Ambai is the nom de plume of Dr C.S. Lakshmi, a historian and a creative writer in Tamil who writes about love, relationships, quests and journeys in the Tamil region and elsewhere. Her stories have been translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom in two volumes entitled A Purple Sea and In a Forest, a Deer. Ambai was awarded the Lifetime Literary Achievement Award of Tamil Literary Garden, University of Toronto, Canada, for the year 2008.
Lakshmi Holmström is a writer and translator. She has translated short stories, novels and poetry by the major contemporary writers in Tamil. In 2000 she received the Crossword Book Award for her translation of Karukku by Bama; in 2007 she shared the Crossword-Hutch Award for her translation of Ambai s short stories, In a Forest, a Deer; and she received the Iyal Award of the Tamil Literary Garden, Canada, in 2008.
Steven Rudolph is an American educationist, researcher, TV personality and public speaker based in India. As Educational Director of Jiva Institute and founder of Jiva Public School, he has developed many innovative learning materials for children and created products and services that promote global skills and Indian values. A pioneer in using constructivist teaching methodologies, Jiva also publishes learning materials, with over 70 textbooks and educational titles for students, teachers and parents. Rudolph is also the proponent of a novel concept in education called ‘Multiple Natures’ and has a wide following in India. This is his second book.
Monica Bhide is a cookery writer and blogger whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economic Times, Femina, Bon Appetit and eGullet. She also runs a cooking school which has been featured in Bon Appetit. (www.monicabhide.com)
Ritu Dalmia is the owner of Diva and the host of Italian Khana on NDTV Goodtimes. Diva has won the Hindustan Times’ HT City Awards for the last four years and The Times of India’s Times Food Award for the last two years. Ritu also runs the very popular café at the Italian Cultural Centre.
Musharraf Ali Farooqi is an author and translator. He has translated The Adventures of Amir Hamza and the poetry of Afzal Ahmed Syed and is currently working on the Urdu Project (www.urduproject.com), an online resource for the study of Urdu language and literature. His novel The Story of a Widow will be published in India in 2009.
Vivek Singh is the E xecutive Chef and CEO of The Cinnamon Club and the recently opened Cinnamon Kitchen. His award-winning food has earned him the reputation of being one of the leading Indian chefs globally. This is his fifth cookbook, which he has co-authored with his head chefs Abdul Yaseen and Hari Nagaraj.
