The Sharpest Literature Festival in India

A.R. Venkatachalapathy

VENKATACHALAPATHY A. R. historian, author and translator, is Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. He has taught at universities in Tirunelveli, Chennai, Chicago, and Singapore. Chalapathy writes in Tamil and English and has published widely on the social, cultural and intellectual history of colonial Tamilnadu. His publications include In Those Days There Was No Coffee: Writings in Cultural History; The Province of the Book: Scholars, Scribes, and Scribblers in Colonial Tamilnadu; (ed.) Chennai, Not Madras, (ed.), and In the Tracks of the Mahatma: The Making of a Documentary. He has translated Sundara Ramaswamy’s J.J.: Some Jottings and, in collaboration with M.L. Thangappa, has published two volumes of classical Tamil poetry in the Penguin classics: Love Stands Alone and Red Lilies and Frightened Birds. He is the winner of the V.K.R.V. Rao Prize (2007).

A.S. Dulat

A.S. Dulat, a former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, was an adviser on Kashmir in the Prime Minister’s Office.

A.S. Panneerselvan

Anita R. Ratnam

RATNAM, ANITA (www.anitaratnam.com) is an internationally respected dancer, choreographer, writer, and advocate of Contemporary Indian dance. She is a sought-after speaker and conducts workshops in academic, corporate and youth forums. Anita has a Ph.D in Women’s Studies from Mother Theresa University (Chennai), and an MA in Theatre Arts from the University of New Orleans. She developed www.narthaki.com to pioneer the usage of online technology for a global perspective on the ever-changing world of Indian dance. The site contains reviews, interviews, feature articles on Indian dance and more. In addition, she co-founded and co-curated ‘The Other Festival,’ India’s first annual contemporary dance festival. She has also played a key role in the revival and restoration of Kaisiki Natakam, a 13th century Tamil temple theatre ritual recreated in her ancestral village in Tamil Nadu. Anita is an Executive Member of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. She lives in Chennai.

Annie Zaidi

ANNIE ZAIDI writes fiction, non-fiction, poetry and scripts. She is the editor of Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian Women’s Writing and the author of Gulab, Love Stories # 1 to 14, and Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales. She is also the co-author of The Good Indian Girl. Her work has appeared in several anthologies including Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean; Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; and Griffith Review 49: New Asia Now. (blog/site: www.anniezaidi.com)

ANUJA CHAUHAN

“Anuja Chauhan is an advertising professional and a bestselling author. She made her debut with The Zoya Factor, set against the backdrop of a fictional ICC cricket world cup. Her second novel, Battle for Bittora is an Irreverent take on the electoral process in the world’s largest democracy. Anuja also contributes regularly to premier magazines like Vogue, Grazia, Outlook and India Today. She is currently working on a new novel and a feature film screenplay for prominent Bollywood producer/director Nikhil Advani titled, Guppie-Mein Liar Nahi, Shayar Hoon. “