Archives: Authors

Col V. N. Thapar is the father of Capt Vijyant Thapar, VrC, who was a fourth-generation army officer. At the early age of fifteen, he was selected for the National Defence Academy and commissioned on 12 December 1962 in the Maratha Light Infantry. He commanded a battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. He was part of the 1965 War and Bangladesh War, and has operated in counter-insurgency operations. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Defense Services, Staff College, Wellington. He has written for media publications and is a motivational speaker at various forums, universities, colleges and schools.

Sudhir Suryawanshi is a journalist from Maharashtra who has been writing on the politics of the state for the past fifteen years. He has worked with DNA, Mumbai Mirror and Free Press Journal among others. He is presently assistant editor at the New Indian Express.

Radha Rangarajan is usually found lost in either a forest or a book. A photographer, Radha dabbles in filmmaking, art and writing. She is the Editor at Nature inFocus and also curates and edits stories for JLR Explore. She’s a natural history buff and is partial to elephants, fungi, owls, and trees. Radha has written and guest-edited over ten picture books for children, all of which have been published by Pratham Books.

When Bijal Vachharajani is not reading Harry Potter, she dreams up picture books as Editor Scissorhands at Pratham Books. Bijal is the author of four children’s books including A Cloud Called Bhura and So You Want to Know About the Environment. She has edited a magazine, rescued parakeets, tigers and elephants, and is part of the Abhiyan Library movement. Bijal has a Masters in Environment Security and Peace from the University of Peace in Costa Rica and is a certified climate worrier.

Naman Ramachandran was placed on Planet Earth with the express purpose of writing the definative biography of Superstar Rajinikant. Fate intervened, however, and he was separated at birth from his noble purpose by a metaphorical Kumbh Mela of sorts. His life journey took him across the world where he became a film critic with Sight & Sound, a film journalist covering South asia for variety, and the UK and Ireland for Cineuropa, and the author of the book Lights, Camera, Masala: Making Movies in Mumbai, besides a few film scripts. A chance encounter with a Penguin revealed the Thalaivar tattoo seared deep into his soul, and the epiphany that followed resulted in this book.

Nico Raposo is a writer who lives and works in New York’s Hudson Valley. He comes from a long line of storytellers, musicians and entertainers and whose family has called many countries home, from England to Turkey, India to Brazil. Nico grew up in New York City. He has written fifteen feature film screenplays, three books, seven plays and dozens of teleplays. He has been nominated for two Emmy Awards as well as for the Humanitas Award. Nico is a graduate of Harvard College. To learn more about him and his work, visit www.nicoraposo.com.

L. SOMI ROY is the author of And That Is Why: Manipuri Myths Retold (2021), the precursor to Feathers, Fools, and Farts: Manipuri Folktales Retold. A cultural conservationist, curator, and translator, he has curated film for museums in New York like the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Asia Society. His translations of his mother, the Manipuri writer Binodini, include the Penguin Modern Classic novel The Princess and the Political Agent (2020). He is the founder trustee of Imasi: The Maharaj Kumari Binodini Devi Foundation in Imphal.

Hoihnu Hauzel is a native of Manipur. She completed her schooling in Shillong and Delhi, and has a master’s degree in political science from Delhi University. She has been a journalist for the last fifteen years and has worked with the Asian Age, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, the Times of India, and the Telegraph in Delhi. She is currently pursuing an independent writing career and continues to promote the North-East through her writings and entrepreneurial ventures like her travel portal, Northeast Odyssey (www.northeastodyssey.com) and a digital North-East lifestyle magazine, NE Travel and Life (www.netravelandlife.com).
She has also to her credit a book of poems, Moments of Time. Hoihnu is committed to the development of the North-East. This book is, for her, a step towards the promotion of the region. Her coffee-table book on Manipur is set to be released next year.

Priti Narain belongs to an old family of Delhi and a community which has a tradition of taking great pains over the preparation and serving of good food. She ran a gourmet restaurant in Delhi for two years, in partnership with a friend. For several years, she also supplied cakes on order.

Currently Priti leads a relaxed life, bird-watching and taking the occasional order for chocolate cake.

T. V. Sairam, a senior member of the civil services, holds a Master’s degree in botany and a doctorate in alternative medicine. For the past three decades he has been gathering and documenting data relating to the household use of medicinal plants.