The Center for Soft Power is pleased to launch the second edition of Namaste 2021, a Global Festival of Indian Soft Power to be held between August 13th and August 29th. We plan to have sessions during the weekends, enabling participants from all over the world to engage with the culture and traditions that constitute Indian Soft Power.
India' soft power is underpinned by its civilizational heritage and cultural prowess. India’s diverse yet coherent cultural fabric spreads across the length and breadth of the country.
Furthermore, the rise of India’s global stature in recent decades at various multilateral forums, the increasing popularity of Yoga and Ayurveda, and the world community embracing Namaste as a greeting during the ongoing pandemic are some of the most evident examples of Indian soft power.
Indian civilizational thought is rooted in the idea of co-existence with mother nature rather than conquering it. In this sense, the “practice of soft power is embellished in India’s core identity that dates back to millennia, even though the term is comparatively new in the foreign policy and cultural discourse.
Namaste 2021 will once again bring together diplomats, cultural ambassadors and thought leaders to talk about the scope and diversity of India's great traditions.
To register, click the links below:
Morning Sessions: Register Now
Evening Sessions: Register Now
For the schedule and list of speakers, please see the images below:
Director-General, ICCR
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
Shri. Dinesh Patnaik, Director General of ICCR is a career diplomat of the IFS with over 25 years of experience in a variety of interesting and challenging assignments He has served in Indian Missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing and Vienna
Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
Kobbi Shoshani currently serves as the Consul General of Israel to the Mumbai. He is the official representative of the state of Israel in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.
Prior to his appointment to Mumbai, Mr. Shoshani has visited India several times in the past. In 1992, he was sent for a 6-month period, right after the establishment of the full diplomatic relations between India , there he took part in forming our embassy in the in New Delhi. Kobbi had been sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Mumbai right after 26/11 terror attacks in 2008 and in 2018.
Economist, Historian and Author
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
Prasenjit K. Basu is an economist and historian. His book, “Asia Reborn”, won the Best First Book of the Year award at the Tata Literature Live! Mumbai Lit Fest in 2018. He was Chief Economist for India & Southeast Asia at Credit Suisse First Boston and Chief Asia Economist for Daiwa Securities for 5 years each. He has also been Chief Economist at Khazanah Nasional (Malaysia), Director of the Asia Service at Wharton Econometrics (USA), global research head at Maybank group, and held senior research positions at UBS and Macquarie Securities. He has taught economics at ESSEC Business School (Singapore) and SP Jain School of Global Management (Singapore and Dubai), and international political economy at UPenn (Philadelphia, US). He has dual Masters degrees in Public Administration and International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and was President of Singapore’s India Club (2006-18) and Tagore Society 2003-18). He has written opinion articles in the Financial Times, Times of India, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Economic Times, Financial Express, Business Times (Singapore), Star (Malaysia), New Straits Times, and has appeared as an expert commentator on the BBC, CNN, CNBC, CNA, Republic TV, TimesNow, NDTV and Zee Business. He has lectured on India’s historic influence across Asia to IHAR (Indian Historical Awareness & Research) and the Museum Volunteers of the Philippines, and on global economic topics to sophisticated investors in London, New York, Paris, Milan, San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Chennai. His next book, “India Reborn” will be published later this year.
Psychiatrist and Sanskrit Poet – Chitrakavya, Mathematics and Meter
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
Shankar Rajaraman is a psychiatrist by training and a Sanskrit poet by passion. His interests include Sanskrit literature, Indian aesthetics and Indian psychology.
Shankar Rajaraman is a Post-doctoral Fellow with the NIAS Consciousness Studies Programmeat the National Institute of Advanced Studies. He holds a MBBS degree (2000) from Bangalore University and a post-graduate Diploma in psychiatry (2004) from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences.
He is a recipient of the prestigious Badarayan Vyas Samman (2019) from the President of India for his contribution to Sanskrit language and literature. He has translated several books from Sanskrit to English and from Sanskrit to Kannada. He has also published journal papers on "Theory of Emotions in Sanskrit Poetics and its Implications in Psychiatric practice" in Journal of Indian Psychology
Chief Medical Officer, Chopra Global
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
Dr. Sheila Patel is the Chief Medical Officer for Chopra and a board-certified family physician.. For more than a decade, she practiced full-spectrum family medicine, from prenatal care and deliveries, to ER coverage, and in patient and outpatient primary care for all ages, and currently maintains an outpatient family medicine practice in Southern California. She joined the Chopra Center in 2010 and helped run the Perfect Health program and provided Ayurvedic consultations. She speaks at Chopra Global events and is a lead educator for the Chopra certification programs. She is a certified yoga and meditation instructor, as well as an Ayurvedic consultant. In addition, Dr. Patel is on the Clinical Research Team for the Chopra Foundation with a commitment to bringing scientific validation to mind-body practices, and is the co-author on multiple publications on the subjects of meditation and Ayurveda. She enjoys the opportunity to bring light to the mechanisms of action of mind-body practices and sharing this knowledge with others. She maintains a voluntary clinical position at the University of San Diego School of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health where she has mentored medical students interested in primary care and integrative medicine. Dr. Patel believes the best way to achieve wellness is to integrate all of the knowledge available to us, from modern conventional medicine as well as from traditional healing systems. Her hope is that by
confirming the benefits of the practices, more people will gain access to these life-enhancing techniques.
Saxophonist, Composer & Educator
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
George Brooks is a prolific and diverse saxophonist and composer, acclaimed for successfully bridging the worlds of jazz and Indian classical music. He is the founder of Indian fusion groups Summit with Zakir Hussain, Steve Smith, Kai Eckhardt and Fareed Haque; Bombay Jazz with Larry Coryell and Ronu Majumdar; the Raga Bop Trio with Steve Smith and Carnatic guitarist Prasanna and Elements with Indian violinist Kala Ramnath and Dutch harpist Gwyneth Wentink.Brooks was introduced to Indian classical music and became entranced by its melodic beauty, rhythmic complexity and deep spiritual core. After graduating, Brooks traveled to India where he met master vocalist Pandit Pran Nath, the giant of north Indian music who deeply influenced pioneering composers LaMonte Young and Terry Riley. Brooks immersed himself in study with Pran Nath, cooking and caring for his “Guruji”, in exchange for knowledge. This is the traditional Indian style of learning known as “guru-shishya parampara”.
Music Composer, Grammy Award Winner
Inauguration: Engaging with India through Soft Power
Timing: 06:00 - 08:00 PM IST
Grammy® Award Winner, US Billboard #1 artist, UNESCO- MGIEP Ambassador & UNICEF 'Celebrity Supporter' Ricky Kej is an internationally renowned Indian Music Composer, Environmentalist and Professor. Ricky has dedicated his life and Music to creating awareness on the Environment, and positive social impact. He has performed at prestigious venues in over 30 countries, including at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and Geneva.
Ricky Kej composed and produced his album ‘SHANTI SAMSARA', which was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande at the United Nations COP21 Climate Change Conference in Paris. For Shanti Samsara, Ricky collaborated with over 500 musicians from over 40 countries. His past repertoire of work includes 16 studio albums released internationally, over 3500 commercials and 4 feature films, including the natural history documentary 'Wild Karnataka' narrated by Sir David Attenborough. He scored music for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup 2011, held in Dhaka-Bangladesh.
Director, Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center
Realms Beyond: Jnana, Vedanta and Oneness
Timing : 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr. Rewant Vikram Singh is the Director of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, formerly known as Indian Cultural Centre, at High Commission of India, Colombo, Sri Lanka. With MA, M,Phil, and PhD in History, he specializes in study of Indian history, culture and archaeology. He has had a very illustrative career in academic and research as Head-Department of History at Maharshi Dayanand College of Arts, Science, Commerce, University of Mumbai.
He has worked extensively in the education and art research domain, with special reference to the spread of Buddhism and Buddhist Art from India to other parts of Asia. He was awarded a UGC Research project titled “Evolution of Buddhist Art Along the Trade Routes”, which is now released in as a book. Till date, Dr. Rewant has published 7 books on various aspects of art, archaeology, history, as well as on leaders, such as Gandhi and Ambedkar.
He has presented more than 55 research papers in various national and international forums, seminars, and conferences. Dr. Rewant also has had a very illuminating career in the e-Learning and e-Research industry for more than 10 years at Senior Corporate Leadership positions. He was one of the few people who worked on the development of Learning Content Management System in India as early as in 2000.
Program Director, Rtambhara Wellness & Vedanta Scholar
Realms Beyond: Jnana, Vedanta and Oneness
Timing : 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Driving the spiritual direction at Rtambhara, and modernizing ancient scripture to make it contextual to today’s living, Krishnaphani Kesiraju is the Program director and Chief Faculty at Rtambhara. He has forty years of experience in industry and academia. Study and research in Ancient Indian philosophical and spiritual literature are his passion. He is a keen student of Vedanta, Theosophy, and Jiddu Krishnamurthi’s teachings. He is instrumental to the shape and form the courses will take.
Former Director, Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Vietnam
Realms Beyond: Jnana, Vedanta and Oneness
Timing : 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr. GB Harisha is the Former Director of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center at Hanoi, Vietnam. He has translated Veer Savarkar's book Hindutva into Kannada. He is an author on Hindu Philosophy.
President, The Sanskrit Library
Realms Beyond: Jnana, Vedanta and Oneness
Timing : 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Peter Scharf earned his B.A. in philosophy at Wesleyan University and his doctorate in Sanskrit at the University of Pennsylvania, after which he taught Sanskrit at Brown University for 19 years and conducted research on the linguistic and philosophical traditions of India. Since 2011, he has held several visiting professorships: Visiting Professor at the Maharishi International University Research Institute, International Blaise Pascal Research Chair at the University of Paris Diderot, Visiting Professor in the Department of Sanskrit Studies at the University of Hyderabad, Visiting Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Visiting Professor in the Language Technologies Research Center at the International Institute of Information Technology in Hyderabad. He is currently a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, and the director of the Sanskrit Library (sanskritlibrary.org), an international digital Sanskrit library which he founded in 2002.
Founder, SIYA International
Realms Beyond: Jnana, Vedanta and Oneness
Timing : 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Swami Mahesh is the founder and team leader of SIYA International. Born in India, he had series of psychic experiences from early age that guided him on the path of yoga and spirituality and connection to his Guru Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1994. He served in his Guru’s mission in various capacity over 14 years and entered in his wandering stage in 2008.
He is the first wandering yogi to conduct yoga program on all the seven continents of the world.
He has conducted yoga workshops at many notable Universities around the world, including the Harvard, Princeton, JFK, Minnesota, UT at Austin, Oregon, Chicago, etc., in USA; Hamilton, Waterloo, Calgary and Langara College in Canada; Cologne and Bremen University in Germany; Sofia and New Bulgaria University in Bulgaria, and many more in Australia, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Ecuador, etc.
Museum Director, Indian Music Experience (India)
Traversing Dimensions: Experiencing India through its museums
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Manasi Prasad is a combination of an accomplished singer, eloquent orator and arts manager. She is the Museum Director of the Indian Music Experience, India’s first interactive music museum.
As a performing artist for over 25 years now, Manasi has travelled extensively in her career, across India and the world.
Numerous awards have come her way, including the prestigious Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from Government of India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ananya Yuva Puraskar from Ananya Bengaluru, ‘Yuva Kalaakar Puraskar’ (Young Artist Award) from Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts, Mumbai and the Rotary-Brigade Young Achievers award.
Curator, Indian Heritage Centre (Singapore)
Traversing Dimensions: Experiencing India through its museums
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Nalina Gopal is a social history and heritage curator with experience working at museums in south India and Singapore. She is currently Curator at the Indian Heritage Centre in Singapore and oversees its curatorial team. Her recent publications include Sojourners to Settlers: Tamils in Southeast Asia and Singapore, a seminal publication on Tamil diasporas in Southeast Asia for which she was co-editor. Apart from the permanent galleries, she has recently curated several exhibitions at the Centre on the lesser known aspects of Singapore’s Indian heritage.
Senior Director, National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum
Traversing Dimensions: Experiencing India through its museums
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Shri Sohan Kumar Jha is the Senior Director, National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum. The five-acre premises now holds 35,000 distinctive pieces, reflecting India’s craft traditions through painting, embroidery, textiles, clay, stone and wood, housed in the building designed by noted architect Charles Correa in the ’70s. The museum also houses a village complex, where several traditional craftsmen-in-residence can be seen working in a designated area, also selling their wares.
Co-founder, India Pride Project
Traversing Dimensions: Experiencing India through its museums
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Shri. S Vijay Kumar, a shipping company executive based in Singapore is the co-founder of the India Pride Project which is a group of art enthusiasts who promote social media coverage of stolen artefacts from Indian Temples and secure their return. He was instrumental in the return of a 12th century Buddha stolen in India 57 years ago. He is also the author of the book "The Idol Thief in Mumbai"
Director, Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
Timeless Cinema: Indian Stories on the Silver Screen
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Ms. Aparna Patwardhan is the Director of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center, Bangkok, Thailand. After completing her Engineering Degree and a MBA from North Carolina, she worked in IT startups and majors such as HP and Oracle in a career that spanned 13 years. She became a social activist and was part of non-profit platform for Art and Culture, Education, Health, Environment for several years and has written in various publications on cultural and other issues.
Author, Cinema through Rasa
Timeless Cinema: Indian Stories on the Silver Screen
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Prachand Praveer was born and raised at Munger, Bihar. He received his B.Tech. in chemical engineering from IIT Delhi in the year2005. His first Hindi novel'Alpahari Grihatyagi: IIT se pahle', published by Harper Hindi in theyear 2010, influenced many young aspiring writers. His second book 'Abhinav Cinema', an introduction to world cinema as per Rasa theory of Indian classical aesthetics, published by Dakhal Prakashan inthe year 2016, received praises from leading critics. He works with a risk management firm in Gurgaon.
Head, Filmmaker Liaison, Indica Pictures
Timeless Cinema: Indian Stories on the Silver Screen
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Christian Frost is Head of Filmmaker Liaison. Christian has been working in Hollywood for nearly 20 years in marketing and creative print at DreamWorks and Paramount. What makes Christian unique is his absolute passion for India and his ability to talk to anyone anywhere. Christian received a B.A. in Anthropology with an emphasis on Indian studies from Brigham Young University and is currently pursuing his Masters in Asian Studies. He has traveled extensively to India and made friends with some of Bollywood’s elite. Christian is also a filmmaker and a content creator and has several projects in the works from feature films to TV series. He also has a YouTube channel called Uncle Frosty-Ji where his entertaining and informative interviews and travelogues bring a fresh perspective to Indian culture.
Film Director
Timeless Cinema: Indian Stories on the Silver Screen
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Bharath Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer. He has won several awards in his career which include "Best Foreign film award" for his movie "Hari Om", 1st Prize in "International Exhibition of Tourism" for his "Incredible India" project. He lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Indian Ambassador to Cambodia
Art on the Global Stage: Universal Aesthetics of Natyashastra
Timing: 06:00 - 07:00 PM IST
Devyani Khobragade is a 1999-batch IFS officer and was serving as joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs. Devyani Khobragade is a doctor by training and is the daughter of retired IAS officer Uttam Khobragade, who served in the Maharashtra cadre. She is currently the Indian Ambassador to Cambodia.
Theatre Artist
Art on the Global Stage: Universal Aesthetics of Natyashastra
Timing: 06:00 - 07:00 PM IST
Shri. Prakash Belawadi is an Indian actor, and a director. He is the Managing Trustee and Founder of Center for Film and Drama which produces stage plays, conducts courses in Film making and acting.
Bharatanatyam dancer, research scholar, choreographer, music composer, Indologist, author
Art on the Global Stage: Universal Aesthetics of Natyashastra
Timing: 06:00 - 07:00 PM IST
Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam is an Indian classical dancer and a Padma Bhushan awardee,. A daughter of Indian film director Shri. K. Subramanyam, she was trained by the legend Vazhuvoor B Ramaiah Pillai.
She holds a Doctorate degree and has traveled extensively and has delivered lectures in various universities across South East Asia. She is acclaimed as a rare combination of a dancer, research scholar, choreographer, music composer, teacher, Indologist and one of the most outstanding artists of today.
Dancer / Theatre Artist, Teatro TASCBILE DI BERGAMO
Art on the Global Stage: Universal Aesthetics of Natyashastra
Timing: 06:00 - 07:00 PM IST
Tiziana Barbiero was born in Lecco (Italy) in 1960. She got acquainted with the Teatro tascabile di Bergamo (TTB)– Accademia delle Forme Sceniche in 1976 and she accordingly joined the group in 1978. Her professional life could be completely identified with the TTB ones. In fact, she was carefully educated by Renzo Vescovi, Tascabile’s founder and director till 2005, year of his death. As for all the other members of Tascabile, she refined her knowledge of theatre according to the three main branches in which the group is specialized. These refer to the Theatre of contemporary research, the Theatre for open spaces (with particular evidence to those studies related to the connection between the scenic area and the popular audience) and the eastern theatrical tradition, through the
constant practice for over 40 years of Odissi, one of the most famous Indian classical dances, under the guidance of the famous guru Aloka Panikar. She dance in all the performances, produced by TTB, of Indian classical dance in Odissi style of which she is the coordinator inside the group. Since 2016 she has been the artistic director of "Arcate d'arte. Consonances of theater, culture and art" an international festival the Monastery of Carmine, home of TTB.
Chairman, Natanakairali, Theatre Artist, Author
Art on the Global Stage: Universal Aesthetics of Natyashastra
Timing: 06:00 - 07:00 PM IST
Guru Gopal Venu is a performer, researcher and has invented a dance notation system for delineating mudra in dance and theatre in Kerala. He has also devised 'Navarasa Sadhana' module as a transformative process for artistes seeking a deeper insight to the depths and diversity of human emotions. He is the Chairman, Natanakairali, Ammannur Chakyar Madhom, Irinjalakuda. Born in 1945, Gopal Venu received his training in Kutiyattam from gurus Ammannur Madhava Chakyar and Ammannur Paremeswara Chakyar. He was always an important performer of the Kutiyattam troupe that toured countries like France, England, Holland, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, Denmark etc.He is well known for his contribution to performing arts of Kerala in India - as a person responsible for the rejuvenation of several rare traditional art forms and as a research scholar.
Independent Artist and scholar, US
Art on the Global Stage: Rasa and Rasaboxes in theatre, therapy, activism and Everyday life
Timing: 07:15 - 08:15 PM IST
Michele Minnick (PhD, CMA) is an independent artist and educator working at the intersections of the performing arts, somatic practice, climate change, social and environmental justice, and healing. She directs, performs, and co-creates rituals and performance works that examine personal and communal narratives, beliefs and behaviors that stand between us and our wholeness. Her dissertation, Breathing Worlds: Somatic Practice, Performance, and the Self in the Life/Art Work of Leeny Sack, is an investigation of the relationship between trauma, somatic practice, and the creative process. Michele is co-author and editor of the upcoming book, The Rasaboxes Sourcebook: Inside Richard Schechner’s Performance Workshop. She taught The Performance Workshop at New York University from 1999 to 2016, and has taught and developed the work internationally in workshops and productions, as well as teaching next generations of teachers. She has taught extensively in the MFA and BFA programs at Towson University, was visiting Guest Artist and Assistant Professor of Performance Studies at Kennesaw State University in 2019-20, and is a teaching artist with Young Audiences of Maryland, where she explores different aspects of rasa with children and youth. She introduced the Rasaboxes in Brazil, where she has directed, performed and led workshops since 2003. Michele lives in Baltimore, where she is currently developing the interdisciplinary project, Vital Matters: Baltimore with Submersive Productions, an immersive performance company. She won a Ruby Individual Artist Grant from the Deutsch Foundation for the development of her Baltimore-based project, House Calls, in which her performance persona, Dr. M., conducts performative, multi-sensory interviews in people's homes, in order to animate relationships to the more-than-human world, and map different communities' attitudes towards and stories of climate change.
Assistant Arts Professor of Theatre Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU
Art on the Global Stage: Rasa and Rasaboxes in theatre, therapy, activism and Everyday life
Timing: 07:15 - 08:15 PM IST
Dr. Erin B. Mee has directed at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, SoHo Rep, HERE, The Magic Theatre, and The Guthrie Theater in the United States, and with Sopanam in India. She is the Founding Artistic Director of This Is Not A Theatre Company, with whom she has conceived and directed Pool Play, A Serious Banquet, Readymade Cabaret, Ferry Play, Subway Plays, Festival de la Vie for the Avignon Festival, Versailles 2015/2016, Pool Play 2.0 for the International Theatre Festival of Kerala, Theatre In The Dark: Carpe Diem, Play!, Readymade Cabaret 2.0, Play In Your Bathtub (also translated into Russian and performed by WOWWOWWOW in Moscow), Guru of Touch for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and Tree Confessions for the Edinburgh, Brighton, Melbourne, and Philadelphia Fringe festivals. She is the author of Theatre of Roots: Redirecting the Modern Indian Stage, co-editor of Antigone on the Contemporary World Stage, editor of DramaContemporary: India, and co-editor of Modern
Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000. She has written numerous articles for TDR, Theatre Journal, Performance Research, American Theatre Magazine, and other journals and books. Her born-digital Scalar article “Hearing the Music of the Hemispheres” won the ATHE-ASTR Award for Best Digital Article in 2016. She is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and is a Usual Suspect at New York Theater Workshop. She is Assistant Arts Professor, Department of Drama, Tisch, NYU.
Director, Drama Therapy Program and Editor of Drama Therapy Review
Art on the Global Stage: Rasa and Rasaboxes in theatre, therapy, activism and Everyday life
Timing: 07:15 - 08:15 PM IST
Dr. Nisha Sajnani is the Director of the Drama Therapy Program and the Theatre & Health Lab at New York University, and Editor of Drama Therapy Review. She is a member of the Critical Pedagogy in the Arts Therapies Think Tank and founding member of the World Alliance of Drama Therapy. She is a visiting faculty with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and research fellow with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK). Her artistic and written scholarship reflects an interest in the role of improvisation and performance in stimulating discovery and addressing concerns related to identity, difference, migration, and place. Dr. Sajnani is the recipient of the Corann Okorodudu Global Women's Advocacy Award from the American Psychological Association, the Gertrud Schattner Award from the North American Drama Therapy Association, and the first Diversity award from the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama.
Professor, Coordinator of Graduate Studies, School of Music, Dance, and Theatre, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University
Art on the Global Stage: Rasa and Rasaboxes in theatre, therapy, activism and Everyday life
Timing: 07:15 - 08:15 PM IST
Rachel Bowditch (PhD/Full Professor at Arizona State University): Rachel is a theatre director who has been creating original devised, site-specific work for over twenty five years. As a full professor, she holds the position as the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University overseeing 8 graduate programs. She is author of three books, On the Edge of Utopia: Performance and Ritual at Burning Man (Seagull/
Director-General, ICCR
Indian Knowledge Systems: Indian Cosmology
Special Guest: Shri. Dinesh Patnaik
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Shri. Dinesh Patnaik, Director General of ICCR is a career diplomat of the IFS with over 25 years of experience in a variety of interesting and challenging assignments He has served in Indian Missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing and Vienna
Principal, Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal University
Curry and Beyond: Indian food on the global palate
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Chef K.Thirugnanasambantham is the Principal at Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), Manipal. He has been a part of this institute since 2000. He has served as HOD of the Food Production Department, Operations Department, and Department of Culinary Arts. The maestro earned his repute over three decades for his diligence, robust leadership qualities and passion for the industry. He brings to the table a huge repertoire of knowledge and expertise in the dynamics of hospitality, culinary education, hotel administration, and operations. His strong dexterity comes from his vast experience and extensive cognizance from skillfully managing hospitality and culinary programs.
Associate Professor, NYU
Curry and Beyond: Indian food on the global palate
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Krishnendu Ray received his Ph.D. in Sociology from SUNY Binghamton in 2001. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Delhi University, India. Prior to joining the NYU faculty in 2005, Krishnendu was a faculty member and an Acting Associate Dean for Curriculum Development at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
A food studies scholar, he is the author of The Migrant’s Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households (Temple University, 2004). He co-edited (with Tulasi Srinivas) Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food and South Asia (University of California Press, 2012). His most recent monograph is The Ethnic Restaurateur (Bloomsbury 2016).
Director, R and D Kadamba, Former Scientist at CSIR-CFTRI
Curry and Beyond: Indian food on the global palate
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Moderator: Dr. Deepa Prakash
Author, specialised in Indian cuisine
Curry and Beyond: Indian food on the global palate
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Born in Toronto, Canada, Colleen received her B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. in Slavic Studies from the University of Toronto and her Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Columbia University, New York. Her contributions to the field include articles and reviews on interwar Polish literature and many translations from Polish and Russian, including Roy Medvedev’s Let History Judge: The Origins and Consequences of Stalinism.
Colleen Sen has studied and enjoyed South Asian cuisine for years, sharing her understanding, insights and appreciation of Indian food culture with readers and audiences around the world.
Indian-American Computer Scientist
Indian Knowledge Systems: Indian Cosmology
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Subhash Kak is Regents Professor of Computer Science Department at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Kak's research has spanned the fields of information theory, cryptography, neural networks, and quantum information. He is the inventor of a family of instantaneously trained neural networks (for which he received a patent) for which a variety of artificial intelligence applications have been found. He has argued that brain function is associated with three kinds of language: associative, reorganizational, and quantum.
Physicist, Ayurveda Scholar
Indian Knowledge Systems: Indian Cosmology
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Alex Hankey (born 18 August 1947) is a theoretical physicist trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cambridge University. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Deeply interested in Vedanta, Yoga, and Ayurveda, he played a vital role in setting up Maharishi University of Management and later on became a professor at it, where he taught the first undergraduate course in philosophy of science. His current work relates to applying a combination of philosophical arguments and knowledge of Vedic sciences to solve the problems with in modern science, and thereby refining the foundations of physics, biology, and information theory.
Professor and Author
Indian Knowledge Systems: Indian Cosmology
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Prof. Rana P. B. Singh has been Professor of Cultural Landscapes & Heritage Studies at Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP 221005, India, and was Head (2013–2015)- Department of Geography, Institute of Science. For the last four decades as consultant, project director, collaborator and organiser, he has been involved in studying sacred geography, cultural landscapes and heritage scapes, & performing and promoting the heritage planning, ecotourism, and pilgrimage tourism in the Varanasi region, and also did field studies in Japan, Italy, Sweden, Korea. He has been Visiting Professor at Virginia Tech (USA), Japan Foundation Scientist at Okayama, Indo–Swedish Visiting Professor at Karlstad, Ron Lister lecturer at University of Otago (NZ), Linnaus-Palme Visiting Professor at Karlstad University (Sweden), and Indo-Japan Exchange Professor at Gifu Women’s University and Toyo University Tokyo. As visiting scholar he delivered seminars at many universities/institutes in Australia, Austria, Belgium, P.R. China, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Indonesia (Bali), Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA (including Hawaii), Thailand, and Russia (USSR). He is the Founding President of the (a) Society of Pilgrimage Studies, SPS (fd. 1989), (b) Society of Heritage Planning & Environmental Health, SHPEH (fd. 1989), (c) Indo-Japanese Cultural Association, IJCAB (fd. 1984), and (d) Indo–Italy Cultural Association, IICA (fd. 2002). His publications include 15 monographs, 26 books, and over 310 research papers.
Vedanta Philosopher, Member of the Science & Philosophy Initiative
Indian Knowledge Systems: Indian Cosmology
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Akhandadhi das is a Vaishnava Hindu theologian specialising in Vedanta philosophy. Originally, from Belfast, he was principal of Bhaktivedanta Manor near Watford and is now director of Buckland Hall in Wales and a trustee of the faith authority for the Avanti Hindu schools in the UK. Akhandadhi das is a philosopher with particular training in the integration of modern science and the philosophies of Vedanta, Sankhya and Yoga. Currently he is the director of the Science & Philosophy Initiative, a UK association with links to the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies in USA. He is best known as a regular broadcasts on the BBC since 1989
Co-founder, National Ayurvedic Medical Association
Word Power: New Writings in Ayurveda
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr. Marc Halpern, D.C., AyD. (Ayurvedacharya) has played an important role in the development of Ayurvedic medicine in the West. He is considered to be a preeminent practitioner and teacher of Ayurveda in the United States and continues to develop the programs at the College.
He is one of the few Westerners ever recognized in both the United States and in India as an authority on the subject of Ayurveda, and was awarded the All India Award for Best Ayurvedic Physician. A pillar in the development of the profession in the United States, he is the co-founder of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association for which he served as Chairman of the National Committee on Ayurvedic Education. He is also a co-founder of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine and the National Council on Ayurvedic Education.
In addition to his work with the California College of Ayurveda, Dr. Halpern is a certified yoga instructor and a regular teacher of Ayurveda at International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers worldwide.
Director, AVP Research Foundation
Word Power: New Writings in Ayurveda
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr Somit Kumar, MD(Ayu), (PhD) currently is Director Research, AVP Research foundation, Coimbatore and CEO AVP Baltics a European venture of AVP, India. He is also associated in the capacity of University Lecturer and Research Scholar at the University of Latvia. His primary area of research activity includes Clinical Research and Reverse pharmacology in Ayurveda.
Having completed his Post Graduate Degree in Dravya Guna (Ayurveda Pharmacology) and currently pursuing his doctoral research in the department of molecular biology at University of Latvia, to understanding and elucidate molecular mechanism behind Ayurveda based formulation in the field of Chronic diabetic wound healing.
He is also involved in researches in the field of rare Genetic disorder Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and working as co-investigator in this project with the University of Milan and AYUSH. He is also co-investigator for clinical study in association with the University of Latvia to evaluate the efficacy of customised Ayurveda therapy in Type 2 diabetes. He is also part of author team which has translated Astanga Hridayam in the Latvian language.
Dr Somit Kumar has been an active clinician for past 13 years and specialises in Kerela based Panchakarma technique. His area of expertise includes the spectrum of metabolic, neuroendocrine disorder, Rheumatologic, skin and Autoimmune disorders. Following the whole system approach in Ayurveda, his clinical consultation includes diet and lifestyle suggestions, Ayurveda medication, Yoga and cognitive counselling. He has been invited across the globe to give a presentation at international seminars, academic lectures and consultation namely in Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Turkey, Slovenia, Hungary, Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Italy etc.
He is a core faculty member of AVP training academy which conducts regular short-term Ayurveda orientation programs for students from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Japan, Switzerland and Latvia.
Ayurvedic doctor and medical astrologer & Author
Word Power: New Writings in Ayurveda
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar is a world-renowned Ayurvedic physician and medical astrologer from a family of traditional Vedic healers in India. He holds a B.A. in Ayurvedic medicine and completed a three-year residency as an M.D. (doctorate in Ayurvedic internal medicine) at the prestigious Pune University in India.
Dr. Suhas is a compassionate healer and expert clinician who directs the Ayurvedic Healing and Integrative Wellness Clinic in Northern California. As a sought-after speaker and lecturer, he also travels throughout the world teaching courses in Ayurveda, training doctors, and providing Ayurvedic consultations for thousands of patients.
Director, Ramaiah Indic Speciality Ayurveda Restoration Hospital (India)
Word Power: New Writings in Ayurveda
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Prof. (Dr) G. G. Gangadharan completed a unique residential 7½ years Graduate Medical Degree in Ayurveda (BAMS) from Madras University in 1985. He also holds a PhD from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune and Master of Management degree pursuant to the International Masters in Health Leadership (IMHL), a two year post-doctoral international management program for outstanding senior health leaders, from McGill University, Canada. He is one of the few healthcare professional in the country to have received the prestigious fellowship from the Ashoka Innovators for the Public, USA (FAIP).
He is the Director of Ramaiah Indic Specialty Ayurveda – Restoration Hospital (RISA), NAHB accredited 100-bed multi-specialty Ayurveda based integrative hospital in Bengaluru. He is an expert on authentic Ayurveda methods of diagnosis, especially pulse diagnosis and treatment, and successfully treats lifestyle disorders. He started his career with Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore, where he was renowned for his immense contributions including development of new dosage forms and novel traditional Ayurveda formulations. As a technical director and vice-president at Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, he continued to practice Ayurveda and actively lead many initiatives to promote Ayurveda and use of medicinal plants.
Yoga Teacher
Yoga Lab
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Sri H.S Arun is an internationally recognized Yoga teacher from Bangalore, India, who has been teaching yoga from the past 40 years. Currently, he teaches at his own yoga institute Prashant Yogashraya, located in Jayanagar, Bangalore and also travels across India and other parts of the world to share his practice at various yoga institutes.
Born in Sringeri, Karnataka in 1954, Sri H.S. Arun was initiated into yoga by the late Sri S.Janakiraman at the Rashtrothana Shareerika Siksha Kendra, Bangalore in 1974. After two years of practice, he was cured of asthma and began teaching yoga at the same facility. In 1978, he was privileged to give a yoga class in the presence of Pujya Guruji Dr. Sri B.K.S. Iyengar, who instantly recognized that Sri H.S Arun had a unique blend of sincerity and passion in Yoga, following which Sri Arun had an opportunity to learn yoga at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune.
Co-founder - GoIndia Games
Pushing Limits: Essence of Indian Sports
Timing: 8 -930 AM IST
Ms Cristina Maiorescu is a serial entrepreneur with 17+ years of experience in product development and consulting.
She is a passionate Board Gamer, Art & Design lover. She advocates for locally-made products.
Co-founder - GoIndia Games
Pushing Limits: Essence of Indian Sports
Timing: 8 -930 AM IST
Sumit Sinha is a game designer based in India and is a serial entrepreneur with a multi-million exit. He has 15 plus years of experience in tech, sales, and consulting. He is a passionate Board Gamer.
Indian Sports Journalist, Author of Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games
Pushing Limits: Essence of Indian Sports
Timing: 8 -930 AM IST
Boria Majumdar is a leading sport scholar and television commentator. Author of a number of bestselling books on Indian sport, he is an oped columnist for The Times of India and sports expert at Times Now. A Rhodes scholar, Majumdar is adjunct professor, Monash University, and senior research fellow at the University of Central Lancashire.
Director of KalariLAB and Senior Instructor of Kerala Kalarippayat Academy. Physiotherapist and Marma specialist.
Kalaripayattu Lab
Timing: 8 -930 AM IST
Adam has been practicing Kalari for almost 20 years, first encountering the practice as an actor in training. In 2001, he visited India and became a student of Gurukkal CM Sherif at Kerala Kalarippayattu Academy (KKA) in Kerala...
Since then he has become a senior teacher of the school, and is now one of the most experienced non-Indian practitioners of the art, leading workshops in UK, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Russia, Greece and Italy.
Alongside his practice of Kalarippayat and the healing art Kalari Chikitsa, he has trained as both an actor and physiotherapist and has used Kalari in both disciplines to gain deeper understanding of the psyche-physical process involved in body conditioning and re-education.
Indian Ambassador to Japan
Crafted In India: Indian Motifs
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Amb. Sanjay Kumar Verma is an officer of the 1988 batch of Indian Foreign Service (IFS). He was stationed at the Consulate General of India, Hong Kong and at the Embassy of India in China, Vietnam and Turkey, before serving as the Consul General of India in Milan, Italy. Amb. Verma was also the Indian Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan. Following his tenure in Sudan, Amb. Verma served as Joint Secretary (Global Estate Management) in MEA, New Delhi. Prior to his arrival in Japan as the Ambassador of India, Amb. Verma was posted in MEA, New Delhi as Additional Secretary (Administration) and was also in charge of the Cyber Diplomacy Division.
Founder-Director of Somaiya Kala Vidya
Crafted In India: Indian Motifs
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Judy Frater is a social entrepreneur steeped in the world of contemporary textile artisans of Kutch, India.
She lived in Kutch for 30 years, during which she co-founded and operated Kala Raksha Trust, a cooperative for women embroiderers, established the Kala Raksha Textile Museum, and founded Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, the first design school for traditional artisans. For this concept, Ms. Frater was awarded an Ashoka Fellowship for social entrepreneurship in 2003. Under her eight- year tenure as Director of the school, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya received international recognition for its unique approach to education of artisans. Frater received the Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education in 2009, the Crafts Council of India Kamla award in 2010, the George B. Walter’36 Service to Society Award from Lawrence University in 2014 and the New Delhi Rotary Distinguished Service Award in 2020. In 2014, to expand the design education program to an institute, Frater joined the
K.J. Somaiya Gujarat Trust to begin Somaiya Kala Vidya. From 2014-2020, as Founder Director she initiated a graduate business and management course, Outreach to other regions, co-design programs, and a course in craft traditions for non-artisans.
Ms. Frater’s Threads of Identity: Embroidery and Adornment of the Nomadic Rabaris received the Costume Society of America’s Milla Davenport award. Prior to her residence in India, she was Associate Curator of the Eastern Hemisphere Collections at the Textile Museum, in Washington, DC.
Senior Vice-President, World Crafts Council, Asia
Crafted In India: Indian Motifs
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr Kevin Murray is an independent writer and curator. For the past eight years, he has been Director of Craft Victoria, where he initiated a number of programs, including the Melbourne Scarf Festival and the South Project, a four year program of cultural exchange across the south that involved international gatherings in Melbourne, Wellington, Santiago and Johannesburg. With a PhD in the field of narrative psychology, he has an ongoing interest in art as a way of telling stories.
Director, Indian Institute of Crafts and Design
Crafted In India: Indian Motifs
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Dr. Toolika Gupta, Director, Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, is a researcher and teacher in the field of crafts and design. With a Ph.D. in History of Arts (Dress and Textiles) from Glasgow University, UK; In Textiles and Clothing from MSc Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, India; Her collaboration as a PhD fellow with the Textile Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, and a short course in ‘Archaeological Textiles’ from the University of Oxford, UK, she has gained experience as a researcher in this field. She started her career as a designer in 1996, entering the field of education as a faculty member at NIFT, New Delhi. She spent her time at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, who understood the need for design education and its future in India. She did NIFT in 2011, While visiting faculty at NID and Pearl Academy, she resigned from NIFT for further research. Realizing the need to promote indigenous research and bring it closer to interested people, she founded TCRC, the Center for Textiles and Clothing Research, New Delhi, in 2016, along with many like-minded people. She is also currently the Secretary of TCRC.
Artist- Kolam and Thanjavur paintings
Crafted In India: Indian Motifs
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Shanthi is a Maryland artist who has been drawing and painting since early childhood. Her interest in understanding different media has led her to experiment with sculpture, photography, printmaking and papermaking. She has also been trained in the traditional art forms of Kolam and Tanjore Style painting. While many of her works are influenced by her Indian heritage, her true inspiration comes from the mystery and majesty of the world around her; her muse lives where the scientific overlaps with the spiritual.
Shanthi’s works have been displayed in a variety of locations in the US and India. She won the Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist Award in 2021 and Individual Artist Awards in 2013 and 2016 for Works on Paper.
Co-founder, Vastrakala
Crafted In India: Indian Motifs
Timing: 06:30 - 08:00 AM IST
Malavika studied English and French literature and after a stint with an NGO, co-founded Vastrakala 25 years ago.
Since then, the company has been involved in projects which maintain the highest standards of craftsmanship. Notably the work with museums and public institutions has provided opportunities to study historical embroidery and enabled their preservation and often their recreation. It is based on this heritage that today, Vastrakala’s collaborations with the world’s leading designers has produced outstanding works that contribute to the language of contemporary decorative arts.
Chief Executive Officer, IHH Healthcare India
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Shriram Vijayakumar is the CEO of IHH Healthcare India, where he oversees the operations of reputable healthcare brands – Gleneagles Global hospitals, Global Hospital, and Continental Hospitals, united under a shared vision of becoming the world's most trusted healthcare services network
He is an accomplished business leader and entrepreneur with extensive experience in the hospital and health care industries in multiple countries. He is the Founder & Managing Director - Nephrolife India Pvt. Ltd and former Asia Pacific COO for DaVita.
He is a double major degree holder in Bachelor of Science, Economics and Information Systems from the Carnegie Mellon University
Founder, Vaidyagrama
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Dr. Ramkumar, an alumnus of the Ayurveda College Coimbatore is the grandson of Arya Vaidyan PV Rama Variar, the founder of the AVP group of institutions in Coimbatore. He is currently the Director and Trustee on the Board of different institutions under the AVP umbrella. He is the Founder, Director of Vaidyagrama, which attempts to cater to the demand of authentic Ayurveda, the traditional way - as well as go natural the contemporary mode.
Digital Diplomacy expert & Author
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Dr. Ilan Manor's main area of research is the digitalization of public diplomacy. Manor's most recent book, The Digitalization of Public Diplomacy, was published in 2019 by Palgrave Macmillan.
Professor, International Communication & Co-Director, India Media Centre
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Daya Thussu is Professor of International Communication at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He was Distinguished Visiting Professor and Inaugural Disney Chair in Global Media, 2018-19, at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing. For many years Professor Thussu was Professor of International Communication and
Co-Director of India Media Centre as well as research advisor to the China Media Centre at the University of Westminster in London. Professor Thussu is the Founder and Managing Editor of the Sage journal Global Media and Communication and author or editor of 20 books, including Communicating India’s Soft Power: Buddha to
Bollywood – the first book-length study of India’s soft power, published by Palgrave-Macmillan in New York, in 2013.
Professor of Public Diplomacy, Founding Director, Masters Program in Public Diplomacy, USC
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Professor Nicholas Cull is the the founding director of the master's program in public diplomacy and part of the team recognized by the Department of State with the Benjamin Franklin award at the University of Southern California. From 2004 to 2019, Cull served as president of the International Association for Media and History. He has provided advice and training in public diplomacy to a number of foreign ministries and cultural agencies around the world including those of the U.S., U.K., Canada, Mexico, Switzerland and the Netherlands. His many books include Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age (Polity, 2019).
Founder, The Nomadic Vegan
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Ms Wendy Werneth, author of "Veggie Planet" is a nomadic traveler, vegan foodie and an animal lover. She has traveled over 117 countries uncovering vegan treasures to show how you can be a vegan anywhere and spread compassion everywhere. She is the founder of award-winning vegan travel blog, "The Nomadic vegan" (thenomadicvegan.com)
Chancellor, B.E.S.T Innovation University
Soft Power Diplomacy
Timing: 06:00 - 07:30 PM IST
Dr. Rupa Vasudevan is the Chancellor, B.E.S.T Innovation University. She is appointed by GOK as one of the top ten academician Executive members of the General council of Karnataka State Higher Education Council, apex body on education in the state and was also involved in planning and implementation of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) initiatives in association with the Government of Karnataka. She is actively involved in skilling and Agricultural development activities and trying meaningful ways in which we can make a difference to our farmers while documenting best practices / traditional agricultural knowledge systems by farmers from rural areas of South India.
