Chatura Rao writes stories for children and articles about the goings-on in the world. Her picture books, Gone Grandmother and The Sweet Shop Wars, have won literary prizes. She lives in a quiet suburb of Bangalore, occasionally leaving it to help young people write their own stories.
She hopes her readers will spot the magic in the ordinary, long after they grow up!
ANNE FRANK (1929-1945). Annelies Marie Frank, a Jewish girl born in the German city of Frankfurt am Main on June 12, 1929,
was the child of Otto and Edith Frank. When Nazi Germany they invaded Netherlands and when the situation begun worsening for the Jews, Anne’s family took the decision to go into hiding. Just before they had gone into hiding, Anne was presented with a diary on her thirteenth birthday. This diary helped her immensely during that period as she not only wrote her day-to-day experiences, but she also wrote about her thoughts, emotions, fears, and dreams. Otto Frank survived the holocaust and decided to publish Anne’s work because he had read that Anne had aspired to be a writer. Her diary is probably the only true bitter portrayal of the Holocaust.
Krishnan Narayanan is passionate about all things digital. He is the co-founder and president of Itihaasa Research and Digital, was member Infosys Labs Management Council, president IIT Madras Alumni Association, and founding governing board member AquaMAP Water Centre.
Vishwas Narayan Nangare Patil is the joint commissioner of police (Law & Order), Mumbai City, and former commissioner of police, Nashik City. Patil is an Indian Police Service officer from the 1997 batch, and in 2015 he was awarded the President’s Police Medal (gallantry) for his role in the counterterrorist operations during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
S. ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan is a globally recognized business thought-leader and philanthropist. He co-founded Infosys and is one of the captains of the IT services industry worldwide. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour.
Moushumi Kandali is a bilingual short story writer, art historian and translator. Her stories have been published in several national and international literary magazines and edited anthologies such as ‘Oxford anthology of North East Writing’, ‘Penguin anthology of fifteen classic Assamese short stories’, ‘The Greatest Assamese Stories Ever Told’ published by Aleph Book Company and many others. She has received several prestigious awards for her creative writing.
Parbina Rashid is a senior journalist with the Tribune, Chandigarh. She has translated a number of books from Assamese to English, namely, Painting of the Sky and Other Stories, Ballad of Kaziranga, If a River and Echoes from the Valley. Her latest translated story has been included in an anthology titled The Greatest Assamese Stories Ever Told, and also been published by Little Magazine, The Sentinel and Nezine.com. She has been associated with Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, in the capacity of a translator and book editor. She hails from Guwahati and is currently based in Chandigarh.
K. Raju entered the Indian Administrative Service in 1981. He served as the district collector of Nellore and Kurnool districts in Andhra Pradesh. His pioneering work on self-help groups of women and his role in the delivery of MGNREGA with transparency and accountability (when he headed the rural development department of Andhra Pradesh), empowered the poor immensely. He worked with the National Advisory Council and contributed to the formulation of rights-based, pro-poor legislations and policies, securing long-lasting benefits for the country’s poor. Raju joined the Congress party in 2013 and is currently the national coordinator for the SC, ST, OBC and minorities departments of the All India Congress Committee.
Bikaner-born writer, painter and filmmaker Era Tak has done BSc, MA (History), and a post-graduate diploma in Mass Communication. As a writer, she is a well-known name in the world of Hindi audio stories in India.
Multi-talented Era’s writing includes Poetry Collection (Anchuah Khwaab, Mere Priy, Canvas par Dhoop); Story Collection (Raat Paheli, Chand Paas Hai); Novel (Risk@ Ishq, Murthy); Life lesson books- Life Sutra, RxLove366. Novel (Gustakh Ishq); Audio Books (Mere Humnafus, Yeh Mulaqat Ek Bahana Hai, Killer on Hunt, Reserve Seat, Patri Par Ishq, Rangrez Piya). She has written dialogues for the musical play Aarohi and made 4 short films, i.e., Flirting Mania, W Turn, Even the Child Knows and Rainbow. Currently, she is doing scriptwriting in Bollywood. Era also has done ten solo exhibitions as a painter.
Dr Darren J. Player is a scientist and an academic. He studied personal training, exercise referral and sports science before completing his PhD in muscle cellular and molecular physiology. Dr Player has also undertaken professional qualifications in nutritional coaching and sports massage. He is an external examiner for a UK Sport Science degree and personal training qualifications. Combining his scientific background and professional qualifications, he has a unique view of health, fitness and exercise. A published author, he has contributed chapters in two scientific textbooks and has published numerous articles in prestigious scientific journals. Dr Player has also been invited to speak at scientific conferences and acclaimed academic and medical institutions, including AIIMS, IIT Delhi and the University of Washington. As a teenager, he was a competitive 200-metre and 400-metre runner. Now he just trains for health and well-being.
