Centers
Hari Kiran
Founder Indic Academy
Hari Kiran is an investor, activist, seeker and an aspiring artist.
Dr K Aravinda Rao
Dr K Aravinda Rao, IPS, retired as the Director-General of Police of united Andhra Pradesh state. His rich and vast experience in policing and administration as a top-cop and Anti-Naxal expert, Dr Aravinda Rao played an important role in effectively dealing with Left-wing extremism in AP. , During his distinguished career in the police, security and safety departments, Dr Aravinda Rao served as the Additional Director General of State Intelligence Department the Additional Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, Inspector General of Police (Greyhounds) and IGP (Crime Investigation Department). He also holds a PhD in Sanskrit and has authored several books on Sanatana Dharma.
Renowned for his sincerity and simplicity, Dr Aravinda Rao developed a keen interest in studying Santana Dharma during his service and this led him to pursue a Masters in Sanskrit. Under aegis of his Gurus Padmasri Pullela Ramachandruduji, a maha mahopadyaya and Shri Tatvavidhananda Swamiji, Dr Aravinda Rao developed a deep understanding of Sanatana Dharma, Vedanta, Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita, Brahmasutras and Bhashyams. Post his retierment, Dr Aravinda Rao has authored several books in Telugu and English besides the book ‘Analysis of Jnanam in Upanishads’ in Sanskrit. He has also adeptly woven ancient Vedic wisdom with practical knowledge and rendered several online lectures on various subjects relating to Adavita, Shankara Bhashyam, Upanishadsm Bhagvad Gita to name a few.
Dr Aravinda Rao has been the recepient of several awards and was also conferred with the honorary title of ‘Vachaspati’ by the Rashtriya Vidya Peetham, a deemed university of GOI for his valuable service to the field of Sanskrit studies.
Vishal Agarwal
Avatans Kumar
Avatans Kumar is a columnist, public speaker, and an activist. He writes frequently on the topics of language & linguistics, culture, religion, Indic Knowledge Tradition, and current affairs in several media outlets
Avatans holds graduate degrees in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he also taught Linguistics and Hindi as a foreign language respectively. Several of Avatans’ Hindi poems have also been published including in Bharatiya Gyanpith’s magazine Naya Gyanodaya.
Avatans has vast experience in the field of IT, PR & Marketing, and Management. He serves on the executive board of the American Academy of Indic Studies.
MP Kumar
MP Kumar, Founder and Mentor at GlobalEdge Software, is driven by a powerful desire for engineering intelligence into things. He was also the former CEO at GlobalEdge, before he stepped down from his active executive role in January 2020. A true visionary, Kumar has been instrumental in building strategic alliances with industry partners and investors. He has helped the company grow since its inception in 1992, enabling close alliances with global enterprises through the journey.With a keen understanding of the dynamics at play in the competitive technology landscape,Kumar steers GlobalEdge to stay well beyond industry standards and market changes. Given his unparalleled experience, Kumar has mentored numerous technology start-ups and is a speaker of renown at several industry forums. With a dream of technological development, he is set on connecting the world with intelligence.
P. S. Narasimha
Sri Narasimha is a well-known senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India. He was a former Additional Solicitor General of India. Sri PS Narasimha is well known for his deep knowledge of Indian traditional intellectual traditions. Of the recent Ayodhya case at the Supreme Court, he represented Ram Lalla Virajman, appearing for Mahant Ramachandradas. He was one of the advocates representing the Hindu side who was felicitated by VHP and RSS at Ayodhya after the verdict. A member of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), a body that provides free legal services to the weaker sections by organising Lok Adalats, and was recently in the news for his involvement in bringing about major changes in functioning of BCCI as the Amicus Curiae appointed by Supreme Court of India. Sri PS Narasimha is the son of illustrious Justice Sri P Kodandaramayya who played a very important role in publication of major Sanskrit texts with commentaries in Telugu language through Arsha Vignana Trust and is himself an author on Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Sharad Sharma
Sharad Sharma's mantra is to lead big and small companies through orbit change. He has three decades of experience in the Internet, Enterprise Software, and Digital Infrastructure markets and is a prominent voice in India's technology ecosystem. He is a passionate evangelist of the software product ecosystem in India. He co-founded iSPIRT Foundation, a non-profit technology think tank devoted to making India a product nation. Earlier, he Chaired NASSCOM Product Forum in its formative years and was a member of the NASSCOM Executive Council from 2009-13. Sharad co-founded Teltier Technologies Inc., a wireless infrastructure startup now part of CISCO, and is an active technology angel investor with over two dozen investments. He was also instrumental in the success of India's first IP focussed fund, India Innovation Fund. He has held several senior R&D executive positions with leading technology companies, including Yahoo, VERITAS Software, Symantec, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T. Zinnov gave him the R&D Visionary Award in 2008 for his work on creating a strong MNC R&D footprint in India.
Sharad is a member of SEBI's Financial and Regulatory Technology Committee. He has also served on RBI's UK Sinha MSME Committee and National Digital Payments Committee. He got interested in kernel software development while doing his Electrical Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering. He started India's first Student Minicomputer Club in 1984 and served as the Chairperson of the IEEE Student Chapter.
Prof. Swati Karad Chate
Prof. Swati Karad – Chate has been the Executive Director at MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, Pune since 2006. She possesses a strong administrative strand in establishing and operating various educational units under this conglomerate. She is a Masters’ in Electronics & Tele-Communications Engineering and has attended various Executive programs in Leadership capacities, Potential leadership qualities among Professional Women and in Organizational Leadership.She, being the daughter of the visionary and eminent educationist Dr. Vishwashanath D. Karad has made his vision as her mission to create the knowledge hub which imbues the essence of spirituality in every aspect of its learners’ development. She is following the footsteps of her farsighted erudite father. She is leading the march towards developing a completely modern education system with the blend of ancient Vedic wisdom, which could transform young generation into a group of holistic human beings who will be equipped to face this dynamic world by providing excellent technological proficiencies as well as the congenial and conducive environment to grow as ingenious thinkers.
Dr. Rupa Vasudevan
Dr Rupa Vasudevan is an Educationist , Social entrepreneur , Angel investor ,Co-Founder and Chancellor of Bharatiya Engineering Science and Technology Innovation University (BESTIU), an AndhraPradesh State Private University established in Anantapur,AP
She is also Founder and Global President of World Forum for Education, an independent non-profit organization working globally to advance sustainable development, humanitarian response and facilitating public good through Knowledge sharing and Education.
Appointed one of the ten academicians in the General and Executive Council of Karnataka State Higher Education Council, apex body on education in the State.
She is actively involved in skilling and Agricultural development activities under the University Social Responsibility -USR of BESTIU and trying meaningful ways in which they can make a difference to our farmers while documenting best practices / traditional agri knowledge systems from rural areas of South India - the states of Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
She is Honorary Trustee of Disha Bharat, a non profit social organisation that works in the field of value education.
Was involved in planning and implementation of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) initiatives in association with the Government of Karnataka.
Incepted IAIS - International Academy of India Studies a college under Bharatiya Engineering Science and Technology Innovation University primarily focuses on Conservation Education, experiential/immersive study model of India’s civilizational legacy, Vedic agriculture ,culture and heritage, traditional knowledge systems, archeology, art forms, dance forms.
Mr Suresh Chukkapalli
Suresh Chukkapalli, as the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Korea, Telangana enables trade cooperation, facilitates economic relationships and commercial transactions between the state of Telangana and the Republic of Korea. He voluntarily heads a subdivision of the Consulate General of Mumbai to protect and
provide support to Korean expatriates in Telangana. Additionally he also promotes scientific and educational cross-cultural pursuits, enables organizations of Korean delegations to Telangana and acts as the liaison officer between said delegations, industries and government in his consular jurisdiction. Apart from this he is also the Chairman Emeritus of Phoenix Group, one of the leading infrastructure and property developers. In addition to his role as the Head of the Phoenix Group, he is the Managing Trustee of the Phoenix Foundation and Trustee of Chukkapalli Shankar Rao Charitable Trust. Under his leadership and guidance, the group undertakes a wide range of philanthropic efforts as well as community initiatives through ‘Phoenix Foundation’. It was set up with the idea to work for effecting positive changes in the lives of underprivileged children, their families and communities. It has actively participated in projects like Green 'Telangana Haritha Haram’ program and has distributed saplings for the same.
Ratnam Chitturi
Ratnam Chitturi is the Founder of North South Foundation (NorthSouth) in the USA. The Foundation is a non-profit organization, all run by thousands of volunteers. It is a virtual could NGO with no physical assets. Over the years, NorthSouth provided 25,000 college scholarships to the poorest of the poor in India. In the USA, it conducts competitions among K-12 children in numerous subjects. NorthSouth children dominate the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals and are covered widely in the news and social media every year around the globe. They won the championships for the last 12 years in a row. They also won the championships in the National Geographic Bee for the last 8 years in a row. NorthSouth children were widely featured in the Netflix’s film, “Spelling the Dream.” They were also featured in two books, “Beeline” and “Hyper Education.” More than 250,000 contestants benefited from the NorthSouth competitions. The surplus revenues generated from contests, workshops and coaching fund the college scholarships in India. NorthSouth also conducts contests in India. North South Foundation of India formed in 2004 is a close partner.
His working career spanned many multinationals including BP, General Motors, Chase and First Chicago. During his career, he lived in New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, and finally in Chicago where he has been residing since 1984. He has also founded or co-founded many business startups.
He received a Ph.D. in Operations Research from New York University, MS in Industrial Engineering from Kansas University and B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from India.
He is married to Nagamani and has two daughters, Vijayalakshmi and Vena Devi. He has two grandsons.
Prof. M.D. Srinivas
Prof. M.D. Srinivas is a versatile scholar with expertise in Theoretical Physics (Conceptual and Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics) History and Philosophy of Science (Scientific and Technological Tradition of India: Methodology of Indian Tradition of Science, Study of Source Texts of Indian Mathematics and Astronomy) Indian Society, Economy and Polity.
He holds a doctorate degree in Physics from University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, and has taught as a professor in University of Madras for about 20 years.
Dr. Srinivas has also been a member of Indian National Commission for History of Science, Indian National Science Academy and Central Sanskrit Board since 2006. He has also held the position of Vice Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla from 1999-2002. He is currently the Chairman of Centre for Policy Studies in Mylapore, Chennai.
Prof. K. Ramasubramanian
K. Ramasubramanian is an Institute Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. He holds a doctorate degree in Theoretical Physics, a Master’s in Sanskrit and a Bachelor’s in Engineering—a formidable combination to do multidisciplinary research. He was honored with the coveted title ‘Vidvat Pravara’ by the Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Karnataka, India, for completing a rigorous course in Advaita Vedānta (a 14-semester program), in 2003. He is one of the authors who prepared detailed explanatory notes of the celebrated works Gaṇita-Yuktibhāṣā, Tantrasaṅgraha and Karaṇapaddhati, that bring out the seminal contributions of the Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics. Since 2013, he has served as an elected council member of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. In 2018, he was elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA). Currently, he is also the editor of the Indian Journal of History Science.
Prof T.S. Rukmini
Prof TS Rukmini is an undisputed academic marvel. With many “firsts” to her credit, Prof Rukmini is a truly inspirational Guru and a symbol of divine Shakti. Dr Rukmini was the first woman and the second person to receive a PhD in the Department of Sanskrit, since the establishment of Delhi University in 1930. In 1991 she was honoured with the highest degree of D.Litt, the first ever awarded by the Department, in recognition of a major contribution to the study of yoga philosophy. She held the first Chair for Hindu Studies and Indian Philosophy at the University of Durban Westville.Today, she serves as the distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Department of Religious & Cultural Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. She was President of the University Women's Association of Delhi and was a member of the International Federation of University Women's Fellowship Committee in Geneva (Switzerland).
Dr Rukmani has published several books, articles and contributed to a dozen other publications. While her main work has been on the philosophies of Samkhya-Yoga, and Sankara's Advaita Vedanta, she has also written on folk traditions in the Mahabharata in South India, Kalidasa and Shakespeare, women in the Bhagavata Purana, environmental ethics in Sanskrit sources, Vedanta and bhakti traditions, and religious consciousness. She has completed a two-volume translation of the Yogasutrabhasyavivarana. In this study the Yogasutras of Patanjali, the Bhasya of Vyasa on the Yogasutras, and the Vivarana of Sankara have all been brought together, for the first time in one work.
Meenakshi Jain
Meenakshi Jain is an Indian political scientist and historian. A scholar on relations between caste and politics,[1] who has written several groundbreaking works (Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse) on the use of Sati practice by the British in colonial India for evangelical purposes and had also authored a history textbook (Medieval India), which incurred significant scholarly criticism but went on to replace a previous text by Romila Thapar. Her groundbreaking historical work on Rama and Ayodhya, and The Battle for Rama has served in eliciting the truth, long buried under the debris of falsities. In 2014, she was nominated as a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research by the Indian government.[2] In 2020, she was conferred with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for her work in the field of literature and education.[3]
Prof. Subhash Kak
Subhash Kak is Regents Professor of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University in Still water. His current research is in the theories of neural networks and quantum information. He has also worked on archaeoastronomy and written on the history of science and on art. He has made the surprising discovery that the ancient Indians knew that the sun and the moon are approximately 108 times their respective diameters from the earth. This knowledge was coded into temple architecture, in the 108 poses of Indian classical dance, and the 108 prayer beads of the japa mala.
His writings on the philosophy of mind show how recursion plays a fundamental role in art, music and aesthetics. He is the author of twenty books which include six books of verse. The distinguished Indian scholar Govind Chandra Pande compared his poetry to that of William Wordsworth.He coined the term quantum neural computing which is a theory of consciousness that is partly classical and partly quantum. In this theory, neural networks do conscious and preconscious processing whereas the virtual particles associated with the quantum dynamics of the brain are the ground for the unconscious.
Dr Chirravuri Srirama Sarma
Mahamahopadhyaya Brahmasri Avadhani Chirravuri Srirama Sarma Ji
Acharya Mahamahopadhyaya Brahmasri Avadhani Chirravuri Srirama Sarma Ji is an erudite Vedic scholar, multilinguist, prolific author and distinguished academician. He has performed more than 100 Ubhaya Bhasha Ashtavadhanas in both Telugu and Sanskrit languages, across the nation. An exceptional orator, Dr Sarma’s discourses and Purana Pravachanams are the most sought after by devotees and spiritual seekers in both Telugu states.
Dr Sarma’s expertise on various subjects includes Meemamsa, Vyakarana, Krishna Yajurveda, Telugu and Sanskrit Literature, Vedas, Shastras and Smaarta to name a few., Dr Srirama Sarma has served as an examiner of Vedas, Shastras and Smaarta at Sri Godavari Mandala Veda Sastra Pravardhaka Sabha in Amalapuram, since 1990. He served as an NSS program officer for the unit of Sri Gowtami Vidyapeetam and also delivered lectures as a visiting professor at the Sanskrit Department at the University of Poona and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetam, Tirupati as well. Dr Sarma has served as a board member of the Studies Board at Sampurnanand University in Varanasi for Meemamsa, as a member of the Studies Board at Andhra University and continues to serve as a member of the Studies Board at Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetam, Tirupati.
An exceptional litterateur, Dr Sarma’s Sanskrit works include . ‘Sastra Deepika Bhatta Deepikayoh Towlya Vicharah’ a book written on Poorva Meemamsa for Ph.D published in 1998, Srowta LaxicanWork’ a book on ‘Srowta Paaribhashika Padakosha’ published by the University of Poona in 2001, Yagna Paatra Parichaya – a script prepared in Sanskrit and Telugu, Published by Rashtriya Samskruta Vidyaapeetham, Deemed University, Tirupati in 2007
Prof Michel Danino
Born in France in 1956, Michel Danino has been living in India since 1977 and is an Indian citizen. An independent student of Indian civilization, he authored The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati (Penguin India, 2010), a multidisciplinary study of the Vedic Sarasvati river, and Indian Culture and India’s Future (DK Printworld, 2011). The Dawn of Indian Civilization and the Elusive Aryans is under preparation.
Michel Danino has lectured across India on many aspects of Indian civilization and culture. Twice a scholar-in-residence at IIT Kanpur (2011 and 2014), he was a visiting faculty at IIM Ranchi and since 2011 has been guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar, where he has assisted the setting up of an Archaeological Sciences Centre and given courses exploring ancient India’s heritage.
Michel Danino co-edited (with Prof. Kapil Kapoor) a two-volume textbook on “Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India” for a CBSE elective course for class XI and XII. As convener of the International Forum for India’s Heritage, he has been coordinating a project to produce a multimedia educational DVD on Science and Technology in Ancient India. He is also a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research.
His other interests include nature conservation, a field in which he was especially active during his stay in the Nilgiris (1982–2003).
Dr. Vinod Vidwans
Prof.Vidwans was a Senior Designer (Professor) and an Ex-Vice Chairman (Research) at National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. He also headed the Departments of New Media and Software Users Interface Design at NID, Ahmedabad. He is a visiting faculty at IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, D. J Academy of Design, Coimbtore, and Pt. Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar. Dr. Vidwans is a cognitive philosopher, a designer and a portrait painter.
Prof. Vidwans carries more than twenty years of eventful professional and research experience with him. While working in the industry and managing Information design and development projects, he explored various facets of New Media Design. He has developed Sharada multilingual technology for Indian languages. He has also developed a computational theory of Indian Classical music.
Aditi Banerjee
Aditi Banerjee’s first novel, The Curse of Gandhari, was published by Bloomsbury India in September 2019. She is a practicing attorney at a Fortune 500 financial services company and has also completed an Executive MBA at Columbia University. She is a prolific writer and speaker about Hinduism and the Hindu-American experience. She is a member of the Indic Academy and Indic Book Club, which sponsored a successful six-city book launch tour for The Curse of Gandhari in September 2019 across India. She co-edited the book, Invading the Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America in collaboration with Rajiv Malhotra, and has authored several essays in publications such as The Columbia Documentary History of Religion in America since 1945 and Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America: A Short History (Religion in American Life) (Oxford University Press). She earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and received a B.A. in International Relations, magna cum laude, from Tufts University. In her free time, she enjoys wandering the Himalayas and reading voraciously.
Sumedha Verma Ojha
Sumedha Verma Ojha is an author, columnist and speaker, was born in Patna and educated in Delhi, graduating in Economics (Lady Sriram College) and post-graduating in Sociology (Delhi School of economics). After 15 years in the Indian Revenue Service she switched careers to research and write a book set in the Mauryan period based on the Arthashastra of Chanakya. ‘Urnabhih’ then expanded into a book series on the Mauryan Empire. Sumedha is a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board at Indic Today.
She works in the area of translating and explaining the epics and bringing ancient Sanskrit/Prakrit literature to the English speaking Indian as also in the area of a gendered analysis of ancient India. She lives with her husband near Geneva and has two children both studying in the US.
DENA MERRIAM
Founder and Convener, Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW)
Founding Member, The Contemplative Alliance
Ms. Merriam began working in the inter-faith movement in the late 1990s when she served as Vice Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders held at the United Nation in New York in the year 2000. She subsequently convened a meeting of women religious and spiritual leaders at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and from that gathering founded the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) in 2002, an organization chaired by a multi-faith group of women spiritual leaders. In 2008, Ms. Merriam was one of the founding members of the Contemplative Alliance, which later became a program of GPIW. The purpose of the Alliance is to bring together meditation teachers and practitioners in a collective effort to uplift and transform society, while caring for and honoring our Mother Earth.
For over 40 years, Dena Merriam has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation. She is also a long time student of the great texts of the Vedic tradition. Ms. Merriam received her Master’s Degree from Columbia University and has served on the boards of the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, The Interfaith Center of New York, the Manitou Foundation, The All India Movement (AIM) for Seva, Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, and Seven Pillars. In 2014 she received the Niwano Peace Prize for her interfaith peace efforts.
Sundari R Pisupati
Sundari R Pisupati is an attorney and is the co-founder of Tempus Law Associates, a law firm based in Hyderabad. She has 27 years of experience as a lawyer. She practiced in New York at an International law firm Sidley for several years. She has a Masters in law from Columbia Law School, New York and is NY licensed. She specializes in corporate law and handles foreign investments and Mergers and Acquisitions transactions on a regular basis. She is from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore from the 1st batch and is a gold medallist.
She advises companies in various industry verticals such as information technology, financial services, domestic and international funds, angel funds, venture capital, infrastructure, bio technology and pharmaceutical companies among others. She also handles matters and advices the Competition Commission of India; the Enforcement Directorate and was earlier the Counsel for GST and Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams.
She is regularly invited to national and international events to speak on various topics of current legal interest. She is a Sanskrit scholar and holds high academic records.
Dr Nagaraj Paturi
Dr Nagaraj Paturi trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta by his hyper-polyglot, polymath and spiritually accomplished sakala-shaastra-paarangata father, late Sri Paturi Sitaramanjaneyulu garu, he is seriously committed to the transmission of Vedic sciences to the present generation.
He designed a very big number of courses of contemporary applications of Vedic Sciences and has been successfully teaching them and getting them taught.
Presently he is Director, Inter-Gurukula - University Centre for Indic knowledge Systems of Indic Academy
And
Distinguished Professor, Curriculum Designer, Executive Committee Member and Member, Board of Studies, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune.
Member, Board of Studies for Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth,
Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University,
Veda Vijnana Gurukula.
Formerly
Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of Liberal Education
Former Visiting Professor, University of Chicago, US)
In his PhD (1998, UoH) Developed Indic Model of Myth Criticism of Literature. MPhil (1987, UoH) Brought out Vakyapadiyam as theoretical foundation of Ashtaadhyaayee
Around 50 publications, around 60 conference /seminar/ workshop papers.
Consultancy to numerous culture research and theater and dance innovation projects.
Scores of creative writing works for Classical Dance, Modern Theater and magazines.
Several series of talks and other programs on Radio and Television channels.
Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar
Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar is the Director of CSP and the founder secretary of Heritage Parampara a not-for-profit trust. She has flown powered aircrafts, played state level softball, danced Bharatanatyam, given talks on culture and heritage, organized conferences, been on the Central Film and Censor Board, the National Advisory Board for Philately and is a freelance designer and copywriter too. Heritage trust conducts two annual well-known festivals, Gudiya Sambhrama and Srishti Sambhrama, the Earth Mother Festival. A third festival that premiered in 2018 was The Heritage Drive, a 1100 km motor sport rally that took participants to heritage temples and included tree planting as well. She loves story telling, her approach is creative and innovative. She is presently writing a novel based on historical events in India
Rahul Goswami
Rahul Goswami is a Unesco Asia expert facilitator on intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and from 2011 has trained government officials, researchers and academics, traditional knowledge bearers and practitioners in 12 countries on methods to identify, document and safeguard knowledge systems. Rahul has served as an adviser to the Centre for Environment Education Himalaya, a specialized center supported by the Ministry of Environment, for over a decade. The centre’s work focused on local pedagogical methods and capacity building for local administrations on watershed management, agro-ecological cultivation, traditional knowledge and cultural practices. He was a social sector consultant for the National Agriculture Innovation Project (Ministry of Agriculture) from 2009-13 to broaden the scope of the agricultural extension network. Rahul continues to be a member of the consultative forum to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Committee on Food Security.
Viva Kermani
Viva Kermani is associated with a non-profit organization, Centre for Social Markets (CSM), since 2007 and is responsible for program development. She has worked extensively on climate change impacts in India and has brought a strong development perspective to CSM’s work with local and city administrations, and with the private sector. She guided CSM’s work on sustainable coffee cultivation, developing partnerships with growers’ groups such as the Karnataka Growers Federation (KGF) the largest association of small farmers in the state to build resilience and sustainability in agro-forestry. Currently, as Director at CSM, she is guiding the Fairtrade India Project which promotes ethical and sustainable business practices and building capacities of small and marginal producers in India, under the banner of Fairtrade India to help farmers connect with businesses. In her individual capacity, she has campaigned to keep India free from GM crops, and for wider adoption of indigenous foods, crops, and seeds. She writes on several online portals on this issue. Viva has a Post-Graduate Certification in Environment Management from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the United Kingdom, with a focus on environmental economics, ecology, climate change and development.
Vipul Kocher
Vipul Kocher is an entrepreneur by compulsions of heart, a software tester by profession and IA national coordinator by destiny.
Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran
Ananth is an MBA from IIM (A) and a PhD in Finance from the University of Massachusetts.
He is an adjunct faculty with the Singapore Management University and Nanyang Technological University.
His co-authored book, ‘Economics of Derivatices & Can India grow? He writes for MINT, an (www.livemint.com) and blogs at www.thegoldstandardsite.wordpress.com.
Vikas Saraswat
Vikas Saraswat is a columnist at Swarajya magazine. Writing on socio political issues, he has contributed to over a dozen newspapers and periodicals including Daily O, ABP News, The Pioneer and Bhavan's Journal. Presently his contributions are appearing mainly in Swarajya and hindi daily Dainik Jagran. Saraswat also co ordinates the Agra chapter activities of Indic Academy.
Abhinav Agarwal
Abhinav is a technology professional with over twenty years in the software industry, the technical editor of a book published by McGraw-Hill, a prolific writer on areas on technology and Indology. He is a computer engineer and holds a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Vinayachandra Banavathy
Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy, is the Director of Indica Yoga, a platform that offers authentic,
immersive and transformative yoga experiences across the world. He holds a PhD on
psychological insights in the Vedas from Pondicherry University, besides Masters’ in Sanskrit,
English, Yogic Science and Applied Psychology.
Vinayachandra is a dedicated teacher who travels across the world conducting courses, lectures
and workshops on a unique blend of Yoga, Psychology and Sanskrit.
His publications include a report on Standardization of Yoga Terminologies for WHO; a book
co-edited with Dr. Anuradha Choudry titled ‘Perspectives on Indian Psychology’, published by
Jain University Press, another book co-authored titled ‘Happiness: Indic Perspectives’, published
by Development Foundation, besides a few articles, papers, booklets on Yoga, Indian
Psychology, Culture and Spirituality.
Shashi Kiran G M
Aparna M Sridhar
Aparna M Sridhar joins as the Editor for Center for Soft Power (www.centerforsoftpower.org, email: Aparna@centerforsoftpower.org) and Consulting Editor for Arts at Indic Today. Aparna is a senior journalist and editor, with decades of experience in journalism and allied fields. She is a DFID scholar with a Masters (with Distinction) from the Scarman Centre for Public Order from the University of Leicester, UK, a graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Bangalore (now Chennai).
Aparna successfully edited a much-appreciated monthly Indian classical music magazine called, Saamagaana, The First Melody, for over four years. Earlier, she has worked with many mainstream newspapers, and she continues to free-lance for leading dailies. Her interest in classical arts, heritage, and Indic knowledge systems, and their place both within modern India as well as on the International stage, brought her to the Center for Soft Power, a collaborative effort between India Foundation and Indic Academy.
In her role as Editor she engages with leading scholars, artists, writers, scientists, journalists, and Indophiles at large, showcasing the beauty, relevance, and unparalleled value of Indian heritage to all of humanity.
Welcoming her to her new responsibility, Hari Kiran, Founder Indic Academy said “ I have been interacting with Aparna for over a year now. She has been instrumental in initiating several initiatives in the field of arts for which Indica extended support by way of grants. She has opened new leads to preserve and promote our Culture, a third and important vertical that Indica is focussed on, in its mission to build a global renaissance. We are excited about her joining our team and look forward to leveraging on her expertise, experience and engaging her with various artists in India and Indophiles abroad.”
If you are an Indophile yourself, and/or know people working in areas related to Indian knowledge systems, art, music, and heritage, do reach out or request them to reach out to Aparna on her email: aparna@centerforsoftpower.org.
Soumya Aggarwal
Soumya Aggarwal is an educationist and a public policy enthusiast based out of India. She is the executive director at Gateway Education, a group of institutes focused on providing Affordable Quality Education.
D V Sridharan
D V Sridharan was a sea going engineer in the 1960s. For the last 40 years he has been passionate about the environment, especially water conservation and eco-diversity. He's currently in the second decade of his land regeneration work at pointReturn, 100km south of Chennai
Mali Nandakumar
Mali Nandakumar started her career as a teacher of English. She continues to be a language enthusiast. Having served as a corporate trainer she is also a freelance translator. She has co-authored curriculum content for a popular life skills and value education programme being implemented in thousands of schools in seven states across India. She is currently an educational consultant and advisor to many schools across India. A practising Hindu, she is passionate about Bharatiya heritage and environmental conservation. She is working towards enabling Indian youth to rediscover this legacy.
Muthuraman
Nandakumar
" Nandakumar is a senior educator with 4 decades of K 12 experience. Over a period of years he has donned the roles of teacher, principal and CEO of leading schools in Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Mumbai and Singapore; is now an advisor and consultant for schools. Special interests:Civilisation and history of Bharat, nature & wildlife, classical music, British Humour non non fictional writings in English."
C Surendranath
Nishant Limbachia
Nishant Limbachia has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MS University, Vadodara and MBA from IIT, Chicago. Nishant works and lives with his family in the Chicagoland area. Nishant attended one of the INDICA programs as a participant and ended up being one of the Chicago Chapter Coordinators. He loves spending time with family, reading books, following current affairs, listening to R.D. Burman’s music, traveling to explore Bharat and being active in the local Hindu community.
Dr Prakash Kumar Jha
Dr Prakash Kumar Jha, is a postdoctoral researcher at Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification, Kansas State University, USA. He earned his B.S. in Agricultural Sciences from Banaras Hindu University, India; M.S. in Environmental Sciences from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India, and his Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University, USA. He writes for agriculture, climate change and the environment.
Ramsundar Lakshminarayanan
Ram attaches great importance to the impact his work has on people’s lives. Be it selecting a family vacation destination or cooking or solving a problem at work, he gets immense satisfaction when they enjoy the experience.
Ram is an IT Management professional with a Big4 background. A devotee of Ilaiyaraja songs, non-fiction reader, former cricketer, traveler, photographer, Indic learner and an evolving writer. He usually brags about the Chicago Bulls & the Michael Jordan era.
M Pramod Kumar
Shourie Bannai
Shourie is a Civil engineer, completed his masters and is presently working in the USA , Shourie is an active supporter of various Hindu causes and a volunteer for Hindu Mahasabha of America. Interests include Engineering, History, Politics and Culture.
Manoshi Sinha
Manoshi Sinha is an author of 8 books including the bestselling 'Saffron Swords'. She is an independent researcher on Indian History and ancient temples and an avid heritage taveler. She is the founder of www.myindiamyglory.com. Manoshi Sinha is also a certified astrologer, a blogger, and a speaker (incl TEDx).
Dr Shilpi Tiwari
Dr Shilpi Tiwari is a Sr Consultant Urologist and Uro Oncologist based in Delhi. He did his graduation from SMS Medical College and superspecialization in Urology (including Renal Transplant Surgery) from MPUH Nadiad, which is a premier Institute of world repute. He has many medical research papers to his credit which he has presented in various national and international conferences. Besides, he has conducted various workshops and organized conferences of national and international levels.
He had a national talent scholarship and national merit to his credit in his schooldays. He has also won various research paper prizes in Urology conferences.
Outside his medical field, he is active in various social activities. He headed HEART , an emergency aid and relief team.
As part of HEART, he has been involved in actions helping Pakistani Hindu Refugees, Nepal Earthquake, Chennai floods, Mumbai Fire disaster and Laddakh cloud burst in choglamsar. He was also part of the team which organized 1st World Hindu Congress in 2014 in Indraprasth and currently is active in promoting Jhatka businesses of the Dalits and marginalized Hindus.
Arjun Singh Kadian
An Academic based out of Haryana, Arjun Singh Kadian, is the convenor of the Haryana Chapter of the Indic Academy. Singh takes classes in Geomorphology & Palaeontology but, in his free hours delves into studying Indian history, culture and local histories. He often writes on politics and policy issues on different portals of national repute.
Singh has previously worked in the Chief Minister’s Office, Haryana and is associated with the Saraswati Research Center, Kurukshetra. Singh, is also an alum of the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi. Apart from other academic successes, he was recently awarded a fellowship at Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
Kaali Sudheer
Kaali Sudheer is an art curator and a film producer. He manages Muse Art Gallery along with Marriott.
Srinivas Mulugu
Srinivas Mulugu is Vice-Chairman, Sri Aurobindo Society for Telangana state. He is also National Director for Sri Aurobindo Foundation For Integral Management (SAFIM) based in Pondicherry.
In his corporate career, Srinivas worked for 18 years with several globally renowned companies including Nokia Siemens and Cisco Systems. He was the Head of Nokia’s Internet Business for India in his last corporate stint. He has also published two books in the field of telecommunications in the US and has chaired many sessions at international conferences across Asia Pac, Middle East, Australia & North America. At the age of 44, Srinivas took retirement from his active career to pursue his spiritual interests.
Over the years, his spiritual quest has taken him to the Ashrams of Rishikesh, to Mount Kailash and to the cremation ghats of Benares. He has studied Yogasutras, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita and works of Sri Aurobindo.
Based in Hyderabad, Srinivas periodically conducts meditation workshops and spiritual retreats for serious seekers, along the lines of Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo.
Srinivas Udumudi
Srinivas Udumudi heads India's premier genetics and genomics research and services organization based out of Hyderabad. Srinivas did his B.Tech in Computer Science from REC Warangal (now NIT) and Masters in CS (Artificial Intelligence) in the US, and has over 25 years of industry experience. He has deep interest in carnatic music, Indian philosophy, Western continental philosophy, and intellectual history of India and the world.
S. Sudhir Kumar
S. Sudhir Kumar is based out of Hyderabad and an engineer in the telecom industry by profession. His interests outside of work lie in writing, teaching, social service, and food! He is a regular contributor to various media websites on topics related to policy, politics and media. He also evinces a keen interest in interacting with students from various colleges on topics related to technology, current affairs and general career growth.
Vinay Mangal
Vinay Mangal is an advertising marketing professional and blogger.
He writes on politics, philosophy, and current affairs. He’s currently working on a book, dealing with the impact of Hinduism on entertainment industry and especially Hollywood.
He is based in Jaipur.
Gautam Agrawal
Manoj Talwar
Danji Thotapalli
Danji Thotapalli is Chief Curator at Indica Pictures. He is a senior global technology sourcing professional with a passion for cinema. Having spent the past 10 years at major Hollywood studios – previously at NBC Universal and currently at Sony Pictures – Danji understands the power of film and the extent of its reach. In addition to working in Hollywood, Danji has been associated with the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles for about 12 years, and comes with a deep insight into all facets of running a film festival such as community outreach, sponsorship/funding, event management, programming and media relations. Currently, Danji volunteers as a Vice President at ManaBadi, a reputed Telugu-language school in the US, and responsible for ideation and implementation of value-added curricular and extra-curricular programs. Danji is passionate about pre-Buddhist Andhra history, and enjoys immersive experiences that blend modernity with tradition.
Jayapradeep Jiothis
Yogini Deshpande
Dr. Yogini Deshpande is a practicing Civil Engineer by profession. She has degrees from Mumbai University & Purdue University & diverse experience in academia, research & consulting. She has been associated with Indic Academy since it's inception and is it's Mumbai Chapter coordinator.. She is the Editor-in-Chief for Indic Today portal. She is an avid reader, Indian Classical Music aficionado & keen political observer.
Chandrahas Halai
Chandrahas Halai is the author of a best-selling book "Vedic Mathematics Inside Out".
He is Engineering, IT and Management consultant.
He writes on mathematics, physics, engineering and computer science
He is also a travel writer and photographer.
Padmavathi S. Bhat
Padmavathi S Bhat is a Computer Science Engineer by education and an entrepreneur by compulsion. She is a teacher and a student of Astrology & Vastu. She is an activist, seeker and an avid reader with keen interests in Indian History & Philosophy. She is the Mysuru Coordinator for Indic Academy.
Nithin Sridhar
With a degree in civil engineering, and having worked in construction field, Nithin Sridhar passionately writes and teaches on Dharma and Vedanta. He is based in Mysore, India.
Ajay Sudame
Ajay Sudame is a Conservative, Capitalist,Nationalist & Global Warming denier. Engaged in Sales,Sales Management and Training for living.
Mandar Ghotkar
Mandar is into his third dig at entrepreneurship. He has keen interest in Indian history and culture. He works closely with Go Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra Nagpur. He loves reading and playing Bridge during his free time.
Kaustubh Awade
Kaustubh is an engineer with a flair for technology. A first generation entrepreneur, he co-founded a venture in Industrial IoT. He loves Indian classical music and is a trained Tabla player. Rooted to ground level, Kaustubh's, is a home to many Pracharaks and Sangha activities.
Anirudh Joshi
Anirudh Joshi is based in NJ,US and is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee.
He is a passionate believer in Indic causes and "Bharatiyata". As a regular contributor to reputed online and print magazines, he writes on themes related to culture, politics, business and technology. His articles have been published in Swarajya, Organiser, MyIndMakers, Indiafacts, Business World, Outlook Business, Informationweek and Mint.
Akshay Joshi
Akshay Joshi is an active IA member based out of New Jersey. By profession he is a program manager in financial services technology. He is actively involved with many social causes and passionate about partnering with IA to help build a conducive intellectual Indic ecosystem. His other interests are creating comic books & animation movies on true Indian history.
Guru Prakash
Fellow, India Foundation. Assistant Professor, Patna University, Columnist, Adviser, Dalit Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Deepa Vaitheeswaran
My name is Deepa Vaitheeswaran. After completing my post graduate degree in Computer Science, I
worked in Citibank, Chennai for a decade. I relocated to Pondicherry for personal reasons and set up
my own software firm after taking a break of 3 years.
In Pondicherry, I discovered Kalarigram, which is a school of Kalaripayattu and Ayurveda. I started
learning Kalarpayattu there around five years back. Being a gurukulam, Kalarigram has provided me
the space and opportunity to volunteer for them as part of my training.
Our focus at Kalarigram is to revive our cultural practices related to the art of Kalaripayattu and
Ayurveda. It is our endeavour to make it a center of learning where people come to share their
knowledge in our culture and traditions. It is with that intent that we seek to start the Pondicherry
chapter of the Indic Book Academy.
Shailendra Marathe
Shefali Vaidya
Shefali Vaidya is an award-winning multi-lingual author, newspaper columnist and social media influencer. Her first Marathi book on parenting, #GhaarHindateAkashi is a best-seller. She holds a Masters degree in Mass Communications from the University of Pune, an advanced post-graduate diploma in Spanish language and a post-graduate diploma in Indology.
Somanjana Chatterjee
Somanjana Chatterjee is SF Bay Area based thought leader, initiator to various global projects in the area of media, education, inter-faith and community engagement, building coalitions around shared values and goals. Producer, editor KTSF Channel 26 for community TV talk shows, Diversity Ambassador (editorial) for India Currents publication, Fellow (Self Enquiry Life Fellowship, Hansavedas under the tutelage of His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda, highly ordained Vedic monk combining the Himalayan traditions of Sanskrit heritage and Yogic practices), community outreach coordinator for HAF (Hindu American Foundation). For more info: www.somanjanachatterjee.com
Archana Sunil
Archana Sunil is a health and Medicare insurance consultant who became an accidental enthusiast of Bharat’s Itihaasa and Sanatana Dharma few years ago. She hosts experts and scholars in these fields to share her explorations and learnings in these fields. Archana is most grateful for the opportunity to host her annual summer drama and cultural camp, Itihaasa, in Seattle for children ages eight and up. Itihaasa has so far studies and produced plays on Shakuntala, Krishna & Sudama, Chatrapati Shivaji, Lachit Borphukan and Valmiki Ramayana. She feels privileged to run the Seattle chapters of Sankara Healthcare Foundation, an initiative of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation USA.
Arun Vemuri aka Vakkeli
Arun Vemuri aka Vakkeli is a Marketing Communications and Advertising professional with over two decades of experience in India and abroad, with such institutions as Google, Ogilvy&Mather, GroupM, Hero Group etc.
An accomplished writer/poet he penned over 200 scripts for ChannelV's Very V and Late Night V (moonlighting anonymously), ran a blog scatterbrainedscribblings on Organisational Dynamics, before realising that he had roughed up the English reading audience enough and begun to go after the hapless Telugu folks, since 2014. From then he has penned over 3000 micropoem, wrote lyrics for a Telugu movie, and has been tweeting regularly under the pen-name వాక్కేళి (ivak99@).
He touches upon various themes like Culture, Cinema, Cuisine, slice of life, eminent personalities and events of India and Telugus, and Indian heritage.
Amongst the more meaningful accomplishments he counts composing MahaBharatam in 108 micropoems, EkapadyaRamayanam, SundayScience and a 100 poems on the artwork of Vaddadi Paapayya.
At present he lives in Singapore, playing chess in his spare time, when not raiding restaurants in Little India.
Rajeev Srinivasan
Professor Rajeev Srinivasan graduated from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras and the Stanford Business School. He spent twenty years in Engineering and Management roles in the US, with Bell Labs and in Silicon Valley. He has taught innovation at several IIMs for fifteen years. He is an academic adviser to NetExplo, an innovation-focused UNESCO affiliate in Paris. He has been a columnist for several publications, such as Rediff.com, Swarajaya, Open, DNA, Firstpost, Pioneer, for 25 years. Along with the last Varsha Bhosle, he was the Original Internet Hindu, pioneering an unapologetic Hindu nationalist perspective.
Santhoshkumar
Dr M Santhoshkumar is doctorate in Biochemistry and alumnus of PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. He is serving as Principal of Global International CBSE School, Tirupur. He has worked for ABVP in various capacities during his college days. He is serving as State Convener, Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN), Tamil Nadu chapter for past 3 years..
Shubham Verma
Shubham Verma is a writer, researcher and social worker having 10+ years of experience in the field of social work, Indian culture and rural development. Previously, he has also worked for few policy think tanks in Delhi. Currently, he is working in the grassroots of Madhya Pradesh. He is also a convenor of IndicA Vidisha.
Bhanu Gauda
Bhanu Gouda is originally from Telangana. Electronics engineer by profession, works in IT industry. Washington DC Volunteer for Indic Events.
Dr. Jigar Champaklal Inamdar
B.com,
L.L.B.,
M.A. (Political Science),
Ph. D. (Public Administration)
••
Consultant cum Regional Director,
Indian Council for Cultural Relations,
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
••
• Senate & Syndicate member,
• Advisor & Former Honorary Executive Director,
Institute of Leadership and Governance,
• Advisor, Trivenidevi Kashinath Agrawal Management Development Centre
of
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
••
Coordinating Swami Vivekananda Gujarat State Youth Board
••
Former State General Secretary,
Gujarat state youth BJP (BJYM)
Krishna Kavita
Krishna Kavita is a student of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, and has continued her Vedanta studies with Swamini Svatmavidyananda ji and Swami Sadatmananda ji. She enjoys writing and teaching about Indic language, culture, and thought
Rasita Vishnuram
Rasita is a passionate exponent of a worldview based on Indic civilizational heritage. She is a keen student of Indic philosophy, and a practitioner of Indic spiritual practices. An advocate of developing a comprehensive Indic narrative in all fields of public affairs, she has a special interest in democratization of mainstream media, where the Indic Voice finds a seat at the table.
Rasita holds a doctoral degree in International Relations. Her areas of academic interest are national security, cyber security and foreign policy. She also actively follows Indian politics.
She is one of the conveners of Indic Academy’s Washington DC Chapter. She consultants on projects and volunteers with organizations involving women, youth and the under-privileged. She is fluent in Hindi, Tamil & Malayalam.
She can be reached at <rasita@gmail.com>. Her twitter handle is @rasita.
V Srinivas
Srinivas Vadde is an Executive Assistant to the Promoter of Indic Academy, Sri Hari Kiran Vadlamani, associated since 2002.
Kotiramaprasad
Kotiramaprasad is the member of Technical Team
Gayatri Iyer
Gayatri Iyer is a curator and creator of Ultra Short Films. She is an eternal artist & traveler with a mission to discover the unknown, lost and beautiful parts of herself while also discovering the true meaning of her roots of being an Indian in today's context. A free spirited yogini with a deep love for yoga, India, theater, food, watercolors, story-telling evident through her book, Life's Macchiato: A collection of your stories. A lot of her passions saw the light through her start-ups of Chef In A Box, Ahem Stationery & Arts, theater production Unrest, travel and creative consultancy. The list has not ended and would never end!
Nikita Hattangady
Nikita Vyas Hattangady is Head of Programming at Indica Pictures. Nikita is a writer and filmmaker in the DFW metroplex in Texas, USA. She completed her writing and directing debut, a British comedy set in London, in July of this year. She is currently in pre-production of her second film venture as a writer and director. Nikita is an advisory board member of ISOFEST, a new international film, and arts festival based in New Delhi, India. She was a member of the program selection committee for the DFW South Asian Film Festival, a five year internationally recognized festival. She authored and illustrated a children’s book on diversity in America, We Are American, that is used in various school districts as a teaching tool. Nikita’s greatest passions are spending time with her family, storytelling, and learning new cultures and has had the great fortune of traveling and living across the world. She has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration.
Bhaskar Rayavaram
Bhaskar Rayavaram is Head of Social Media and Publicity at Indica Pictures. Bhaskar is a serial entrepreneur, seasoned IT professional with 25+ years of experience helping various businesses to drive their digital transformation strategies. Passionate about film, radio and drama, Bhaskar has hosted many radio programs, performed in many theatrical appearances and wrote a number of scripts for children’s stage plays. With an MBA from UT Dallas JSOM, and as a volunteer Vice President for Silicon Andhra ManaBadi, Bhaskar brings in vast digital marketing experience along with digital education expertise . Passionate about story telling, Bhaskar runs a YouTube channel focusing on creating variety of infotainment content to create and propagate positive energy and social good around the world.
Sumeet Borwankar
Sumeet Borwankar is Head of Operations and Project Management. Sumeet was at the forefront when the most significant Indian cinema fan and filmmaker blogging site PassionForCinema, was launched in 2006. He acted as a counselor, advisor, and chief editor for the microblogging site. He was the curator, programmer for many first of its kind initiatives on PassionForCinema like One Minute Film Festival, Poster Contest, PFCPitcher. Sumeet was instrumental in running an intern program iView on PFC, which gave the Indian Film Industry directors, technicians, writers who went on to garner national film awards and several international awards. He lives in Dallas Metro and enjoys cinema, traveling the world, reading, debating cricket, and satellite poker.
Rajeswari Udayagiri
Rajeswari Udayagiri is Head of Media Relations. Rajeswari has deep respect for Indian culture and traditions and takes great pride in her heritage and ethnicity. An accomplished theatre artist, Rajeswari is the Director and Founder of Sarasiji Theaters, an organization dedicated to Telugu dramas for the past 7 years. Currently, Sarasija Theaters has several projects on the anvil. Coming from a family of writers, Rajeswari aspires to nurture and grow her own talent and skills besides working towards passing on her understanding of the real India to future generations. With multiple achievements in radio, television, and cinema as an anchor, actor, voice over artist, Rajeswari also owns and operates Radio Surabhi, a radio station in Dallas.
Christian Frost
Christian Frost is Head of Filmmaker Liaison. Christian has been working in Hollywood for nearly 20 years in marketing and creative print at DreamWorks and Paramount. What makes Christian unique is his absolute passion for India and his ability to talk to anyone anywhere. Christian received a B.A. in Anthropology with an emphasis on Indian studies from Brigham Young University and is currently pursuing his Masters in Asian Studies. He has traveled extensively to India and made friends with some of Bollywood’s elite. Christian is also a filmmaker and a content creator and has several projects in the works from feature films to TV series. He also has a YouTube channel called Uncle Frosty-Ji where his entertaining and informative interviews and travelogues bring a fresh perspective to Indian culture.
S K. Shelgikar
S K. Shelgikar is advisor of Advaita Academy
Date of birth : April 7th 1955
Academics: B.Com.; Chartered Accountant. In practice as chartered accountant with specialisation in direct and indirect taxes, corporate laws, commercial laws. Special Interest in Constitutional Law, from 1978 till date. withdrew from commercial world from 1998 for pursuit of spirituality. Engaged in personal spiritual development since then. disciple of Dr S.D. Deshmukh an ardent AADISHANKAR ADVAITAVEDANT.
Vikas Srivastava
Vikas is a Young India Fellow from Ashoka University who has completed a MA in Liberal Studies under Canadian philosopher and writer Clancy Martin. His interests lie at the intersection of Philosophy, Literature and Psychology. Prior to his venture into the humanities, Vikas was a Mechanical engineering graduate from IIIT in Chennai. He has worked previously as a Research Associate at India Center Foundation. He believes to have a flair for Critical Thinking, Creative Writing, Teaching, Storytelling, Community building and Contact movement therapy.
Sumit Singh
Mr.Sumit kumar singh is a young educatoinst, he has knowledge of a wide range of marketing techniques and concepts. A creative thinker a proactive initiator with a good hand in computer operations. Mr.sumit is presently employed as a Adminstrative manager in IGENPLUS. He has completed one year in Rishihood University as a Deputy manager and handled all marketing and Adminstrative work. He is always keen to up-skill himself by learning new things whenever he get chance. Sumit is a smart learner and he belongs to Delhi.
Ayushee Chaudhary
A Literature graduate, Ayushee is a freelance journalist with a keen interest in art, aerospace, and aviation, who wishes to give words to the many stories the world has in store. Her will to contribute towards a more informed and prepared society has kept her associated with educating youngsters and that same enthusiasm brought her to IGenPlus. Having an insatiable quest to cease every day, she keeps her plate full by managing content, doing research, and anything else that she might be needed for. Apart from sustainable traveling & occasionally performing spoken word poetry, she keeps her mental and physical well-being balanced by teaching Zumba and spreading smiles.
Munmun Aggarwal
A postgraduate in Communication Design from Pearl Academy. She has her hands’ full managing and designing the content we generate. A true fashionista and practical, she is fascinated by the intricacies of design. Always eager to learn and explore: she believes in absolute clarity and flexibility
Mehak Gupta
Mehak is a firm believer of ‘expressing’ herself to the world, either through Literature or Design. She is a Postgraduate in Fashion Design and Graduate in English Literature. Her creative and exploring instinct brought her to IGenPlus. She creates unique written and visual content for IGP, and of course loves sipping chai in the office. Writing Shayari and dancing, are few other things she has a fondness for.
Nishtha Narang
Nishtha is a Young India fellow with a vision to impact women through education. Post her fellowship she joined Teach for India as staff and is now managing Gap Year program at IGen plus. When she is not out trying to change the face of education in the country she is curled up in her room with a book or binge watching netflix. She believes every human being is on a unique journey and is always living hers to the fullest.
Varsha Venkataraman
Varsha Venkataraman is a cancer researcher in the making. A history-buff, fiction-reader and an avid cricket enthusiast!
Anuradha Choudry
Dr. Anuradha Choudry, is guest teacher at Indica Yoga.
She is currently working a joint Faculty at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and at the Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. A multilingual Sanskritist, she works in the areas of Indian/Yoga Psychology, Philosophy and Culture and travels across the world to deliver lectures and conduct workshops on these topics for national and international organisations and events including the Annual Yoga Congress organised by the European Union of Yoga in Zinal, Switzerland. She has published in various journals and has co-edited and co-authored books titled 'Perspectives on Indian Psychology;' and 'Happiness: Indian Perspectives'; respectively along with Dr. Vinayachandra B. K. Last year, she was the recipient of the Excellent Young Teacher Award art IIT Kharagpur.
Prasad Kaipa
Prasad is a CEO Coach and advisor living in Campbell, CA and worked with over 140 C suite executives in US, Europe and India. He was a clinical professor at the Indian School of Business (ISB) and was founding executive director of Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change and is the co-author of international best-seller “From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom" based on a framework from the Bhagavad Gita. Prasad is the chairman of Samskrita Bharati USA and trustee of YogaBharati and North South Foundation. his books, research and consulting work integrates Vedantic wisdom, Cognitive/brain sciences and western management. Prasad got his doctorate in physics from IIT Madras and worked as an assistant professor in the University of Utah. Prasad enjoys exploring and reinterpreting ancient wisdom (and its application in developing highly effective and authentic leaders), photography and playing table tennis.
Shashank Davanagere
Ravishankar Gundlapalli
Ravishankar Gundlapalli is an Entrepreneur, Author and Speaker passionate about helping people achieve their true potential. Be it employees in a company, first-time entrepreneurs, career professionals or students, Ravi finds happiness in helping them make the right connections, learn new skills to accomplish more and achieve career milestones.
His book, The Art of Mentoring: A Guidebook for Giving and getting the most from Mentorships is a self-help book that provides insights into the different aspects of mentoring.
A Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur who has previously worked in the automotive and aerospace industries, he has experience in managing multi-million dollar projects for clients such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Raytheon, Hitachi Global Storage, Cypress. As founder and CEO of MentorCloud, an online social platform for mentoring, he has personally mentored over 150 individuals. MentorCloud was founded to help people find, connect and learn from the right mentors & subject-matter experts from anywhere in the world.
His work has been featured in Huffington Post, HBR Blog, Forbes, Forbes India, The Hindu, Knowledge@Wharton, Store Brands, DZone and more.
As a speaker, he focuses on topics related to learning, career development and achieving success in life. He has also been the speaker at the 8th World Demographic Forum in Switzerland and also a plenary speaker in Washington DC at the invitation of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He is on a mission to accelerate careers and success for millions of people through mentorship, and his vision is to reach 100 million learners by 2020. He believes that when people are learning and growing in their careers, they are happier which translates to happy families, happy workplaces, and happy communities.
Arunima Gupta
Arunima Gupta is Principal at Network of Indian Cultural Enterprises (NICE). She is an alumnus of Leiden University, the Netherlands and Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She tweets @ArunimaGupta03.