Archives: Authors

Sudeep Chakravarti attended Mayo College, Ajmer and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He began his career in journalism at the Asian Wall Street Journal, and subsequently worked at Sunday, India Today and the Hindustan Times. Sudeep is also a professional futurist affiliated to the World Future Society. His debut book, Tin Fish (Penguin), was published in 2005 to both popular and critical acclaim. His second novel, Once Upon a Time in Aparanta (also by Penguin), was published in 2008.

Paro Anand can’t stop writing books for children, young adults and adults, although many people tell her she should slow down. She also works with children in schools and NGOs, through her programme Literature in Action. She is a world record holder for helping children
make the World’s Longest Newspaper. She has been awarded for her contribution to children’s literature by The Russian Centre for Science and Culture. On Republic Day 2007, Dr Kalam, the President of India, honoured her for her writing. Her book, No Guns at My Son’s Funeral was on the IBBY Honour List and The Little Bird who Held the Sky Up with His Feet was one of three books from India selected for the 1001 Books to Read Before you Grow Up , a listing of the gold standard for children’s literature worldwide.

Paro Anand writes for children, young adults and adults. She won the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puruskar in 2017 for her anthology Wild Child (now published as Like Smoke). She has spoken about and written extensively on children’s literature in India. She headed the National Centre for Children’s Literature, The National Book Trust, India, the apex body for children’s literature in India. She also runs a podcast on HubHopper called Literature in Action and was an invitee to the India Conference at the Harvard University in 2018. She was awarded the Kalinga Karubaki Award for fearless writing, 2019. She is on the visiting faculty of Riyaaz Academy for children’s illustrators.
She is well-known for her work with children in difficult circumstances, including those impacted by violence in Kashmir, and has written extensively on the subject.

Priya Kuriyan is a children’s book writer-illustrator and a comics maker. In an earlier avatar as an animator, she directed educational films for the Sesame Street show (India) and the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI). She has illustrated numerous children’s books for publishers like Tulika Books, Penguin, Scholastic and Hachette to name a few. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Big Little Book award, instituted by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts, in recognition of her contribution to Indian children’s literature. She lives and works in the city of Bangalore.

TRIPTI PANDEY is a well-known name in the field of tourism, culture and travel writing. Often termed as Rajasthan’s cultural ambassador, she has been a pioneer in researching and presenting living heritage. With her innovative approach, she has set many a milestone creating international events like the Desert Festival, Jaisalmer. Her books on heritage include Where Silence Sings, Rajasthan’s Silver Jewellery, Pushkar: Colours of the Indian Mystique and India’s Elephants: A Cultural Legacy. She is a recipient of many awards,
including the prestigious Gold Cross of the President of Austria and the Maharaja Bishan Singh Award of the Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust, Jaipur. Connect with her on Instagram, @triptipandey1.

Bruce Rich isan author and lawyer who has worked with major US environmental groups as wellas with international organizations over the past three and a half decades. Hereceived the United Nations Global 500 Award for environmental achievement forhis research and advocacy concerning multilateral development banks. He is theauthor of Mortgaging the Earth, awidely acclaimed critique of the World Bank and reflection on the philosophicaland historical evolution of the project of economic development, as well as Foreclosing the Future, which examinesthe World Bank, climate change, governance and corruption.

Rich haswritten for publications such as the FinancialTimes, the Ecologist, and the Nation, as well as for EnvironmentalForum, the policy journal of the Washington DC Environmental Law Institute,where he is currently a Visiting Scholar. His analysis of Ashoka was selectedand published in 2012 in a collection of the best Buddhist writing in Americafor that year.

Hisprofessional focus on finance and ethics, as well as numerous visits to SouthAsia, inspired this book.

Rinki Roy Bhattacharya has cinema in her veins. Daughter of Bimal Roy, she married Basu Bhattacharya and collaborated on his films. She has had a distinguished career as a freelance journalist, writing extensively for well-known publications of the Times group, the Telegraph, The Hindu and the Indian Express on films, theatre, art and feminist issues.
She has co-directed the documentary Char Diwari and the short film Janani, and has also edited books Behind Closed Doors, on domestic violence, and Janani, an anthology of stories on the mother-daughter relationship.

P. Sainath is the founder editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India, former rural affairs editor of The Hindu, writer and journalism teacher, and the 2007 winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s most prestigious prize. He has also won the World Media Summit Global Award for Excellence 2014, in Public Welfare reporting. He was the first reporter in the world to win Amnesty International’s Global Award for Human Rights Journalism in its inaugural year in 2000. Sainath has taught at journalism schools in India and abroad, mentoring students as well as training media professionals. For more on Sainath see www.psainath.org.

Mark Tullywas born in Kolkata and educated in Darjeeling and England. He wascorrespondent for the BBC in South Asia for twenty-two years and continues towrite and present the popular BBC Radio 4 programme Something Understood. He lives in New Delhi with his colleague andpartner Gillian Wright. Among the major stories he has covered are the 1971Bangladesh War, Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, the execution of Zulfikar AliBhutto, the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, Operations Blue Star and BlackThunder in the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the assassinations of Indira Gandhiand Rajiv Gandhi and the destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya in 1992. Hisbooks include the highly acclaimed NoFull Stops in India, Amritsar: MrsGandhi’s Last Battle, India’sUnending Journey and Non-Stop India.He has also written a second collection of short stories called Upcountry Tales.

A historian, environmentalist and writer based in Chennai, Nanditha Krishna has a PhD in Ancient Indian Culture from Bombay University. She has been a professor and research guide for the PhD programme of C.P.R. Institute of Indological Research, affiliated to the University of Madras. She was the honorary director from 1981 of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and was elected president in 2013. She is the founder-director of its constituents, including C.P.R. Institute of Indological Research, C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre, C.P. Art Centre and Kanchi Museum of Folk Art. She is the author of several books, including Sacred Plants of India, Sacred Animals of India, Book of Demons and Book of Vishnu (Penguin India); Madras Then, Chennai Now, Balaji Venkateshwara, Ganesha, Painted Manuscripts of the Sarasvati Mahal Library; The Arts and Crafts of Tamilnadu and The Art and Iconography of Vishnu-Narayana, among many others, besides numerous research papers and newspaper articles.