Cultural Capitals - Future Legacies of India's Cities - Indore

Stanley Hector was born on 28 July 1994 in Indore, India. He studied directing fiction from FAMU International - Film & TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic in 2020. He has been independently writing and directing short films since 2012. His psychological thriller short film ‘Pablo’ won the Best Short Film Award at the annual Manhattan Short Film Festival India 2019 which led to the film’s online distribution on Disney+ Hotstar. His recent short documentary ‘The Hero Within’ had its world premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival 2021 receiving a nomination for the Best Short Documentary Award.

Sugandha Johar has had a career spanning multiple fields like banking, media, communication, history, and archaeology she have together broadened her vision, giving her a unique perspective on things. She did her doctoral work on Anegondi, the first capital of the Vijayanagar Empire in 1986, and since then has continued working in various aspects of heritage. She spent the last ten years documenting the 18th and 19th century architecture of Maheshwar, which was published by the K R Cama Oriental Institute as ‘Ahilyabai’s Maheshwar’ Her connection with Indore goes back three generations. Her work on the 18th century Holkar History and Architecture, her own family connections with the city that span a century and four generations, and her own experience of living in Indore for over ten years in the 70’s and 80’s has given her an unparalleled knowledge on the history of this Central Indian city and its heritage.

Sameer Rahat is a Film/Music Composer, Performer and a Lyricist/Poet. He also plays his own brand of Urdu-blues music, experimenting with the poetry of contemporary and progressive Urdu poets from the Indian subcontinent. His debut album Aamad has gotten rave reviews and has received critical acclaim from various publications. After playing across the country extensively with several sold-out solo shows, he’ll be touring across India and UK/Europe with intimate performances of poetry and music to support his album in 2021-22.

Avadhesh Yadav (b. 1972) completed his Masters in fine arts from the Government Institute of Fine Arts, Indore (1988). In addition to Five solo exhibitions in Bhopal 2000, Hyderabad 2004, Mumbai 2008, Vadodara 2015, Indore 2017, he has showcased his work in several group exhibitions as well. Some of these are as follows: “Young Indore,” curated by M.F. Husain (New Delhi, 1996), “Art from the Land of Heart” (New Delhi, 1997), “Anadi” (New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai, 2001), “Similarities And Dissimilarities” (Mumbai, 2001), “Apparition” (Trissur, 2002), “Gangcey 13” (Colombo, 2002), “Middle Edge” (California, 2008); and “Chaturdha” (New Delhi, 2010). Yadav’s works are included in numerous private art collections in India, USA, UK, Australia, Singapore, Holland, Germany, Japan, Egypt, Bulgaria, Kenya, amongst other countries. Avadhesh Yadav lives and works in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Recipient Of Raza foundation award for painting (2007)

Akshay Chavan is Co-Founder and Head of Research at Live History India (www.livehistoryindia.com), India’s largest digital platform on history and culture. A graduate of Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) in IT Management and Organizational Change, Chavan went on to pursue a decade-long career in digital media and marketing, before returning to his first love – history. He co-founded Live History India with senior journalist Mini Menon, to take Indian history to a wider audience in a digital, new-age format. Chavan has a special interest in researching the Princely States of India, and has written several papers and articles for various publications. He is also co-author of the book Quirky History: The Swan Car of Nabha & Other Unusual Stories From History (Harper Collins, 2020)