
Chee Malabar is a Los Angeles based rapper and writer.
Born in Bombay and raised in Baroda, India, Chee Malabar immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve. Inspired by the parallels between his own life and rap music's themes of bewilderment and alienation, Chee immediately gravitated to hip-hop as a tool for navigating through his newfound American life.
Chee Malabar's musical resume includes six albums: three with Himalayan Project, two with Oblique Brown and two albums under his own moniker. Chee's previous efforts are an exploration of the immigrant experience, love, politics, and art.
His last release, The Beautiful, Rowdy Prisoners, is a series of loosely connected songs and vignettes inspired by years of Chee's work with incarcerated youth and their families. Chee Malabar's work has found its way into college curriculums, discussion panels, and papers that address identity and hip-hop. His upcoming release is entitled, "Feral Child" and explores his immigrant experience.
In addition to music, Chee has contributed several essays and multimedia pieces to books and literary magazines. Chee earned his MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College and is finishing his first novel.
Claude Alvares is editor of Other India Press, an alternative publishing house that focuses on environmental publications, organic farming, alternative education, etc. OIP has published several titles in this genre, “Learning at Bodhshala” being the latest. He is also Director of the Goa Foundation, a well-known Goa environmental action group.
Cyril Almeida is a senior columnist, reporter at large and assistant editor at Dawn, Pakistan's leading English daily. His areas of interest include national politics, security policy and regional affairs. He is aRhodes Scholar and received a B.A. in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2003.
Mr. Cyril Aleixo Fernandes describes himself more as an activist and less of a writer. He is a human rights activist based in Chicalim, Goa. He enjoys working at the grassroots level amongst the marginalized sections of society and in particular on dalit and the adivasi issues of Goa. Most of his activism is channelized through the NGO Human Rights Monitoring Society (HURIMOS).
He was a leading light of the Anti- Meta-Strips Citizens' Action Committee (AMCAC), a major agitation against the Goa government for permitting a polluting project in Goa. He is an advisor to Chicalim Villagers Action Committee (CVAC), a local villager's initiative to protect and promote the heritage and the rich ecological biodiversity of the village of Chicalim, in Goa. He is the convener of People Against Atrocities and Injustice (PAAI), a public-spirited platform in Goa.
He is also involved in the trade union movement being the President of the Goa Shipyard Kamdar Ekvott and General Secretary of the Forum of Independent Unions, Goa. He was earlier the President of Shipyard Employees Union. He was also the Assistant Secretary of the central New Trade Union Initiative(NTUI) a national level platform of independent Trade Unions in India.
He is also a free-lance researcher studying the history and culture of Goa. His book 'Justice at the Grassroots' is an attempt to bring the plight of the Goa tribals in the centre stage of Goa's developmental debate. His articles on Goa's culture and heritage have been published by leading newspapers in Goa.
Daisy Rockwell is a writer, painter and translator who lives in Vermont, USA. She has a PhD in Hindi literature, and paints under the takhallus, or alias, Lapata (pronounced ‘laapataa’), Urdu for “missing,” or “absconded,” as in “my luggage is missing,” or “the bandits have absconded.” She has shown her work widely, and is author of The Little Book of Terror, a volume of paintings and essays on the Global War on Terror (Foxhead Books, 2012). Her novel Taste was published by Foxhead Books in April 2014, and a collection of translations of stories by Ashk, Hats and Doctors, was published in 2013 by Penguin India.
Damodar Mauzo is a short fiction writer and novelist writing in Konkani. He is also a columnist, critic and a script writer. He has 13 books in Konkani to his credit besides a few more on the anvil. Among his many awards are the Sahitya Akademi award, Katha Award, World Konkani Centre’s Vimla Pai Sahitya Puraskar and several State literary awards. His award winning novel, KARMELIN is translated into over a dozen languages including English. THESE ARE MY CHILDREN, a collection of stories in translation has been published by KATHA. Yet another collection, TERESA'S MAN, is published this year by Rupa Publications. His novel for young adults, TSUNAMI SIMON, has been published in translation into English by PONYTALE BOOKS. While CinnamonTeal publishing will publish his next collection of not-so-short-stories shortly. He has written screenplays and dialogues for Konkani films. He was awarded the Best Screenplay award (2005) and Best Dialogues award (2003) at the Goa State Film Festival. He is a co-founder and co-curator of GALF.
Dattprasad Jog is a co producer of the Live Poetry program “Jaave Kavitanchya Gaava” a program on history of Poetry. He has produced Hasyakavi Darbaar, Jave Kavitanchya Gaava, Kavyaratnakar Annual poets meet and Poetry workshops. He has participated in various literary festivals like Shekoti Sahitya Sanmelan, Bilwadal Sahitya Sanmelan, Yuva Marathi Sahitya Sanmelan, Institute Menezes Braganza Multilingual Poets meet, Kavyamaifal Margao Multilingual Poets meet, in Goa and Maharashtra, and has won several awards for the same. He has translated the Geet Ramayan to Hindi.
Dayaram Bhaskar Padloskar is a Marathi poet and short story writer. His published work include collection of poetry, Jeevanache Taru (2008), Savashniche Laney (2010) and Janam dilelay mulakade pahat (2014). His short stories, Kagdi Hodya (2009) and Pusalye Khuna (2012) are also published.
He is recipient of several awards including Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Samelan Sasvat (Pune) and Gomantak Marathi Sahitya Parishad’s “Pusalye Khuna” Lalit Sangrahala Pursakar.
Devidas Gaonkar is a correspondent for a Marathi daily, Lokmat in Goa. He is also a writer and documentary film maker. His work is available on www.videovolunteers.org – India unheard online news channel (specially community media). His published works include Govyatil Adhivasi Rachana Ani Jivanshaili (in Marathi) based on Goan tribes published by Dept of Official Language, Govt. of Goa.
He has also worked on Mand project for GAKUVED With Seby Rodrigues and others and is also part of the Tribal welfare movement.
Dileep Jhaveri, born in 1943 is a Physician by profession. His publications include 2 poetry collections, a play on Mahabharat, Vyasochchhwas, translated in English as A Breath of Vyas published by Seagull Books. He has published an anthology of contemporary Gujarati poetry Breath Becoming a Word in English, translated in Irish By Gabriel Rosenstock and others and Rogha Danta - A selection of poems originally written in English translated by Gabriel Rosenstock in Irish, and selected poems in English, Once This Mist Clears published by Feral Press, Oyster Bay, New York.
He is on the editorial board of Museindia.
Dilip Borkar, is an Indian writer, writing in his mother tongue Konkani and other languages such as Marathi, Hindi and English. He is a multifaceted personality born in Goa in 1957 and is well known in literature, Journalism, Docu-film production and socio- political activities. He is a popular and famous for his satirical writing. 2 novels, 1 poetry collection , 7 books of children literature, 2 one act play collection, 5 dramas, 3 travelogues, 5 literary essay collection, 3 translation in his credit. He has produced Docu-film on various personalities and subjects for the Govt. of Goa and corporate houses. As a columnist he has contributed several articles in various news paper and periodicals. He is the Chief Editor of popular family monthly Konkani magazine 'BIMB'. Besides Sahitya Akademi Award for his travelogue, he has several National and state Awards in his credit including trice National Awards for All India Radio playwright competition, Dr. T.M.A Foundation Award, New Goan overseas Awards, 'Rajya Sanman' etc. for his creative work.
Trained as a computer scientist (BITS Pilani, Brown Univ), he spent years in software. Along the way he tried writing and found that more interesting, winning several fellowships and awards for his writing (Outlook/Picador prize, Newsweek/Daily Beast prize, Wolfson College Press Fellowship, etc). Final Test is his fifth book. He has written for publications in India (Caravan, Hindustan Times, Mint, Outlook, etc) and abroad (Washington Post, NYT, Die Zeit, Newsweek, etc). He writes a mathematics column for Mint.
His interests are reading, music, playing tennis and travel (about 25 countries). Born in Madras, he grew up in Bombay, lived in Delhi, Pilani and the US for ten years; back in Bombay for 22+ years. His wife Vibha Kamat teaches French; they have two children, Sahir (15) and Surabhi (10). Their two cats, Aziz and Cleo rule.
Dr. E.V.Ramakrishnan is a bilingual poet, translator and critic. He has published poetry in both English and Malayalam. He has three volumes of poetry in English: Being Elsewhere in Myself (Calcutta, 1980), A Python in a Snake Park (New Delhi, 1996) and Terms of Seeing: New and Selected Poems (New Delhi, 2006). His work has appeared in several anthologies such as the ones edited by Eunice de Souza and Jeet Thayil.
He has translated poetry from Malayalam, Hindi and Gujarati into English and has edited The Tree of Tongues: An Anthology of Indian Poetry (Shimla, 1999). As a critic he has published five books of criticism in Malayalam and seven books in English.
He is Professor of Comparative Literature at Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India.
He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism (1995), K.K.Birla Foundation Fellowship for Comparative Literature (1997-1999), Indian Institute of Advanced Study Fellowship (1992-3), Fulbright Fellowship (2001) and Faculty Enrichment Award of Canadian Government (2012). He has been part of an Indian delegation of writers to Moscow in 2010.
Eddie Fernandes is an Associate of Library Association, UK, an Honorary Research Staff member of University College London and the Editor of Goan Voice UK. He was born in Ribandar, Goa; attended primary school at St Paul's, Belgaum; secondary education at the Goan High School, Mombasa, Kenya; graduated from St Xavier's College, Mumbai and postgraduate of University College London. He spent most of his working life as the Engineering Librarian at University College London. It was there, in the late 1980's, that he learnt how to search for information using computers and was required to teach those techniques to the staff and students. He also applied those skills to retrieve recent references to Goa and Goans in the World Press. He shared the results with other Goans worldwide through GoaNet. In 1999 he launched Goan Voice UK to cater to Goans who live abroad but want to keep in touch with developments in the motherland as well as in their own diasporas. Check out the site at www.goanvoice.org.uk
Emeritus Professor, Professorial Fellow, National University of Singapore, Edwin Thumboo has been involved in Singapore's literary developments since 1951. He has published six volumes of poetry, most recently Word-Gate (privately printed; 2013). A translation of his poems into Chinese is due for publication. He is currently completing a volume of poems devoted to biblical themes, and co-editing Christian poems by Singaporeans. His most recent award is the Sunthorn Phu Award (2013). His interview with GSP Rao is available on the Muse India (Issue 53: Jan-Feb 2014) website:
http://www.museindia.com/regularcontent.asp?issid=53&id=4715
Ellen van Neerven is award-winning writer and editor based in Brisbane, Australia. Ellen has Aboriginal and Dutch heritage; she is a member of the Yugambeh people from South-East Queensland. Ellen’s first book Heat and Light, published in September, 2014 by the University of Queensland Press, won the David Unaipon Award. Her writing has appeared widely in Australian and international publications including The Best of McSweeney’s, Review of Australian Fiction, Ora Nui, The Lifted Brow, Meanjin and Mascara Literary Review.
Ellen is a senior editor at the black&write! Indigenous writing and editing project, State Library of Queensland, which aims to support and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and editors. She has worked with writers such as Ali Cobby Eckermann and Jared Thomas. Ellen is also the editor of Writing Black, a new digital collection of Australian Indigenous writing with an emphasis on innovative storytelling: including spoken word and twitter fiction.
Fátima da Silva Gracias studied in Goa and Bombay. She holds a doctorate in Indo-Portuguese history and taught history for many years. Her first book was Health and Hygiene in Colonial Goa,1510-1961, followed by Kaleidoscope of Women in Goa, Beyond the Self—Santa Casa Misericórdia de Goa, The Many Faces of Sundorem –Women in Goa, Cozinha de Goa and Faces of Colonial India—The Work of Goan Artist António Xavier de Trindade ( due for release in early December). Gracias has also contributed over two dozen research papers on health, women, food ,culture, social institutions, migration and church in books, journals and seminars in India ,Portugal, France, Germany, Brazil and Sri Lanka. She is the Convener of Goa State Chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
A freelance writer and editor, Fatima M Noronha has published fiction and non-fiction for the last forty years. The BBC broadcast one of her short stories, while others have appeared in periodicals and anthologies in India and overseas. Stray Mango Branches, a collection of vignettes and stories of life in Goa, appeared in 2013. Born in Lisbon, having called many places home, especially during twenty years of gypsying with her fighter pilot husband, she has returned to her roots in Goa. She works as a mum, gardener and freelance editor. There is more about her at http://fatimamnoronha.webs.com and she can be contacted at straymangobranches@gmail.com.
Frederika Menezes a Goan girl a author, blogger, motivational speaker, song writer and music composer. She has many poems which have been widely published in leading national newspapers and magazines. One of her poems was selected and featured in an Anthology: Fire in the Heart from the International Library of Poetry. She also has published a collection of poems called The Portrait. Her special love is writing short stories for children. She has published a novella for children titled The Pepperns and Wars of the Mind in 2003. She has also a book of verses for children titled Stories in Rhyme. Her recent book Unforgotten is widely acclaimed. Through her motivational lectures she aims to make people realize that they all have a potential and a purpose in life. She pleads both readers and viewers to recognize and grasp how they have power over their own lives. She aims to expose the unknown and hidden abilities that everyone has. She also writes lyrics for poems and songs. She is a painter and her canvass is the paintbrush app through the medium of computers.
G S P Rao, aka Surya Rao, is the founding Managing Editor of Muse India, the eJournal that showcases Indian Writing in English, and Indian language literatures in translation, to a global readership. Established in 2005, Muse India has emerged as a trend-setter and one of the most significant literary web journals of the country. He is one of the Directors of Hyderabad Literary Festival that was started in 2010 as an initiative of Muse India.
He is the author of Meghamitra and Other Poems; The Lock at the Gate (short st5ories); and Krishnadeva Raya - the great Poet-Emperor of Vijayanagara (historical biography).
A software engineer, entrepreneur, writer and editor, Surya Rao has had a distinguished professional career in Information Technology and was earlier associated with IBM and ASCI.
Dr. Geeta Gawas-Yerlekar, was awarded Ph D for her work on 1980 Nantarchya Kavitetil Strvadi Janiva by Shivaji University, Kolhapur in 2014. Her research articles have been published in Navakshar Darshan, Anubandha, Dakshin Sahitya Patrika. She has participated in several workshop and seminars related to Marathi Literature particularly on the subject of Marathi poetry.
Githa Hariharan has written novels, short fiction and essays over the last three decades. Her highly acclaimed work includes The Thousand Faces of Night which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book in 1993, the short story collection The Art of Dying, and the novels The Ghosts of Vasu Master, When Dreams Travel, In Times of Siege and Fugitive Histories. Her new book, a collection of essays entitled Almost Home: Cities and Other Places has just been published in India. For more on this Delhi-based author and her work, visit www.githahariharan.com
Gopalakrishna Pai (1947) has to his credit four short story collections and five anthologies of translated works. However, he is well-known for his magnum opus 'Swapna Saraswatha', a novel dealing with nine generations of Saraswaths who migrated from Portuguese occupied Goa to the southern part of Karnataka during times of turmoil in the 16th century. The novel, which is the outcome of arduous research carried on over a period of 15 years, won accolades from literary critics, and was also well received by general readers. It secured him, among several others, the Central Sahitya Akademi Award. Gopalakrishna Pai has worked in the realm of cinema as a script and dialogue writer for several critically acclaimed films. He won the national award for the Best Script Writer along with the renowned director Girish Kasaravalli for the Kannada feature film 'Kanasembo Kudureyaneri'. Gopalakrishna Pai began penning short stories from his college days, but brought them out in an anthology only in 1985. He retired from Canara Bank after about 37 years of service. He lives in Bangalore. He is finalizing his second novel which depicts the loss of human values in post-independent India.
Govindraj Ethiraj is a television & print journalist and Founder-Editor of Boom News, a next generation television news initiative. Boom sits on Ping Digital Broadcast Network, a digital to satellite television network company co-founded by him and in the news, lifestyle and knowledge space.
He is also the Founder-Editor of the award-winning www.indiaspend.org & www.factchecker.in, a twin public interest journalism effort that uses data to tell stories. IndiaSpend was recently admitted to the Washington DC headquartered Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN).
He also anchors seasonal shows on Indian news television – the current one being the weekly `Policy Watch’ on public service broadcaster Rajya Sabha or RS TV. And most recent being BottomLine on Headlines Today - and writes for newspapers like Business Standard and websites like Quartz India.
Previously, he was Founder-Editor in Chief of Bloomberg TV India, a 24-hours business news service launched out of Mumbai in 2008 and a partnership between Bloomberg LLP and the UTV Group in India. Prior to setting up Bloomberg TV, he worked with Business Standard newspaper as Editor (New Media) with a specific mandate of integrating the newspaper’s news operations with its digital or web platform.
Before that, Govindraj spent five years with television channel CNBC-TV18 where he worked from near start-up point and actively drove most of the channels programming growth and expansion initiatives.
Prior to television, he worked in print in The Economic Times, Business World and Business India magazines. He has been a career business journalist who has reported and written on Indian business for the last 22 years. He is a Fellow of The Aspen Institute, Colorado.
Harshvardhan Bhatkuly holds an LLB (Hons) and an LLM, in Constitutional Law.
Having been a magazine enthusiast for as long as he can remember, he launched Goa’s only business magazine – Business Goa, 5 and a half years ago. The magazine has redefined the way business news gets featured in the State.
An avid quizzer, Harsh has many accolades to his credit. He was the first Goan to be on the BBC Mastermind India series (2002). He has been the regional winner of The Economic Times Brand Equity Quiz. Winning from Pune and Mumbai consistently since 2006. In 2010, he won the National Championship along with Rajiv D’Silva, of the Tata Crucible Business Quiz, considered to be India’s toughest business quiz and has been a regional winner of the Quiz since 2007. He hosts quizzes every now and then and is also the founder member of Sunday Evening Quiz Club (SEQC) Goa.
He has been writing for the local media and currently writes a regular column in Herald that focuses on law, judiciary and public life.
Harsh serves on the Managing Committee of the Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) and is currently the Chairman of the Programmes Co-ordination Committee at the Chamber. He has recently been elected to the Executive Committee of Goa Management Association (GMA) and has been appointed as the Hon. Secretary of GMA. He is also a Life-Member of the Goa Heritage Action Group (GHAG).
Harshvardhan Bhatkuly has recently launched a web based short business content portal shortbiznews.com
He was a finalist in the British Council’s Creative Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2011 in the field of publishing. He was awarded the ‘364 Days of Transformation Award’ by ideas Unlimited in February 2014.
Hazel Manuel is a UK born novelist whose writing follows a career in education, first as a teacher/lecturer and after as a business leader within the education sector. She now lives and writes in Paris. Manuel's first novel 'Kanyakumari' was written over three trips to India and was the winner of the 2013 Cinnamon Press Novel award. Her second novel 'The Geranium Woman' is due to be published in 2015 by Cinnamon Press and 'Cliff', a psychological thriller is her current work in progress.
It is important to Hazel to discover and explore that which she finds authentic in herself, in other people and in the ideas which inform the ways in which we live our lives and it is this search for authenticity that characterises her novels. What Hazel hopes to achieve through themes of uncertainty, loss, obsession, power, change, fear, and of questioning life and the self, is that the reader travels with her characters through an archetypical inner journey that is fundamentally satisfying because it could equally be their own.
Helene is the founder of masalaherb.com - a popular global food, culture and travel blog. Born and having lived most of her life in a small Austrian valley in the Alps, she took an educational odyssey to India, only to turn Goa, together with her Goan husband, into her current creative outlet and home. She has been described as a seeker of brilliant food, an internet nerd and as an emerging innovator. Also, Helene is a contributor at foodwriterfriday.com , a blog initiated by Maureen Shaw, which has been introducing talented food writers from all over the world.
Hindol Sengupta is Editor-at-Large for the Indian edition of the Fortune magazine, Fortune India and writes about the political economy. He is the author of 5 books. Recasting India, his latest book, has been endorsed by Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy, economist Arvind Panagariya and business thinker and best-selling author Vijay Govindarajan. His last book 100 Things To Know And Debate Before You Vote won praise from L. K. Advani, and his memoir of living through 20 years of Indian economic liberalisation, The Liberals, was praised by best-selling author Gurcharan Das and the renowned economist Lord Meghnad Desai. He is the founder of the not-for-profit open government foundation the Whypoll Trust which has worked extensively with the United Nations Millennium Campaign. He has been a prime time political interviewer for Bloomberg TV India.
Isa graduated with B.Arch. (Hons) from the National University of Singapore (1988), and M.Phil in Malay Letters from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2008). He is currently Deputy Director, Commuter Infrastructure Development with the Land Transport Authority, Singapore.
He has written nine novels in Malay: Satu Bumi, Kiswah, Tawassul, Menara, Atas Nama Cinta, Memeluk Gerhana, Rawa, Duka Tuan Bertakhta and Selendang Sukma. Seven were translated into English: One Earth (Satu Bumi), Intercession (Tawassul), Nadra (Atas Nama Cinta), A Song of the Wind (Memeluk Gerhana), Rawa (Rawa), 1819 (Duka Tuan Bertakhta) and The Tower (Menara). He has also published two collections of poems, Sumur Usia and Munajat Sukma, a collection of short stories, Sketsa Minda and a collection of theatre scripts, Pintu. Isa also writes song lyrics and scripts for television drama serials and documentaries.
Isa was conferred the S.E.A. Write Award (2006), the Cultural Medallion, the highest Arts Awards in Singapore (2007), and the Anugerah Tun Seri Lanang, the highest Malay Literary Award in Singapore (2009).
Author of Frescoes in the Womb: Six Plays from Goa (Broadway Publications; Goa1556); founding member of The Mustard Seed Art Company, an amateur theatre group founded in 1987. Has written and directed over 30 plays. Former Head of the Department of English, Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Goa; on the Guest Faculty of Goa University.
Janis Harper is a Canadian writer, editor, actor, and singer-songwriter, who has just released a CD of originals, Better This Way. She was an adjunct professor for many years, teaching in English and Communication departments at Simon Fraser University and Douglas College (in Vancouver, BC), and she has recently become an Expressive Arts Therapist. Janis has published journalism and scholarship, co-founded two local periodicals, and her literary writing has appeared widely in magazines and anthologies. Her first anthology of creative nonfiction, Body Breakdowns: Tales of Illness and Recovery (Anvil Press, 2007), was selected as "Editor's Choice" in the September 2010 Reader's Digest magazine, and has been used as a text in several university and college courses. Her recent anthology, which she also conceived, edited, and contributed to, Emails from India: Women Write Home (Seraphim Editions, 2013), is Janis’s love letter to India. For more information about Janis, visit rediscovery.me (Janis's expressive arts therapy site) and janisharper.ca (Janis's music/creative site).
Dr Jared Thomas is a Nukunu person of the Southern Flinders Ranges. He currently works as Arts Development Officer, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts, Arts South Australia and is an adjunct lecturer at the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research, the University of South Australia. Jared’s play Flash Red Ford toured Uganda and Kenya in 1999 and his play Love, Land and Money featured during the 2002 Adelaide Fringe Festival. Jared’s young adult novel Sweet Guy was shortlisted for the 2009 South Australian People’s Choice Awards for Literature and his children’s novel Dallas Davis, the Scientist and the City Kids is published in the Oxford University Press Yarning Strong series. His latest novel Calypso Summer won the 2013 State Library of Queensland Black&Write Fellowship.
Jessica Faleiro is a travel writer and novelist with an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University, UK. She also has an MSc in environmental policy and worked for years as an environmental lobbyist before crossing over to work in the non-profit sector. She works as a freelance Research and Communications consultant for international development charities when she isn’t working on a writing project.
Jessica has also written travel pieces for the The Times of India, published short fiction in Muse India and non-fiction in the online review tambdimati.com and in O Heraldo. Her first novel, Afterlife, was published by Rupa publications and launched at the Goa Arts and Literary Festival in December 2012. It is now available on amazon and in e-format. She currently writes travel features for the international website Skyscanner and is working on her next novel. She is based in Goa and a member of the GoaWriters group.
For more, please visit her website: http://jessicafaleiro.wordpress.com/about
Joao Fernandes is a Practicing lawyer and a agriculturist. As a social activist he helped in anti-mining agitation. Previously he was working as Correspondent of local daily “Herald” for almost for a decade. He is active in the field of sports and organized different sports activities. As a cultural artist he is part of Gawda Tribe and has written a book by name “Goycho Mull Avaz” which is based on the cultural heritage of Gawdas of Goa. Also initiated/ released a Documentary Film called “Vor” which is based on the traditional marriage ceremonies of the Gawda Tribe of Goa. several of his articles are regularly published in local dailies such as O herald, The Navhind Times and Sunaparant.
Jose Lourenco's short fiction, poetry, translations and essays in Konkani and English have appeared in various publications. He is also the author of The Parish Churches of Goa, a study of façade architecture. His publishing firm Amazing Goa Publications experiments with innovative products for education and information. A civil engineer by profession, he is a founder-member of the Goa Writers Group and is also presently the Vice-President of Konkani Bhasha Mandal-Goa.
Joshua Ip is the author of two poetry collections: sonnets from the singlish (2012) and making love with scrabble tiles (2013) from Math Paper Press, the former of which was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2014. He won the Golden Point Award for Prose in 2013 for the short story “The Man Who Turned Into a Photocopier" and was runner-up for Poetry in 2011. He is the co-editor of A Luxury We Cannot Afford (2014), a poetry anthology on Singapore's greatest myth and legend. He is working on his first graphic novel, ten stories below (tenstoriesbelow.com), in collaboration with Timothy Wang and Adam Jay. You can find more of his work at joshuaip.com.
Joyshree Roy is a well known novelist and short story writer in Hindi literary world. She also writes for English news papers. Her mother tongue is Bengali. Her birth place is Bihar, Hazaribagh. She completed her S. S. C. From Bihar and migrated to Goa along with her family in 1981.
In Goa she did her post graduation from Goa University. She is a University topper. She worked as a lecturer for few years and attended, read papers in many seminars, literary programmes.
Ms Joyshree is a multi talented person. Her hobbies include painting, singing, writing. During her college days she played lead role in a Bengali feature film. She also did journalism for some time. She says she gives her 100% whatever she does.
Ms Joyshree does not remember since when she started writing. She feels before starting writing she was living her writing since time immemorial! However after writing and getting published for few years during her school days, she could not write for a long period of 26 years due to various reasons. She bounced back in 2010 and committed herself to serious writing. Within a very short period she earned immense popularity and success. In four years duration Ms Joyshree has penned down four collection of stories, four novels, one collection of poetry. One novel, one collection of stories and one collection of short stories in pipe line. Her literary works are regularly getting published in different Hindi literary magazines. Her stories have been translated in English, Marathi, Bangla and Urdu. Students have done M Phil and research on her work. Her one of the stories got selected by Goa University for B. A. first year syllabus.
She got YUVA KATHA SAMMAN, Sonbhadra for her book Ankahi. Her works have been included in many collection of stories and critic’s work. At present she is into creative writing and a guest lecturer.
Jugneeta Sudan is an academician and writes a book column for the Goan newspaper 'Navhind Times'. Her stint as a curriculum advisor to educational institutions led her to develop workshop modules on classics, fiction, non- fiction books as tools of teaching learning process. Her book readings encompass presentations, along with excerpts from relevant books. She shares her insights and critical appraisals of books with book lovers on different platforms - schools, colleges, art galleries, libraries and book-reading clubs. She has conducted Book Reading Workshops in various cities in India (Mumbai, Bangalore, Vizag) and is now settled in Goa. She actively pursues a career in administration, in- depth study of English literature, books/writing forums, critiquing books and storytelling. She often undertakes annual book reading programs in schools and short term literature courses in colleges. She participates in literary festivals as a moderator for discussion panels and interactions with authors. She blogs at http://bookedandhow.blogspot.in/
Karen Anand was born in Bombay but grew up in London and Paris. She has a degree from Sussex University and Diplomas from the Sorbonne and Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris. She returned to India in 1984 and decided to dabble in cooking, until then a hobby, which eventually turned into a path breaking career. Karen conducts Master Classes for “Ananda” in the Himalayas, voted as the Best Spa in the World by Conde Nast Traveller. In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious Food & Spirit Award (Trophée de l’Esprit Alimentaire) for Culture from the French Government. Previous recipients of the award include the actress Meryl Streep and author Peter Mayle. In addition to just launching her 17th book, she also authors the yearly Times Food Guide culminating in the Times Food Awards for Pune and writes several columns every month for BBC Good Food, Good Housekeeping, Le City Deluxe and the Pune Times. She is the co founder of the hugely successful Farmers Markets by Karen Anand, a whole foods food and drink fair, which began in Pune in December 2012 and which she is now taking nationally.
Her TV experience includes a 52 episode travel food show in 1995 called the Good Food Guide for Star World; a 12 part series on Mumbai restaurants for Trend Mill CNBC and a 38 part series Cook na Kaho, for Star One where she taught young male celebs how to cook.
The name “Karen Anand” is synonymous with good food and a strong professional core.
Katie Bagli is an avid nature lover and she gives expression to her passion by writing for children. She has seven published titles to her credit, all of which are on various subjects of nature. Her eighth book is expected to be released soon. Besides writing Katie also enjoys illustrating her own books.
Through her writing she strives to bring about awareness and sensitise the young to environment and wildlife. Her books have been recommended for general reading in schools. She has also co-authored three books and edited several books for her publishers Shreebooks. In addition, she writes short stories in children's magazines as well.
Katie loves to interact with children and has conducted several story-telling sessions in schools and institutions in Mumbai as well as elsewhere.
In the recent poetry festival - 100 thousand Poets for Change held at Kitab Khana, Mumbai, she had written and directed a play in verse for children called 'The Earth Summit'.
Katie also devotes her time to conduct tree walks, nature trails and other fun-filled nature-related activities for the young and old, like writing the scripts and organising puppet shows.
Kaveri Ponnapa is the author of The Vanishing Kodavas (Eminence Designs 2013), a cultural study of the Kodava people. She studied English Literature at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and took a Master’s Degree in Social Anthropology at SOAS, London. Kaveri writes on food and wine for several publications, and a popular blog, The Coorg Table, on the food traditions of Kodagu.
Kavery Nambisan is a surgeon and novelist from Coorg, Karnataka. She did her medical studies at St John's Medical College, Bangalore and her surgical training in UK.
She started writing while working as a surgeon and has combined her two professions with ease. While her surgical work has been in rural India, her novels (published by Penguin India) travel to different places and bring to life the richness of ordinary lives. Her critically acclaimed novel, The Scent of Pepper was published by Penguin UK. The Story that Must Not be Told was shortlisted for the South Asian Man Booker prize and the DSC Literary prize. Her latest, A Town Like Ours, was published this year.
Keki N. Daruwalla has been publishing poetry since 1970 when he came out with his first volume Under Orion. He has now 11 poetry volumes including “Collected Poems” (Penguin 2006) and Selected Poems (ARC Publishers Todmorden, UK 2008). He has four short story books. His latest publication was the Novel “For Pepper and Christ 2009 (Penguin) which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Fiction Prize (Asia, UK 2010). Penguin India published his Selected Short Stories, under the title Love Across the Salt Desert in 2011.
Daruwalla also has to his credit a short story book entitled “Islands” published by Tranquebar (2014) and a poetry volume “Fire Altar: Poems on the Persians and the Greeks” published by HapperCollins (2013). He won the Commonwealth Poetry Price, Asia in 1987, for his book Landscapes. Daruwalla lives in Delhi.
Dr. (Mrs.) Kiran Budkuley is Professor and Head of English Department at Goa University. Her areas of research interest include ‘Gender and Culture Studies’, ‘Poetry’ and ‘Konkani Literature and Folklore’. She has presented papers at National and International Conferences on invitation.
-A multilingual scholar, writer, critic and translator, who works from and into English, Konkani, Hindi, and Marathi, Dr. Budkuley has published Mapping the Mosaic of Culture: Essays in Language and Literature(2009); Shenoi Goembab: The Man and His Work(2003); Musings in the Meadows(2012); Akshar Sarita (2009); Shatakaantika (2009); Pani Pe Lakeerein(Poetry:2009); Devotee of the Desirable (Translation from Konkani:2010); Sahitya Niyaal:Antarang ani Kayaarupam(LiteraryCriticism: 1998); Paschimi Samikshekaden Ishatagat(Western Literary Theory:1998)
-She has worked as a resource person for the British Council, Sahitya Akademi, National Book Trust, Institute of Indo-European Studies, Sahitya Akademi, K. K. Birla Foundation, Kala Akademi, Department of Art & Culture, Ministry of Culture- Govt. of India, Vishva Konkani Foundation, Mangalore, and has been the adjudicator for several State and National Awards.
--She has been awarded:(1) ‘Late Shri Gundu S. Amonkar Triennial Award’ (2003), (2) “Late Shri Narsinha Damodar Naik Sahitya Puraskar- (2011) and (3) Goa Konkani Akademi’s Sarvotkrushta Konkani Granth Puraskar- (2012).
Kirandeep Kaur is indeed the face of the modern Indian woman. Well read, with strong value system, yet a devoted mother, wife and daughter juggling between work and family with ease. With her father having a transferable job, she pursued her schooling from Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, and graduation from Hindu College, Delhi University in Zoology. An advanced diploma in systems management added synergy to her knowledge and exposure. In 1995, she tied the knot with the man behind the leading clothing brand Uni Style Image.
A decade ago this couple conceptualized 1469, a unique lifestyle brand, which showcases Panjab in its richness of art, craft and creativity.
1469 is adding value to the society by spreading awareness and associating with names and works of quality be it pottery from Auroville with Chaa written in Gurmukhi or premium silk scarves with hand block printed Gurmukhi calligraphy or finest cotton tee shirts with witty Panjabi quotes . What is closest to Kirandeep's heart is the Phulkari, which has a sentimental value and is also a messiah of development at the grassroot level. They boast of a collection of over 300 vintage baghs. 1469 is also working with the widows of the farmers in the district of Sangrur in developing Phulkari accessories and thus empowering them by improving their quality of life.
An addition to the cast portfolio of 1469 is a coffee table book on Phulkari in association with learned professionals from different fields including Dr Alka Pande, Jaya Jaitley, Arpana Caur, Mala Dayal.
"Kitchen goddess, mother, cookbook author." With these words Kornelia Santoro describes herself. Two decades ago, she gave up her career as political journalist at a newspaper in Bavaria. After two years of riding an Enfield Bullet through India, she married her Italian husband and soon after a son was born. Nowadays, she channels her literary ambitions and her experiences as a passionate foodie into writing cookbooks. Both her books, Kornelia's Kitchen – Mediterranean Cooking for India and Kornelia's Kitchen 2 - Cooking for Allergies, have won the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. At the moment she is working on Kornelia's Kitchen 3 - Cooking for Happiness.
Landscape designer, environmentalist, organic gardener, cooking enthusiast, constant traveller, compulsive writer and notebook keeper.
She designs and creates gardens and is an ardent supporter of the conservation cause, especially in her beautiful mountains. Cooking and gardening are a passion; there's nothing more satisfying she believes, than washing the earth off freshly picked vegetables from the garden and creating a meal with them. Travel is the next best thing: it opens the mind and brings in new possibilities.
Lathika is the author of The Suriani Kitchen published in India by Westland in 2010. The book was earlier published as the Kerala Kitchen in the U.S by Hippocrene Books in 2009. She is currently researching and writing her next book about farming communities. She is also working on the screenplay for a short film on the Suriani community for Dakshinachitra. She recently participated in the Indian Ocean Heritage Conference 2014, in Reunion Island where she presented her paper on the Conservation of India's Sacred Gardens.
Lathika lives in Kodaikanal in the Palani Hills in South India with her husband George. They have 3 daughters: Rajni, Roopa and Resham.
Leonard Fernandes co-founded dogearsetc.com, an online bookstore for used books in 2006 and CinnamonTeal Publishing a year later, thus pioneering the business of providing publishing services to authors and trade publishers in India. Leonard has completed his B.E. (Mechanical) from the Goa Engineering College and his MBA from the Ohio State University. Leonard has previously worked for Tata Infotech Solutions and has had stints at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (Cincinnati), CarrefourSA (Istanbul), and at Bank One, later JP MorganChase,(Columbus). In 2010, he was awarded the Young Creative Entrepreneur (Publisher) Award by the British Council. He is also co-founder of the Publishing Next, the annual conference held in Goa on 'the future of publishing'.
Lola Mac Dougall has a Masters in International Cooperation from Madrid's Universidad Complutense and another in Cultural Management from Barcelona's UOC. Lola has worked as cultural manager for the Spanish Aid Agency in Brazil, the Embassy of Spain in India, Tasveer Arts and the India Design Forum. With Frank Kalero, she co-founded Punctum Magazine, a publication devoted to promoting contemporary Asian photography. She is one of the founders of Goa Photo (www.goaphoto.in), an international photography festival that will take place in Panaji early next year.
Mahabaleshwar Sail is an eminent Konkani writer based in Goa. His stories successfully encapsulate experiences of living in various social strata through his novels Khol Khol Moolan, Adrista, Aranyakand, Hanvtthan, Yug Sanvar and more. Kali Ganga is one of his highly acclaimed novels, which has a river as its protagonist.
Sail's novels consistently showcase a rare blend of the various dialects of Konkani used right from Pedne in North Goa, to Karwar to the South of Goa, and also the Konkani dialect found in Cochin, Kerala. He received the Sahitya Akademi award for his short story collection Tarangam in 1993, but his broad, sweeping style eddying into numerous subplots and drawing deeply from dialect and folklore and indigenous religious practices is better suited to the novels. Having travelled extensively in India and abroad, owing to his induction in the armed forces, Sails uses his experiences as inspiration for his books, which are quite unique to the genre of Konkani fiction. One of his short stories had been made into a film called Pelthadcho Manis by noted Director, Lakshmikant Motegaonkar. The film won the Critic's Award at the Toronto Film Festival. He has been conferred with Sahitya Academy award (1993), Dr. T.M.A. Pai Award (1997), Goa Kala Academy (1989 and 1996), Katha Award (2007), Cultural Award of Goa Government (2006) and Literary Award of Goa Government (2007). He also won the Vimla V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar 2010 for his novel Hautan.
Mahesh Rao was born and grew up in Nairobi, Kenya. He studied politics and economics at the University of Bristol and law at the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics. In the UK he has worked as a lawyer, academic researcher and bookseller. His short fiction has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Bridport Prize and the Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Contest; his work has appeared in publications including The Baffler, Prairie Schooner and Elle. 'The Smoke Is Rising' is his first novel.
Dai is a poet and novelist writing in English. She was correspondent the Hindustan Times, the Telegraph and The Sentinel newspapers and President, Arunachal Pradesh Union of working journalists. She also worked with World Wide Fund for nature in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots programme.
In 2003 Dai received the state Verrier Elwin Award for her book Arunachal Pradesh- the hidden land featuring the culture, folklore and customs of Arunachal’s different communities. She has featured in several national and international forums, and her poems, fiction and articles have been published in numerous journals and anthologies.
In 2011 Dai was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution in the field of literature and education.
Currently she is Member, Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.
Books: The legends of Pensam (novel)
Stupid Cupid( Novel)
River Poems (poetry)
Midsummer- survival lyrics (poetry)
El bálsamo del tiempo (The balm of time) (poetry )
Arunachal Pradesh-the hidden land (Nonfiction)
Mountain Harvest- the food of Arunachal
The sky queen and Once upon a moon time (illustrated folklore for young readers)
Hambreelsai’s loom- (folklore)
Manjeet Kripalani is the former India Bureau chief of Businessweek magazine. During her extensive career in journalism (BusinessWeek, Worth and Forbes magazines), she has won several awards, including the Gerald Loeb Award, the George Polk Award, Overseas Press Club and Daniel Pearl Awards. Kripalani was the 2006-07 Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, which inspired her to found Gateway House. Her political career spans being the deputy press secretary to Steve Forbes during his first run in 1995-96 as Republican candidate for US President, to being press secretary for the Lok Sabha campaign for independent candidate Meera Sanyal in 2008. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Bombay University and a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University. She sits on the board of the International Centre for Journalists, the Overseas Press Club, and the Indian Liberal Group, which are all non-profit organizations.
Manohar Shetty has published six books of poems, including 'Domestic Creatures' (Oxford University Press, New Delhi). His new book is 'Creatures Great and Small' (Copper Coin, N Delhi; 2014) and another 'Living Room' is forthcoming from HarperCollins. In the UK his poems have appeared in 'London Magazine', 'Poetry Review', 'Wasafiri' and 'Poetry Wales'. He has co-edited a special edition on English language poets of India for 'Poetry Wales'. In the United States his poems have appeared in 'Chelsea', 'Rattapallax', 'Fulcrum', 'Shenandoah', 'The Common', 'Atlanta Review' 'The Baffler' and 'New Letters', and in 'Helix' in Australia. Several anthologies feature his work, notably 'The Oxford-India Anthology of Twelve Modern Indian Poets' (ed Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, OUP, N Delhi) and in anthologies edited by Eunice de Souza and Vilas Sarang. His poems have been translated into Italian, Finnish, German, Croatian and Slovenian.
He has edited 'Ferry Crossing: Short Stories from Goa' (Penguin India). In 2004, he won the top prize in the nationwide 'Asian Age' short story competition. His stories have appeared in 'The Baffler' (MIT Press), 'Civil Lines' and 'IQ' (Indian Quarterly), among other journals and magazines. 'Goa Travels', an anthology of travel writings, is forthcoming from Rupa later this year.
Shetty has been a Homi Bhabha Fellow and a Senior Sahitya Akademi Fellow. He was also awarded a fellowship by the Portuguese cultural foundation, Fundacao Oriente. He edited 'Goa Today' for eight years and has worked in other magazines and newspapers in Bombay, Bangalore and Goa.
He has lived in Goa since 1985.
Dr. Maria Aurora Couto is an educationist. She has taught at Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi and written on environmental issues, communal harmony related to Goa. (The Hindu). Her writings include One the frontier : Graham Greene. Politics and Religion in the novels (1985), Goa : A Daughter's Story ( 2004), Ethnography of Goa , Daman and Diu ( 2008) A translation of a classic from Portuguese and Filomena's Journeys : Portrait of a marriage, a family and a culture (2013).
She is Director of the Visiting Research Professors Programme of the Goa University.
Sahitya Akademi award winner in the year 2011 for his poetry collection 'Prakriticho Paas', Melvyn Rodrigues has published 5 poetry collections, one novella, one collection of essays, one translation of kannada short stories of Yashawant Chittala into Konkani, and has edited 5 anthologies of poems. His translation of K S Narasimhaswamy's Kannada poetry 'Tereda Bagilu' into Konkani is awaiting publication.
He is the recipient of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Akademi honorary award, Konkani Kutam Bahrain Award and Dr T M A Pai Foundation Best Konkani Book Award.
Founder of 'Kavita Trust' he has lived for 15 years in the middle east and at present lives in Mangalore.
Menka Shivdasani is the author of two collections of poetry, with a third due to be out shortly. She is also co-translator of Freedom and Fissures, an anthology of Sindhi Partition poetry (Sahitya Akademi). She has edited an online anthology of contemporary Indian writing for www.bigbridge.org, a literary e-zine in the United States; she is also editor of SPARROW'S If the Roof Leaks, Let it Leak, a volume of writing by Indian women, launched in Singapore in July 2014. Menka’s work is widely anthologised, both in India, and elsewhere; a poem by her is in the SYBA textbook of the University of Mumbai.
Menka is the Mumbai coordinator of the global movement 100 Thousand Poets for Change and a founder member of Asia-Pacific Writers and Translators Association. In 1986, she had played a key role in setting up the Poetry Circle in Mumbai.
Her thirty-year career as a journalist includes a stint with South China Morning Post in Hongkong and nine books that she co-authored/ edited, three of which were released by the then prime minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Mini Krishnan is Editor-Translations, Oxford University Press (India) where she sources and edits fiction, plays, autobiographies and biographies from 12 Indian languages into English. So far she has edited 84 full-length translations five of which have won national prizes for translation and are prescribed reading in universities. The OUP translation programme is not only one of the biggest translation programmes in India but also hosts the largest number of Dalit writers in translation.
She and is presently Member, Indian Literature Abroad a Ministry of Culture initiative to promote Indian writers in the six UNESCO languages; served as PAC Member, National Translation Mission and was the Founding Editor of the South Asia Women Writers Website hosted by the British Council (2004-6) and the Literary Advisor to The Hindu (1992-98).
MR Madhavan is the President of PRS Legislative Research, New Delhi. His professional work focuses on improving the processes of legislative bodies in three broad dimensions: strengthen the mechanisms for legislators to take decisions in a better informed manner; increase the transparency of the system to enable citizens to know more about the work of legislators and legislatures; and work towards law-making in a more participatory manner by catalyzing engagement of citizens with their elected representatives. Madhavan has earlier worked in equity research, interest rates research and currency research with ICICI Securities and Bank of America. He holds a B.Tech degree from IIT Madras, and an MBA and PhD from IIM Calcutta.
Mridula Nath Chakraborty is lecturer in postcolonial theory at the University of Western Sydney and teaches/publishes on literatures of the subcontinent, in English and in translation, on issues of identity politics, multiculturalism and Bombay cinema. Her latest edited collection of essays, Being Bengali: at home and in the world (Routledge 2013), is an enquiry into the socio-intellectual history of this eclectic linguistic group from Eastern India and Bangladesh. She has co-edited A Treasury of Bangla Stories (Srishti 1999) and her translations have appeared widely. She is the recipient of an AK Ramanujan Award for the most felicitous translations from two Indian languages, Bangla and Hindi, into English. In the recent years, Mridula has facilitated deep-impact literary and cultural exchange between Australia and India through ALIF: Australia India Literatures International Forum (Sydney 2012), a tri-nation Autumn School in Literary Translation (Kolkata 2013) and Literary Commons! (2014-15).
Born on November 27, 1942 in Muzzafarpur, Smt. Mridula Sinha is a renowned Hindi writer and former Chairperson of Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) Ministry of Human Resources. She was the President of BJP Mahila Morcha, Vice President of All India BJP and various other organizations.
She has a post graduate degree in Psychology and B.Ed. from Bihar University. She has been a lecturer at Dr. S.K Sinha Women’s College in Bihar University and later Principal of Bhartiya Shishu Mandir, Muzzaffarpur, Bihar.
She has authored over 46 books in various disciplines. Her literary contributions include novels such as Jyo Mehndi Ko Rang (Doordarshan short film made on the same), Nayi Devyani, Gharwaas, Sita Puni Boli, Savitri, Atishaya and many more. She has also authored a Biography on Smt. Raj Mata Scindhiya. Her stories collections include Sakshatkar, Ek Diye Ki Diwali, Apna Jeevan, etc. She has also written essays like Aine Ke Saamne, Bihar Ki Lok Kathaye (for Children). Her columns appear regularly in various national and regional Hindi newspapers, magazines and periodicals.
Presently she is the Honorable Governor of Goa.
Musharraf Ali Farooqi is an author, novelist and translator. He was born in 1968 in Hyderabad, Pakistan, and now divides his time between Toronto and Lahore. His novel, "Between Clay and Dust" was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2012. His earlier novel "The Story of a Widow" was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2010, and longlisted for the 2010 IMPAC-Dublin Literary Award. His children's fiction includes the novel "Tik-Tik, The Master of Time," the story collection "The Amazing Moustaches of Mocchhander the Iron Man and Other Stories" shortlisted for the India ComicCon award in the 'Best Publication for Children' category. He is the author of the critically acclaimed translations of Urdu classics, "The Adventures of Amir Hamza" (2007), and the first book of a projected 24-volume magical fantasy epic, "Hoshruba" (2009). An illustrated novel, "Rabbit Rap, with art by Michelle Farooqi was published by Viking/Penguin Books India in August 2012. In 2012 Farooqi set up the publishing house KITAB (www.kitab.com.pk), which he heads. He writes the monthly "Microtalk" column on the myths and folklore of South Asia for Livemint/Lounge. He can be reached through his website: www.mafarooqi.com and on twitter at @microMAF.
Mustansir Dalvi is an Anglophone poet, architect and translator. His first book of poems, Brouhahas of Cocks (2013), was published by Poetrywala. His poems have appeared in several anthologies, including These My Words: The Penguin Book of Indian Poetry (eds. Eunice de Souza and Melanie Silgardo), Mind Mutations (ed. Sirrus Poe), The Bigbridge Online Anthology of Contemporary Indian Poetry (ed. Menka Shivdasani), and in the Sahitya Akademi's To Catch A Poem, an Anthology of Poetry for Young People (eds. Jane Bhandari and Anju Makhija). Dalvi's translation of Iqbal's influential Shikwa and Jawaab-e-Shikwa from the Urdu as Taking Issue and Allah's Answer (Penguin Classics, 2012) has been described as 'insolent and heretical', while making Iqbal accessible to the contemporary reader. His latest book is 'struggles with imagined gods', translations of poems from the Marathi by Hemant Divate (Poetrywala, 2014).
N Shivdas (Shivdas S Naik) hails from Nageshi, Bandoda – Ponda. He is a Konkani short story writer, with three collections of short stories published, of which “Bhaangar Saall” collection brought him prestigious Sahitya Academy Award in 2005 and prior to that the State Kala Academy, and subsequently State Cultural Award for Literature in 2014. Shivdas has to his credit, National Literary Award for Children's Literature from NCERT, New Delhi in 1999, T M Pai Foundation Award, Janganga Literature Award, Konkani Bhasha Mandal Award.
Besides short story writing, he has also published 20 books including four novels, six plays, one act and essays. Shivdas is a regular contributor to local media, print as well electronic. A writer and fighter being social activist has been agitating against ongoing caste based discrimination in few major temples of Goa managed by upper caste mahajans. Presently he is heading Konkani Lekhak Sangh. He was former President of Goa Konkani Academy.
Narayan Ramchandran is father of two girls, husband of writer, social entrepreneur, columnist and emerging market investor in that order. He worked on Wall Street (mostly at Morgan Stanley) for over 20 years, most recently as head of global emerging market investing and then country head of Morgan Stanley in India. Narayan is the Chairman of InKlude Labs and a Fellow and Co-Founder at the Takshashila Institution.
Naresh Fernandes is the editor of Scroll.in, a digital daily. He is the author of City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay and Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age. He lives and works in Bombay.
Neerja Mattoo was professor and Head of Department of English in the Government College for Women, Maulana Azad Road, Srinagar, Kashmir, from where she retired as Principal. She was awarded a British Council Visitorship to the University of Oxford in 1984. She was also awarded a Senior Fellowship in Literature by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India in 1997 to work on Kashmiri women poets and she has presented papers in National Seminars. Some of her papers have been published in several books Among her publications are three books of translations: The Stranger Beside Me , Contemporary Kashmiri Short Stories and Kath—Stories from Kashmir She has also edited two books, Bhagwan Gopinath-- A Kashmiri Saint and Shaktyollas—Sharika Devi A Yogini and written a Coffee table on Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. At present she is working on two Kashmiri women mystic poets, Lal Ded and Rupa Bhawani. She lives in Srinagar with her husband who was in the Indian Forest Service and retired as the Principal Chief Conservator of J&K State.
Neeta Raghunath Torne is a Poet, Writer and Compare. She is a Associate Professor in Marathi at Sant Sohirobanath Ambiye Government College of Arts & Commerce, Virnoda, Pernem Goa. Her Published works includes ‘EK Oll Kavitechi (collection of Poems-2011) and ‘Jagtana-While Living –A Multi lingual way of expression (Original Marathi Poems translated into Konkani, Hindi and English) which was released at the hands of Renowned Poet and Lyricist Shri. Gulzaar during the 4th GALF in 2013. She has received the Kavi B award of 2012, Ankursahitya Sangh Akola, ‘Kavi Narendra Bodke Smriti Puraskar’, 2012 Prabhat Publications Pernem Goa, ‘Yeshwantrao Yuvati Pratibha Gaurav award, for her immense contribution in the field of social welfare and literature awarded by the Lalit Ranghbhumi Aurangabad and College Katta Pune.
She has also worked as the Co-ordinator of Short Film and Documentary Competition for the Second Vasundhara Environmental film Festival organized by the organisation Kalakruti at Kala Academy in August 2014.
She has presented several Research Papers at various Seminars and Conferences in Goa as well as in Maharashtra. She is also a freelance writer and has presented many programmes at All India Radio in Goa.
Nicole Watson is an author, academic, former lawyer and columnist. Nicole was born in Queensland and is Aboriginal and European-Australian. Nicole has published widely in academic journals and the Indigenous press. Nicole's first novel, The Boundary, was a crime fiction set in Brisbane. Nicole is currently employed at the University of Technology Sydney, where she teaches in Indigenous studies.
Nikhil Padgaonkar is a documentary film maker and develops multimedia content for exhibitions. He has overseen the creation of large photography and graphic design exhibitions in Europe and in India, and has worked closely with the European commission to promote cultural ties and exchanges between Europe and South Asia. At present, he is working on Goa Photo, an international outdoor photography festival to be held across the city of Panaji (Goa) from 25/02/2015 to 07/03/2015.
Nim Gholkar is Mumbai born and raised. Of Marathi and Konkani heritage, she is also conversant in German. Nim graduated in English Literature from University of Mumbai before moving to Australia. Her blog 'Nim's Niche' is a kaleidoscope of musings on life and its many reflections. She was a guest columnist for a community newspaper in Sydney before devoting herself to her debut novel 'Unravelling Anjali: Diary of an Immigrant Bride', the first of a planned trilogy.
Nim is fascinated by the digital age and its opportunities to engage and connect, opening up new vistas in literature while reaching out to global audiences. It's a subject she often speaks on. Outside her day job in pharmaceutical sales, she enjoys reading, writing, travelling and karaoke. Nim lives in Sydney with her husband, three kids and a lovable rhodesian ridgeback. To know more, visit www.nimsniche.com.au, @ngholkar (Twitter) or 'Nim Gholkar' (FaceBook).
Nitin Pai is a co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution and a graduate of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore), Nanyang Technological University and National College, Bangalore. Nitin spent over a decade working in the Singapore government in various capacities, before coming back to India to set up the Takshashila Institution – an independent, non-partisan think tank dedicated to the Indian national interest as well as a school of public policy. In 2012, Nitin helped Takshashila launch the Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP), a networked 12-week course for working professionals from all backgrounds. With over 200 alumni and nine consecutive batches so far, the GCPP aims to equip a new generation of Indians with the skills and concepts necessary to engage in public affairs and bridge India's governance gap.
Norma Alvares is an advocate of the Bombay High Court and an activist and campaigner on social and environmantal issues of public concern. She takes up public interest litigations chiefly pertaining to the protection of the environment issues, women's rights issues, human rights and animal welfare.
She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002 for her work in environment and animal welfare.
She was awarded the Yashadamini Puraskar in 2003 by the govt of Goa for her work for women's empowerment.
Nutan Sakhardande is a well-known konkani poetess in Goa. She has two collections of poetries "Jinh zali kasturi"(1995) and "Password"(2010), as well as a translation "tanmay dhulh"(2014) rewritten from Oriya to konkani at her credit. Her poetry touches us with its simple but intensely evocative domestic imagery and warmth. Her poems now and again probe today's unsaid without being pompous or judgemental and thrive for a larger social domesticity. She has graduated from Mumbai university and presently working for Punjab national bank at Mapusa. Besides poetry, she writes short stories, essays, book reviews, etc. Her poems are included in textbooks at secondary and university levels. She is active in konkani movemen since 1980, she has participated and organised various workshops, seminars and symposiums. She has won several awards including Dr. T.M.A.Pai award. She has edited souvenirs and diwali magazines for Bardez Konkani Asmitai Kendra. She runs her own publication named Nutan prakashan.
Pamela Timms is a Scottish writer who has been based in Delhi since 2005. She has written for a wide range of publications, is a columnist for Mint Lounge and hosts the popular blog Eat and Dust which chronicles her food adventures in India. Korma, Kheer and Kismet: Five Seasons in Old Delhi is her first book.
Pantaleao Fernandes is a Goa-based writer, photographer and ethnographer. He is the author of two books on Goa, Goa Remembered and 100 things to do in Goa. His photographs have also appeared in Marg publications. Having just finished the children’s book 'Once Upon a Time in Goa', he is currently working on more books for children – one of short stories and another to educate the children of Goa of their rich culture and heritage.
Pantaleao now roams the villages of Goa, to experience firsthand the warm spirit of the villagers. More than one book will definitely be born out of these village jaunts. In the meanwhile, he writes regularly to a leading Goan daily and pens a column on village life on a leading magazine.
Pharmacist by profession, Paresh Narendra Kamat has mastered his passion for poetry writing from young age. Born in 1968, he has been continuously contributing towards Konkani literary field. He has four collections of books published to his credit that include, 'Alang', 'Garbhakhol', 'Shubhankar', 'Chitralipi'. A new collection of poetry' Jashi Aayli Tashi' will be released shortly. Shri Kamat has participated and recited poems at various national level seminars and meets that include poets meet organised by sahitya akademi at Shillong, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Goa, Kochi etc. He has been selected for National Symposium of peotry- 2014 organised by All India at Hyderabad. His poems are translated in Hindi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Marathi, Punjabi, telugu and English languages. His English poems have been published in Indian Literature, a bimonthly journal published by Sahitya Akademi. He has translated 'Do Panktiyon Ke Beech', a sahitya akademi award winning poetry collection in Hindi by Rajesh Joshi into Konkani for sahitya akademi. He has won several awards that include, Konkani Bhasha Mandal Puraskar, B. B. Borkar Memorial Award, Kala Akademi Sahitya Puraskar, Janaganga Sahitya Puraskar, Konkani Akademi Sahitya Puraskar, Goa Konkani Akademi Sahitya Puraskar and Yuva Srujan Puraskar by Govt. Of Goa.
Paresh Naik is a co-producer of the Live Poetry program “Jaave Kavitanchya Gaava” a program on history of Poetry. Alongside Dattprasad Jog he has produced Hasyakavi Darbaar, Jave Kavitanchya Gaava, Kavyaratnakar Annual poets meet and Poetry workshops. He has participated in various literary festivals like Shekoti Sahitya Sanmelan, Bilwadal Sahitya Sanmelan, Yuva Marathi Sahitya Sanmelan, Institute Menezes Braganza Multilingual Poets meet, Kavyamaifal Margao Multilingual Poets meet, in Goa and Maharashtra. With an interest in Acting, he has worked for Kala Academy Goa as “C” Grade Actor. He also acted and directed Panaji Doordarshan's Tele-film KAKU, and won the Best Actor Certificate from Kala Academy Goa. He wrote 2 Marathi books Mukhawatya Aadcha Mi in 2009 and Prajakta – Parimal Bhawanancha in 2012.
Patricia J. Pereira-Sethi, is an award-winning journalist who worked for two decades as correspondent, editor and the United Nations Bureau Chief for Newsweek magazine in New York. She has interviewed nearly 45 heads of state during her career (among them: Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Indira Gandhi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, George Bush Sr, Robert Mugabe, Pham Van Dong). She has authored the biography of industrialist Ramesh J. Chauhan, chairman of Bisleri and creator of India’s favourite soft-drinks, entitled "Thunder Unbottled: From Thums Up to Bisleri". Sethi now lives in Goa where she is Special Columnist for the Sunday Panorama section of the Navhind Times. She has also produced several Writing Workshops for the education department of Goa and is associated with the Latin American Institute of Goa University.
Pavan Srinath heads policy research and programmes at the Takshashila Institution. After studying biotechnology at IIT Madras, Pavan dropped out of a PhD in Biophysics, and instead started his career in policy research by working at Public Affairs Centre and Arghyam, Bangalore. He then trained in public policy at Takshashila’s Graduate Certificate in Public Policy. Pavan has co-authored two books 'The State of Our Cities: Evidence from Karnataka' (OUP 2012) and 'Changing the Urban Face of Karnataka' (PAC 2012) along with several research papers and articles. He is currently working on a book that investigates the role of markets in state policies. Pavan also teaches topics in urban governance, public policy and data visualisation at Takshashila and writes for Business Standard, Pragati–The Indian National Interest Review and others. While not being a wonk, Pavan tracks Bangalore's weather and climate, chases after spiders and gets lost in escapist fiction.
Peter Judd grew up in the New Forest and Cardiff, before heading to London, where he lived in his car for six months, in search of fortune and fame as a blues musician. Although he achieved some recognition, he worked at more than thirty different jobs before becoming involved in the heady world of designer fashion for 23 years. He travels extensively and still lives in London.
Born in Paris, an engineer by profession, Pierre Legrand's artistic journey began after coming to India in 1968. The invention of a coded script began structuring his work since 1989: painting, sculpture, installations, morphing through a vast variety of materials. Legrand exhibited extensively in Europe and India between 1989 and 2000 following an exploration of space, transparence and porosity in collaboration with architecture. His work has featured alongside Mark Tobey and Richard Serra and his installations include Resonance, Light Matter, Light Station and Colour Piano. He lives in Auroville. www.pierrelegrand.in
Prof. Prajal Sakhardande teaches History at the Dhempe College of Arts & Science in Panaji Goa since 1993. He is Chairperson of Goa Heritage Action Group, President of Goa’s Movement for Special Status , Author of Muslim History & Heritage of Goa, Co-editor of a book Matanhy Saldanha - the legend and a regular columnist for local dailies such as The Navhind Times, Herald, Sunaprant, Tarun Bharat, etc. He is also the Convenor and founder of History - History Forum. He is recipient of several awards including from Rotary, Jaycees and Big Goenkar. He did a serial Goencho Itihas for Dood Darshan. He is active member of Goa Bachao Abhiyan, Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan, Goa’s Movement against SEZ, History Lovers Group and several other formal and informal groups across Goa.
Prashant Jha is the author of Battles of The New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal (Hurst in UK, Aleph in South Asia) - a deeply personal reported account of war and peace in Nepal over the past two decades. He is currently an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times in Delhi, covering politics, foreign policy and the media. Jha has earlier worked with The Hindu - both in its national bureau in Delhi and as its Nepal correspondent. He has also been a weekly political columnist for Kathmandu's leading papers for over five years, a contributing editor with Himal Southasian Magazine, and briefly an analyst with the International Crisis Group. Battles is his first book.
Prava Rai is a freelance editor and writer based in Goa and Sikkim. She edited PARMAL a journal of Goan culture and heritage (2003-2009), The Book Review , New Delhi (1981-1984)and edits mainly social sciences books. In 2002 she collated Rainbow and a Star, a collection of Tithi Tavora's poems and stories posthumously published. Recently she edited a series of books on Sikkim's history, politics and culture. The special issue on Sikkim (Reinvention of Identities and Cultures) edited by her for MARG was published in June 2014. She has contributed articles to various newspapers, journals and in Inside Out, a publication of Goa Writer's Group, and is involved in an online review of Goa's literature and culture Tambdimati.
Priya Ramani has been a journalist and editor for 20 years now. Until recently she was editor of Mint Lounge, the popular weekend magazine of financial newspaper Mint. She conceptualized, launched and was the editor of Lounge for 8 years. In previous avatars she has been a rookie reporter for The Asian Age, a stock market reporter for Reuters, deputy editor of Elle, and editor of Cosmpolitan. She was the editor of Eye, the Sunday features supplement of The Indian Express for 3 years, and has also worked at India Today. She is currently taking a time out from a full-time job to hang out with her toddler Babyjaan.
Pundalik Naik was a teacher for six years (1972-78). He later took up directing Konkani Plays for stage. (1977-81). He joined All India Radio, Panaji Goa as Sub-Editor in 1979 and later Asst. Editor (Scripts). He was a member of Advisory Committee for Official Language Cell – Goa (1991), Vice – President of Goa Konkani Akademi. (1993-96), member of Advisory Committee of Rights to Information Act (2003) and President of Goa Konkani Akademi by Government of Goa (2002-2005 , 2005-2008 & 2012). He was invited by University of Pennsylvania from United State of America for ‘C. R. Parekh Indian Creative writer in Residence Spring 2002’ From February to April 2002. He received the Paters Australian Award for the play ‘SHRI VICHITRACHI ZATRA’ by Australian Academy of Broadcast and Science in 1988, Gundu Sitaram Award in 1980, All India Doordarshan Award for Children’s Programme. 2007-08, Kala Academy ‘GOMANT SHARADA’ Award for the contribution in the Konkani Literature 2010, Sangeet Natak Academy Award – 2013, among numerous others.
R. Benedito Ferrao is a writer and researcher. Currently, he is a Mellon Faculty Fellow in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the College of William and Mary, Virginia. His research centres on literary representations of Goans in transnational contexts. A writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, op-eds, and literary criticism, Ferrão’s work has been published internationally. In 2014, he was awarded the Analysis Prize by the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club. Find his writing at thenightchild.blogspot.com, or on Facebook at The Nightchild Nexus.
An alumnus of St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and the Harvard University, USA, from where he has Masters degrees, Raghav Chandra is an IAS officer who is currently posted as Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Ministries of Culture and Agriculture of the Government of India in Delhi. He has written for national journals on sustainability and management issues and is the creator of the social media portal scratchmysoul.com. He is passionate about conservation and is moved by the conflicts surrounding wildlife, especially the tiger.
Raj Cherubal is the Director (Projects) at Chennai City Connect Foundation. City Connect, a platform for industry associations and civic organisations, envisions vibrant Indian cities that deliver world-class quality of life, infrastructure and services for all its citizens—rich and poor.
He is interested in improving urban governance, urban quality of life and promoting market-based solutions to poverty.
He has written and worked to promote decentralisation, good urban governance, promote economic freedom for urban entrepreneurs like street hawkers and others in the informal sector and for their recognition as profit seeking entrepreneurs.
He holds a M.S. in Physics from the University of Louisville and a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has worked in the software industry in area like computational physics and visualisation, telecom and finance.
Rajan Venkatesh, the author of “Learning at Bodhshala,” ran Bodhshala for four years. He has been a supporter of SIDH’s work since its inception. He is deeply interested in the functioning of traditional Indian society and its livelihoods, and is presently touring the rural areas to study issues related to land and agricultural economics. He was earlier a journalist and also taught journalism in Mumbai and New Delhi.
Rajdeep Sardesai, 49 years, was till recently the editor of chief of IBN 18 network and is currently writing a major book on the 2014 Indian General elections to be published later this year by Penguin Random House. He has 26 years of journalistic experience in print and television. Prior to setting up the IBN network channels, he was the Managing Editor of both NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India and was responsible for overseeing the news policy for both the channels. He has also worked with The Times of India for 6 years and was city editor of its Mumbai edition at the age of 26. During the last 26 years, he has covered major national and international stories, specialising in national politics. He has won numerous other awards for journalistic excellence, including the prestigious Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008, the International Broadcasters award for coverage of the 2002 Gujarat riots and the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism award for 2007. He has won the Asian Television award for talk show presentation and has been News Anchor of the year at the Indian Television Academy for eight of the last nine years. He has been the President of the Editors Guild of India and was also chosen as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the world economic forum. Sardesai writes a fortnightly column across several newspapers, including The Hindustan Times.
He has completed his Masters and LLB from Oxford University.
Rajendra Kumar Misra is a graduate from IIT Kanpur and a post-graduate from Tokyo University. He is a Fellow of Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Global Leadership Fellow of Aspen Institute, USA.
After graduating from IIT Kanpur (India) in 1989, he was one of the 25 students chosen from 18 countries to pursue Master of Engineering from Tokyo University, Japan under a special internationalization initiative by the Ministry of Education of Japan.
RK returned to India from Japan in 1995 and over a period of 10 years, he founded Tenet Technologies, Tenet Telecom & Tenet Retail with business spanning US, Europe & Japan. He also founded India's first Travel Portal, Traveljini.com. In 2005, on turning 40, he decided to leave the corporate world to engage with the issues of Public Policy & Governance to fulfill his long held desire to make a difference through 'Good Governance & Inclusive Development'.
In 2006, he founded SAHYOG - Indian Council for Public Private Partnership. RK started the "Change India Initiative" to engage educated youth, middle class and working professionals in the matters of public policy and electoral polity.
As Charter President of Rotary Bangalore (IT Corridor) he organized the world's first & only 'Midnight Marathon' as an annual charity fund-raiser for social causes. He is now the Chief Patron of this International Marathon event, which is being held every year in the month of December.
Rajiv D’Silva is an architect, quizzer, quizmaster, birder, Goaphile and general busybody. In 2009, he co-founded Business Goa, Goa’s only periodical dedicated to business, and wrote for the publication for a while before he grew tired of it. His architectural practice, which he runs with his wife in Panjim, has won numerous awards, and in 2012 Architect & Interior magazine listed him as one of the ’50 Young Architects That Are Shaping India’, while Commercial Design magazine in 2014 cited him among the ‘100 Most Influential Architects In India’. He tweets at @rajivdsilva.
Rajmohan Gandhi, historian and biographer, served until end-2012 as Research Professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
His Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten was published by Aleph, New Delhi, in September 2013. An earlier study, A Tale of Two Revolts: India 1857 & the American Civil War (published in 2009) looked at two 19th-century wars occurring in opposite parts of the world at almost the same time. A previous book by him, Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire, received the prestigious Biennial Award from the Indian History Congress in 2007. In 2002 he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his Rajaji: A Life, a biography of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878-1972).
Other books by him include Patel: A Life, a biography of Sardar Vallabhbai Patel; Revenge & Reconciliation: Understanding South Asian History; Understanding the Muslim Mind; and Ghaffar Khan: Nonviolent Badshah of the Pakhtuns.
In the early 1990s, Rajmohan Gandhi served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha. Before that he was Resident Editor, Indian Express, in Chennai, and Chief Editor, Himmat, Mumbai.
From 1956 Rajmohan Gandhi has been associated with Initiatives of Change, formerly known as Moral Re-Armament.
Mr. Ramesh Bhagavant Veluskar is a multifaceted literary personality basically writes in Konkani and has equally written in other Indian languages like Marathi, Hindi. He is a poet of repute in Konkani with his finest articulation in Konkani language and with the help of it's rich idiom he re-creates new idiom making the language from rich to
richest. He has eight collections of poetry published with different subjects. Collections like Morpakham, Mati, Hiranyagarbha, Saulgori are very important. Mr. Veluskar, along with poetry has written lot of prose in the form of essays, travelogues and literary appreciation. In addition to this he loves writing for children too. He has eight books for children. He has translated books of reputed literary figures like Bhas from Sanskrit, Tukaram from Marathi, Tagore from Bangla, Shri Aurobindo, Andha yug from Hindi anid Khalil Gibran very successfully.
Mr. Veluskar wrote few dramas which were staged by institutions like Kala Academy, Rudreshvar and others. He was awarded Shitya Academy Puraskar for his poetry collection Saulgori. Kala Academy Puraskar, Padmashri B.B.Borkar Puraskar, Goa State Cultural Award and Amrut Mohotsav Sanman Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Vardha 2013 are few important awards.
Ranjit Hoskote is a poet, cultural theorist and curator. He is the author of more than 25 books, ranging across poetry, art criticism, cultural history and poetry in translation. His collections of poetry include Central Time (Penguin, 2014), Vanishing Acts: New & Selected Poems 1985-2005 (Penguin, 2006) and Die Ankunft der Vogel (Carl Hanser Verlag, 2006). His translation of the 14th-century Kashmiri mystic Lal Ded has been published as I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Ded (Penguin Classics, 2011). He is the editor of Dom Moraes: Selected Poems (Penguin Modern Classics, 2012), which is the first annotated critical edition of a major Anglophone Indian poet's work.
Hoskote's poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Akzente, Boulevard Magenta, Coldnoon Travel Poetics, Fulcrum, Green Integer Review, Iowa Review, Nthposition, Poetry Review (London), Prairie Schooner, Sangamhouse, Wasafiri, and Wespennest. His poems have also been published in many anthologies, including The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets (Jeet Thayil ed., Bloodaxe, 2008), Language for a New Century (Tina Chang, Nathalie Handal and Ravi Shankar eds., W. W. Norton, 2008), The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry (Sudeep Sen ed., HarperCollins, 2012), These My Words: The Penguin Book of Indian Poetry (Eunice de Souza and Melanie Silgardo eds., Penguin, 2012), and Another Country: An Anthology of Post-Independence Indian Poetry in English (Arundhathi Subramaniam ed., Sahitya Akademi, 2013).
Hoskote has written or edited numerous artist monographs, most recently, Atul Dodiya (Prestel Verlag, 2014). With Ilija Trojanow, he has co-authored Kampfabsage (Random House/ Blessing Verlag, 2007; in English as Confluences: Forgotten Histories from East and West, Yoda Press, 2012). Hoskote has also co-authored, with Nancy Adajania, The Dialogues Series (Popular/ Foundation B&G, 2011), an unfolding programme of artist conversations. With Maria Hlavajova, he is the editor of Future Publics: A Critical Reader in Contemporary Art (BAK, 2014).
Hoskote has been a Fellow of the International Writing Program, University of Iowa (1995) and writer-in-residence at Villa Waldberta, Munich (2003), Theater der Welt, Essen/ Mülheim (2010) and the Polish Institute, Berlin (2010). He has been research scholar-in-residence at BAK/ basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht (2010 and 2013). He has been awarded the Sanskriti Award for Literature, the S H Raza Award for Literature, the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award for Literature, and the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award for his book I, Lalla.
Hoskote has curated more than 25 exhibitions of contemporary art, including the 7th Gwangju Biennale (with Okwui Enwezor and Hyunjin Kim, 2008), a lifetime retrospective of Jehangir Sabavala (National Gallery of Modern Art, Bombay & New Delhi, 2005), two survey exhibitions of Atul Dodiya (Japan Foundation Asia Center, Tokyo, 2001 & National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 2013), an exhibition of Indian photography and video work, 'Needle on the Gauge' (CACSA, Adelaide, 2012), a monographic exhibition on Indian abstraction, 'Nothing is Absolute' (CSMVS/ The Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, 2013), and the first-ever Indian national pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2011).
Rati Saxena – Poet/ Translator/ Editor (kritya) / Director Poetry festivals-kritya and vedic scholar. She has 9 collections of poetry in Hindi and English and one each in Malayalam (translated), Irish, Italian, She has a travelogue in Hindi, a Memoire in English. Her research on the Atharvaveda has been published as *The Seeds of the Mind--* a fresh approach to the study of Atharvaveda, under the fellowship of the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts. She has translated about 12 Malayalam works, both prose and poetry, into Hindi and two from Norwagian languages She has participated in several national seminars and published articles in a number of journals. She secured the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award for translation for the year 2000. She has been invited for poetry reading in prestigious poetry festivals like "PoesiaPresente" in Monza (Italy), Mediterranea Festival (Rome) and International House of Stavanger (Norway) , Struga Poetry Evening (Mecidonia) , and '3rd hofleiner donauweiten poesiefestival 2010, Vienna , the prestigious poetry festival in Medellin (Colombia- two times) Iran’s Fajr Poetry Festival and in China’s Moon Festival. She is one of the three representatives from Asia for World Poetry Movement, which has 37 foundation members around the world.
Ratna Vira holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a Masters in English Literature from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. She also holds an MBA. She is the daughter of senior journalist, Nalini Singh, and SPN Singh.
Ratna juggles her corporate career with her writing and love of art. She lives in Gurgaon with her daughter and son, where she is at work on her second novel.
Revati Upadhya is an independent writer, avid blogger, die-hard lover of everything food, amateur photographer and self-taught home-cook all wrapped in one. She is the voice behind the words, pictures and music on Haathi Time, a personal blog, and all the food adventures on Hungry and Excited, a food blog that turned into a cake shop in 2013. Previously an die-hard Bangalorean, she now lives in Dona Paula and has turned into a self-proclaimed Goan.
Born in Delhi on 1st October 1948, Robin Gupta joined the I.P.S. in 1972.After a brief stint in the police, he was accepted into the I.A.S. in 1974.Robin was first posted as SDO/Magistrate-in-Charge of Raiganj in 1976 and,Siliguri in 1977. He has been posted as Divisional Commissioner in the field on seven separate occasions, a record in the history of the Indian Civil Service. Also, Robin Gupta has the distinction of having served in four provinces; Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab apart from a long period of deputation with the Central Government. His final posting was Financial Commissioner Revenue in the rank of Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab.
Widely travelled in India and abroad, an international scholarship holder who studied in the USA and renowned institutions - Bishop Cotton School, Simla,New Trier High School,U.S.A and the St. Stephens College, Delhi, Robin throughout his career has been writing poetry and prose on diverse subjects ranging from nature, history, art, music, culture, to Sufism. Apart from writing for leading newspapers and journals, Robin Gupta authored 'A Bouquet of Thoughts 'published by the Minerva Press, London, in 2002. In the words of Khushwant Singh "Robin Gupta has writers' ink flowing in hisveins. His memoirs mirror the chiaroscuro of contemporary india as observed by a civil servant...[This book] is a literary milestone."
'His widely regarded memoir 'And what remains in the end' was adjudged by Mr Khushwant Singh as 'a literary milestone'.
Sachin Kalbag is editor of Mid-Day, an English language daily in Mumbai and Pune. According to the Indian Readership Survey, it is the seventh-most read English newspaper in India. Sachin's been with Mid-Day since March 2011 in his second innings with the newspaper, his first beginning in 1994 as a trainee and ending in 2003 as head of content at the newspaper's website.
He later worked with Digit magazine (2003-2005), DNA (2005-2007), Hindustan Times (2007-08) and Mail Today (2008-2011). During his stint at DNA, he set up the newspaper's Washington, DC bureau. He is guest faculty at four journalism schools in Mumbai.
Sachin spends most of his day reading non-fiction, photographing butterflies, watching documentaries, and playing with his daughter when she does not have homework. He is 41, but he has worked hard to look much older so that people in the media business take him seriously (they don't).
Sagarika Ghose (49) is a journalist, author and broadcaster. She started her career in 1991 with the Times Of India, went on to become part of the start up team of Outlook magazine and has worked at Outlook magazine and The Indian Express. In 2005 she joined the IBN network as co-founder and was Deputy Editor and prime time anchor at CNNIBN until June 2014. She is currently consulting editor at the Times of India. She is the author of two novels: The Gin Drinkers and Blind Faith, published worldwide by HarperCollins. In 2013 she was awarded the Best Anchor award by the Indian Television Academy. Last year the Rhodes project named her as one of the 13 most famous women Rhodes Scholars in the world. Ghose was educated at St Stephen's College, Delhi and Oxford University. She lives in New Delhi.
Sam Miller is the author of A Strange Kind of Paradise: India through Foreign Eyes (Penguin India and Jonathan Cape – 2014). Sam was born and brought up in London. He studied History at Cambridge University and Politics at SOAS, before joining the BBC in 1986, for which he has worked, on and off, ever since. In the early 1990s he was the BBC World Service TV and radio correspondent in Delhi. Later he became the head of the Urdu service and subsequently Managing Editor, South Asia. He was posted back to Delhi in 2002 and has remained there since. He is the author of Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity (2009) and Blue Guide: India (2012).
A reporter and writer who lives in Bangalore, Halarnkar is the author of “Nirvana Under the Rain Tree”, an early chronicle of India’s internet revolution, and “A Married Man’s Guide to Creative Cooking -- And Other Dubious Adventures. He is the editor of Indiaspend.org, a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit. He also writes on social and economic change in India, science and technology, the treatment of women and religious affairs. He has been a visiting lecturer at the University of California-Berkeley and most recently a fellow at the Nieman Foundation, Harvard University. A journalist for 24 years, his last full-time job was Managing Editor of the Hindustan Times, where he took a special interest in creating teams of reporters to cover issues of public importance, such as urban renewal, hunger and poverty. A native of Goa, Halarnkar is an enthusiastic cook, the fallout of his culinary experiences finding their way into a popular cooking column that runs in Mint.
Sandeep P. Manerikar is a Subeditor in Marathi daily Navprabha. His published recent works include Gajali (Melvani) and Chavhato. He loves Marathi Natyasangeet and Hindusthani Classical sangeet.
Sandesh Prabhudesai is an author, a journalist and a cultural activist, based in Goa. He has been writing for the last 35 years, since 1989, street plays, radio plays, columns, articles as well as literary and cultural reviews in three languages, besides his journalistic writing. He has published three books of his ‘original writings’ together - in Konkani (तालगडी), Marathi (घुसमट) and English (Clear Cut). He has also translated Bhagat Singh’s ‘Why I am an Atheist’ in Konkani, for the National Book Trust. Since 1978, he has worked in the Student, Youth and Workers’ movements. He initiated the Street Play movement in Goa, in 80s, writing over 20 scripts and songs. He edited and wrote for Student and Youth magazines. He has been actively participating in organising cultural and literary festivals, especially for the students and youth. Sandesh joined professional journalism in 1987, and has since worked in local Konkani, Marathi and English dailies in different positions, from Reporter to Editor. He has also worked for national and international media, including rediff.com, The Sunday Observer, The Pioneer, BBC etc in Print, Radio and Internet. He has also headed Goan TV channels, anchoring debates, election analysis as well as interviews. He edits Goa’s first news website goanews.com, since 1999. He writes opinion columns throughout his career for several newspapers, periodicals as well as Internet portals in Konkani, Marathi and English. He sometimes also plays with Poetry.
Sarah Farooqui is an alumnus of St. Stephen's College, Delhi and a graduate of the pioneer batch of the Takshashila Institution's Graduate Certificate in Public Policy. She is the Editor of Pragati – The Indian National Interest Review, and a manager, writer and failed researcher at the Takshashila Institution. Sarah has previously worked intensively on child protection policy and legislation, and with different NGOs on issues pertaining to urban poverty and governance. She blogs frequently on policy issues and books on the Indian National Interest platform and often writes for DNA, Pragati – The Indian National Interest Review and others. Sarah also holds a Distinction in Speech and Drama exams conducted by Trinity College, London and hopes to one day make it onto the Broadway stage, even if only as a stage prop.
Satyawan Pednekar is an upcoming poet. His collection of poems in Marathi namely Aabhal – Moh was published in 2010.
Presently he serves in the Central Education Zone, Directorate of Education, Panaji-Goa and has been an enthusiast sports person
Saumya Balsari travels widely and lives in Cambridge. Named one of Britain's leading South Asian women, she has previously been a London columnist for The Hindustan Times UK Edition and The Bombay Times, journalist, teacher and translator. Her first play had a rehearsed reading at the Soho Theatre, London. Her debut novel The Cambridge Curry Club won the first ever Cambridgeshire Book of the Decade Award. Summer of Blue, a novel for young adult readers, received a commendation for its early version from the Yeovil Literary Prize Committee. Balsari is Writer-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge, Centre of Latin American Studies.
Savia Viegas is a writer, artist and academic living in Carmona, Goa. Her novels and exhibitions include "Museum thru Indian eyes" - a photographic exhibition at NCPA sponsored by USEFI held in March 2005. Her debut novel "Tales from the Attic" was published in March 2007. In December 2009 "Picturing Us" her solo exhibition of paintings was held. Her second novel, "Let me tell you about Quinta" was published by Penguin India in 2011. Her illustrated fiction work "Abha Nama" and "Eddi and Diddi" was published in November 2012. Her second solo show entitled 'Mementos' was exhibited at Sunaparanta in 2014.
Savio Lobo was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) to parents of Goan origin.
After completing his architectural studies in Mumbai, he pursued a Masters in Urbanism at the Universitat Poletecnica de Catalunya(UPC) in Barcelona, Spain.
Practising independently for almost a quarter of a century, he has designed and executed architectural projects of different typolgies and scales across the country and his work has been featured in professional as well as lifestyle magazines.
He has engaged in academia for over two decades as an adjunct faculty at several schools and colleges of architecture.
He was Honorary Associate Editor, Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects (JIIA).
He has been an Executive Committee Member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH-Mumbai Chapter) and many other organisations.
As a singer musician, he has performed at several music festivals in the country and abroad.
Bandra By Hand is his first book, co-published with his wife Gina, a graphic designer.
He lives and works in Mumbai.
Sebastiao Rodrigues has been critically following the mining industry in Goa since 2001, especially its social and environmental consequences. He inspired the Gawda, Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar Federation (GAKUVED) to adopt blogging as a means of expressing views that were sidelined and often censured in the mainstream media, and contributed uncensored field realities extensively on the blog www.mandgoa.blogspot.in, which was repeatedly targeted by mining industry. On 24th December 2008 a defamation suit of 500 crores was filed against this blog in Calcutta High Court. Earlier, the blog was earlier of propagating naxalite ideologies, in the Goa Legislative Assembly on 19th June 2008 by the then Leader of the Opposition, past Chief Minister of Goa and Current Defense Minister of India Manohar Parrikar. Goa police Chief countered this charge in three days latter, declaring that Goa does not have any naxalites. Along with many others, he is involved in offering solidarity to people in the mining belt who targeted by police repression.
He also deployed poetry as an important combat media to expand levels of consciousness. His Poem 'I love Pissurlem' played a role to forge a genuine network of people concerned about nature, ecology, livelihood, adivasis, agriculture and allied issues. He is also involved in supporting the people of Vanxim Island who are resisting onslaught of tourism after their lands were sold unethically by the Goa church in February 2006. He has authored "Status of Adivasis/Indigenous Peoples Mining Series 1 Goa Land, Mining and Indigenous Peoples: An Overview" published in 2014 ( downloadable http://theothermedia.in/downloadables/SAIP_Reports/SAIP_Mining_Series_1_Goa.pdf He has also authored a research paper titled "Politics and Economics of Mining in Goa" published in October-December 2014 issue of Journal of Politics and Governance (http://jpg.net.in/JPG%20December%202014.pdf). He has written a chapter in'Sustainable Futures' published by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Finland, Helsinki (http://www.ymparistojakehitys.fi/sustainable_societies.html)
Currently he is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, Vasco, Goa.
Selma Carvalho is the author of Into the Diaspora Wilderness (2010), ed. The Naked Liberal: An Anthology of George Menezes's Writing (2013) and A Railway Runs Through: Goans of British East Africa, 1865 - 1980 (2014). Between 2011-2014, she headed the Oral Histories of British-Goans Project in Britain, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, UK as a result of which she has recorded and archived at the British Library the fading voices of the East African Goan community. In June 2013, she curated the first-ever exhibition of the East African Goan Community at the Nehru Centre, London. She has been a Sunday columnist with the Herald Review since 2012. She grew up in Dubai, lived for several years in Minnesota, America before moving to London with her husband and daughter, and has greatly impacted Goa's understanding of its diaspora narrative.
Sheeba Shah is a prominent English fiction writer from Kathmandu,
Nepal. Her three novels - LOYALS OF THE CROWN ( 2005), BEYOND THE ILLUSIONS (2008)- and FACING MY PHANTOMS (2010) have dealt with diverse themes that range from spirituality & the occult to an elaborate historical saga from the history of Nepal to a contemporary political drama; the common thread being Sheeba's tenacious female protagonists who unwaveringly carve their own paths.
She has also been a columnist for many of the leading newspapers of Nepal such as The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times and The Republica, writing about literature, women's issues, social trends and even cinema.
Shekhar Naik is a budding poet. He has to his credit poems written in Konkani, Marathi, and English. Simplicity coupled with straightforwardness is the essence of his writing.
Shekhar Naik is currently working as Assistant Professor and HoD of Computer Science at Sant Sohirobanath Ambiye Government College, Pernem, Goa. He has done his Master of Philosophy in Computer Science and M.Sc. in Information Technology. He is currently pursuing Ph.D. in Computer Science from Goa University and has to his credit research papers presented at International Conferences.
Besides computers and poetry, he has passion towards astronomy, Sitar playing and public speaking.
Sitanshu Yashaschandra (b.1941) is among contemporary Gujarati literature's most eminent representatives. A much celebrated poet and playwright, he is also a critical theorist, translator and academic. His creative, critical and academic work has received wide critical acclaim in India and elsewhe He has received National Sahitya Akademi Award (1987); Rashtriya Kabir Samman, (Madhya Pradesh); Gangadhar Maher Samman (Orissa), National Harmony Award (New Delhi), Kavi Kusumagraj National Award (Maharashtra), 2013. Also, Gujarat Gaurav Award (2014). Ranjeetram Suvarna Chandrak (Ahmedabad) (1987) and Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (Surat) (2002).
He has been invited to read internationally from his poems ad plays at Paris, Belin, Frankfurt, Stuttgard, Moscow, Riga, Croetia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seoul etc and natinally at Delhi, Kolkata, Guahati, Bangalore, Jaipur, Trivendrum, Hydrabad etc
A Fulbright Scholar and a Ford West European Fellowship recipient, Yashaschandra has a Doctorate in Comparative Literature from USA and anoter Doctorate in Indian poetic from Mumbai. He worked as Vice Chancellor (Saurashtra University), UGC Emeritus Professor and National Lecturer, as well as Chief Editor of the Encyclopedia of Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi).
He has taught, as Professor and Chair of Gujarati, at the M. S. University of Baroda, from 1972, and has been a visiting Professor at the Sorbonne University (Paris), University of Pennsylvania, the Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), and Jadavpur University (Kolkata).
Sreenivasan Jain is Managing Editor of NDTV, India's most respected 24hrs news and current affairs broadcaster.
He presently anchors an award-winning weekly ground reportage and investigative show, Truth vs Hype, which focuses on political corruption, conflict zones and untold stories of social and economic tensions.
He has been with NDTV since 1995, during which time he has done stints as Managing Editor of NDTV's business channel, an as head of NDTV's Mumbai bureau for 8 years, apart from anchoring major prime time news telecasts and discussion based shows ( The 9 o'clock News, India Decides, Star News on Sunday, The Newshour).
Outside of his professional responsibilities, he is involved with Commitment to Kashmir, an initiative that raises funds to support young craftspersons who are keeping traditional craft practices alive in the Kashmir valley.
Sreenivasan was selected as Journalist of the Year at the Ramnath Goenka Awards in 2014. Other awards include the World Silver Medal at the New York Festivals, the Hero Honda Indian Television Academy Awards, the Indian Telly Awards, the ENBA Awards, and the GQ Man of the Year (Media) in 2009. He was a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship in 2000.
Sridala Swami's latest collection of poetry, Escape Artist, has been published by Aleph Book Co. in June this year. Swami is an alumnus of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa (2013). She blogs at The Spaniard In The Works and can be found on twitter @sridala.
Sridhar Gowda, a literary agent at Kadalu literary and media agency, represent many award winning Indian language writers to worldwide market and international publishers and agencies to Indian subcontinent. He started his career in the book trade as a bookseller in the UK in 1994. In 1997, he co-founded an internet bookshop, selling over 3 million titles, and in 2005 co-founded Peak Literary Festival in the heart of the Peak District countryside. He curated the events for the festival for 5 years. He also co-founded Peak Platform, a publishing venture in 2009 and has published translated works in English and Kannada. This year he has initiated ‘Global Festival of iDeas’ which is happening in over 20 countries.
Subodh Kerkar, an installation artist, is the Founder of the Kerkar Art Complex, Calangute, founded in 1992. He specializes in creating works using natural materials like shells, bamboo, stones and pebbles. He has also worked with plants. He has won the Busan Biennale Award in 2006, and bagged the 1st place at the Kala Academy Art Show, in the year 2000. He has showcased his work at the Hillestad Gallery, Norway (2002), Kronen Gallery, Zurich (2003), Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai (2006), Canvas International Art, Amsterdam (2008), Ruhr Biennale, Germany (2010), Strarta Art Fair at Saatchi Gallery, London (2013) etc. He was also the Art Director for the Award winning film, ‘Baga Beach'. He curated Balcao earlier this year at the Stainless Gallery, New Delhi with 15 artists from Goa, including selected works of F. N. Souza. In fact the 15 artists produced an ensemble of around 100 works showcasing the undercurrents of Goan history.
Subodh Sarkar has published 27 books of poems in Bengali, two books in English. Edited `Beyond the Brown`, an anthology of essays on Indian-American writings in English. He has participated at international readings in France, Germany, America, Taiwan, Turkey, Russia, Greece and Canada. Former Editor of ` Indian Literature`, Sahitya Academy’s journal. Editor of Bhashanagar, a literary magazine, 25 years on, to celebrate Indian literature.
Recipient of Sahitya Academy Award for 2013.
Teaches English in City College under Calcutta University.
Sudeep Chakravarti is a leading commentator on matters of business and human rights, and socio-political and security issues in India and South Asia. He is also a novelist.
His latest book, Clear.Hold.Build: Hard Lessons of Business and Human Rights in India (Collins Business) has been published to critical acclaim.
Sudeep's non-fiction narratives - Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country, on India's ongoing Maoist rebellion; and Highway 39: Journeys through a Fractured Land (4th Estate, HarperCollins), set in north-east India - are critically feted bestsellers. His essays on conflict are contained in several collections, including Non-State Armed Groups in South Asia (Pentagon Press); and More than Maoism: Politics, Policies and Insurgencies in South Asia (Manohar/ National University of Singapore).
Among his novels are the best-selling and critically acclaimed Tin Fish (Penguin; HarperCollins) and The Avenue of Kings (HarperCollins). Excerpts of his fiction, and short stories, are contained in several collections and publications, including The Fiction Collection (Penguin), Recess (Penguin), Wespennest and Tehelka. A novel and two works of narrative non-fiction in the fields of geopolitics, geoeconomics and conflict are in progress.
Sudeep began his career with The Asian Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company. He subsequently held top positions at Sunday, India Today, HT Media and India Today Group, traversing print, internet and television. He blueprinted and directed two of India's most reputed media thought platforms, the India Today Conclave and the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, besides initiating several publications, and projects for think-tanks. Sudeep's media writing is extensively published in major Indian and global publications.
Sudeep is a professional member of World Future Society, Washington D.C. He was earlier invited to the Club of Asia by Strategic Intelligence. He is invited to comment on aspects of internal security on network television; social, digital and print media platforms; at academic institutions and think-tanks, including India's Army War College, the Naval War College, and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad; various CEO and investment forums; and for similar engagements in North America, Europe and Asia.
Sudeep is also an active member of Goa-based Coastal Impact, which he co-founded with fellow scuba diving enthusiasts. It's a not-for-profit aimed at marine research, and raising marine awareness. Coastal Impact regularly interacts with schoolchildren, and assists India's National Institute of Oceanography, among other organizations.
Psychoanalyst and novelist, Sudhir Kakar has been a visiting professor at the universities of Harvard, Chicago (1989-93), McGill, Melbourne, Vienna, Hawaii, and a Fellow at the Institutes of Advanced Study, Princeton and Berlin.
Sudhir Kakar’s many honors include the Kardiner Award of Columbia University, Boyer Prize of the American Anthropological Association, Germany’s Goethe Medal, Rockefeller Residency, McArthur Fellowship, the Bhabha, Nehru and ICSSR National Fellowships of India and the Distinguished Service Award of Indo-American Psychiatric Association. As ‘the psychoanalyst of civilizations’, the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur listed Kakar as one of the world’s 25 major thinkers while the leading German weekly Die Zeit has profiled him as one of the 21 thinkers for the 21st century. In February 2012, he was conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the country’s highest civilian order.
He is the author of seventeen books of non-fiction and four novels. His latest books are the novel The Crimson Throne, the memoir A Book of Memory and the edited volume On Dreams and Dreaming. His books have been translated into twenty one languages around the world.
Suneeta Peres da Costa is an award-winning writer of Goan heritage. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, her works include the bestselling novel Homework (Bloomsbury), stories, essays and poems in local and international journals and anthologies, as well as numerous plays and audio art productions for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A former Fulbright scholar, she has also received fellowships from the BR Whiting Library Rome from the Australia Council for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony and Varuna Writers’ House. She is currently fiction editor at Mascara Literary Review and, on sabbatical from life down under, putting up in her father’s village in South Goa.
Thodur Madabusi Krishna’s three-initialled renown as ‘TMK’ comes from his widely acknowledged stature as a vocalist in the Karnatik tradition. His musicality eludes standard analyses. Uncommon in his rendition of music and original in his interpretation of it, Krishna is at once strong and subtle, manifestly traditional and stunningly innovative. He studied at the Krishnamurti Foundation’s The School in Chennai, and Jiddu Krishnmurti’s philosophy of ‘pathlessness’ has unmistakably influenced Krishna’s un-preconditioned journeys over the Karnatik continent.
Krishna’s pen is sharp, his words blunt. He thinks upon and writes about issues affecting the human condition and about matters musical. He has started and is involved in many organizations whose work is spread across the whole spectrum of Karnatik music, including research, archiving and documentation, taking Karnatik music to smaller towns and villages and supporting artists from rural south India. He has co-authored Voices Within: Carnatic Music – Passing on an Inheritance, a book dedicated to the greats of Karnatik music. His most recent book, A Southern Music, published by Harper Collins in December 2013, is a first-of-its-kind work on the Carnatic tradition. T M Krishna writes a fortnightly column for The Hindu news paper , titled As I See It.
Therese Almeida is founder of Mano Vikas School in Margao. She retired recently as its Director. She is a firm promoter of learning environments which allow natural and free learning, without compulsion.
Thomas Bell was born in the north of England in 1978 and studied at Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art. After university he moved to Kathmandu to cover the civil war in Nepal for the Daily Telegraph, The Economist, and other publications. He was the South East Asia correspondent of the Daily Telegraph before returning to Nepal, where he lives with his family. Kathmandu, a non-fiction book about the city, is his first book.
Tony Martin teaches English at Shri Nirakar Education Society’s S. S. Angle Higher Secondary School, Mashem, Canacona, Goa since 1999. He was a sub-editor (Incharge, Goa Pages) with The Navhind Times and has also briefly worked as a sub-editor with the Herald. Tony began his journey into journalism as a proof reader with the Herald and later Gomantak Times even while pursuing his graduation at Dhempe College.
He has written extensively for local dailies including exclusive investigative stories for the Herald and the Gomantak Times for over ten years and was a sub-editor (in charge Goa pages) with The Navhind Times. He also wrote regular columns for the Navhind Times (Krackshots) and Gomantak Times (Off Course) He has also done a few exclusive stories for Gulab besides writing a Konkani short story book Mukt Jinn Jietana.
Tony published his first book in 1994 titled It’s a Funny World. His next publication The Practical English Teacher (2001) sold close to 10,000 copies in Goa. Naked Goa (2003) Tony’s Canacona: The Last Frontier co-authored with Dr F M Nadaf was published by the department of official languages, Govt of Goa (2010).
He has also dabbled as a corporate trainer (Grand Inter-Continental Resort, Canacona), ICT Teacher Trainer for Our Own Indian School, Dubai besides conducting workshops for the students of Rosary College Navelim, S S Dempo College Mirarmar, Navodaya Vidyalaya Canacona and the local schools.
Tony is also into website content writing, ad copywriting, company profile writing besides being a professional emcee and occasional quiz host. He initiated the turtle conservation project at Galgibaga Beach with Harvey D’Souza of Southern Bird Wing. He was part of the campaign against the environmental havoc caused by Penguin Alcohol Pvt Ltd at Shristhal, Canacona
He was felicitated by the Lions Club of Canacona in 2010 for his contribution to society as a teacher and social activist.
Trusha Ganesh, a 13 years old Class VIII student of Vidya Vikas Academy, Margao, has been living in Curtorim, Goa the last 6 years. An avid blogger, she loves writing on anything and everything. She started her first blog at the age of 9 and has since moved on to maintaining the following 4 blogs –
chiqutam.wordpress.com, woofdiaries.wordpress.com, preteenrebel.wordpress.com, and theklutzdaily.wordpress.com, each having its own sets of loyal followers.
In 2013, she was a “Grand First Prize Winner” at the nationwide "Max Life Insurance i-Genius Young Author’s Hunt", which received over fifty thousand entries. Her story was one of the fifty short stories in “i-genius A twist in the Tale”, published by Rupa, making her the youngest published author in Goa at age 11. The selection jury included Chetan Bhagat and Ruskin Bond.
Additionally, she has authored several newspaper and magazine articles. Her writing and interviews have been featured in the Times of India, Planet Goa and The Herald. She has also been featured in the Author Speak section of AnuReviews.com, India’s most prolific book reviews' blog.
Trusha is also a very passionate Karate and Kobodu exponent. She is a brown belt and national level Karate champion. She “relaxes” by playing the keyboard, running, the occasional swim and dreaming of making a difference to this world.
Ulrike Bemvinda Rodrigues is a Canadian writer with a Goan lineage. Her grandparents are from Nachinola and Olaulim, and her father Leo was born in Rangoon’s Goan community in pre-war Burma.
In 2008 Rodrigues arrived in Porvorim with the intent of exploring Goa’s villages on a traditional Indian cycle. As she pedalled and reported on Goa for her blog Girl Gone Goa: travel, sex, magic, and cycling in an Indian State (girlgonegoa.wordpress.com), Rodrigues gained a keen readership of both Goan diaspora and foreign travellers.
While in Goa, Rodrigues became a passionate advocate of Goa’s contemporary culture. She joined Goa Writers and SEQC; wrote articles for and was interviewed by Herald and Goa Today; met with local and visiting luminaries including Mario Miranda, Amitav Ghosh, and Aruna Roy; advised on cycling infrastructure for Goa’s Regional Plan 2021; and co-founded the Goa Cycling Club—now 900 members strong.
In 2014 Rodrigues returns to Goa and joins the Goa Arts and Literary Festival to introduce a book version of Girl Gone Goa. With Canadian colleague Janis Harper (Emails From India: Women Write Home, to which she contributed a chapter) Rodrigues will also participate in discussions on western women in modern Goan culture. She also hopes to join festival participants for a social cycle ride.
After completing his MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad in 1982 V Sanjay Kumar has set up and run small businesses in finance, software and contemporary art, operating out of Mumbai and Chennai. He is a Director at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai since 1988. His first foray into writing was ‘View from the Edge’, a non-fiction publication that was based on a themed art exhibition that he curated in 1995. Since 2008 he has disengaged from day to day operations, focussed on writing, and has written two novels. Artist, Undone his first novel had the art world as a central character. Virgin Gingelly his second book is a fictional narration on a street in Chennai. Both books were published by Hachette. Currently he stays in Chennai near Elliots Beach.
Varsha Ayyar has completed her PhD in Sociology from University of Mumbai. Dr Ayyar's academic work examines the nature of caste and its reproduction in neoliberal cities, feminization of labour, practices of untouchability, urban poverty, housing, and informal sector. Dr Ayyar has received several national and international fellowships (USA/Germany/Canada) and traveled widely to present her research work on caste, gender, social networks and informal sector, at leading universities and research institutions. Dr Ayyar is currently working on her book focusing on Dalit women and sustenance of caste in the new emerging polyphonic spaces of Mumbai’s periphery. Dr Ayyar is Assistant Professor at Center for Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Vidya Dehejia holds the Barbara Stoler Miller Chair in Indian Art at Columbia University in New York and has written 25 books on various aspects of India’s artistic tradition. She spent eight years at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington DC. In 2012, she was awarded a Padma Bhushan for her contribution to Art and Education.
Vidya Pai received the Konkani award at the Katha Translation Contest in 1993 and the Humanscape Translation award in 1996. Her translated stories appear in Ferry Crossing --- short stories from Goa (Penguin, 1998), and in anthologies published by Katha and Sahitya Akademi.
She has translated 4 Konkani novels: Pundalik Naik’s Acchev (The Upheaval, OUP, 2002), Mahabaleshwar Sail’s Kali Ganga (Kali Ganga, National Book Trust, 2003) and Havthan (The Kiln, Konkani Language and cultural Foundation, Mangalore, 2011) and Damodar Mauzo’s Karmelin (Karmelin, Sahitya Akademi, 2004).
Kaleidoscope (Popular Prakashan, 2008) is her translation of Ravindra Kelekar’s essays.
Her translation of Mahabaleshwar Sail’s Aranyakand (Forest Saga, OUP, 2014) and Damodar Mauzo’s Rumadful (Cinnamon Teal, 2014) will be released at the Goa Arts and Literary Festival 2014.
An age of Frenzy, her translation of Mahabaleshwar Sail’s Yug Sanvar, will be published by Harper Collins Publishers.
She shuttles between taking Konkani creative writing to a wider audience and volunteering at Hitaishini, a breast cancer support group in three Kolkata cancer hospitals, spreading the message that there is life after cancer; that cancer is not contagious and can be cured if detected and treated early.
Vinay Madgaonkar is Asst. Professor in Marathi at Sant Sohirobanath Ambiye Govt. College of Arts & Commerce, Pedne-Goa. his published work include poetry collection titled Sant Sahitya Sivhavlokan, Gopal Charitra aani Abhang, and Ashwatthama Hatah (marathi Drama). He has written and directed several Street Plays including Aabhas (on Mental Helth), Aids Sopovya, Mat daan Sreshth daan and Say No to Drugs. He has made several presentation on 'SWAMI VIVEKANAD GOA TO AMERICA' and coordinated exhibition of around 1000 Bharathiya Freedom Fighter and other national level seminars.
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Party; Director-General, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini & Director, Public Policy Research Centre.
Vincy Quadros is a Konkani Writer, Translator, Actor, Anchor, Cultural Activist & a Organizer. Born in Raia, Goa in the year 1964 and post-graduated at Karnataka University, Dharwad, has penned down around 13 books of short stories, and novels including children literature. He has also transliterated more than 6 books. He is one of the Bible translators in Konkani. His unpublished works in the Tiatr field and poetry are also admired.
Vincy Quadros has served as editor and editorial board member for several publications in Konkani. He has presented research papers at national and international level. His works are in included in many journals and books. His articles on contemporary subjects feature in most of the Konkani magazines every month.
He is children litereute who has organized Children conferences. He has served and written a novel on workers movement. He is actively involved with many NGOs and educational institutions. He serves his parish as a catechist and other church institutions.
Vincy Quadros has been awarded and honoured by Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Dalgado Konkani Akademi, Goa Konkani Akademi, Thomas Stephens Konkani Kendra ani many other social organisations. He has assisted research works as well including Konkani-English Dictionary.
Presently he is President of All India Konkani Writers' Organisation and also serves as Secretary for Dalgado Konknni Akademi, which works for the upliftment of Konkani in Roman Script.
Vishnu C. Vete is an Assistant Professor in Marathi at Sant Sohirobanath Ambiye Govt. College of Arts & Commerce, Virnoda – Pernem, Goa. Prof. Vete completed his post graduation from Pune University and has been teaching in different colleges in Goa and Maharashtra for last 15 years. He has completed course on Natyashastra and has written & directed many one act plays for Inter-Collegiate one act play competitions. He has won Best Playwright awards for four One Act Plays in the inter-collegiate one act play competition organized by Goa Kala Academy. He is a sports enthusiast and has represented Goa Under 25 cricket team and won many medals in Sports and Athletics at the University level.
Vishwas Mudagal is a Bangalore based bestselling author and a successful serial entrepreneur & CEO. Storytelling is his passion and he has taken it up as his parallel career. He has become a best-selling sensation and a youth icon in India after the spectacular success of his debut novel ‘Losing My Religion.’ He is also the CEO and co-founder of GoodWorkLabs, one of the fastest growing technology firms in the industry.
Vivek Menezes is a co-founder and Festival Curator of GALF alongside Damodar Mauzo. He is a widely published writer and photographer, and contributor to Conde Nast Traveller, GQ, Vogue, Caravan, Art India, National Geographic Traveller, Mint Lounge and many other publications, as well as a weekly columnist for Times of India. VM was born in Bombay, went to high school in New York, and holds degrees from Wesleyan University and the London School of Economics. Previous career highlights include driving the safari train at the Bronx Zoo, cataloguing the private archives of Francis Newton Souza, serving as Capt. Jacques Cousteau's personal economic advisor, and building Sachin Tendulkar's first official website. VM lives in Goa with his wife and three sons.
Vrinda Nabar has been Chair of English at the University of Mumbai, and Visiting Professor at Northwestern University, Evanston, USA, and the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. She has free-lanced extensively for Indian newspapers, radio, and television, focusing on literature, the arts, gender and culture, and presented papers at national and international conferences. In addition to published papers and review articles her work includes: the recently published Family Fables and Hidden Heresies: A Memoir of Mothers and More; Caste as Woman, the widely acclaimed study of Indian womanhood; The Bhagavadgita (Introduction and Translation); The Endless Female Hungers: A Study of Kamala Das; and Snake-Skin and Other Poems of Indira Sant (translated from the Marathi). She has also translated selections from B. B. Borkar, Sadanand Rege, Narayan Surve, Mangesh Padgaonkar, and the Bengali poet Jibanananda Das, and co-edited Postcolonial Perspectives on the Raj and Its Literature, and Mapping Cultural Spaces: Postcolonial Indian Literature in English. She lives in Mumbai, India.
Born in Mumbai of Goan parents in 1960 Wendell Rodricks studied Hotel Management and worked in the hospitality industry for six years before studying Fashion Designing in the USA and France from 1986 to 1988. He returned to India, and eventually his ancestral village in Goa, in 1993. Wendell's first collection from Goa earned him the title 'Guru of Minimalism' and his next collection in 1995 pioneered the concept of 'resort wear' and eco-friendly garments in India and eventually put Goa on the fashion map of the world.
A designer with an international presence Wendell has presented his unique garments, inspired by Goa and India, at major fashion events. Rodricks has the honour of being the first Indian designer to be invited to show at World's largest garment fair IGEDO in Germany (1995), Dubai Fashion Week (2001), Malaysia Fashion Week (2002), the prestigious Paris Pret-a-Porter salon (2007) and the world's biggest organic fair BioFach in Nuremberg, Germany (2012). In 2007, the Confederation of Indian Industries invited the designer to showcase two fashion shows in Bryant Park, New York to celebrate the 60th year of India's Independence. Rodricks has also, shown at Festival of India (1993) in Beijing and Shanghai in China and has shown in Sri Lanka.
The first ever designer police uniform in India was designed gratis by Wendell in 1996 for the Goa State Police. Over the years he has designed uniforms for the staff of major international hotel chains and also for the Goa Tourism Development Corporation.
1999 marked the beginning of his philanthropy and activism for social, environmental and cultural causes when he donated an entire fashion collection and proceeds to the Kasturba Gandhi Trust to promote Khadi in Goa. In the same year Wendell curated the first ever promotion of Goan contemporary artists as a group in Mumbai. This event, named Fado, is acclaimed as having opened international doors to many Goan artists.
Wendell Rodricks was instrumental in planning the first ever Lakme India Fashion Week in 2000 and guiding it in an advisory capacity during its formative years. In 2000, 2003 and again in 2008 he was honoured as the 'finale' artist for the event. In 2002 Wendell was named Man of the Year, a prestigious honour from Goa Today magazine.
In 2001, Wendell Rodricks designed the Visionnaire collection, a worldwide pioneering collection to help the visually challenged read Braille on clothes. Since then Wendell Rodricks has designed clothing for differently abled and physically challenged persons from hearing challenged to amputees.
In 2010 Wendell revived the weaving of the traditional Goan Kunbi Sari, a two year project involving identifying and training weavers in the use of sari looms. This unique Kunbi Sari, and other garments using the same weave, were showcased at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Sari lovers like Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dixit and Pratibha Patil have bestowed praise on the designer for reviving a dying craft. Since 2008 the Eco Goa Room at Wendell Rodricks Design Space promotes garments using only natural dyes. These dyes are procured from tribals in the Western Ghats who used age-old techniques to make these dyes that do not harm the environment.
A research project of eleven years culminated in January of 2012 with the release of Moda Goa – History and Style published by Harper Collins. This book got rave reviews for its portrayal of long forgotten aspects of Goa's cultural history in a Goa costume format. In August 2012 Wendell's book of his memoir, The Green Room, was published. His experiences give one an insider's view of the fashion industry. Rodricks has contributed chapters to many books on Goa and costume. In May 2014, the designer contributed a chapter on Konkani language and food called Trailing the Tongue, in a travel anthology 'Travelling Inside, Travelling Outside' edited by Namita Gokhale for Harper Collins and released by the Queen Mother of Bhutan Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wanchuk. In July 2014, Sacred Textiles of India edited by Jasleen Dhamija for MARG which contains a chapter of Sacred Textiles of Goa by Wendell Rodricks was released.
Wendell has written for magazines like Apparel, Femina, Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, India Today, Outlook, Open and has a regular column in CineBlitz. He was also the design consultant for the coffee table books Goa : Sunaparanta and Goa : Four decades of freedom as well as many MARG publications.
Wendell served on the Managing Committee of the Red Cross Society (India) and presently the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH-India) and the Museum of Christian Art. He is also the Chairman of Green Goa Works a non-profit organisation formed to work with the Goan public, civic infrastructure, industry and government to offer solutions and innovations for a greener cleaner Goa. Wendell is also on the Board of the Fashion Design Council of India, Whistling Woods International-Neeta Lulla School of Fashion. The Manipal University, Goa Government Polytechnic and Goa College of Home Science have had their courses and syllabus in Fashion benefit from the designers input. He is presently on the Steering Committee of the Goa Institute of Management.
Wendell plans to open the Goa Costume Institute, a prestigious institution, which will attract students and researchers of fashion from all over the world. All part of his plan to promote Goa and India at every opportunity.
In 2014, the designer was awarded India's fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri by The President of India, Pranab Mukharjee for Art (Fashion Design), honoured by the All India Konkani Parishad, bestowed the Rainbow Warrior Award by Kashish Film Festival and distinguished as Chevalier de l'Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres by France, Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Willy Goes (Wilfred Eusebio Goes) (born, 1963) is a Goan writer who writes in Konkani and in English. He has written four novels in Konkani, namely, Altoddi ani Poltoddi (2004), Khand (2006), Kantto (2011) and Kotrin (2012). Apart from his novels, he has written one book for children titled ‘Pedru Tiva’ (2007), a collection of his short stories in Konkani titled ‘Mon Sanvrona’ (2008) and a collection of his short stories in English titled ‘Cobo’s Sofa and other Short Stories From Goa’ (2013)
He has served as a board member on Konkani Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi from 2008 to 2012.
His novel Khand was awarded the Sahitya Puroskar 2008 by Konknni Bhasha Mandal. He was also awarded the ‘Dr. Jack Sequeira Award 2012 by Thomas Stephen Konknni Kendra for his contribution to Konkani through literature. Recently, his novel ‘Kotrin’ has bagged a literary award by All India Konknni Writers’ Organisation.
He has attended State and National level literary seminars, and has also presented papers in State and National level literary seminars.
He contributes regularly to Goa Today, Gulab, Goan Review, Amcho Avaz and other periodicals.
Presently he is holding the post of Assistant Professor in Applied Art at Goa College of Art, Altinho, Panaji, Goa.
He resides in Taleigao, Goa.
Born in Dar-es-Salaam, E. Africa, Xavier Cota completed his schooling and college in Goa. After a short stint as a high school teacher, he worked in a bank before taking an early retirement. He was involved in sports administration as a member of the Sports Authority of Goa and is presently vice-president of Betalbatim Cricket Club.
As Convenor of Betalbatim Civic & Consumer Forum, he is into social activism and coordinates the fight against village destruction. He has helped formulate the village plan in RP 2021.
He translates legal documents from Portuguese to English and literature from Konkani to English. His translated fiction and other articles have been published in The Week, Gentlemen, Man’s World, See Goa, Katha Prize Stories, Mainstream etc. Occasionally, he writes articles on the environment. His awards include the Katha Award for Translation. His published works include the first-ever collection of Konkani short stories translated into English from a single writer - Damodar Mauzo’s These are My Children published by Katha, New Delhi. Mauzo’s novella Tsunami Simon published by Ponytale Books, New Delhi & Teresa’s Man & Other Stories from Goa Mauzo’s collection of stories translated into English, published by Rupa Publications, New Delhi.
Yuvraj Yadav is an upcoming Marathi Poet. Presently he is working as a correspondent in daily Gomantak in Goa.
