Speakers

Ambar Kharbanda, born on December 28, 1952, defies conventional expectations as an Urdu shair. Despite holding an ITI in Electronics, he devotes himself to the art of poetry. Fluent in Hindi, English, Punjabi, Urdu, and Saraiki, Ambar is a versatile poet exploring kavya, ghazal, nazm, khamse, geet, and dohe.

A member of the ‘Uttarakhand Bhasha Sansthan,’ Ambar has authored notable works such as ‘Aisa Hoon Main’ (2009), ‘Kya Arz Karoon’ (2014), and ‘Maazirat’ (2021). ‘Maazirat’ is the sole piece of work on ‘khamse’ — an art form that is challenging to write, which is why only a few poets have explored it.Since 1963, he has graced Akashvani and TV channels, earning recognition as a senior shair on Akashvani and sharing his ghazals on the world broadcasting service.

Ambar Kharbanda’s uniqueness lies in his steadfast belief that Urdu transcends religious boundaries, a perspective shaped during his school days as the sole Hindu embracing Urdu. Despite his background in electronics engineering, Ambar prioritizes his poetic pursuits over business.

A recipient of honours like the recognition from the ‘Authors Guild of Himachal,’ ‘Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’ samman, ‘Mujahide-Urdu’ award, and ‘Pride of Uttarakhand -PBWS,’ Ambar Kharbanda’s poetry is a testament to truth, blending subtlety with a grounded and sharp perspective. In a society often conforming to norms, Ambar’s work encourages introspection, urging us to find meaning within ourselves.

Twice a Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Arshiya Sethi, established Kri Foundation (2003), braiding Arts, Activism and Knowledge creation. Former dance critic Times of India, presenter for four decades of the archived National Programme of Music and Dance on the Public Broadcast TV network, Doordarshan, she was advisor, DD Bharati – its Art and Culture channel.

As Creative-Head, India Habitat Centre, she curated programmes, across genres, for a decade and then worked to create intangible cultural properties like City Arts Festivals. Co-author of the Book “Non-Gharanedaar: Pt Mohanrao Kallianpurkar, The Paviour of Kathak’ (2022), co-editor and contributor to “Dance Under the Shadow of the Nation” (2019), Dance Studies Association’s international publication, Editor of a soon-to-be launched international academic Journal on South Asian Dance and its Intersections, she is a popular columnist.

Part of the team that prepared the Position Paper for the National Education Policy, 2020’s focus on Arts Education and Arts Integrated Learning, her new work is on Arts and the Law

Brahmanand S Siingh is a Rex Karmaveer Chakra Award winner (a UN-driven International award for bringing about positivity in people’s mindsets through one’s works) and a National Award-winning filmmaker (producer-director), author, speaker and mentor based out of Mumbai.

Best known for his films like Jhalki, feature-documentaries on RD Burman, Pancham Unmixed, Jagjit Singh Kagazi Ki Kashti, continue to enjoy an amazing, sweeping cult, critical and popular acclaim across many platforms. Other than these, many other films like Riding on a Sunbeam; Through Our Eyes; Ambassador of Peace, Ragpickers: Scavengers of a Different Graveyard; Ashgari Bai; Uncaging the Body; A Burden of Love and a lot many commissioned films have been popular and acclaimed. Singh often brings out an insightful, exploring and reflective dimensions in the subjects that excite him, bringing out its core essence in a soulful and captivating manner.

A veteran in the Film Industry, he believes that films are a very powerful medium and can be made in a way to do wonders in communication, awareness, positioning, impact and change. He is known for his expertise and ideation-capacity in developing projects and exploring and delivering films that make a marked impact and stir people towards the desired goal.

She has an experience of over 20 years in her professional field.

Major (Dr.) Mohommed Ali Shah is an International TEDx speaker who has given the maximum number of TEDx talks not only in India but across the world.

He was crowned Mr. Pune ”Talent” while he was in college. He is referred to as the no.1motivational speaker of India. He has acted in national award- winning films such as Haider, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, The Tashkent Files and many more.

He was conferred the coveted award of “Best Actor” at Delhi International Film Festival, two critiques best actor awards in Australia, a critique’s award in the state capital of Kerala by a Kerala minister for an English film he played the lead and title role in called ” The Ruffian”.

He led the Assam Rifles marching continent saluting H.E. The President of India at the Republic Day Parade 2008. He is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and has been the CEO of a leading company and is seen every day on National TV channels with his brilliant analysis on various issues that lot of people resonate with.

Founder & Festival Director, Dolly Singh is an established poet, author and editor. She carries her vision of promoting and popularising poetry and reviving poetic legacies close to her heart.

Since the launch of the festival in 2013 she has been working tirelessly to curate meaningful content for the poetry lovers of Delhi-NCR and beyond. She has managed to create a democratic and fearless domain for literature and poetry lovers who can express themselves without any bias.

Dolly also runs a women-centric platform- SheScapes, that addresses issues faced by urban women. SheScapes is an interactive platform that allows every woman in that space to air her views. It is an arena for creative, evolved and enlightened woman

Besides these, she works closely in the children’s literature sphere. She has edited 4 anthologies for children, and her own book on various poetry forms for children – A Poem Trots Along. She also runs poetry workshops.

Her own Coffee Table book- Frozen in a Pause has received rave review. Three of her own projects are ready and poised to be published.

Dolly has been the recipient of Rex Karmaveer Award and Global Fellowship for 3 consecutive years.

Sukrita Paul Kumar, poet and critic, was born and brought up in Kenya. She held the

prestigious Aruna Asaf Ali Chair at Delhi University. Formerly, a Fellow of the Indian Institute of

Advanced Study, Shimla, she was an invited poet at the International Writing Programme,

lowa, USA and Hong Kong Baptist University. Honorary faculty, Durrell Centre at Corfu, Greece, she has been a recipient of many prestigious fellowships and residencies.

Her recent collections of poems amongst others are Vanishing Words, Country Drive, Dream

Catcher, Untitled and Poems Come Home (with Hindustani translations by Gulzar). She is th“Writer in Context” Series co-editor, being published by Routledge UK. Her co-edited book on the eminent writer Krishna Sobti is the first in the series. Amongst her critical books are ‘Narrating Partition and Conversations on Modernism.’

Her translations include Nude, poems by Vishal Bhardwaj and the novel, Blind (HarperCollins)| by Joginder Paul. A guest editor of journals such as Indian Literature, Manoa (Hawaii) and

Muse India, she has held solo exhibitions of her paintings. Many of her poems come out of her

experience of working with the homeless, street children and Tsunami victims.

Sunil Bhandari is a poet disguised as a corporate executive. His book of poetry ‘Of Love and Other Abandonments’ was an Amazon bestseller. His second book was ‘Of Journeys & Other Ways to Get Lost’.

His poetry podcast ‘Uncut Poetry’ is heard in over 70 countries. His new podcast ‘Red River Sessions’ features interviews with exciting poets. His cultural newsletter ‘The Uncuts’ is a weekly sundrop of grace and mulls with almost 3K dedicated subscribers.

Sunil has been featured in several poetry anthologies and is a popular poet in the Literature Festivals circuit.

Vineet KKN ‘Panchhi’ is a Communication Consultant, Writer, and Leadership Coach. He worked with US MNCs like Reebok, Bose Audio, GE, and Carlson Wagonlit, before starting his social-entrepreneurship company called ‘Word of Mouth Media’.
His writing, poetry and films have been used both by large brands and the social sector extensively.
Vineet currently spends most of his time with grassroots organisations in training and assisting them with digital and technology tools, to communicate better with their identified audiences. Vineet’s dream and passion project – ‘The Jai Hind Project’ has been recently supported by The Azim Premji Foundation and University, where his team will be working with the NGO ecosystem in India to train them on storytelling and digital tools.
Vineet is a graduate of XLRI, Jamshedpur and has a certificate from The University of Oxford in Leadership Psychology. More about Vineet at: www.VineetPanchhi.com

Mona Verma is an award-winning author of 9 books and over a dozen anthologies which have been the subject of the thesis for many Research Scholars and ICSE ELT series.

Recipient of the Rex Karamveer Award by icongo and United Nations, she has been listed in the 50 Iconic Authors 2022 Category by Aesthetics International.

India Today March 2023 edition has listed her amongst the Top 8 emerging Indian women.

In October 2023, her name and writings have found an impressive mention in the prestigious British Routledge Encyclopaedias of Indian Writing in English

Mannu Kohli is a content curator, producer and artiste manager with an extraordinary journey in the music world. She has been a part of the Indian Music Industry for the last 21 years as an A&R (Artiste and Repertoire) Head and an artiste manager. Currently working as President -A&R for Panorama Music in India, which she is also a founding member of. She spent many years as the Label Head of the well-known music label Music Today, which was the music division of the India Today Group. Her 15-year long stint with the music label was replete with experiences with some of the finest voices and musicians of the sub-continent, comprising both legends as well as outstanding upcoming musicians. While at the label, she seamlessly also slipped into her role as an artiste manager for one of the leading voices of the sub-continent and Classical, Sufi, Bollywood singer Shafgqat Amanat Ali. She continues her journey with the artiste as his global business manager after 14 years of starting work with him in 2007.Trained in Hindustani classical music under the guidance of Smt Abha Mukherjee and late Smt Shanti Sharma, Mannu also sings the poetry of poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Baba BullehShah, Amir Khusrau and Mirza Ghalib for select platforms. She is currently working on creating a digital music platform to present the music of artistes across the sub-continent and Asia along with her existing artiste management and content creation work. She also working withan NGO on a digital cultural education program for students across India, for which she has designed the content.

Anupama Jain, also known as AJ, is an  author for both children and adults, with five widely acclaimed books and 13 anthologies, including a LIMCA Record-holding composite novel. Her recent When Padma Bani Wifey stayed on Amazon’s Top 100 Hot New Releases for 31 days. Other notable works include When Padma Bani Paula (Top 5 Fiction Books of 2018 by readwriteinspire.com), Tales from Katha Sarita Sagara, a middle-grade supplementary read in Indian schools and featured at the London Public Library, and Kings, Saviours & Scoundrels, a BTBWordsmithsAwards2022 winner.
AJ also founded SeniorSchoolMoms, an award-winning community recognized by Facebook’s Community Learning Lab. As a multi-award-winning blogger and Head of Content at Incredible Women of India, AJ was named “One of the 10 Indian Women Bloggers Every Feminist Must Follow.”
Known for her humour and insight, she’s a keynote speaker, a prolific digital writer, and a blogging challenge survivor under her handle ‘AkkaAcerbic.

Avijit Ghosh was born in the north-eastern town of Agartala and grew up in the small towns of Bihar and Jharkhand. A journalist for the past 30 years and currently employed with The Times of India, he is the author of the award-winning Cinema Bhojpuri (2010), 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed (2013) and When Ardh Satya Met Himmatwala: The Many Lives of 1980s Hindi Cinema. His X handle: cinemawaleghosh.

Beginning the journey, exploring avenues as a stage artist, musician, poet, educationist and a graphic designer, Bobby Sing is now an experienced critic, creative-music consultant, and a prolific writer on cinema – active in the field since the late 90s. As a columnist on cinema, he has been associated with reputed publications as Indo-US Dialogue Magazine, Network 18, The Telegraph, Free Press Journal and more along with being active as a creative-script-music consultant in Hindi and Punjabi Cinema.
As an author, his 'Did You Know' series of books is specifically conceived for all the young cinema loving friends (available in both English and Hindi). Presently Bobby Sing is into creative consultancy, music production and writing columns/reviews/articles on Indian Cinema for reputed publications apart from being active on his personal website.
Website: www.bobbytalkscinema.com
E-Mail: bobbysing@gmail.com

Gautam Chintamani is a film historian and the author of Rajneeti (Penguin-Random House, 2019), the first biography of Rajnath Singh. He is the author of the bestselling Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna (HarperCollins, 2014), The Film That Revived Hindi Cinema (HarperCollins, 2016) and Pink- The Inside Story (HarperCollins, 2017) and the recently released The Midway Battle: Narendra Modi’s Roller-Coaster Second Term (Bloomsbury, 2020).

He hails from a literary tradition that runs deep on both sides of his family—the late Telugu poet Arudra is his maternal grandfather and the liberal thinker Sir C.Y. Chintamani is his paternal
great-grandfather.

Gautam’s writing has featured in national publications, including a compilation on Dadasaheb Phalke awardees published by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Legends of Indian
Silver Screen. He was on the National Film Awards jury for Best Writing on Cinema in 2016. The British Film Institute included The Film That Revived Hindi Cinema in their library in 2016. In 2016, Gautam contributed an essay on the cinema of Franz Osten for The British Film Institute’s restoration project of filmmaker’s 1928 masterpiece Shiraz.

Gautam’s documentary film SRI: Challenging Traditions, Transforming Lives won the Best Documentary Award at the Asia Pacific Rice Film Festival, Malaysia. His trilogy, Janam–Aagazh– Parvaaz, on the journey of children with special needs and their parents was screened at the 2011 International Film Festival of India (IFFI). His notable television credits include Siddhanth, a law series that garnered an Emmy nomination in the ‘international drama’ category—a first for an Indian television show.

In 2022, Gautam contributed to the content for the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, New Delhi. The unique museum explores the history of India through the eyes of its prime ministers.

Gautam Chintamani is currently working on A Class Act – The Life of Vinod Khanna.

Jaydeep Sarangi is an Indian poet poetry activist with eleven  poetry collections in English latest being the half-confession ( 2024).and scholar on postcolonial studies and Indian Writings  with forty one books  anchored in Kolkata/Jhargram,. Widely anthologised  and reviewed as a leading contemporary poet Sarangi is on the editorial boards for journals of repute, devoted to poetry and poetry criticism. With Rob Harle he has edited six anthologies of poems from Australia and India which are a wealthy literary link between the nations. With Amelia Walker, he has guest edited a special issue for TEXT, Australia. His recent books include, Mapping the Mind , Minding The Map:Twenty Contemporary Indian English Poets , Sahitya Akademi, 2023 and A Life Uprooted: A Bengali Dalit Refugee Remembers, Sahitya Akademi, 2023.  Mapping the Mind, Minding the Map ( 2023, Sahitya Akademi) is his latest book.  Sarangi is currently the   President of Guild of Indian English Writers, Editors and Critics (GIEWEC) and Vice  President, EC, Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library, Kolkata. Living with poets and poetry, Sarangi is principal of New Alipore College, Kolkata. He may be reached at: jaydeepsarangi1@gmail.com Website : https://jaydeepsarangi.in/

Jayshree Misra Tripathi, a poet and retired diplomatic spouse, draws inspiration from over six decades of global experiences – a child from Odisha to England, then seven countries. Her work focuses on the human experience, especially the silenced voices of women. Her latest poetry collection, Pirouettes in the Rediscovery of Identity, “unlocks knotted griefs” with courage, says poet critic Gopal Lahiri. Her forthcoming anthology, Unsung Voices -The Other Side of Diplomacy, will be released by Westland Books. Jayshree’s poetry and short stories have been reviewed in the Sahitya Akademi’s Journal of Indian Literature. Her poems have been published in the Journal of The Poetry Society (India), online The Punch Magazine, Muse India, Madras Courier, stories in Huffington Post (now archived) and blogs on News18;   She has also been included in national and international Anthologies.

Neeti Bang, an Associate Professor at N.I.F.T, New Delhi, holds a Master in Design degree from N.I.F.T, specializing in Leather Design. An academician for 15 years, with 10 years industry corporate experience. She handles student cultural activities and is Unit In charge, International & domestic linkages of NIFT  She is an avid chef, photographer, published poetess, artist, singer, award winning story writer and a certified Tarot reader. She is currently pursuing Ph.D. from NIFT Delhi. Her poetry anthologies “Dewdrops, a journey begins “ and “Gypsy Soul” are available on Amazon.

Neha Bansal is a career civil servant who loves to write poetry. She has published two books : “herstory”(Sahitya Akademi 2022) and “Six of Cups” (Hawakal 2024). She has also contributed her poetry to 5 anthology books by various editors. She believes in giving a voice to the silenced and the marginalised. She lives with her family in Delhi.

Rachna Joshi is a poet and reviewer who has lived in India and North America. She has written five collections of poems: Configurations (Rupa & Co., 1993); Crossing the Vaitarani (Writer’s Workshop, 2008); Travel Tapestry (Yatra Books, 2013); Monsoon and Other Poems (Tethys, 2020); and Unraveling (Authors Press, 2024) She has a master’s in Creative Writing from Syracuse University in upstate New York, and has been widely published in magazines and anthologies in India and abroad. She worked as Senior Assistant Editor at the India International Centre, Delhi, for 28 years and lives in Noida.

Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker, writer and teacher based in New Delhi, with a special interest in media for and about children. Her work uses the lens of childhood, identity and education to reflect the experiences of growing up in India. She heads The Magic Key Centre for the Arts and Childhood that focuses on childhood, the arts and education. The Centre’s projects include The Incredible Child, an arts-based programme for Afghan refugee children at the Simurgh Centre, Delhi and the The Hum Hindustani Poetry Podcast based on poetry by children on citizenship.

Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri is either an ‘accidental’ editor who strayed into publishing from a career in finance and accounts or an ‘accidental’ finance person who found his calling in publishing. As editor at HarperCollins Publishers India and Penguin Books India, he set up the copy editorial team and helped launch what came to be regarded as the go-to cinema, music and culture list in Indian publishing, almost exclusively publishing first-time authors who have gone on to become the most recognized names in cinema writing in the country, as also working out co-pub arrangements with organizations like the Satyajit Ray Society. Books commissioned and edited by him have won the National Award for Best Book on Cinema six times and the inaugural MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Images) Award for Best Writing on Cinema. He also initiated a joint cinema imprint with MAMI, the first of its kind in Indian publishing. He has published authors like Satyajit Ray, Gulzar, Arun Shourie, Rishi Kapoor, Anita Nair, Manu Joseph, Rakhshanda Jalil, Vishal Bhardwaj, among others. As chief editor at Om Books International, he has published books across a wide spectrum of genres.

Smitha Sehgal is a bilingual poet who writes in English and Malayalam. Her collection of poems ‘How Women Become Poems in Malabar’ has been published by Red River.  She has been nominated for the distinguished Best of the Net awards by three international poetry journals. She is alumna of Govt Law College and is currently serving as DGM-Legal, Engineers India Limited (a Govt of India Company) and her forte is commercial arbitration, negotiating cross border transactions and laws on gender justice.

Writer, Poet, Singer, Traveller & Communications Consultant

Supriya Newar is a 3rd generation Calcuttan who wears multiple hats with consummate ease and infectious passion.

Author of acclaimed titles such as ‘Kalkatta Chronicles’ and ‘Kolkata Classics’, Supriya’s pen flows effortlessly across forms and languages and resonates easily with her diverse readers. She has also contributed to leading publications and magazines with hundreds of articles and travelogues to her name.

Her latest release is a title of evocative Hindi-Urdu poems titled ‘Justaju’ that has been winning both hearts and critical acclaim.

Vinita Agrawal is the author of six books of poetry, the latest being Eartha from Sahitya Akademi. Her book Twilight Language won the Proverse Prize, Hongkong in 2021. She has edited two anthologies on climate change, Open Your Eyes and Count Every Breath. She won the Tagore Literary Prize in 2018 and the Gayatri GaMarsh Prize, USA, in 2015. She is on the advisory board of the Tagore Literary Prize. www.vinitawords.com

Dr Rakhshanda Jalil is a multi-award-winning translator, writer, and literary historian. She has published over 25 books and written over 50 academic papers and essays. Some of her books include: Liking Progress, Loving Change: A Literary History of the Progressive Writers Movement in Urdu (OUP, 2014); a biography of Urdu feminist writer Dr Rashid Jahan: A Rebel and her Cause (Women Unlimited, 2014); a translation of The Sea Lies Ahead, Intizar Husain seminal novel on Karachi (Harper Collins, 2015) and Krishan Chandar’s partition novel Ghaddar (Westland, 2017), among others.

She runs an organization called Hindustani Awaaz, devoted to the popularization of Hindi-Urdu literature and culture. She is a Trustee of the Ghalib Institute, Delhi, the Sarvodaya International (Delhi Chapter), PEN (Delhi Chapter) and Seva Mandir (Udaipur); she also serves on the Board of the annual Shankar-Shad Mushaira organized by the DCM Shriram Group.

She is also the Editor of the Taj magazine, a bi-annual book-length journal of the Taj group of hotels.

His music is an act of poetic subversion… he creates a bridge between the written word and music — Scroll.in

Harpreet is a versatile artiste, who sings original musical compositions in Hindi, as well as, in regional Indian languages and dialects such as Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Rajasthani and Haryanvi.

Harpreet has gained critical acclaim for his light classical style of singing. His creative talent fuses both the modern and traditional when composing tunes to his own lyrics and for classical poetry that he loves.

He is best known for creating musical scores to epic works of humanist poets like Kabir, Baba Nanak and Baba Bulleh Shah. Credited for taking celebrated poets to the masses, Harpreet has also composed popular hummable tunes to words of poets such as Pash (Avtar Singh Sandhu), Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Nirala (Suryakant Tripathi), Rahim, Amir Khusrau. The rhythmic blend of soulful poetry to the pulsating sounds of guitar and percussion are at once unique and innovative, familiar and foreign. On his musical journey with poetry, he has delivered a TEDx talk in Jaipur in 2016

The progressive elements of his artistic practice is not confined to poetry alone. His original composition, Kutte (dog) – a song about a canine’s view of human life — was selected by award-winning Bollywood film director Dibakar Banerjee and Kanu Behl for a Yash Raj Films production called Titli.

Some of his yet-to-be-released compositions — Geet Farosh, Khooni Vaisakhi, Chhaap Tilak(new rendition) and Bandhu — have received wide appreciation in literature and music festival circuits.

His graceful compositions, simple sonorous delivery, combined with a pleasing personality and stage presence, have touched a chord with the audience.

Social Media Links:
www.FaceBook.com/HarpreetMusic

www.Youtube.com/HarpreetMusic

www.Twitter.com/HarpreetMusic

www.Instagram.com/HarpreetMusic

Rene Singh is a singer trained in semi-classical music. She has a vast knowledge of Sufi and Urdu poetry, which has led her to delve into its history and musically present the lives of various poets to the people across the globe. Singh curates and designs modules and workshops through poetry and music. Her work is based on her vast travels and interactions with different communities and music across the country, including conflict zones. She has partnered with UNICEF to create musical stories for community radio in the remote villages of the country and has earned great appreciation for her work in Kashmir with orphan girls affected by terrorism. She is the founding member of HUM: Hamari Urdu Mohabbat, which has become a leading group for performing this form of poetry and singing.

Sufi kalaam Vocalist | Composer | Narrator

Radhika’s love for Sufi music was kindled by 17th c Sufi mystic Baba Bulleh Shah’s poetry. Beginning with Mumbai Kabir Festival, she has travelled on to Kabir Yatras in Rajasthan, Malwa, Telangana and Delhi. Another Sufi faqeer from Punjab, Shah Hussain’s poetry has inspired her to compose, create music videos, collaborate with artistes from Lahore and Kuchh, and curate a musical narrative ‘Mela Chiraagaa’n – Madho Lal Hussain’. After an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, Radhika worked in Unilever and ANZ Grindlays before immersing herself in music.

Madan Gopal Singh is an Indian composer, singer, lyricist, actor, screenwriter, film theorist, editor and polyglot. He is currently Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi while on leave from Satyawati College (Evening Classes), where he taught English literature.

Son of well-known Punjabi poet Harbhajan Singh, Madan Gopal Singh has written and lectured extensively on cinema, art and cultural history besides performing the world over as a singer with his ensemble Chaar Yaar.

Amy Singh is a poet, podcast host, facilitator, and TEDx speaker from Chandigarh.  She uses poetry as a medium of storytelling, activism, and human connection to promote positive social change.

Amy runs Cross Connection Poetry, an initiative to bring poetry out into the public spaces and to work with marginalized communities and at-risk children through arts. She founded Daak: to Lahore with love, a letter-writing initiative to promote cross-border peace and harmony.

Currently, she hosts Agla Warqa – The Partition podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts where she attempts to turn a new leaf in this book of separation and promote peace and friendship between India and Pakistan. Her initiatives have been featured by The Indian Express, The Tribune, Quint, Hindustan Times, and other news and media platforms.

Sumit Sehgal – the name brings on an instant smile and a reassurance when you find him in your corner. Which is exactly where Sumit has been for the past 7 years with Delhi Poetry Festival. With multiple experiences spanning over 13 years – an author & poet, events & outreach planner, digital communicator, visualizer & designer, literary, poetry & children’s festival curator, an environment advocate, and most recently, an educator.

Sumit is an established writer with one fiction novel, My Chameleon Soul, and 29 e-books as a ghost-writer under his belt. He has been published in various national and international English poetry anthologies, has edited 2 children’s anthologies, and is now waiting to bring out his third.

His literary agency, Butterfly & The Bee has facilitated over 90 book launches, 40 plus literary events and worked with over 550 authors.

Sumit has been conferred with REX Karmaveer award two consecutive years for his literary contribution.

Currently, he is working on his newest passion – Young Dragon English Club, a platform for helping children with reading & writing skills and nuances of English language and multiple activities around language & literature.

Young Dragon English Club was recently conferred with, ‘Achievement Award – Best English Learning Platform of the Year 2022’ by TopRoboLabs.

Vanita is a poet, academician, translator and critic.

She has a post graduate in music and Punjabi and completed her doctoral research in Punjabi from Delhi University. She served as a lecturer in department of Punjabi in Khalsa College DU. She has done extensive work in translation and newspaper articles and also edited books and magazines. She has presented seventy radio programmes and about 60 TV programmes for Delhi and Jalandhar.

Her poetry collection Kaal Pehar Ghariyan received Punjabi Academy award as well as Sahitya Akademi award.

Prof. Danish Iqbal is an awarded playwright who combines in himself various roles of a performer, teacher, writer, researcher, cultural organizer, and to all of which he brings exacting standards. Danish has done pioneering work in storytelling & drama, combining different styles seamlessly to project the unifying thread of Indian literary traditions.

Also:
Danish Iqbal is a Media Educator and also an awarded playwright who combines in himself various roles of a performer, teacher, writer, researcher, cultural organizer & arts administrator. Danish has done pioneering work in storytelling & drama, combining different styles seamlessly to project the unifying thread of Indian literary traditions.

Uma Prakash is an art Critic and curator of visual and performing arts. For over 25 years she was the contributing editor of Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News.
She co-founded the Art and Literature Foundation and created the Gurgaon Utsav, the only open air, free, large, performing arts festival in Gurgaon.

She was awarded the Kala Ratna Samman for her dedication to Art and culture in 2023.

She lives in Gurgaon and currently writes for several publications and curates visual and performing art exhibitions.

Sahar Zaman is an award-winning television news journalist, author and cultural curator. She is recognized for her work in television, print and digital, for over 20 years as prime time newscaster, columnist and political news editor. When not in the studio, she has a deep interest in arts and music.   Her debut book “Talat Mahmood The Definitive Biography” celebrates 100 years of her legendary grand-uncle. In a short span, the book has won hearts and awards, for throwing light on his iconic life, filled with personal insights and professional landmarks. The readers are regaled with exclusive BTS of his song recordings, film shoots and world concerts.

One of the most accomplished members of the team, Meera Rizvi has been the backbone of Dastangoi Collective. She has been practicing and performing the art for quite some time. Meera has been a witness to the revival of this art form and has been a great support and a guiding light to the team and worked very hard for sustainability since then. She is a senior media professional based in New Delhi.

He is the Head – Operations, at the Programmes Department, India Habitat Centre. His awareness of the production management ecosystem in performing arts makes him an uncompromising professional and a delightful collaborator. The stimulating cultural evenings at Habitat Centre draws upon his managerial skills to make things work.

Dr. Sazina Khan, originally from Chandigarh and now thriving in Dubai, is a distinguished literary figure celebrated for her contributions to poetry, education, and cultural discourse. With an impressive academic foundation—dual doctorates and multiple master’s degrees—Dr. Khan’s writing embodies intellectual depth and insight. Out of five of her anthologies including bestsellers like The Chamber of Expressions, Echoes of the Heart, and Wounds and Wonders, capture global issues and human experiences with finesse. Founder of the UAE Book Forum and an accomplished mentor, her influence and dedication to literature and education resonate internationally, earning her prestigious accolades and inspiring literary communities worldwide.

Anju Makhija is a Sahitya Akademi, award-winning poet, playwright and translator. She has written four poetry collections incl. View from the Web and Pickling Season; co-translated Freedom & Fissures and Seeking the Beloved: the mystical verse of Shah Abdul Latif; co-edited three anthologies related to women, Indo-English theatre and young readers. Her collection of drama, Mumbai Traps: Collected Plays, is widely available. Her latest book is Changing, Unchanging: New and Selected Poems (1995-2023).

Anju has won several awards incl. The Sahitya Akademi English Translation Prize, The All India Poetry Competition, The BBC World Regional Poetry Prize and The Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship. She has been on the English Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, for 5 years and is the co-founder of Pondicherry/Auroville Poetry Festival.

Alka Pande, Art Historian, Author and Curator and professor of Art History and Aesthetics, for more than two decades,  did her  postdoctoral research in critical art theory at Goldsmiths, University of London.In 2006, under the aegis of the Charles Wallace India Trust. A prolific writer she has authored over 20 books. She was awarded the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters- an honour bequeathed by the French government to recognize significant contributions in the fields of art and literature. In 2009, she received the Australian-India Council Special Award for her contribution to Indian art. In 2015, she was awarded L’Oreal Paris Femina Women under Design and Arts and Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi honours-in recognition of her distinguished contribution to art- with Amrita Sher-Gil Samman.She has not only written extensively on Indian aesthetics, culture and photography and curated some of the most significant exhibitions nationally and internationally. She is currently the Art consultant and Curator at the Visual Art Gallery of India Habitat Centre and edits it’s theme based journal.

Lokesh Jain, involved in theatre for last three and a half decades, explores  the diverse forms of theatre as a “solo performer”

He has done the intensive training Diploma under shri  Ebrahim Alkazi,  and participate with the international theatre practitioner like, Sara Jones,Bond street theatre company and Polish theatre director, Jerzy Grotowski’s team.

He writes, lyrics, designs and directs  several plays  “kichdi kitsch” , “humein naaz hai”, “soi subah ki khoi dastaan”, “chal door mere mun”,  “gul gulee circus”, “khawabow ke bulbuley” “Bheege Bheege Se Pal” ” bharat maata ki jai”  & ” Kaala suraj safed saaye” many others ,Dawat e khichdi.  Last two decades  his solo pieces  “fragrance”, “Blood on the rocks”, “mirror”, “mirage”, “Akkarmashi” have been staged in NSD’s theatre festival, indo- pak wagha border various art galleries & educational institutions all over India.

He is visiting faculty at  the several colleges of Delhi University. Teach “theatre in education” for students & various other institutions. A founder of ‘Jamghat’ a group of street children and the creative director of the group called “Mandala the magic circle”.

Used theatre as pedagogy with youth, farmers, women’s and environmental groups, and various organizations.

Beside theatre he is so passionate about New Fine Arts  and avantgarde performance medium and he curated the exhibition for eminent Indian artist Savi sawarkar.

Currently he Acted, written Dialogues and doing intensive research for the internationally acclaimed Film which got several national and international awards, and also participated in Sundance Film festival and nominated for Oscar awards participation Film from India under the Direction of Anamika haksar ji

Sarbpreet Singh is a versatile writer, playwright, podcaster, and musician. His works span fiction, non-fiction, and drama, often drawing inspiration from Punjabi literature and history.

His novels include “The Camel Merchant of Philadelphia,” “The Night of the Restless Spirits,” “The Story of the Sikhs,” and “The Sufi’s Nightingale.” His latest book, “Cauldron, Sword and Victory,” delves into the turbulent 18th century Sikh history.

Singh’s podcast, “Story of the Sikhs,” has garnered international acclaim, connecting listeners with their roots. His work has been featured on the BBC and NPR, and his commentary has appeared in several newspapers.

As a playwright, Singh co-authored and produced “Kultar’s Mime,” which addresses the 1984 Delhi massacre. His recent works include “Jujhar Cheema,” a Punjabi adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” and a stage adaptation of “The Sufi’s Nightingale.”

A passionate musician and composer, Singh has spent over three decades immersed in Punjabi poetry. He has performed the works of renowned poets like Sheikh Farid, Kabir, the Sikh Gurus, and Bulleh Shah in various forums.

Anees Azmi is a Delhi based Theatre activist. He is associated with the theatre for last four decades. He has written more than 35 full length plays for youth and children. All the plays have been staged by a number of well-known schools and institutions that include the National School of Drama. Translated about 90 children story books, mostly for Pratham Books. A number of his plays and articles are included in textbooks of many states. Received a number of awards in Delhi and outside Delhi including prestigious Ghalib Award of Ghalib Institute, New Delhi. He was member of the Joint Parliamentary committee on “Performance of Cultural Institutions in India.”

Kena is a celebrated storyteller and spoken word artist with 25M+ views, featured on platforms like Jashn-e-Rekhta and All India Radio. A TEDx speaker and author, her work appears in The Times of India and Huffington Post. She has collaborated with top forums, moderated luminaries like Gulzar, and co-curated Asia’s first Feminist Poetry Festival. Honored as India’s Leading Storyteller, she advocates for feminism, mental health, and storytelling, inspiring audiences at IIMs, corporations, and global stages.

Bindiya is a polyglot, working in a diplomatic mission, loves to write in English though, a passionate poet, a focused social worker, a bibliotherapist, and an educationist. Shr published her first solo book – Dreamkeeper -A Poetography Ensemble (https://www.amazon.in/Dream-Keeper-Poetography-Ensemble-Photography/dp/9353911567) – a poetry & photography mini coffee table book in 2019. She has been published in anthologies, online forums, participated in international generative dialogues on women empowerment and water talks.