Members

Raghav Chandra
Raghav Chandra
President - Society for Culture & Environment

President of the Society for Culture and Environment and Director of the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival, from the IAS, he has been Secretary Government of India and before that Chairman National Highways Authority of India. He has written extensively on management and infrastructure issues. He is the author of the novels: Scent of a Game (Rupa), Kali's Daughter (forthcoming, Pan Macmillan) and has edited the book: Eternal Wisdom of the Tribes. He is on the Managing Committee of the Delhi Golf Club and writes a column for Businessworld magazine. He has Masters degrees from Delhi University and Harvard University, USA.

Devendra Kumar Mehta
Devendra Kumar Mehta
Secretary - Society for Culture & Environment

Retired from M.P. Housing Board in June 2014 as Senior Deputy Housing Commissioner

Nayeem Mansoori
Nayeem Mansoori
Treasurer - Society for Culture & Environment

Treasurer of Society for Culture & Environment and Bhopal Literature and Art Festival, Nayeem Mansoori comes with a vast administrative experience having worked in Government of Madhya Pradesh first in the MP State small Saving & State Lotteries and then in the RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration

Abhilash Khandekar
Abhilash Khandekar
Environmentalist & Journalist

He is a veteran environment and political journalist and an author of many books. He writes in Hindi, English and Marathi languages. He is the co-Founder of The Nature Volunteers (TNV), a non-profit environment group and been the member of MP Wetland Authority and of the MP Wildlife Board for many years. He also dabbles in urban affairs and has been writing about urban planning and issues related to the environment. Widely travelled in India and abroad, Mr Khandekar was unanimously elected President of the MP Cricket Association, Indore in 2019, a post he holds till date. He is a Trustee of Dhrupad Sansthan, Bhopal and of the Basketball Trust, Indore. He is the Roving Editor of Lokmat Group of Newspapers.

Meenakshi Dua
Meenakshi Dua
Retired from Air India

She is an HR professional and is the Former Regional Director - North at Air India. She has also been a Country Head- Education with a premier Aviation Academy. At present, she is the Hon. Audit Advisory Board Member of field office of Commercial Audit Wing, GOI.

Dr Meera Dass
Dr Meera Dass
Art Historian & Conservation Architect

A former member of NMA and convenor INTACH. She is an art historian, conservation architect, architect with specialization in matters of cultural policies. She is a writer and has deep interest in history and archaeology of the towns of India both historical and current

Niharika Singh
Niharika Singh
Accomplished theatre and film personality

Niharika Singh is an accomplished theatre and film personality. She is Visiting expert faculty with National School of Drama and has been head of acting faculty with Barry John Acting Studio. She has acted in and mentored a number of internationally acclaimed and award winning films. As a psychologist, she brings a unique and valuable perspective to performing arts. She has her own film production house and has produced and directed a number of documentary films.

Richa Sinha
Richa Sinha
Advertising professional

A writer and a seasoned advertising professional, she has worked on creative communication for major international brands across geographies. She also created a 13 -episode programme for Channel V. Proficient in all media - digital, social, print, TV, radio, direct mail; her creative compass points towards 'ideas that work.' She is currently writing a book of short stories and is based at Gurugram.

Dr Rima Hooja
Dr Rima Hooja
Former member of the NMA

Former member of the NMA (National Monuments Authority) she is an accomplished writer and a historian on Rajasthan. Hailing from Jaipur she has inherited appreciation of art from her mother, a well-known artist of yesteryear. From running a cat rescue center to being a specialist on the heritage development in China she is into several cultural and environmental issues. Her books are often quoted by scholars from India and Abroad as a reliable source on the history of Rajasthan

Brig Sanjay Agarwal, Sena Medal & Bar, (Retd)
Brig Sanjay Agarwal, Sena Medal & Bar, (Retd)
Former Security Advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs

GoI, Advisor to Govt of Seychelles, Advisor to the National Highways Authority of India and President of the Services Selection Board, Ministry of Defence, GoI. He is a Visiting Faculty at MBA institutes, a trainer in soft skills and a self-development coach. He speaks on TV on security issues.

Satyanand Mishra
Satyanand Mishra
Commissioner of India

Commissioner of India where he set new bench mark in transparency by bringing political parties under the Right to Information Act. He has also been Chairman of the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. He has deep interest in art and literature

Shalini Mahajan
Shalini Mahajan
Former member of NMA

Former member of NMA she is architect specializing in heritage and heritage management. Having worked in UNESCO and NMA she has deep insights into the policy matters related to culture and development. She is based in Delhi.

Uttara Parikh
Uttara Parikh
Retired Air India officer

She retired as Deputy Commercial Director from Air India and was Consultant to various companies till Air India appointed her as Consultant in 2013. She took art exhibitions to UNESCO Paris and to NGMA Delhi and was involved in cataloging of the Art Collection and organising exhibitions including "Dharohar" for the Ministry in Nov 2021 as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav program. An Air India officer since the JRD Tata days, she worked closely with the likes of Jal Cowasji, and Bobby Kooka- the architect of the famous Air India Maharaja- in advertising and corporate communication. Passionate about the organisation's valuable contribution to the art and culture of the nation, she was involved in purchase of artworks for the Air India Collection, production of the famous Air India calendars, Inflight Menu Cards, aircraft interiors and other publicity material for Air India, and organising exhibition projects in India and abroad.

The Society for Culture & Environment will hold the fourth edition of 'Heartland Stories — Bhopal Literature and Art Festival 2022 as a physical cum virtual event, between 25-27th March 2022.

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