Archives: Authors

Duvvuri Subbarao served as governor of the Reserve Bank of India for five years (2008-13). Prior to that, he was finance secretary to the Government of India (2007-08) and secretary to the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council (2005-07). Topping the civil services examination in 1972, Subbarao joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). In a career spanning thirty-five years, he held various positions at the state level in the Government of Andhra Pradesh and at the central level in the Government of India. He was a lead economist in the World Bank for over five years (1999-2004). After stepping down from the Reserve Bank of India in 2013, Subbarao was a Visiting Fellow, first at the National University of Singapore and later at the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently visiting faculty at the Kautilya School of Public Policy in Hyderabad and at Yale University in the US.

Ranjan Adiga is a Nepali-American writer. His stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Story Quarterly, among other outlets. Leech and Other Stories is his debut collection.

A published author of three books, Aatmanika Ram is a wife, mother and dog mom. A self-proclaimed eco-warrior, food developer and interior decorator, she practices circular economy in more ways than one.
Aatmanika has a master’s in nutrition and has worked in project management in several organizations such as IBM. She has to her credit several years of experience not just as an author, but as an expatriate who has travelled and lived in many countries, including India, Canada, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and France. The exposure to varied cultures, her strong family-centred values and her innate curiosity drove her to explore and write about her life experiences in Shells on the Beach (2012), an anthology, and her artistic taste and the desire to bring out the essence of good human values found expression in the poetic fiction, The Rose Petal Trail – A Sutra for Timeless Love (2012).
Aatmanika continues to learn to master the fine art of striking the balance between being authentic and adapting oneself to change (the only constant in life). She can be reached at aatmanika.blogs@gmail.com.

Rana Safvi is a prominent and bestselling writer, scholar and translator deeply committed to India’s rich cultural heritage and diverse civilizational legacy. Her repertoire spans a variety of media, including writings (both original and translations), podcasts and videos. Her remarkable portfolio comprises ten books that delve into topics ranging from culture and history to the monuments of India. Notable titles include Tales from the Quran and Hadith; The Delhi Trilogy; A Saint, A Folk Tale and Other Stories; and In Search of The Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India. In addition to her literary contributions, Rana has undertaken the task of translating significant works into English. In particular, she has translated Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s pivotal piece on Delhi, Asar-us Sanadid. Rana’s blog, Ranasafvi.com, serves as a treasure trove of cultural, literary and historical insights.

K.V. Rajan is a former Member of the Indian Foreign Service, retired as Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. During nearly forty years of diplomatic service, he was entrusted with diverse responsibilities which covered political, economic, cultural, academic, media-related and multilateral work and developed intimate knowledge about most countries and major international institutions in the world. His diplomatic service outside India included the following (in the capacity of Head of Mission) France, USA, Zambia (with concurrent accreditation to Botswana, Angola, Namibia and South Africa and (then) Rhodesia, Algeria, UK and Nepal. As India’s longest serving Ambassador to Nepal to date (1995 to 2000), and subsequently in various other capacities, he has unmatched personal experience of Nepal and understanding of various aspects of India-Nepal Relations.

Rajan’s additional responsibilities at different levels of seniority in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India included Adviser to the External Affairs Minister; Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the African Union; Co-Chair, Iran-Pakistan-India Gas Pipeline Project; Special Adviser to the Foreign Secretary of India; Head of Coordination Division, Ministry of External Affairs; Head of Europe Division, Ministry of External Affairs.

Rajan is a frequent speaker in India and abroad on international issues. He is the author of several articles on Foreign Policy issues for the leading publications, and Editor of an anthology of essays by distinguished senior former Ambassadors, The Ambassadors Club (HarperCollins).

Atul K. Thakur is a Policy Professional, Columnist and Writer with specialisation in the interface of economics and politics. His interest in writing and research is quite diverse and reaches to the areas of Public Policy & Affairs, Macroeconomic Policies, International Affairs and Sustainability, with special focus on South Asia. He is an alumnus, inter alia, of Banaras Hindu University and Pondicherry University and has worked across the sectors, spanning Public Policy & Affairs, Management Consultancy, Think Tank, Journalism; Publishing and Media. As an author/editor, India Now and in Transition (Niyogi Books, 2017) is his second and widely acclaimed book. In 2013, he edited India since 1947: Looking Back at a Modern Nation (Niyogi Books), a major non-fiction book on modern India. In 2021, he curated and edited (with Nepal’s Former Finance Minister Mr Madhukar SJB Rana), An Alternative Development Paradigm for Nepal (Vajra, Kathmandu).

Among others, he has extensively written for The Kathmandu Post, The Hindu, Firstpost, News18, The Indian Express, Financial Express, The Economic Times, DailyO, Mail Today, The Pioneer, Tehelka, Outlook, Mainstream, The Daily Star, Daily Times, Republica, The Record, India Quarterly (ICWA), Strategic Analysis (IDSA), ORF, Gateway House. As a public intellectual and industry insider, he plays an important role in shaping India-Nepal economic cooperation.

Nusrat F Jafri, is a Mumbai based award-winning cinematographer. She has over fifteen years of experience in filmmaking. Born and brought up in Lucknow, she moved to New Delhi for graduation and post-graduation in Mass Communication. Her professional journey includes stints as a journalist with The Pioneer and CNBC Awaaz.
Nusrat is a mentee of the first cohort (2021) of South Asia Speaks. She was featured in the second edition of Rising Beyond The Ceiling: 100 stereotype-shattering stories of Muslim women of Uttar Pradesh, India.
She lives in Mumbai with her husband, son and a cat named Jamia.