The Art and architecture of Shekhawati with Abha Narain Lambah

Abha Narain Lambah is a conservation architect practicing in Mumbai, India. She is a recipient the Sanskriti Award 2003, Eisenhower Fellowship (U.S.A.) 2002, the Charles Wallace Fellowship (U.K.) 1998 and the Attingham Trust Fellowship 2007. Abha’s architectural practice has won 7 UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for Heritage Conservation and deals with a range of historic monuments and sites across India. Her projects include the restoration of the 15th century Temple of Maitreya Budha at Basgo in Ladakh, the 15th century Chandramauleshwara and 16th century Krishna temples in the World Heritage Site of Hampi, preparation of Management Plans for Ajanta World Heritage Site and the ancient fortified city of Sisupalgarh as well as Nomination Dossiers for Santiniketan and Hyderabad.

Dr. Rashmi Poddar was awarded her doctoral degree from the University of Mumbai after which she was invited to curate a Post Graduate programme in Indian Aesthetics, a year long course now in its 12th year. She is currently Director of Jnanapravaha, Mumbai, a centre dedicated to education of the Arts, Aesthetics and Criticism. Till recently she was the Associate Editor of Marg, India’s renowned publishing house of art books and journals and Chairperson of the India Foundation for the Arts which supports innovative projects, commissions research and creates public platforms. She is associated with several not for profit organizations such as Asia Society New York and India, Mehli Mehta Music Foundation, Mumbai and INTACH, Mumbai. She has lectured internationally, participated in symposiums, published articles and has been a Mellon Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Kaiwan Mehta has studied Architecture, Literature, Indian Aesthetics and Cultural Studies. He is a theorist and critic in the fields of visual culture, architecture and city studies. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore. While being involved in teaching, writing and research on architecture and the city, he has been associated with many institutions like KRV Institute for Architecture, Mohile Parikh Centre, Jnanapravaha, The K R Cama Oriental Institute in Mumbai, SARAI in Delhi and Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, where he was a fellow from 2007-2010. He has authored ‘Alice in Bhuleshwar – Navigating a Mumbai Neighbourhood’. He has recently been appointed as an Executive Committee member of the INTACH (India National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) Mumbai chapter.

Sangita Jindal, a 2004 Eisenhower Fellow, is founder and chairperson of the Jindal South West Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the O.P. Jindal group. The foundation’s work ranges from healthcare and education programs to activities in arts, culture, and heritage. Sangita established the Jindal Arts Creative Interaction Centre (JACIC) in 1992 on invitation from the National Center for the Performing Arts (Mumbai) to start a center for interdisciplinary arts activity. She is also founder and publisher of Art India, India’s leading publication on modern art. Sangita serves as chairperson of the Hampi Foundation, which is committed to heritage management, and serves on the board of trustees of the World Monuments Fund based in New York.