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Ansuman Acharya is a poet, music enthusiast and nature lover based in Seattle, USA. An alumnus of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, and the University of Washington, Seattle, he has built a career in the technology sector, having worked as a Product Manager at Microsoft and currently working with Airbnb. His passion for music extends beyond his professional life, and he was the lead singer of The Neverminds, a Seattle based band inspired by Nirvana. Alongside his interests in music and nature, Acharya continues to explore poetry and creative expression. His diverse interests in technology, literature, music and the natural world reflect his multifaceted personality.
Anuja Chandramouli is a bestselling author and New Age Indian Classicist who has published 14 books across mythology, historical fiction and fantasy. Her debut novel, Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince, was named among Amazon India’s top five bestsellers in Indian Writing in 2012. Her book Mohini: The Enchantress won the Times of India AutHer Award in 2021. A TEDx speaker, storyteller and content creator, Chandramouli also writes a column for The New Indian Express. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and a devoted Rottie parent and mother of two daughters, who, she says, keep her grounded with their wit and candour.
Asit Mohanty is a noted Odia writer, translator, editor and researcher, and a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation. He has made significant contributions to Odia literature through his writing, editing and translation work. His translation Adhyaya Ekavimsha, featuring 21 short stories by Jnanpith Award winning authors, earned him the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award in 1998. His other notable works include Bapu Mo Maa, which won the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation in 2008, and Nabakalebara Katha, a work exploring the traditions and history surrounding Lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebara festival. He has authored and edited more than 30 books.
Ashutosh is a highly acclaimed journalist, a reputed columnist and a successful author, Ashutosh is a founding member of the Hindi news and views portal Satyahindi.com. He was the Managing Editor of IBN7 from 2006 to 2014. He has authored five books on Indian politics. Reclaiming Bharat, published in 2025, is based on the 2024 Indian parliamentary elections. His book ‘Hindu Rashtra’, published by Westland, is an account of India’s changing political terrain and the social upheavals since 2014 in their historical context. His other books are ‘Anna- 13 days that awakened India’, written in 2011, and ‘The Crown Prince, The Gladiator & The Hope- Battle for Change’, written in 2015. His collection of articles has been published in Hindi. An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he did his M.A. and M.Phil. in International Relations (after an M.A. in Philosophy from Allahabad University), he was awarded the internationally acclaimed United Nations’ Dag Hammarskjold Memorial Scholarship in 1997, which is awarded to only 4 young journalists from 150 countries.
Bibhu Prasad Acharya is a retired IAS officer of the 1983 batch who served as Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Telangana and Director General of the Dr Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute. During his distinguished career, he held key positions in industries, tourism, planning and administration, contributing to initiatives including Genome Valley and Telangana Tourism. Beyond public service, Acharya is a cartoonist and writer whose satirical work captures the lighter side of bureaucracy, governance and everyday life. His cartoons have been featured under the title Obtuse Angle, and he has also written extensively about his professional journey and experiences.
Jatin Nayak is an eminent translator and critic who has published widely in India and abroad. Educated at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack and Merton College, Oxford University, he retired as Professor of English from Utkal University in 2016 and is currently a visiting professor at Ravenshaw University. He has co-translated into English Fakir Mohan Senapati’s classic Odia novel ChhaMana Atha Guntha (Six Acres and a Third). Nayak’s other translations include A stride the Wheel, A Time Elsewhere and The Maternal Uncle. The anthologies he has edited include Reminiscences: Excerpts from Odia and Bangla Autobiographies, Memories, Images, Imagination, Meeting the Mahatma: Gandhiji’s Visits to Orissa, Fakir mohan Senapati: Perspectives on His Fiction and A World Elsewhere: The Image of Orissa in Odia Autobiographies. Nayak is a member of the advisory board of Dhaka Translation Centre and the English Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi. He has been editing marg ASIA, the journal of Centre for Asian Studies, Bhubaneswar since 2013.
Lipika Bhushan is the founder of MarketMyBook and TheIndicPen, two pioneering platforms that are shaping the future of India’s publishing and literary ecosystem. A leading book marketing strategist, she has worked with over 1800 authors and all major international and Indian publishers, driving some of the country’s most successful book launches and literary campaigns. Through MarketMyBook, she has been instrumental in finding a publishing fit for writers as well as creating visibility for both debut and bestselling authors across genres, while TheIndicPen reflects her passion for celebrating Indic narratives, culture, and thought leadership through powerful conversations, podcasts, and literary initiatives. A thought leader in the Indian publishing space, Lipika combines her deep industry expertise with an unwavering commitment to storytelling, authorship, and preserving India’s intellectual heritage.
Makarand R Paranjape is currently Sri Aurobindo Chair (Hon.), Vedere University and Director of Education, Access Health Care Physicians, Spring Hill, Florida. He served as Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University for nearly 25 years and as Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study (Shimla) from 2018-2021. He also taught at IIT-Delhi and University of Hyderabad (HCU).
He was educated at Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, Bengaluru, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (BA Hons.), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his Masters and PhD in English.
He is the author/editor of 55 books and has published over 200 academic papers/book chapters. His columns, newspaper/periodical essays, and op-eds number in the thousands.
His recent books include “Hindutva and Hind Swaraj: History’s Forgotten Doubles,” (Penguin Random House, 2025), “Mahatma Gandhi: Mrityu aur Punarutthan” (Penguin Swadesh, 2024), “JNU: Nationalism and India’s Uncivil War” (Rupa, 2022), and “Swami Vivekananda: Hinduism and India’s Road to Modernity” (HarperCollins, 2020).
Manoj Kumar Mohapatra is the Publisher and proprietor of Grantha Mandira, a prominent publishing house based in Cuttack, Odisha. Grantha Mandira has been part of Odisha’s literary and publishing landscape for several decades, supporting the publication and circulation of books, particularly in Odia. Mohapatra has also been associated with literary initiatives and book fairs, promoting reading and access to books in the state. He is known for his contribution to Odisha’s publishing ecosystem and for encouraging new and established writers. Grantha Mandira is listed in the Odisha government’s directory of publishers, with Mohapatra identified as its proprietor.
Maria Goretti is an author, chef, television host and former MTV VJ, known for her work in food, cooking and lifestyle. She trained in culinary arts at the Tante Marie Culinary Academy in London and later studied patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu. Her debut cookbook, From My Kitchen to Yours: Food, Love & Other Ingredients, brings together recipes inspired by her family, travels and experiences with food, and won the World Gourmand Cookbook Award in 2017. She is also the author of To the Moon and Back: Life, Love and Everything In-between, a collection of poems and reflections on life, love and personal experiences.
Meena Kandasamy is a poet, novelist, translator, anti-caste activist and academic whose writing explores caste, gender, violence, resistance and social justice. She is the author of the poetry collections Touch, Ms. Militancy and Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You, and the novels The Gypsy Goddess, When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife and Exquisite Cadavers. Her novel When I Hit You was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, among other awards. In 2022, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and received the PEN Hermann Kesten Prize for her work.
Meher Mirza is a Mumbai-based food, travel and culture writer and editor whose work explores the history, anthropology and cultural significance of food. Formerly the Chief Copy and Features Editor at BBC Good Food India, she has written for publications including The Guardian, BBC Travel, CNN Travel, Saveur, Literary Hub and Condé Nast Traveller India. Her debut book, Sea, Salt and Spice: A History of Mumbai Through Food, traces the evolution of Mumbai through its kitchens, ingredients, communities and culinary traditions. The book explores how migration, trade, colonialism, religion and culture shaped the city’s distinctive food heritage and identity.
Miyog Ranjan Patra is an Odia writer and storyteller whose work reflects his engagement with contemporary Odia literature and storytelling. He has participated in literary programmes organised by the Sahitya Akademi, including short-story reading sessions, and has been associated with the PEN IN BOOKS literary initiative. In 2026, he joined noted writer Subhransu Panda as a mentor for PEN IN BOOKS’ Writer-in-Residence programme, which aims to nurture young writers in Odisha. Patra’s literary interests span fiction and storytelling, and he continues to contribute to Odisha’s growing literary ecosystem. His work reflects a commitment to encouraging new voices and strengthening the culture of reading and writing.
Navtej Sarna was India’s Ambassador to the United States till Dec 2018. As a member of the Indian Foreign Service since 1980, Sarna also served as India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Ambassador to the State of Israel and Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs. He has the distinction of being India’s longest serving foreign office spokesperson, having held that post for six years. In the earlier years of his service, he served in various diplomatic posts in Moscow, Poland, Bhutan, Iran, Washington and Geneva.
Navtej Sarna is also an established author of fiction and non-fiction. His most recent novel is Crimson Spring has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for 2025 and the KLF prize for the Best Fiction book of 2022.
His literary works includes the novels The Exile and We Weren’t Lovers Like That, the short story collection Winter Evenings, non-fiction works A Flag to Live and Die For, The Book of Nanak, Second Thoughts and Indians at Herod’s Gate, as well as two translations, Zafarnama and Savage Harvest. He has been a prolific columnist and commentator on foreign policy and literary matters, contributing regularly to journals in India and abroad.
Neha Sinha is a conservationist and acclaimed author. Her work focuses on the science-policy bridge, conservation of the lesser-known, and the interface of nature and society. Trained in conservation at Oxford University and in literature at St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, Neha has been an INLAKS scholar and the winner of the Mansfield graduate fund for her dissertation at Oxford university. She is the author of the bestselling Wild and Wilful: Tales of Fifteen Iconic Indian Species, published in 2021. She has received awards for both her conservation work as well as her writing. Her new book is Wild Capital: Discovering Nature in Delhi, published as My Wild City in the UK and North America. She can be found on X and IG at nehaa_sinha.
Prafulla Ketkar is Editor of Organiser (Weekly), one of India’s oldest nationalist magazines, and has over 25 years of experience in research, media and academia. He has served on advisory and executive bodies of institutions including the University of Delhi, Indian Institute of Mass Communication and Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication. His areas of expertise include international politics, foreign policy, China and Southeast Asia, trade and economy, security studies, comparative political philosophy and civilisations. He has worked with All India Radio, the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and the CSDS Lok-Niti project. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Pune and an MPhil from JNU. He has authored seven books and 29 academic articles, and was awarded the Maharshi Ved Vyas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh Government for 2022-23. He is a regular commentator on political and foreign policy issues
Raghuvendra Tanwar is Professor Emeritus at Kurukshetra University and Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), New Delhi. A Padma Shri awardee in Education and Literature, he has over four decades of experience as a historian, with a particular focus on the Partition of India and Jammu & Kashmir. He has served as Director of the Haryana Academy of History and Culture and as a UGC National Fellow. His major works include Reporting the Partition of Punjab, The Politics of Sharing Power, The Story of India’s Partition, and Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh Through the Ages. His latest work is Gentle Setting of the Empire’s Sun: Prisons, Prisoners & Forgotten Stories of India’s Freedom Struggle (2026). He has also edited and authored several works on Indian history, politics and civilisations. Tanwar has served on the governing bodies of institutions including IIAS, Shimla, PMML, New Delhi, and ICSSR, and was formerly Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research.
An alumni of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai & a PG in Political science and economics. He was an ERP consultant for 30+ years. He has written 14 books in English and Hindi, of which 11 are on RSS. He has translated 2 important books on Shri Guruji by veteran RSS thinker Ranga Hari ji. He has edited/designed 18 books. His trilogy - RSS360, Demystifying Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS - Evolution from an Organisation to a Movement & Conflict Resolution The RSS Way are considered as the best introduction to RSS.
He is a well known TV panelist and public speaker. He has travelled widely in Bharat and in 26 countries overseas. He is involved in social activism, sewa, and advising social service organisations.
Ravi Shankar Etteth is a veteran editor, author, and media strategist known for his contributions across political journalism, lifestyle media, and literary writing. He has held key editorial roles at India Today, including Managing Editor and Editor-at-Large, where he led major redesigns and helped shape its political and lifestyle coverage. He also launched the luxury magazine Spice and oversaw editorial operations at Media Transasia, including the Indian edition of Sports Illustrated. As Creative Director of The Observer Group, he helped launch the Business & Political Observer daily. Currently, he serves as Consulting Editor at The New Indian Express, where he pens the political column Provocateur and contributes to the weekend lifestyle edition. Shankar is an acclaimed novelist and author of political biographies. His fiction includes The Tiger by the River, The Village of the Widows, The Gold of Their Regrets, The Book of Shiva, Killing Time in Delhi, and The Brahmin. His works have been translated into several international languages. His nonfiction includes Pawan Chamling: The Record Breaker and Naveen Patnaik: Juggernaut. His latest book, The Little Book of Goodbyes (Westland, 2025), is a collection of stories drawn from memories of family, friends and places across Kerala, Delhi and beyond, blending fiction and autobiography to explore love, loss, memory and farewell.
Ria Chopra writes about the internet, pop culture, and India’s young people. Her essays have been published by Vogue, VICE, The Hindu, Indian Express, Refinery29, Insider etc., and her culture commentary has amassed her a following of 100,000+ across social media platforms. She is the national bestselling author of Never Logged Out: How the Internet Created India’s Gen Z.
Sahar Zaman is an award-winning journalist, author and cultural curator with over two decades of experience across television, print, radio and digital media. She has worked with leading news organisations and is known for making art, culture and current affairs accessible to wider audiences. She is also the founder of Hunar TV, a platform focused on the arts and creative culture. Her debut book, Talat Mahmood: The Definitive Biography, is a deeply researched account of the legendary singer and actor Talat Mahmood, who was also her grand-uncle. The book was published in 2024, coinciding with his birth centenary.
Sampad Patnaik is a freelance journalist based in Odisha. He has previously worked with The Indian Express and Reuters News in Delhi and Bengaluru. Sampad studied politics and history at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. He was awarded the Legislative Assistants for Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship by PRS, Delhi to work as a legislative aide for a Member of Parliament. He currently contributes pieces for The Wire, Open Magazine, and Down to Earth Magazine. He has previously written for Scroll, The Diplomat, and The Khaleej Times.
Sandip Das has had a distinguished corporate career spanning over three and a half decades across telecommunications, automobiles and consumer durables. He was a decorated CEO of Hutchison Essar Telecom, Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, and Reliance Jio, with an international career spanning multiple geographies. He currently sits on the boards of listed companies and serves as a senior advisor to London-based global consultancies. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela; an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi; and an AMP from Harvard Business School, Boston. An avid reader, writer and sports enthusiast, he is also an eminent corporate public speaker with active interests in literature, arts, music, photography, cartography, history and technology.
A bi-lingual poet and translator, Sangram Jena has published two volumes of English poems and four books of Odia poetry. His poems have been translated into English and other Indian languages and published in India and abroad in several prestigious journals, including ‘Indian Literature’, ‘Kavya Bharati’, ‘New English Review’ and ‘Modern Poetry in Translation’. He has authored, translated and edited more than 50 books, both in English and Odia, including Gandhiji’s Odisha (two volumes) and Burmese Days. He has also translated many ancient and contemporary Odia poets into English and classics of world literature into Odia. He is a recipient of a senior fellowship, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He has received the Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation. He edits Marg Asia, a literary journal in English and Nishant in Odia. He is a former vice-president of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi.
Sanjiv Sarin is a former Managing Director and CEO of Tata Coffee, with over four decades of experience in leadership, strategy and business across global markets. Before joining the Tata Group, he held senior positions with Cadbury, including as Country Director in the Philippines. He is now a certified leadership coach and continues to work with organisations and individuals on purposeful leadership. Sarin is the author of The Other Side of the Mountain: A CEO’s Journey Through Spirituality, a memoir that reflects on his corporate journey, spirituality, resilience and the search for meaning beyond professional success.
Dr Santrupt Misra is a Member of the Rajya Sabha from Odisha and a former corporate leader with extensive experience in business, human resources and organisational leadership. Before entering public life, he held senior leadership positions at the Aditya Birla Group, including as CEO of Birla Carbon and Director of Human Resources. He holds doctoral degrees in Public Administration and Industrial Relations. Dr Misra is also the author of Human Resource Management in Public Service, reflecting his long-standing interest in leadership and people management. His work spans corporate transformation, institution building and public service.
Sheetal Ranganathan is an alumna of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, from where she obtained her BSc (Hons) degree in Human Biology, and her Master’s in Medical Biotechnology, after which she pivoted into business strategy and consulting with an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management. In her corporate career of over twenty years, she has held several leadership positions in global organisations in the healthcare and biotech sectors. She also works closely with the life sciences start-up community within India as a mentor and an investor. Passionate about improving healthcare access in India, and in India’s potential to contribute to world-class medical research and innovation, Sheetal has been an active contributor to the evolving narrative on digitalization of medicine and healthcare delivery, featuring on think-tank panels and TV debates. Her op-eds have featured in publications such as Mint, Financial Express, India Today.
Sohail Rekhy is an author, journalist and writer with a keen interest in Indian history and storytelling. Born in Mumbai and raised in Bengaluru, he studied literature at the University of Toronto and has worked across advertising, television, journalism and copywriting. His debut novel, Angria: A Historical Odyssey, brings to life the story of Kanhoji Angre, one of the most formidable naval commanders of the Maratha Empire. Drawing on years of research, the novel explores the political intrigue, battles and maritime conflicts of seventeenth-century India. Through Angria, Rekhy revisits a fascinating chapter of Indian history and introduces readers to a largely forgotten naval hero.
Subhransu Panda is an Odia author, journalist, publisher and founder of PEN IN BOOKS, a publishing platform dedicated to promoting regional literature. He has written extensively on socially relevant themes and contemporary issues, with works spanning novels, short stories, poetry and cultural writing. His notable books include Susamachara, Shilpa Bhagabata and Itara, the latter exploring the struggles and marginalisation of the transgender community in Odisha. Itara received the Akshaya Upanyasa Puraskara in 2024 from the Pratibha Ray Foundation. He is also the author of OḌIĀ: Journey of a Language, a coffee table book documenting the history and cultural evolution of the Odia language.
Dr S.Y. Quraishi is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India, author, scholar and institution builder. A 1971-batch IAS officer, he served in public life for four decades, including as Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Director General of the National AIDS Control Organisation, Election Commissioner and, from 2010 to 2012, the 17th Chief Election Commissioner of India. As CEC, he introduced major electoral reforms, including voter education and expenditure monitoring initiatives, and launched National Voters’ Day. He also founded the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, which became a major international capacity-building institution for election officials.
Dr S.Y. Quraishi is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India, author, scholar and institution builder. A 1971-batch IAS officer, he served in public life for four decades, including as Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Director General of the National AIDS Control Organisation, Election Commissioner and, from 2010 to 2012, the 17th Chief Election Commissioner of India. As CEC, he introduced major electoral reforms, including voter education and expenditure monitoring initiatives, and launched National Voters’ Day. He also founded the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, which became a major international capacity-building institution for election officials.
Quraishi has written extensively on elections, democracy, demography and public policy. His books include An Undocumented Wonder: The Making of the Great Indian Election, The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India, India’s Experiment with Democracy, and Democracy’s Heartland: Inside the Battle for Power in South Asia. He also edited The Great March of Democracy: Seven Decades of India’s Elections. His latest book, India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir, draws on a lifetime in public service through a collection of personal and professional episodes.
He was appointed Global Ambassador of Democracy by International IDEA and has represented India in election observation missions and spoken widely on democracy and electoral reform. He is currently Chancellor Emeritus of IILM University, Gurugram.
Sutapa Sikdar is a screenwriter, dialogue writer and producer whose work has spanned Hindi cinema and television for more than three decades. A graduate of the National School of Drama, she began writing for television, contributing to shows including Banegi Apni Baat and Star Bestsellers. Her dialogue-writing credits include Khamoshi: The Musical, Supari, Shabd and Kahaani. She later moved into film production, producing Madaari (2016) and Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017). Her work has consistently centred on character, relationships and the nuances of everyday life, with Qarib Qarib Singlle in particular offering a more unconventional portrait of love and companionship. Sikdar has also been an important chronicler and custodian of the creative life she shared with Irrfan Khan. In recent years, she has spoken about his craft, their years together and the many facets of his personality that remained largely away from the public eye.
