Hari
Hari Kiran Vadlamani ( Hari) is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a serial entrepreneur, having been involved in four ventures in Technology and Energy sectors.
He is deeply passionate about Art, Philosophy and Indian Cultural Heritage and is a Dharmic- Indic Liberal.
In 2015 he transformed himself into a Social Entrepreneur pursuing the preservation, protection and promotion of Indian Heritage. He founded INDICA ( www.indica.in) and NICE (www.niceorg.in) , both not for profits in the area of Cultural Education and Entrepreneurship.
Hari brings in an entrepreneurial mindset to his work of delivering indigenous knowledge as a service, product or an experience by incubating a portfolio of ideas, rapid prototyping, absorbing failures, applying a three horizon framework, thinking of scale etc.
Having the mindset of a venture investor, Hari is focussed on backing passionate individuals. He encourages, enables and empowers them to discover, nurture and express their creative potential. He believes in transforming the narrator and not the narrative.
A strong advocate of pluralism, Hari envisions a vibrant ecosystem of diverse set of players and ideas and seeks to build the enabling infrastructure.
Hari believes that Indian thought and the indigenous way of life from various global traditions have solutions to some of the key challenges we face today, especially sustainability, happiness, well-being and peace. He is working on developing the requisite institutional mechanisms that can transform a billion global consumers into conscious thinkers, entrepreneurs, leaders and most importantly seekers.
He has developed a unique six dimensional integral strategy for pursuing this vision.
Dr K Aravinda Rao
Dr K Aravinda Rao, IPS, retired as the Director-General of Police of united Andhra Pradesh state. His rich and vast experience in policing and administration as a top-cop and Anti-Naxal expert, Dr Aravinda Rao played an important role in effectively dealing with Left-wing extremism in AP. , During his distinguished career in the police, security and safety departments, Dr Aravinda Rao served as the Additional Director General of State Intelligence Department the Additional Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, Inspector General of Police (Greyhounds) and IGP (Crime Investigation Department). He also holds a PhD in Sanskrit and has authored several books on Sanatana Dharma.
Renowned for his sincerity and simplicity, Dr Aravinda Rao developed a keen interest in studying Santana Dharma during his service and this led him to pursue a Masters in Sanskrit. Under aegis of his Gurus Padmasri Pullela Ramachandruduji, a maha mahopadyaya and Shri Tatvavidhananda Swamiji, Dr Aravinda Rao developed a deep understanding of Sanatana Dharma, Vedanta, Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita, Brahmasutras and Bhashyams. Post his retierment, Dr Aravinda Rao has authored several books in Telugu and English besides the book ‘Analysis of Jnanam in Upanishads’ in Sanskrit. He has also adeptly woven ancient Vedic wisdom with practical knowledge and rendered several online lectures on various subjects relating to Adavita, Shankara Bhashyam, Upanishadsm Bhagvad Gita to name a few.
Dr Aravinda Rao has been the recepient of several awards and was also conferred with the honorary title of ‘Vachaspati’ by the Rashtriya Vidya Peetham, a deemed university of GOI for his valuable service to the field of Sanskrit studies.
Vishal Agarwal
Avatans Kumar
Avatans Kumar is a columnist, public speaker, and an activist. He writes frequently on the topics of language & linguistics, culture, religion, Indic Knowledge Tradition, and current affairs in several media outlets
Avatans holds graduate degrees in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he also taught Linguistics and Hindi as a foreign language respectively. Several of Avatans’ Hindi poems have also been published including in Bharatiya Gyanpith’s magazine Naya Gyanodaya.
Avatans has vast experience in the field of IT, PR & Marketing, and Management. He serves on the executive board of the American Academy of Indic Studies.
Avatans is a recipient of the 2021 San Francisco Press Club Bay Area Journalism Award.
MP Kumar
MP Kumar, Founder and Mentor at GlobalEdge Software, is driven by a powerful desire for engineering intelligence into things. He was also the former CEO at GlobalEdge, before he stepped down from his active executive role in January 2020. A true visionary, Kumar has been instrumental in building strategic alliances with industry partners and investors. He has helped the company grow since its inception in 1992, enabling close alliances with global enterprises through the journey.With a keen understanding of the dynamics at play in the competitive technology landscape,Kumar steers GlobalEdge to stay well beyond industry standards and market changes. Given his unparalleled experience, Kumar has mentored numerous technology start-ups and is a speaker of renown at several industry forums. With a dream of technological development, he is set on connecting the world with intelligence.
Sharad Sharma
Sharad Sharma's mantra is to lead big and small companies through orbit change. He has three decades of experience in the Internet, Enterprise Software, and Digital Infrastructure markets and is a prominent voice in India's technology ecosystem. He is a passionate evangelist of the software product ecosystem in India. He co-founded iSPIRT Foundation, a non-profit technology think tank devoted to making India a product nation. Earlier, he Chaired NASSCOM Product Forum in its formative years and was a member of the NASSCOM Executive Council from 2009-13. Sharad co-founded Teltier Technologies Inc., a wireless infrastructure startup now part of CISCO, and is an active technology angel investor with over two dozen investments. He was also instrumental in the success of India's first IP focussed fund, India Innovation Fund. He has held several senior R&D executive positions with leading technology companies, including Yahoo, VERITAS Software, Symantec, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T. Zinnov gave him the R&D Visionary Award in 2008 for his work on creating a strong MNC R&D footprint in India.
Sharad is a member of SEBI's Financial and Regulatory Technology Committee. He has also served on RBI's UK Sinha MSME Committee and National Digital Payments Committee. He got interested in kernel software development while doing his Electrical Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering. He started India's first Student Minicomputer Club in 1984 and served as the Chairperson of the IEEE Student Chapter.
Prof. Swati Karad Chate
Prof. Swati Karad – Chate has been the Executive Director at MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, Pune since 2006. She possesses a strong administrative strand in establishing and operating various educational units under this conglomerate. She is a Masters’ in Electronics & Tele-Communications Engineering and has attended various Executive programs in Leadership capacities, Potential leadership qualities among Professional Women and in Organizational Leadership.She, being the daughter of the visionary and eminent educationist Dr. Vishwashanath D. Karad has made his vision as her mission to create the knowledge hub which imbues the essence of spirituality in every aspect of its learners’ development. She is following the footsteps of her farsighted erudite father. She is leading the march towards developing a completely modern education system with the blend of ancient Vedic wisdom, which could transform young generation into a group of holistic human beings who will be equipped to face this dynamic world by providing excellent technological proficiencies as well as the congenial and conducive environment to grow as ingenious thinkers.
Dr. Rupa Vasudevan
Dr Rupa Vasudevan is an Educationist , Social entrepreneur , Angel investor ,Co-Founder and Chancellor of Bharatiya Engineering Science and Technology Innovation University (BESTIU), an AndhraPradesh State Private University established in Anantapur,AP
She is also Founder and Global President of World Forum for Education, an independent non-profit organization working globally to advance sustainable development, humanitarian response and facilitating public good through Knowledge sharing and Education.
Appointed one of the ten academicians in the General and Executive Council of Karnataka State Higher Education Council, apex body on education in the State.
She is actively involved in skilling and Agricultural development activities under the University Social Responsibility -USR of BESTIU and trying meaningful ways in which they can make a difference to our farmers while documenting best practices / traditional agri knowledge systems from rural areas of South India - the states of Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
She is Honorary Trustee of Disha Bharat, a non profit social organisation that works in the field of value education.
Was involved in planning and implementation of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) initiatives in association with the Government of Karnataka.
Incepted IAIS - International Academy of India Studies a college under Bharatiya Engineering Science and Technology Innovation University primarily focuses on Conservation Education, experiential/immersive study model of India’s civilizational legacy, Vedic agriculture ,culture and heritage, traditional knowledge systems, archeology, art forms, dance forms.
Mr Suresh Chukkapalli
Suresh Chukkapalli, as the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Korea, Telangana enables trade cooperation, facilitates economic relationships and commercial transactions between the state of Telangana and the Republic of Korea. He voluntarily heads a subdivision of the Consulate General of Mumbai to protect and
provide support to Korean expatriates in Telangana. Additionally he also promotes scientific and educational cross-cultural pursuits, enables organizations of Korean delegations to Telangana and acts as the liaison officer between said delegations, industries and government in his consular jurisdiction. Apart from this he is also the Chairman Emeritus of Phoenix Group, one of the leading infrastructure and property developers. In addition to his role as the Head of the Phoenix Group, he is the Managing Trustee of the Phoenix Foundation and Trustee of Chukkapalli Shankar Rao Charitable Trust. Under his leadership and guidance, the group undertakes a wide range of philanthropic efforts as well as community initiatives through ‘Phoenix Foundation’. It was set up with the idea to work for effecting positive changes in the lives of underprivileged children, their families and communities. It has actively participated in projects like Green 'Telangana Haritha Haram’ program and has distributed saplings for the same.
Ratnam Chitturi
Ratnam Chitturi is the Founder of North South Foundation (NorthSouth) in the USA. The Foundation is a non-profit organization, all run by thousands of volunteers. It is a virtual could NGO with no physical assets. Over the years, NorthSouth provided 25,000 college scholarships to the poorest of the poor in India. In the USA, it conducts competitions among K-12 children in numerous subjects. NorthSouth children dominate the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals and are covered widely in the news and social media every year around the globe. They won the championships for the last 12 years in a row. They also won the championships in the National Geographic Bee for the last 8 years in a row. NorthSouth children were widely featured in the Netflix’s film, “Spelling the Dream.” They were also featured in two books, “Beeline” and “Hyper Education.” More than 250,000 contestants benefited from the NorthSouth competitions. The surplus revenues generated from contests, workshops and coaching fund the college scholarships in India. NorthSouth also conducts contests in India. North South Foundation of India formed in 2004 is a close partner.
His working career spanned many multinationals including BP, General Motors, Chase and First Chicago. During his career, he lived in New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, and finally in Chicago where he has been residing since 1984. He has also founded or co-founded many business startups.
He received a Ph.D. in Operations Research from New York University, MS in Industrial Engineering from Kansas University and B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from India.
He is married to Nagamani and has two daughters, Vijayalakshmi and Vena Devi. He has two grandsons.
Prof. M.D. Srinivas
Prof. M.D. Srinivas is a versatile scholar with expertise in Theoretical Physics (Conceptual and Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics) History and Philosophy of Science (Scientific and Technological Tradition of India: Methodology of Indian Tradition of Science, Study of Source Texts of Indian Mathematics and Astronomy) Indian Society, Economy and Polity.
He holds a doctorate degree in Physics from University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, and has taught as a professor in University of Madras for about 20 years.
Dr. Srinivas has also been a member of Indian National Commission for History of Science, Indian National Science Academy and Central Sanskrit Board since 2006. He has also held the position of Vice Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla from 1999-2002. He is currently the Chairman of Centre for Policy Studies in Mylapore, Chennai.
Prof. K. Ramasubramanian
K. Ramasubramanian is an Institute Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. He holds a doctorate degree in Theoretical Physics, a Master’s in Sanskrit and a Bachelor’s in Engineering—a formidable combination to do multidisciplinary research. He was honored with the coveted title ‘Vidvat Pravara’ by the Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Karnataka, India, for completing a rigorous course in Advaita Vedānta (a 14-semester program), in 2003. He is one of the authors who prepared detailed explanatory notes of the celebrated works Gaṇita-Yuktibhāṣā, Tantrasaṅgraha and Karaṇapaddhati, that bring out the seminal contributions of the Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics. Since 2013, he has served as an elected council member of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. In 2018, he was elected as a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA). Currently, he is also the editor of the Indian Journal of History Science.
Prof T.S. Rukmini
Prof TS Rukmini is an undisputed academic marvel. With many “firsts” to her credit, Prof Rukmini is a truly inspirational Guru and a symbol of divine Shakti. Dr Rukmini was the first woman and the second person to receive a PhD in the Department of Sanskrit, since the establishment of Delhi University in 1930. In 1991 she was honoured with the highest degree of D.Litt, the first ever awarded by the Department, in recognition of a major contribution to the study of yoga philosophy. She held the first Chair for Hindu Studies and Indian Philosophy at the University of Durban Westville.Today, she serves as the distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Department of Religious & Cultural Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. She was President of the University Women's Association of Delhi and was a member of the International Federation of University Women's Fellowship Committee in Geneva (Switzerland).
Dr Rukmani has published several books, articles and contributed to a dozen other publications. While her main work has been on the philosophies of Samkhya-Yoga, and Sankara's Advaita Vedanta, she has also written on folk traditions in the Mahabharata in South India, Kalidasa and Shakespeare, women in the Bhagavata Purana, environmental ethics in Sanskrit sources, Vedanta and bhakti traditions, and religious consciousness. She has completed a two-volume translation of the Yogasutrabhasyavivarana. In this study the Yogasutras of Patanjali, the Bhasya of Vyasa on the Yogasutras, and the Vivarana of Sankara have all been brought together, for the first time in one work.
Meenakshi Jain
Meenakshi Jain is an Indian political scientist and historian. A scholar on relations between caste and politics,[1] who has written several groundbreaking works (Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse) on the use of Sati practice by the British in colonial India for evangelical purposes and had also authored a history textbook (Medieval India), which incurred significant scholarly criticism but went on to replace a previous text by Romila Thapar. Her groundbreaking historical work on Rama and Ayodhya, and The Battle for Rama has served in eliciting the truth, long buried under the debris of falsities. In 2014, she was nominated as a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research by the Indian government.[2] In 2020, she was conferred with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for her work in the field of literature and education.[3]
Prof. Subhash Kak
Subhash Kak is Regents Professor of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University in Still water. His current research is in the theories of neural networks and quantum information. He has also worked on archaeoastronomy and written on the history of science and on art. He has made the surprising discovery that the ancient Indians knew that the sun and the moon are approximately 108 times their respective diameters from the earth. This knowledge was coded into temple architecture, in the 108 poses of Indian classical dance, and the 108 prayer beads of the japa mala.
His writings on the philosophy of mind show how recursion plays a fundamental role in art, music and aesthetics. He is the author of twenty books which include six books of verse. The distinguished Indian scholar Govind Chandra Pande compared his poetry to that of William Wordsworth.He coined the term quantum neural computing which is a theory of consciousness that is partly classical and partly quantum. In this theory, neural networks do conscious and preconscious processing whereas the virtual particles associated with the quantum dynamics of the brain are the ground for the unconscious.
Dr Chirravuri Srirama Sarma
Mahamahopadhyaya Brahmasri Avadhani Chirravuri Srirama Sarma Ji
Acharya Mahamahopadhyaya Brahmasri Avadhani Chirravuri Srirama Sarma Ji is an erudite Vedic scholar, multilinguist, prolific author and distinguished academician. He has performed more than 100 Ubhaya Bhasha Ashtavadhanas in both Telugu and Sanskrit languages, across the nation. An exceptional orator, Dr Sarma’s discourses and Purana Pravachanams are the most sought after by devotees and spiritual seekers in both Telugu states.
Dr Sarma’s expertise on various subjects includes Meemamsa, Vyakarana, Krishna Yajurveda, Telugu and Sanskrit Literature, Vedas, Shastras and Smaarta to name a few., Dr Srirama Sarma has served as an examiner of Vedas, Shastras and Smaarta at Sri Godavari Mandala Veda Sastra Pravardhaka Sabha in Amalapuram, since 1990. He served as an NSS program officer for the unit of Sri Gowtami Vidyapeetam and also delivered lectures as a visiting professor at the Sanskrit Department at the University of Poona and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetam, Tirupati as well. Dr Sarma has served as a board member of the Studies Board at Sampurnanand University in Varanasi for Meemamsa, as a member of the Studies Board at Andhra University and continues to serve as a member of the Studies Board at Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetam, Tirupati.
An exceptional litterateur, Dr Sarma’s Sanskrit works include . ‘Sastra Deepika Bhatta Deepikayoh Towlya Vicharah’ a book written on Poorva Meemamsa for Ph.D published in 1998, Srowta LaxicanWork’ a book on ‘Srowta Paaribhashika Padakosha’ published by the University of Poona in 2001, Yagna Paatra Parichaya – a script prepared in Sanskrit and Telugu, Published by Rashtriya Samskruta Vidyaapeetham, Deemed University, Tirupati in 2007
Prof Michel Danino
French-born Michel Danino has lived in India since 1977. A student of Indian civilization, he has written on protohistorical India (The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati, 2010) and Indian culture (Indian Culture and India’s Future, 2011; Sri Aurobindo and India’s Rebirth, an edited volume, 2018). Between 2011 and 2014, he was a visiting faculty at IIM Ranchi and twice a scholar-in-residence at IIT Kanpur. Since 2011, he has been teaching courses on Indian civilization and knowledge systems at IIT Gandhinagar, where he is currently visiting professor and has been assisting its Archaeological Sciences Centre.
Michel Danino was (2015-18) a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research; he is currently a member of the Research Council for History of Science (Indian National Science Academy), the Central Advisory Board on Culture, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, and the Academic Council of Indic Academy. He is also convener of a CBSE committee for the course Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India whose two-volume textbook he co-edited (with Prof. Kapil Kapoor, 2013 and 2015). In 2017, the Government of India awarded him Padma Shri by for his work on education and culture.
Many of Michel Danino’s research papers, articles and other writings are available online: https://iitgn.academia.edu/MichelDanino. His other interests include nature conservation, a field in which he was especially active during his stay in the Nilgiris (1982–2003).
Dr. Vinod Vidwans
Prof.Vidwans was a Senior Designer (Professor) and an Ex-Vice Chairman (Research) at National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. He also headed the Departments of New Media and Software Users Interface Design at NID, Ahmedabad. He is a visiting faculty at IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, D. J Academy of Design, Coimbtore, and Pt. Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar. Dr. Vidwans is a cognitive philosopher, a designer and a portrait painter.
Prof. Vidwans carries more than twenty years of eventful professional and research experience with him. While working in the industry and managing Information design and development projects, he explored various facets of New Media Design. He has developed Sharada multilingual technology for Indian languages. He has also developed a computational theory of Indian Classical music.
Shivakumar GV
Shivakumar G V is 'Director - INDICA (Guru-Saadhaka Sachiva). His responsibilities focus on INDICA’s critical mission to cultivate leadership. He guides initiatives to serve Gurus, perpetuate their legacies, enable/empower leaders committed to IKS to become influential thinkers, institution builders and public leaders, and bolster the broader IKS ecosystem.
Over the next 36 months, Shivakumar embarks on an ambitious pledge to honor and sustain the legacies of 108 Living and Past Gurus from the 20th Century. His efforts will focus on organizing, making accessible, and cultivating a parampara that highlights their significant contributions to our civilization.
As an IKS Research Scholar, Shivakumar remains dedicated to his scholarly pursuits in Itihasa-Puranas and Indian Knowledge Systems. His work includes developing contemporary frameworks based on IKS principles, with a special focus on the Mahabharata and Purushartha. He has been a prolific contributor to INDICA Today, sharing his insights and knowledge with both academic and general audiences. He has delivered several story telling and courses on Mahabharata, Purushartha, Indic Civilization Studies for aspiring leaders and students. He is the curator of ‘Aryaa - An Anthology of Vedic Studies’ a collection of 10 stories on 10 Vedic Women by 10 Authors published by INDICA.
Shivakumar holds an M.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay and a B.E. from the National Institute of Technology, Surat. With 25 years of experience in the IT industry, his expertise spans theoretical computer science, algorithms, and learning system design. Shivakumar resides in Bengaluru with his family and is a devoted follower of the River-Goddess Saraswati.
Aditi Banerjee
Aditi Banerjee’s first novel, The Curse of Gandhari, was published by Bloomsbury India in September 2019. She is a practicing attorney at a Fortune 500 financial services company and has also completed an Executive MBA at Columbia University. She is a prolific writer and speaker about Hinduism and the Hindu-American experience. She is a member of the Indic Academy and Indic Book Club, which sponsored a successful six-city book launch tour for The Curse of Gandhari in September 2019 across India. She co-edited the book, Invading the Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America in collaboration with Rajiv Malhotra, and has authored several essays in publications such as The Columbia Documentary History of Religion in America since 1945 and Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America: A Short History (Religion in American Life) (Oxford University Press). She earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and received a B.A. in International Relations, magna cum laude, from Tufts University. In her free time, she enjoys wandering the Himalayas and reading voraciously.
Sumedha Verma Ojha
Sumedha Verma Ojha is an author, columnist and speaker, was born in Patna and educated in Delhi, graduating in Economics (Lady Sriram College) and post-graduating in Sociology (Delhi School of economics). After 15 years in the Indian Revenue Service she switched careers to research and write a book set in the Mauryan period based on the Arthashastra of Chanakya. ‘Urnabhih’ then expanded into a book series on the Mauryan Empire. Sumedha is a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board at Indic Today.
She works in the area of translating and explaining the epics and bringing ancient Sanskrit/Prakrit literature to the English speaking Indian as also in the area of a gendered analysis of ancient India. She lives with her husband near Geneva and has two children both studying in the US.
DENA MERRIAM
Founder and Convener, Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW)
Founding Member, The Contemplative Alliance
Ms. Merriam began working in the inter-faith movement in the late 1990s when she served as Vice Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders held at the United Nation in New York in the year 2000. She subsequently convened a meeting of women religious and spiritual leaders at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and from that gathering founded the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) in 2002, an organization chaired by a multi-faith group of women spiritual leaders. In 2008, Ms. Merriam was one of the founding members of the Contemplative Alliance, which later became a program of GPIW. The purpose of the Alliance is to bring together meditation teachers and practitioners in a collective effort to uplift and transform society, while caring for and honoring our Mother Earth.
For over 40 years, Dena Merriam has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda and a practitioner of Kriya Yoga meditation. She is also a long time student of the great texts of the Vedic tradition. Ms. Merriam received her Master’s Degree from Columbia University and has served on the boards of the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, The Interfaith Center of New York, the Manitou Foundation, The All India Movement (AIM) for Seva, Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, and Seven Pillars. In 2014 she received the Niwano Peace Prize for her interfaith peace efforts.
Sundari R Pisupati
Sundari R Pisupati is an attorney and is the co-founder of Tempus Law Associates, a law firm based in Hyderabad. She has 27 years of experience as a lawyer. She practiced in New York at an International law firm Sidley for several years. She has a Masters in law from Columbia Law School, New York and is NY licensed. She specializes in corporate law and handles foreign investments and Mergers and Acquisitions transactions on a regular basis. She is from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore from the 1st batch and is a gold medallist.
She advises companies in various industry verticals such as information technology, financial services, domestic and international funds, angel funds, venture capital, infrastructure, bio technology and pharmaceutical companies among others. She also handles matters and advices the Competition Commission of India; the Enforcement Directorate and was earlier the Counsel for GST and Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams.
She is regularly invited to national and international events to speak on various topics of current legal interest. She is a Sanskrit scholar and holds high academic records.
Prasad Kaipa
Prasad was introduced to Sanskrit and Vedic studies very early in his childhood. He got a Ph. D. in Physics from Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai (1983) and ended up in University of Utah where he became an assistant professor of radiation physics. His studied effects of radiation from atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thru this work, he developed scientific frameworks and empathy and compassion for human suffering. He was also introduced to Apple Macintosh in Utah and that led to Prasad joining Apple as technology advisor first and later became a fellow in Apple University. His focus was on research tools to augment human learning and creativity.
His work in Apple unexpectedly led him to interview many Nobel laureates, spend time with brain researchers and finally reconnect to Upanishads and other texts that focus on human consciousness and methods of knowledge.
Since 1990, Prasad has been studying the intersection of business, spirituality and science/technology and apply what he has been learning to his teaching in business schools, coaching C-suite executives and developing frameworks for wisdom and inner transformation.
Prasad has been focusing on non-profits since 2019 and has been on the boards of North South Foundation, Intellect Design Arena, Society of Org. Learning, International Leadership Association, Sanskrita Bharati (USA) and Yoga Bharathi. He is also closely involved with Center for Consciousness Studies and Inner Transformation and Indic Academy. He has written three books on wisdom, Learning and disabled entrepreneurs and they have been translated into half a dozen languages.
In the area of consciousness, Prasad has worked with Conscious Capitalism group (through Fetzer Memorial Trust), gave seminars on conscious leadership, and working with Raghu Ananthanarayan and Center for Consciouness Studies and Inner Transformation to develop Yogic Presence, Yogi Coach and Yogi leadership models with programs.
Raghu Ananthanarayanan
Raghu holds a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Engineering from IIT, Madras. However, Raghu has explored other disciplines as he pursued his calling. He is a behavioural scientist, yoga teacher and an author.
Raghu has dedicated his life to the study and application of Yoga and Indic traditions to guide the inner transformation of individuals and shape leadership and culture building of organizations. This seeking led to a discipleship with Yogacharya Krisnamacharya, dialoguing with J Krishnamurti and collaborating with Prof. Pulin K Garg.
Over the past four decades, he has incorporated ancient wisdom & traditional theatre into his work of enabling people to look within. He combined this process work with knowledge of management systems to develop unique methodologies like “The Learning Theatre” ”The Mahabharata Immersion” and “Totally Aligned Organization” as well as the “Tensegrity Mandala” model to guide corporations and cultural organizations. His collaborative Yoga work includes therapy for special children, performance enhancement of sports-persons, artists and dancers among others. Raghu has written several books that reflect his approach to inner transformation.
Through his years of study of the Yoga Sutras with Yogacharya Krishnamacharya and his work with individual and groups Raghu has developed a unique approach to the practice of Yoga called Antaranga Yoga (the inner-work of yoga). His collaboration with Dr Prasad Kaipa and Bhr Sai Sabath in the Center for Consciouness Studies and Inner Transformation explores the deep coherence between Yoga and the other approaches to Inner transformation. This is resulting in the development of a set of offerings that highlight Yogic Presence, Yogic Coaching and Yogic leadership.
He co-founded the Sumedhas Academy of Human Context and Barefoot Academy of Governance with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He is one of the Directors of the Centre for Consciousness and Inner Transformation and the Director of Flame Tao Knoware Pvt Ltd and serves on the board of many organizations. He is actively engaged with building Ritambhara Ashram, a collective for inner transformation, as it’s Chief Mentor. He lives in Nilgiris, South India.
Sai Sambat
Sai Sambat is a Graduate in Production Engineering from NIT, Trichy and an MBA in HRM & OD from XLRI, Jamshedpur.
He serves as a Director at the Center for Consciousness Studies and Inner Transformation (CCSIT), Indic Academy.
At present he is engaged in building the theoretical framework and curriculum development along with Co-Faculty and a pioneering batch of volunteers from across the globe.
Sai's passion and expertise span Leadership Development, Knowledge Management, Learning Design, and Organisational Development.
He has co-created an Organisational Cone Model for achieving Value–Culture–Strategy Alignment in collaboration with a client. He has also developed a robust framework for the Assessment and Alignment of Organisational Values.
During his long tenure in development sector since 1995, Sai has served as the Chairman of the Constitution Committee, Indian Society for Individual and Social Development (ISISD) (1995 – 1996) and as the COO of Punnyabhumi Daily (2001 – 2002) on a voluntary basis. He was also engaged in Community Building and Market Development for Bell Metal Craftsmen in Kerala.
In his quest for self-realization, Sai Sambat embraced a spiritual journey and became a monastic disciple of a realised Spiritual Master, which has provided him with the gifts of non-evaluative and non-judgmental awareness and evolved levels of psycho-spiritual, socio-cultural and ecological coherence.
Sai serves as the General Secretary of his monastic order. He has spiritually anchored cross-cultural experience at a global level, including participation in Millennium World Peace Summit at the United Nations (2000) wherein he presented a paper on Life Centric Solutions for World Peace under the guidance of his Guru. He has expanded on this and has conceptualized Life Centric Divinity as an antidote to anthropocentric failings of humanity.
Combined with diagnostic and analytical skills, and a strong ability to conceptualize, Sai Sambat offers effective and systemic solutions, based on a unique blend of the temporal, spiritual and integral dimensions, to address the challenges faced by organizations as well as individuals across generations.
DR. EDWARD BUTLER
Edward P. Butler received his doctorate in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research, New York City, in 2004 for his dissertation “The Metaphysics of Polytheism in Proclus”. Since then, he has pursued an ambitious research program in philosophy, theology, and the philosophy of religion, publishing regularly in academic journals as well as in devotional volumes. From 2009 on, he has hosted on his site his Theological Encyclopedia of the Goddesses and Gods of the Ancient Egyptians, with entries on more than 150 deities, now available in paperback and ebook editions as well. His previously published works are collected in several anthologies: Essays on a Polytheistic Philosophy of Religion (2012), Essays on the Metaphysics of Polytheism in Proclus (2014), Essays on Plato (2018), and Essays on Hellenic Theology(2018). From 2014-2019 he was co-editor of Walking the Worlds: A Biannual Journal of Polytheism and Spiritwork (ISSN 2474-3135). In addition to his theoretical work on polytheism, he has been a practicing devotional polytheist for his entire adult life, and is an advocate for the preservation, restoration and revival of polytheistic traditions around the globe. His areas of specialization include ancient Platonism, ancient Greek theology, ancient Egyptian theology, and the polytheistic philosophy of religion in general. More information about his work is available from his personal website (https://henadology.wordpress.
Manish Maheshwari
Manish is a researcher on Indology and Indian intellectual history. His current area of focus is yoga and the siddha tradition of medieval India, particularly the origins of haṭha yoga from the Nātha siddha lineage. Manish has also studied Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta and Indian aesthetics under prominent teachers and institutions in the country.
Prior to this, Manish worked as a financial analyst at Investment Management firms in New York and Mumbai. He holds graduate degrees from Columbia University (New York) and Mumbai University. He curates www.tattvamag.org and has contributed numerous essays to www.swarajyamag.com. He also supports and collaborates with multiple scholars in the field of yoga and Śaivism studies.
Dr.T. Ganesan
T. Ganesan, with Ph.D. in Sanskrit worked as Director of Research at the prestigious French Institute, Pondicherry (IFP) since 1985 and now he is a Research Associate there. He is now working on the projects A Comprehensive History of Śaivasiddhānta in Tamilnadu surveying the contents of the entire gamut of Śaivasiddhānta literature (published and unpublished) that spans more than a millennium as well as on the project Critical Edition of the Śaivāgama-s. He is one of the editors the Sukshmagama (3 volumes, 4th volume under preparation) published by the French Institute of Pondicherry. The first two volumes of the Paushkaragama along with the two unpublished commentaries of Umapati and Jnanaprakasa critically edited by him for the first time has been published by the National Mission for the Manuscripts (NMM), New Delhi in 2014 and 2020. Śivajñānabodhasūtra with the Laghuṭīkā of Śivāgrayogī, Siddhāntaprakāśikā of Sarvātmaśambhu with Tamil and English translations (published by the Saivabharati Shodha Pratishthan, Varanasi in 2009) Śivajñānabodhasūtra with the hitherto unpublished commentary of Nigamajñānadeśika (published by the Rashtriya Samskrit Samsthan, New Delhi, 2009) and a few other Śaivasiddhānta texts are some of the important Saiva texts critically edited by him. His monograph Two Śaiva Teachers of the 16th century: Nigamajñāna I and Nigamajñāna II was published by the French Institute of Pondicherry in 2009. He has presented more than 30 seminar papers and research articles concerning Saivism and Saivasiddhanta many of which have been published. He had delivered special lectures concerning various aspects of Saivasiddhānta at The Tamil University, Thanjavur, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, University of Madras as well as at the Université de Paris III-Nouvelle Sorbonne, Paris and at the University of Marbourg, Germany. T. Ganesan had been honoured with the title Viśvārādhya Viśvabhāratī by the Jangamawadi Matha, Varanasi in the year 2016.
Shri Sridhar Potaraju
Shri Sridhar Potaraju, Advocate on Record, hails from Hyderabad in Telangana, where he spent his childhood and formative years. Upon completing B.Com (Hons) from Indian Institute of Management and Commerce, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Shri Sridhar Potaraju was admitted into the Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi upon successfully cracking the entrance examination in the year 1994. During his student days, he worked as Research Assistant for Faculty and Researchers of the Indian Law Institute during 1996-97, where he took great liking for Research work. Upon completion of LL.B degree in 1997, he enrolled himself as an Advocate with the Delhi Bar Council on 6.10.1997.
Right from the very beginning, Shri Sridhar Potaraju exhibited flair for Tax Laws when he was recruited by one of the most prestigious law firms specialising in Indirect Taxes, M/s Lakshmikumaran&Sridharan in whose office he worked from 1997-1999. Deciding to take on a much more challenging tasks, Shri Sridhar Potaraju got associated with Shri P.S Narasimha, Advocate (as he then was) under whose tutelage he worked between 1999-2001 in Supreme Court of India. Deciding to venture out on his own, Shri Sridhar Potaraju started independent practice in January 2002 and then went on to become an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court of India in 2006.
He has been advising Technology companies on various legal issues over the past 2 decades. His clients include Institutions, Professional Bodies, Corporates, Individuals, Members of Judiciary, Executive and Members of Legislatures, amongst several individuals, NGOs, Trusts etc.
Amongst the prominent matters he was involved include the Sri Ramjanmabhoomi case before the Supreme Court as a core member of the legal team for Sri RamlallaVirajman, the Plaintiff. He had digitized the entire case running into several thousands of pages for convenience of handling the same during the marathon hearings before the Supreme Court of India. Throughout his involvement in the case records, Shri Sridhar Potaraju ensured that every bit of document produced in court, arguments made and every relevant piece of information was digitized and saved for posterity. His collection alone accounts for around 8 GB data running into about 36 thousand pages of court records and is available online at http://www.vadaprativada.in/.
He was the Counsel for Visaka Industries in Supreme Court against Google India. He successfully defendant the AP High Court Judgment directing the Google India to face the Criminal Trial for Defamation, for allowing Defamatory publications being hosted on Google Groups. Thereby, making Google answerable before a court of law in India for the misuse or abuse of its services by its users causing loss of reputation to a corporate citizen.
He has been handling complex litigation involving Metro Rail Projects, Infrastructure projects, Tender matters, proceedings under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996, Intellectual Property Rights matters for Media houses etc.
He has a penchant for ancient Indian Texts and spends his leisure time in research and reading.
AKANKSHA DAMINI JOSHI
Akanksha Damini Joshi is a multiple award winning filmmaker, writer and a meditation facilitator, witnessing India in its technological, innovative, social, political, ecological, cultural and spiritual dimensions.
Over two decades she has documented social conflicts, natural disasters, environmental strife in India. Filming lives of people in conflicts, Akanksha has come to understand that it is the Indian peoples connection with the Sacred - in all diverse forms and colours – that has been the anchor, through and beyond their crises.
Some of her internationally award winning films are Earth Witness, on climate change told through various tribes, in different ecological zones of India; and Hindu Nectar: Spiritual Wanderings in India, experienced with seekers from various nations who have found their spiritual home in India.
Akanksha has also made films on disruption in textile spinning technology like MICROSPIN, and on a microbial consortium for degrading oil spills developed by TERI as Oil Zapper. She has also made a film on Right to Information with Arvind Kejriwal - during his days in Parivartan, the NGO he founded - for a US based foundation. She has worked with OXFAM on a film on the UN Millennium Development Goals besides a short stint as the executive producer of news channel Janmat, a SAB TV venture later bought by SONY TV India.
Over more than a decade now Akanksha has also been conducting meditation groups based on various wisdom traditions of India . She creates immersive and interactive experiences innovating with technology, visual and sound design. Through the pandemic she has been facilitating online meditations each morning for two hours over 300 days.
Akanksha is presently working on a film on Kashi and a book designed as a manual of various Indian meditation techniques for contemporary practice.
Akanksha is the Co-Founder of Center for Embodied Knowledge.
SANDEEP 'SUNNY' NARANG
Sunny Narang has worked with and mentored people as well as start-ups at all levels and in a number of industries across India. For many years he committed his energies and innovations to help in the transformation of the Indian crafts sector focusing on turning sustainable development into viable enterprises.
Subsequently he guided a number of cutting-edge start-ups, design enterprises, sports businesses and retail ventures. In his earlier role as Chairman of the Anglian Omega Group (India) he was instrumental in expanding the bright bar business to Pune and Chennai while simultaneously upgrading technology and quality to match the expectations of global auto-component and auto companies setting up bases across India.
Sunny was the main driving force behind Anglian Omega Group's India operations from 2010-2017 .
Sunny outlined the strategy behind the Anglian foray into Industrial Hubs , Warehousing and the Infrastructure sector .
Sunny’s experience in and deep understanding of sustainable development combined with the latest technologies and best practices has helped define key strategic initiatives for the Anglian Omega group of companies.
He is now actively mentors his own personal portfolio of start-ups and manages his investments via Rasa Investments Group which includes his personal holdings as well as via his holding companies Rasa Business Innovations and Essu Financial and explores his passion for Desinomics .
Sunny is the Co-Founder of Center for Embodied Knowledge.
Dr Nagaraj Paturi
Dr Nagaraj Paturi trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta by his hyper-polyglot, polymath and spiritually accomplished sakala-shaastra-paarangata father, late Sri Paturi Sitaramanjaneyulu garu, he is seriously committed to the transmission of Vedic sciences to the present generation.
He designed a very big number of courses of contemporary applications of Vedic Sciences and has been successfully teaching them and getting them taught.
Presently he is Director, Inter-Gurukula - University Centre for Indic knowledge Systems of Indic Academy
And
Distinguished Professor, Curriculum Designer, Executive Committee Member and Member, Board of Studies, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune.
Member, Board of Studies for Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth,
Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University,
Veda Vijnana Gurukula.
Formerly
Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of Liberal Education
Former Visiting Professor, University of Chicago, US)
In his PhD (1998, UoH) Developed Indic Model of Myth Criticism of Literature. MPhil (1987, UoH) Brought out Vakyapadiyam as theoretical foundation of Ashtaadhyaayee
Around 50 publications, around 60 conference /seminar/ workshop papers.
Consultancy to numerous culture research and theater and dance innovation projects.
Scores of creative writing works for Classical Dance, Modern Theater and magazines.
Several series of talks and other programs on Radio and Television channels.
Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar
Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar is the Co-Founder of Center For Softpower and the founder secretary of Heritage Parampara a not-for-profit trust. She has flown powered aircrafts, played state level softball, danced Bharatanatyam, given talks on culture and heritage, organized conferences, been on the Central Film and Censor Board, the National Advisory Board for Philately and is a freelance designer and copywriter too. Heritage trust conducts two annual well-known festivals, Gudiya Sambhrama and Srishti Sambhrama, the Earth Mother Festival. A third festival that premiered in 2018 was The Heritage Drive, a 1100 km motor sport rally that took participants to heritage temples and included tree planting as well. She loves story telling, her approach is creative and innovative. She is presently writing a novel based on historical events in India
Megh
An Indian citizen with close to nine years of lived experience in China, he is an alumnus of Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and currently the Director of Special Projects at INDICA. His post-graduate specialisation in Strategy, Leadership and Marketing included a study of research methods. His professional experience includes stints as a Market Leader at a Global Fortune 50 firm while he has served a term on the Board of a Shanghai-based not-for-profit. His academic writings span some aspects of ancient Indian chronology, Indian Knowledge Systems, Landscape in Indic texts, Ancient Indian Jurisprudence, Ideas of India and Philosophy. Other professional and pro-bono pursuits have included building differentiated digital platforms for Indic texts targeted at specific learning and research needs and music. His research-based compositional Sanskrit music album ‘Bhārata and her Kāśmīra’ has been listed by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. His subsequent music album ‘Indian Knowledge Systems and Yāskācārya’s Nirukta’ has recently been accepted for listing by the Vedic Heritage Portal. In 2022, the National Museum Institute invited him to contribute content for multiple projects currently underway, including ones on Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh and Kedarnath. In 2023, he was nominated by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) as a Member of a National Committee for an initiative focused on Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. His work has been featured in two editions (Chennai and Pune) of Vitasta (2023), a multi-city festival focused on Kashmir (organized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India). In FY 2024, Megh Kalyanasundaram was invited to deliver a two-part lecture On Sanskrit’s Vitality and Role: Some Reflections as part of IIT Gandhinagar’s course Introduction to Indian Knowledge Traditions. The Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems at IIT Madras invited him to speak on the same topic on Feb 29 2024, as did the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT), on March 07 2024. He was one of the people consulted by the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti for inputs pertaining to some aspects of an upcoming Museum related to Indian languages. Sahitya Akademi recently published his paper On the relevance of 'Bhārata and her Kāśmīra': Two new reasons from 2023 and his work was showcased in an exhibition titled Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh Through The Ages presented by ICHR (an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, Government of India) at the recently (2024 Feb) concluded New Delhi World Book Fair.
Vipul Kocher
Vipul Kocher is an entrepreneur by compulsions of heart, a software tester by profession and IA national coordinator by destiny.
Abhinav Agarwal
Abhinav is a technology professional with over twenty years in the software industry, the technical editor of a book published by McGraw-Hill, a prolific writer on areas on technology and Indology. He is a computer engineer and holds a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Vinayachandra Banavathy
Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy, is the Director of Indica Yoga, a platform that offers authentic,
immersive and transformative yoga experiences across the world. He holds a PhD on
psychological insights in the Vedas from Pondicherry University, besides Masters’ in Sanskrit,
English, Yogic Science and Applied Psychology.
Vinayachandra is a dedicated teacher who travels across the world conducting courses, lectures
and workshops on a unique blend of Yoga, Psychology and Sanskrit.
His publications include a report on Standardization of Yoga Terminologies for WHO; a book
co-edited with Dr. Anuradha Choudry titled ‘Perspectives on Indian Psychology’, published by
Jain University Press, another book co-authored titled ‘Happiness: Indic Perspectives’, published
by Development Foundation, besides a few articles, papers, booklets on Yoga, Indian
Psychology, Culture and Spirituality.
D V Sridharan
D V Sridharan was a sea going engineer in the 1960s. For the last 40 years he has been passionate about the environment, especially water conservation and eco-diversity. He's currently in the second decade of his land regeneration work at pointReturn, 100km south of Chennai
Nishant Limbachia
Nishant Limbachia has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MS University, Vadodara and MBA from IIT, Chicago. Nishant works and lives with his family in the Chicagoland area. Nishant attended one of the INDICA programs as a participant and ended up being one of the Chicago Chapter Coordinators. He loves spending time with family, reading books, following current affairs, listening to R.D. Burman’s music, traveling to explore Bharat and being active in the local Hindu community.
Ramsundar Lakshminarayanan
Ram attaches great importance to the impact his work has on people’s lives. Be it selecting a family vacation destination or cooking or solving a problem at work, he gets immense satisfaction when they enjoy the experience.
Ram is an IT Management professional with a Big4 background. A devotee of Ilaiyaraja songs, non-fiction reader, former cricketer, traveler, photographer, Indic learner and an evolving writer. He usually brags about the Chicago Bulls & the Michael Jordan era.
Kaali Sudheer
Kaali Sudheer is an art curator and a film producer. He manages Muse Art Gallery along with Marriott.
Gautam Agrawal
Danji Thotapalli
Danji Thotapalli is Chief Curator at Indica Pictures. He is a senior global technology sourcing professional with a passion for cinema. Having spent the past 10 years at major Hollywood studios – previously at NBC Universal and currently at Sony Pictures – Danji understands the power of film and the extent of its reach. In addition to working in Hollywood, Danji has been associated with the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles for about 12 years, and comes with a deep insight into all facets of running a film festival such as community outreach, sponsorship/funding, event management, programming and media relations. Currently, Danji volunteers as a Vice President at ManaBadi, a reputed Telugu-language school in the US, and responsible for ideation and implementation of value-added curricular and extra-curricular programs. Danji is passionate about pre-Buddhist Andhra history, and enjoys immersive experiences that blend modernity with tradition.
Yogini Deshpande
Dr. Yogini Deshpande is a practicing Civil Engineer by profession. She has degrees from Mumbai University & Purdue University & diverse experience in academia, research & consulting. She has been associated with Indic Academy since it's inception and is it's Mumbai Chapter coordinator.. She is the Editor-in-Chief for Indic Today portal. She is an avid reader, Indian Classical Music aficionado & keen political observer.
Nithin Sridhar
With a degree in civil engineering, and having worked in construction field, Nithin Sridhar passionately writes and teaches on Dharma and Vedanta. He is based in Mysore, India.
Krishna Kavita
Krishna Kavita is a student of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, and has continued her Vedanta studies with Swamini Svatmavidyananda ji and Swami Sadatmananda ji. She enjoys writing and teaching about Indic language, culture, and thought
Gauri Mahulikar
Gauri Mahulikar is Dean and Professor at Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, deemed-to-be-university, Ernakulam. She was the Gurudev Tagore Chair of Comparative Literature Professor and former HOD of Sanskrit at Mumbai University where she was instrumental in launching courses in Manuscriptology, Bhakti Literature and Mysticism. She holds a Doctorate in Sanskrit on ‘Vedic Elements in Puranic Mantras and Rituals’. She has published eight books and over 90 research articles. A passionate teacher, Dr. Mahulikar has mentored several doctoral students, 17 being awarded Ph.D degree and is often invited as a speaker by universities and other organisations. She is a member of the Board of Advisors at Indic Today and of the Academic Advisory Board as Eminent Expert of K J Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies. She is an eminent expert on the board of CIIL, Mysuru. She is Kulapati of Sanskrit Samvardhan Pratishthan, an NGO working on value education in school children and Vice President of Itihas Sankalan Samiti, Konkan region.
V Srinivas
Srinivas Vadde is an Executive Assistant to the Promoter of Indic Academy, Sri Hari Kiran Vadlamani, associated since 2002.
Kotiramaprasad
Kotiramaprasad is the member of Technical Team
Nikita Hattangady
Nikita Vyas Hattangady is Head of Programming at Indica Pictures. Nikita is a writer and filmmaker in the DFW metroplex in Texas, USA. She completed her writing and directing debut, a British comedy set in London, in July of this year. She is currently in pre-production of her second film venture as a writer and director. Nikita is an advisory board member of ISOFEST, a new international film, and arts festival based in New Delhi, India. She was a member of the program selection committee for the DFW South Asian Film Festival, a five year internationally recognized festival. She authored and illustrated a children’s book on diversity in America, We Are American, that is used in various school districts as a teaching tool. Nikita’s greatest passions are spending time with her family, storytelling, and learning new cultures and has had the great fortune of traveling and living across the world. She has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration.
Bhaskar Rayavaram
Bhaskar Rayavaram is Head of Social Media and Publicity at Indica Pictures. Bhaskar is a serial entrepreneur, seasoned IT professional with 25+ years of experience helping various businesses to drive their digital transformation strategies. Passionate about film, radio and drama, Bhaskar has hosted many radio programs, performed in many theatrical appearances and wrote a number of scripts for children’s stage plays. With an MBA from UT Dallas JSOM, and as a volunteer Vice President for Silicon Andhra ManaBadi, Bhaskar brings in vast digital marketing experience along with digital education expertise . Passionate about story telling, Bhaskar runs a YouTube channel focusing on creating variety of infotainment content to create and propagate positive energy and social good around the world.
Sumeet Borwankar
Sumeet Borwankar is Head of Operations and Project Management. Sumeet was at the forefront when the most significant Indian cinema fan and filmmaker blogging site PassionForCinema, was launched in 2006. He acted as a counselor, advisor, and chief editor for the microblogging site. He was the curator, programmer for many first of its kind initiatives on PassionForCinema like One Minute Film Festival, Poster Contest, PFCPitcher. Sumeet was instrumental in running an intern program iView on PFC, which gave the Indian Film Industry directors, technicians, writers who went on to garner national film awards and several international awards. He lives in Dallas Metro and enjoys cinema, traveling the world, reading, debating cricket, and satellite poker.
Christian Frost
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.
S K. Shelgikar
S K. Shelgikar is advisor of Advaita Academy
Date of birth : April 7th 1955
Academics: B.Com.; Chartered Accountant. In practice as chartered accountant with specialisation in direct and indirect taxes, corporate laws, commercial laws. Special Interest in Constitutional Law, from 1978 till date. withdrew from commercial world from 1998 for pursuit of spirituality. Engaged in personal spiritual development since then. disciple of Dr S.D. Deshmukh an ardent AADISHANKAR ADVAITAVEDANT.
Varsha Venkataraman
Varsha Venkataraman is a cancer researcher in the making. A history-buff, fiction-reader and an avid cricket enthusiast!
Anuradha Choudry
Dr. Anuradha Choudry, is guest teacher at Indica Yoga.
She is currently working a joint Faculty at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and at the Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. A multilingual Sanskritist, she works in the areas of Indian/Yoga Psychology, Philosophy and Culture and travels across the world to deliver lectures and conduct workshops on these topics for national and international organisations and events including the Annual Yoga Congress organised by the European Union of Yoga in Zinal, Switzerland. She has published in various journals and has co-edited and co-authored books titled 'Perspectives on Indian Psychology;' and 'Happiness: Indian Perspectives'; respectively along with Dr. Vinayachandra B. K. Last year, she was the recipient of the Excellent Young Teacher Award art IIT Kharagpur.
Ravishankar Gundlapalli
Ravishankar Gundlapalli is an Entrepreneur, Author and Speaker passionate about helping people achieve their true potential. Be it employees in a company, first-time entrepreneurs, career professionals or students, Ravi finds happiness in helping them make the right connections, learn new skills to accomplish more and achieve career milestones.
His book, The Art of Mentoring: A Guidebook for Giving and getting the most from Mentorships is a self-help book that provides insights into the different aspects of mentoring.
A Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur who has previously worked in the automotive and aerospace industries, he has experience in managing multi-million dollar projects for clients such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Raytheon, Hitachi Global Storage, Cypress. As founder and CEO of MentorCloud, an online social platform for mentoring, he has personally mentored over 150 individuals. MentorCloud was founded to help people find, connect and learn from the right mentors & subject-matter experts from anywhere in the world.
His work has been featured in Huffington Post, HBR Blog, Forbes, Forbes India, The Hindu, Knowledge@Wharton, Store Brands, DZone and more.
As a speaker, he focuses on topics related to learning, career development and achieving success in life. He has also been the speaker at the 8th World Demographic Forum in Switzerland and also a plenary speaker in Washington DC at the invitation of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He is on a mission to accelerate careers and success for millions of people through mentorship, and his vision is to reach 100 million learners by 2020. He believes that when people are learning and growing in their careers, they are happier which translates to happy families, happy workplaces, and happy communities.
Arunima Gupta
Arunima Gupta is Principal at Network of Indian Cultural Enterprises (NICE). She is an alumnus of Leiden University, the Netherlands and Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She tweets @ArunimaGupta03.
Dimple
Dimple is the Director of Academic Programs at INDICA, bringing together her passion for lifelong learning and a unique blend of skills as a writer, poet, marketer, transformation coach, and life enthusiast. Her academic journey spans Electronics & Communication Engineering, Business Management (Marketing), Liberal Arts, and Eastern Classics.
With over 20 years of experience across media, telecom, and technology, she has successfully led high-impact projects in complex environments and consulted pro-bono for several nonprofits. Currently, Dimple focuses on advancing Indigenous Knowledge Systems and leads a range of academic initiatives at INDICA, including INDICA Courses.
Abhishek
Abhishek serves as Business Operations Manager at Indica Courses.
He is an MBA from IIM Kashipur and B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from JMI.
His earlier work experience includes a stint Kantar as Senior consultant and Beautiful Mind as Instructor. He has also cleared Civil Services Mains exam.
Abhishek has beginner’s proficiency in German (A1), a junior diploma in classical music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, and is interested in sketching and painting.
Praneetha
Praneetha serves as the Service Delivery lead at Indica Courses.
An MBA in Finance, she worked in the corporate sector before taking a sabbatical to raise her two lovely girls.
A Music aficionado, she is deeply interested in indigenous knowledge systems, and found the pioneering EdTech venture of Indica Courses most apt for her foray back into the professional realm.