AVID Spectrum - In Collaboration with Kala Ghoda Association

Dr. Gauri Mahulikar, the Director of this Course, is presently the Head of the Sanskrit Department at the University of Mumbai. After obtaining a Doctorate in Vedic Elements in Puranic Mantras and Rituals, she has dedicated herself to teaching Sanskrit, mainly at the Post Graduate level. She has published 3 books and 55 articles on various subjects, apart from presenting papers at National and International conferences.

Dr. Madhavi Narsalay holds a PhD in Sanskrit and has been teaching at the University of Mumbai for the past thirteen years. Her field of interests include Indian Aesthetics, Mythology and Facets of Feminist Religion. Apart from fifteen publications to her credit, she has been presenting papers at National and International conferences.

Dinesh Vazirani completed his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and his Master's in Industrial Engineering, both at the Stanford University. In 1994, he was awarded an MBA degree with Honors from the Harvard Business School and returned to India. In 2000, Dinesh founded Saffronart with his wife Minal. Since then, he has led the organization in providing access and information to seasoned collectors, institutions and to a new community of art enthusiasts. Saffronart has, over the last ten years, become a leading global corporation committed to the arts. A series of critically acclaimed exhibitions, events and auctions, that provide buyers with a transparent, professional environment has made Saffronart popular internationally. Dinesh's alma mater, the Harvard Business School, published a case study on the company.

Jerry Pinto who holds a degree in Liberal Arts is an author, poet and educator. He was highly acclaimed for his book ‘Surviving Women’, a manual of gender politics which has gone into several reprints. ‘Helen: The Life and Times of an H Bomb’ was a study of Bollywood’s gender and race politics. It was an affectionate examination of a dancing legend and won the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema.

Smita Mahajan is a Sangeet Visharad from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and has a deep knowledge of Carnatic Music. She excels in composing music to traditional as well as new dance compositions and is also a vocalist!

Alka Lajmi a recipient of the title of ‘Singarmani’, has since her Arangetram in 1988, performed in many places in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. She has also performed for many prestigious organizations as well as at music & dance festivals.

Tushar Sethi, Director, Institute of Indian Contemporary Art and a multi-business entrepreneur, has established for himself a prominent status in the Indian art firmament. He has founded ‘Theartstrust.com’, a popular online trading platform for art and astaguru.com which enables online art auctioneering, Tushar Sethi has helped create a defining presence for Indian contemporary art on the world stage. A connoisseur and genuine lover of art, his innovative initiatives have created a major impact on the art scene.

Anuvab Pal is an acclaimed playwright and screenplay writer. His ‘Chaos Theory’ was the only Indian play to reach the finals in the BBC World Playwriting Competition in 2007. He was the first Indian-born playwright to join the Dramatists Guild of America. His screenplays include the award-winning box office hits “Loins of Punjab” and “The President is Coming”. His plays Fatwa, Paris and Life, Love and ETIBDA have been performed at numerous festivals in the US.

Chandrahas Choudhury is a novelist and literary critic based in Mumbai. He is the author of ‘Arzee the Dwarf’(2009), which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth First Book Award. His novel was recently named by World Literature Today magazine as one of the ’60 Essential English – Language works of modern Indian Literature’. He is also the editor of the just published anthology, ‘India: A Traveler's Literary Companion’(HarperCollins India). Choudhury’s book reviews and essays have appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, the Observer and Foreign Policy. He also writes the literary blog ‘The Middle Stage’ and is a contributing editor of ‘The caravan’. He was recently a Fellow of the International Writing Program at the University of Lowa.

Ameya Naik is a versatile music composer. His innovative ideas in making quality music have found universal appeal. He specializes in world music, fusion music and Indian classical compositions along with western composition styles. He plays various instruments like the tabla, dholak, darbuka and the keyboard among others. He has his own studio and is currently working on a Hollywood production “Coulda Woulda Shoulda” and an Indo-UK production “Emotionally Yours.” He has also composed music for the IPL series in 2010.