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

David Belo An avid seeker of great design and culture, David's enjoyed an 18 year career in food and drink, having trained as a cocktail bartender in London during the early 2000's where he practiced the craft of mixology for over a decade, before retraining as a bread baker & pastry chef in a path that led him to founding India's first craft chocolate company in the historical city of Mysore back in 2012. He believes that ingredients are an agent for conversations around culture, nature, history, art and pleasure. Having studied both music and business management at Queen Mary's university London, the Cape Town native draws no distinction between art, business and sustainability, believing that all three should co-exist in balance. As a vocal resident of the city of Mysore who'd spent many years seeing the cultural and historical fabric of the city being eroded to make way for modern India, In recent years David has dedicated a large part of his time to restoring heritage buildings that can find new purpose in the city so that its historical relevance may be preserved and benefit generations to come.

Amjum Rizve artistic practice is predominantly centered around subjective fantasies and melancholic longings in relation to the idea of Dreams and Storytelling. Rizve takes references from his experiences, from the history of Islamic decorative symbolisms and their orientation, as well as from the mosaic murals of the far-eastern artistic and craft-based practices. In many ways, Amjum is interested in making layered narratives, which can complicate as well as generate artistic frameworks to understand the notion of celebration, events and the cerebrated unconscious. Both conceptually and artistically, Rizve’s work generates spaces of dichotomy between eternal life and separated experiences, between different levels of continuations, repetitions and disruptions and those between nostalgias and unknown, untouched landscapes. In this way, the artist’s works are not just limited to psychoanalysis but incorporate a profound value for culture and their attribution to image-making.

Dr Champa HS is an architect and Urban Designer who has worked in Bangalore, Goa and Trivandrum in professional capacity. Dr Champa has taught in University of Mysore and went on to become „Principal‟ of the college for 10yrs before moving on a teaching assignment at Birla Institute of Technology, Dubai. And later served as Professor and Director at SVS School of Architecture, Coimbatore, She is presently Professor and Dean at Mysore School of Architecture, Mysore. Through her professional independent practice, she has many projects to the credit like Resorts, Institutions, Residences, Industries, Urban spaces etc. During the centenary year of Mysore University Champa was awarded for her PhD in development studies with the title “REFURBISHING THE IDENTITY OF A CITY IN TRANSITION: An Urban Design Intervention into Development Paradigms of Mysuru”. She is a Member of Expert committee for Mysore Heritage, Dept. of Archeology Museums and Heritage, Government of Karnataka and has worked on revision of the Mysore City Master Plan and JNNURM Urban Renewal Mission. Dr. Champa has published books and presented papers in many research areas both in India and Abroad. All her initiatives, research and involvement revolves around climate response, heritage, urban and public spaces. She is an avid reader and loves to travel to explore new places.

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)

Vinay Parameswarappa is the founder of Gully Tours, one of India’s first experiential tour companies set up in 2009. They curate walking tours, food tours and bespoke tours in Mysore, Bangalore, Coorg & Kochi. He has hosted more than 30,000 people from heads of states, CXOs, Bollywood Celebrities and the ex-UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan. He is featured in The Guardian, The National Geographic Magazine & The Conde Nast Traveller. He is also featured in the Netflix series on Indian food - Raja, Rasoi auranya Kahaniya. He has delivered talks at the Ministry of Tourism, CII & The Bangalore International Center on the subject of Mysore. Apart from his interest in Gully Tours, he is also a corporate facilitator. Vinay has lived and worked in India, Singapore & UK. He is an engineer and an MBA from the University of Oxford.