Speakers - India Ki Khoj 2011
Mallika Sarabhai: One of the most accomplished artists produced by India, Dr. Sarabhai is a Bharat Natyam Dancer, social activist and the founder of Natarani, the theatre academy and auditorium in Ahmedabad. It is difficult to think of a single art form with which Dr. Sarabhai would not have an association. She played the role of Draupadi at Peter Brooks’ film on Mahabharata, and has contributed significantly to feminist interpretations of Indian mythology and narratives.
Suchitra Balasubramanian: A distinct voice in Gujarat scholarship, Suchitra has co-authored (along with Achyut Yagnik) The Shaping of Modern Gujarat and From Royal City to Mega City: A Biography of Ahmedabad. She teaches at CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
Howard Spodek: A historian by training, Prof. Spodek has been associated with Ahmedabad for several decades and made significant contributions to the study of the city. He is the author Ahmedabad: A Shock City and teaches at Temple University, Philadelphia.
Viraj Amar: A renowned artist in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music tradition, Viraj has been the recipient of several accolades. She started learning music at the age of ten under the guidance of Shri Vilasrao Khandekar. Presently Viraj is the director of Upasna, a school of performing arts based in Ahmedabad.
Michel Danino: Born in France , Michel Danino has lived in India since the age of twenty-one, studying Indian civilization and culture. He has authored books in French and English, lectured widely and contributed studies to aspects of Indian archaeology. In the 1980s and 1990s, Michel Danino worked for the protection of a Shola forest in the Nilgiris, and this has led to the creation of Tamil Nadu’s first joint forest management group. Some of his books include Sri Aurobindo and Indian Civilization (1999),The Invasion that Never Was (2000), and The Lost River - On the trail of the Sarasvati (2010).Currently, he is Visiting Pofessot at IIT Gandhinagar.
Sherin Catherine: Studied Dalit and Tribal Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS). She was a Research Associate at Intercultural Resources, Chennai. Sherin is planning to pursue her graduate studies in Cognitive Anthropology.
Santosh Desai: Santosh Desai is MD and CEO of Future Brands. Prior to this he was president of McKann- Erickson, one of India’s premier advertising agencies. A post graduate from IIM Ahmedabad, Santish has spent twenty one years in the advertising world strategically building local and multinational brands. He is interested in the relationship between culture and brands and, in this context, has extensively commented on contemporary society in India. His book Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India was recently published by Harper Collins, India.
Sandeep Pandey: Sandeep Pandey is a social activist and co-founded Asha for Education with Dr. Deepak Gupta (presently Professor at IIT Kanpur) and V.J.P Srivastava while at the University of California, Berkeley. His work at Asha Parivar is focused on Right to Information and other forms of citizen participation in removing corruption and improving the efficiency of governance. He leads National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), the largest network of grassroots people's movements in India. A Ramon Magsaysay awardee for emergent leadership in 2002, Dr. Pandey is currently a Visiting Professor at IIT Gandhinagar.
Suguna Ramanathan: Former head of the English Department at St. Xavier’s College, Suguna Ramanathan is an eminent teacher and scholar. Her publications of note are Figures of Good: A Study of Iris Murdoch’s fiction, Journeys to Freedom: Dalit Narratives, and The Silken Swing. She has translated (along with Rita Kothari) Modern Gujarati Poetry and Coral Island: The Poetry of Niranjan Bhagat.
Sadiq Noor Pathan: Acknowledged widely for his contribution to radio, Urdu learning and poetry, knowledge of Islam, Sadiq Noor Pathan is associated with the All India Radio for over thirty years now.
Harmony Siganporia: Member of the teaching fraternity at the Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Harmony teaches literature and culture studies. She holds a diploma in French, sings for the band Purple Flower and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. based on a Parsi reformer in Gujarat.
Rita Kothari: Rita Kothari is an author, translator and academic. Her research and pedagogy span across literature, sociology and culture studies. Her books include Translating India: The Cultural Politics of English, The Burden of Refuge: Sindh, Gujarat, Partition, and Memories and Movements: Borders and Communities in Banni, Kutch, Gujarat, Angaliyat: The Stepchild, Unbordered Memories: Partition Stories from Sindh. She is also the translator of Speech and Silence: Literary Journeys by Gujarati Women, and co-translator of Modern Gujarati Poetry: A Selection, and Coral Island: The Poetry of Niranjan Bhagat. She has co-edited Decentering Translation Studies: India and Beyond, and Chutnefying English: The Phenomenon of Hinglish. She is with the Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Gandhinagar.
Jaison A. Manjaly: Member of the teaching fraternity at IIT Gandhingar, Jaison holds a doctorate in Philosophy and an abiding interest in the relation of philosophy with Cognitive Science. He is also the Dean, Students’ Affairs at IITGN.
Mazhar Mutwa and group: Pastoralists by occupation, Mazhar Mutwa and the musicians accompanying him sing the Sufi songs from Kutch and Sindh, and play musical instruments found only in some rural parts of Gujarat and Pakistan.
Anand Patwardhan: Professor at SJMSOM and served as the Executive Director of the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council, Prof Patwardhan holds adjunct faculty positions at Carnegie Mellon University and at the School of Public Policy, Georgia Tech. He has worked extensively with industry, government and international organizations as a consultant and an advisor. He was a lead author of the third & fourth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. He is a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF); of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Global Carbon Project and of the Expert Committee on Climate Change of the Government of India.