DLF Speakers of 2023

Aditi Maheshwari-Goyal is the CEO of the sixty years young Vani Prakashan Group that represents the legacy literary list of Vani Prakashan, Bharatiya Jnanpith and Yatra Books. She is also the Managing Trustee at Vani Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of the group. Vani Foundation established the Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award at the Jaipur BookMark, Jaipur Literature Festival.

Anamika Joshi is a Hindi Spoken Word Artist based out of Jaipur. Her poems have touched millions across the world for being simple, relatable, and sharp. She has spoken on topics around relationships, women empowerment, gender equality, imperfection, everyday life and many unspoken social issues. She established her brand. ‘Batto Ki Bakwaas’ in 2018 as a platform to share her thoughts and ideas.

Chakradhar is a retired professor of the Hindi Department at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi. He has been actively associated with radio and television and has scripted a number of dramas, satires and poems for children. He has appeared in some television soaps, like "Chhoti Si Asha" with Sandhya Mridul on Sony TV, and has hosted the show Wah Wah!! for SAB TV.

Kumar joined the Indian Police Service in 1989 in Uttar Pradesh cadre and served in various challenging assignments in the state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. His initial posting was as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Prayagraj (then Allahabad) and Aligarh from 1991 to 1993. At the time of demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, he effectively discharged curfew duties for 10 days straight without a sleep. He served as Senior Superintendent/Superintendent of Police in Shahjahanpur, Bagpat, Rampur, Mainpuri and Mathura districts of Uttar Pradesh and in Chamoli, Haridwar and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand.

"Akshat Gupta is a national bestselling author, a TEDx speaker and an excelling screenwriter and dialogue writer in the Indian film industry. The Hidden Hindu series, authored by him, has sold over 1 lakh copies, with each book a national bestseller. Akshat is well known in the publishing industry, as well as in the Indian film industry, with a number of films and web-series signed on his name."

"Alok Lal is a former Indian Police Service officer who has been awarded medals for meritorious and distinguished services by the President of India. He rose to the top rank of Director-General of Police. As a serving office, he made memorable contributions in dacoity-infested areas around Kanpur, and his spectacular success in dealing with the opium mafia through unorthodox methods is the subject of the present book. He also served in challenging assignments in Uttar Pradesh with high levels of success. Apart from being a writer, Aloke Lal is a well-known painter and lives in idyllic Dehradun with his wife and artist son."

Aged 74, Arvind Krishna Mehrotra is an Indian poet, anthologist, literary critic and translator. Arvind Krishna Mehrotra was born in Lahore in 1947. He has published six collections of poetry in English and two of translation — a volume of Prakrit love poems, The Absent Traveller, recently reissued in Penguin Classics, and Songs of Kabir (NYRB Classics). His Oxford India Anthology of Twelve Modern Indian Poets (1992) has been very influential. He has edited several books, including History of Indian Literature in English (Columbia University Press, 2003) and Collected Poems in English by Arun Kolatkar (Bloodaxe Books, 2010).

Bibek Debroy is an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He is also the Chairman of the Finance Ministry's 'Expert Committee for Infrastructure Classification and Financing Framework for Amrit Kaal'. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty, law reforms, railway reforms and Indology among others.

Co Founder & Director, The Minimalist. He is the Co-Founder & Director at The Minimalist. He worked as Adjunct Professor at Miami Ad School. He studied in Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In 2015 Chirag Gander and Sahil Vaidya founded The Minimalist, a digital marketing and branding agency based out of Mumbai, after gaining an enormous following on social media for creating witty, viral content on a Facebook page they created as engineering students. This Facebook page soon evolved into a full-fledged consultancy with over 70 members of staff and global clients such as Berkshire Hathaway, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, and Abbot.

"Deepankar Aron, recognized with the Presidential Award for his contribution as an Indian Revenue Service officer, is also a passionate traveler and a consummate photographer and writer. His articles have, over the years, appeared in various magazines and newspapers. World Heritage Sites of Uttarakhand, his first pictorial book was published in 2010."

"Sengupta is an Indian Historian and Journalist, Sengupta lives in Delhi and works as a editor at large in Fortune India. He was educated in South Asian history and politics at Worcester College, Oxford, as a Chevening Scholar, in business and finance as a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and in journalism and film-making at Jamia Millia Islamia and Delhi University."

"Imtiaz began his career directing TV programs including Kurukshetra for Zee TV and Imtihaan for Doordarshan. He moved on to Bollywood films. In 2005, he made his directorial debut with Socha Na Tha starring Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia. He quoted, later in a talk, that it took him three years to make the film. His second film, Jab We Met, starred then real-life couple Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, and became a box office success.[19] His next film, Love Aaj Kal starred Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, and emerged as his biggest commercial success to date."

Mrs. Jyotika Bedi is a passionate and enthusiastic Family and Educational Psychologist, with a double masters from the prestigious London School of Economics. As a successful entrepreneur, she founded Kinetic Potential Explores, a career advisory in 2003 and co-founded Global Women’s Group in 2013 which is an endeavor to support women from all walks of life to discover and follow their passion.

Kailash Satyarthi (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian social reformer who campaigned against child labor in India and advocated the universal right to education. In 2014, he was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Malala Yousafzai, "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education." He is the founder of multiple social activist organizations, including Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Global March Against Child Labour, Global Campaign for Education, Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, and Bal Ashram Trust.

"Lokesh Ohri is an Indian anthropologist, historian, writer and a cultural activist based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, who has campaigned for the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the Doon Valley. He is the founder of Been There Doon That, an educational initiative that spreads awareness about the natural, social and cultural history of the Doon Valley through walks, lectures and workshops. He is a convener for the Dehradun chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage."

Born in 1965, Meera Ali studied Architecture at the Institute of Environmental Design, Gujarat, India and trained in Prefabricated Systems of Construction at Hartford, Connecticut, USA, she later specialized in Alternate Building Technology while working in Delhi. Meera Ali worked extensively on designing housing for the weaker sections of society and slum rehabilitation. Meera married Muzaffar Ali in 1990 and moved to Kotwara, located at the foothills of the Himalayas.

Recipient of the Uttarakhand Ratna, 2014, Mona Verma is the author of four acclaimed works of fiction ‘A Bridge to Nowhere’, ‘God is a River…a story of faith’, ‘The White Shadow’, and ‘The Clown of Whitefields & other stories.’ Her other professional assignments include editing biographies, self-help books and science journals. Her contribution towards English Literature has won her several awards including the ‘WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE' Award from the All India Women's Conference, Hindustan Times WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD, Outstanding Alumnus of Delhi Public School Society, and the prestigious award from NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS INDIA.

Muzaffar born in Lucknow in 1944. The eldest son of Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali, the ruling prince of the principality of Kotwara in Awadh, Muzaffar Ali attended La Martiniere, Lucknow, and graduated in science from Aligarh Muslim University. Ali worked in advertising before turning to film. His first films were Gaman (1978) and Umrao Jaan (1981), and he also made and starred in the TV series Jaan-e-Alam. He later became a fashion designer, creating a fashion label with his wife, Meera, in 1990.

Manjiri joined the State Institute of Educational Technology (Balchitravani) as a TV producer where she directed more than 200 infotainment programs aimed at children and young adults. During this time, her unpublished novel was adapted into a Hindi feature film titled Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha for the National Film Development Corporation of India and she wrote the script and dialogues for the same. She also produced short drama films for Filmaka and directed travelogues. Manjiri is also the founder-director of the Pune International Literary Festival and International Festival of Spiritual India.

"Maanas Lal is a prolific writer with hundreds of published articles to his credit. His writings range from fiction and social satire to changing trends in national politics. He is also an award-winning artist whose exhibitions of photography, painting and digital art have made waves across the art world. His repertoire as an artist includes numerous book covers and illustrations, and his soft skills and art workshops are a regular feature in India's leading schools and professional institutions."

"Milee Ashwarya is the Publisher of the Adult Publishing Group at Penguin Random House India and leads the frontlist and backlist publishing programmes for the group under imprints like Allen Lane, Vintage, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Ebury Press, Penguin Business, Penguin Classics, Penguin Ananda, Penguin Veer and so on."

Nayab Midha, one of the most outstanding modern Hindi poets, will captivate you with her spoken word poetry. Her rhymes are amazing, as are the situations and events she creates withher words. But it's not just her words that are flawless; it's also how she delivers them. Her facial emotions contribute to the ambiance, and her body language adds another element to her pieces.

"Nirmika Singh is a multi-faceted, entrepreneurial creative leader based in Mumbai, India. A renowned music critic and journalist with a decade of experience, she is also an accomplished poet and lyricist. Singh has to her name several collaborations with celebrated composers such as Oscar and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman and Clinton Cerejo, among others. Singh is best known for the “Marvel Anthem” from Avengers: Endgame (2019), a song she penned for the iconic global superhero franchise."

Neeraj Kumar is a former Commissioner of Delhi Police who retired from the Indian Police Service (IPS) on 31 July 2013. Neeraj Kumar belonged to 1976 batch and AGMUT (Arunachal-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre and has recently completed his tenure as the Chief Advisor to the BCCI for their Anti Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU). During his distinguished career of 37 years, Kumar served in Delhi, Arunachal, Mizoram and Goa. He started his career as The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in the Chanankya Puri sub-division of New Delhi in 1979. On promotion, he served in Arunachal Pradesh as the Superintendent of Police (Bomdila).

"Nonica Dutta teaches history at Jawaharlal Nehru University. She received her PhD from Cambridge University, UK. Previously, she taught at Miranda House, University of Delhi. She has been a fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi and a visiting professor at the universities of St Gallen, Toronto and Humboldt. Her publications include Forming an Identity: A Social History of the Jats (1999); and Violence, Martyrdom and Partition: A Daughter's Testimony (2009), which was shortlisted for the Crossword Award."

"Pramath Raj Sinha is an entrepreneur, academic administrator, executive, and philanthropist. He was the Founding Dean of Indian School of Business (ISB)., and one of the Founders of Harappa Education, Group, Ashoka University, Vedica Scholars Programme for Women, and Naropa Fellowship. Sinha was formerly the CEO of Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group, a leading media company, and a Partner at McKinsey & Company. n 2006, Sinha joined Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) as the group's MD & CEO. ABP owned properties such as Ananda Bazar Patrika, The Telegraph, STAR News, as well as Penguin Books India. In 2007, Sinha left the ABP Group to launch his own company Media (renamed as 9.9 Group). Sinha continues to serve as the Managing Director of Group."

Dr.Ruchi has published various papers in journal of good repute in migration field including Migration Letters, Remittances Review, Migration information source etc. She has also contributed various chapters in many edited books published by reputed publisher such as Taylor and Francis, Edward Elgar etc.

"Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author. His first novel, The Room on the Roof, was published in 1956, and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books for children. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014. He lives with his adopted family in Landour, Mussoorie, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand."

"Award-winning Best-selling Author / Honoured at the International Agatha Christie Festival, England / Professor & HOD at Indian Military Academy / Former Journalist. Based amidst the misty Himalayan foothills, Dr. Ruby Gupta is the best-selling author of nine books. She has been honoured as the International Writer-in-Residence at the International Agatha Christie Festival (2022) in Torquay, Devon, England. A double gold medallist in English literature, she is an awardee of the GSE (USA) by Rotary International and the recipient of the Pratibha Samman Award (journalism). "

"Roshen Dalal (born 1952) is an Indian historian and writer of books for adults and children on the history of India and its religions. She has a PhD in Indian Ancient History. Roshen Dalal was born in Mussoorie and studied in various schools across the country. After a BA (Hons) in history from the University of Bombay, she completed an MA and PhD in Ancient Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has taught at both school and university, and been involved in research in the fields of indian history, religion and philosophy, and education.She lives in Dehradun."

Bestselling author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu is an ex lifestyle journalist and is now a leading columnist on gender and sexuality. Status Single is her first work of non- fiction. Sreemoyee divides her time between Kolkata and New Delhi.

"Smriti Dewan is an award-winning screenwriter, director and recently turned author with her debut novel Urmila: The Forgotten Princess published by Bloomsbury"

Swapna Liddle's abiding love for the history of Delhi has translated into a PhD as well as several books and articles. She also seeks to raise awareness about the city's historic precincts through her work for the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). She has written Delhi: 14 Historic Walks, Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi, Connaught Place and the Making of New Delhi, and has edited and annotated a translation of Sair-ul-Manazil.

"Saurabh Dwivedi is the Founding Editor of The Lallantop, India's most popular vernacular digital-first news venture known for its political coverage and new-age writing style. He is also the Editor of India Today Hindi magazine. Saurabh Dwivedi was born in village Chamari in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh. His father Ravikant Tripathi is a retired professor. He completed his senior secondary education from Jugal Kishore Kanpur, and graduation from DVC college. He completed his masters in mass communication from JNU, Delhi. While studying he found a job with India TV. In 2017 edition of Sony TV program Kaun Banega Crorepati, was selected as the Special Advisor In Kaun Banega Crorepati, where he worked with Amitabh Bacchan."

"Sugata Srinivasaraju is a bilingual journalist, author and columnist. He has editorially led behemoth regional-language print, television and digital news organizations in the last decade. For a decade and a half prior to that he was in prominent roles in English-language newsrooms across India. He has been a Chevening Scholar in the UK, and an ILI Fellow of the Aspen Institute in the USA. Sugata's books include Keeping Faith with the Mother Tongue: The Anxieties of a Local Culture (2008), Pickles from Home: The Worlds of a Bilingual (2012), and in Kannada, Kittale, Nerale, Perale: Avasarakke Yetukida Maatu Baraha (2016). "

Sanjeev Chopra (born 3 March 1961) is a retired IAS officer of the 1985 batch; from Kapurthala, Punjab. He is a resident of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He is a former Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration and has written a book We, the People of the States of Bharat: The Making and Remaking of India's Internal Boundaries, published in 2022. He is now the patron and honorary consultant to a literary festival, the Valley of Words International Literary Festival held annually in Dehradun, India. Chopra has held the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship (Cornell), the Robert S. McNamara Fellowship (World Bank) and positions at Royal Asiatic Society, London, the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute (Harvard).

Tarun Mehrishi is a lawyer from the National Law School in Bengaluru and a graduate of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He has worked as a corporate lawyer with two of India's leading law firms, as the chief operating officer for a sports marketing company in Delhi, and as the head of consulting for India's leading sports marketing outfit. In addition to writing, Tarun is currently pursuing his other passion in entrepreneurship and is the co-founder of Astylos Energy, an EV start-up. Once an avid sportsperson, age and the lack of fitness have converted him into an avid golfer, one that is self-proclaimed as getting better each day. Tarun lives in Delhi with his wife, Aastha, and son, Shaurya, and his parents, Rajiv and Mira.

"Dr Tanaya Narendra is an internationally trained medical doctor, embryologist, bestselling author, podcaster, and award winning content creator who is passionate about medical education. As a graduate of the prestigious University of Oxford, Dr. Tanaya has dedicated her life to public medical education, focusing on taboo topics like menstrual health and sex education. Along with being a registered doctor in England, in light of her dedication to public health, Dr. Tanaya is an elected fellow of the prestigious Royal Society for Public Health. Her debut book on sex education was an instant bestseller, and is currently being translated into several languages. She serves as a scientific advisor to various government and non government bodies, bringing her expertise in novel education modalities and the sexual health needs of the youth to the table. "

"Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of eight National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. Bhardwaj made his debut as a music composer with the children's film Abhay (The Fearless) (1995), and received wider recognition with his compositions in Gulzar's Maachis (1996). He received the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for the latter. He went on to compose music for the films Satya (1998) and Godmother (1999). For the latter, he garnered the National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Bhardwaj made his directorial debut with the children's film Makdee (2002), for which he also composed the music."

Yasmin Karachiwala, a fitness expert with 26 years of experience in the fitness industry and pioneer of ‘Pilates’ physical fitness system in India. Yasmin has earned the reputation of being the number one celebrity fitness trainer with her clientele enlisting the crème de la crème of Bollywood like Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Preity Zinta, Bipasha Basu, Nora Fatehi, Vani Kapoor, Sophie Choudry, Ananya Pandey, Khooshi Kapoor to name a few. Her association with Miss India pageant, Get Gorgeous and other fitness programs on television adds to her glorious reputation. She can aptly be called the soul and the life force behind many of her clients as she motivates them to be consistent in their fitness regime and advises them to adopt the right lifestyle for a healthier and happier life.

Vineet Bajpai is an Indian entrepreneur and author. He is the Founder and CEO of Talentrack, an online platform for hiring and talent crowd sourcing for the media and entertainment sector. He is also the Founder and CEO of Magnon\TBWA, Magnon eg+ and Magnon Sancus. Magnon is part of the Fortune 500 Omnicom Group. In April 2020, Magnon was ranked as India's Fastest-Growing Digital Agency by Agency Reporter magazine. Bajpai is the author of eight books: Build From Scratch, The Street to the Highway, The 30 Something CEO and much more.

Soni made his debut in the Hindi serial Samandar. In 1996, he appeared as Ashok Mathur in Doordarshan's A Mouthful Of Sky. He made his film debut in China Gate (1998), which was followed by cameo appearances. In 2003, Soni appeared in the film Baghban and played lead roles in Basti and Kahan Ho Tum. Also that year, Soni also worked in the television series Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. In 2004, he worked in Saaksshi. Soni featured as a contestant in the reality television show Bigg Boss 4 in 2010.

Geet Chaturvedi (born 27 November 1977) is a Hindi poet, short story author, lyricist, screenwriter and novelist. Often regarded as an avant-garde writer, he was awarded the Bharat Bhushan Agrawal Award for poetry in 2007 and Krishna Pratap Award for Fiction in 2014. He lives in Bhopal, India. He is active both as a fiction writer and critic. In 2011, The Indian Express included him in a list of the 'Ten Best Writers' of India. His poems have been translated into 22 languages worldwide. He translated the work of great Spanish Poet Pablo Neruda in Hindi and many others.

Ashutosh is an Indian journalist and former politician of AAP. He was the spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is the Co-founder and Editorial Director of SatyaHindi, He was previously associated with IBN 7, an Indian news television channel, as a News anchor and managing editor.

Vishal Chaturvedi. Director: Setu 2023. Vishal Chaturvedi is known for Setu 2023, Hurdang (2022) and Rab Kare Tu Bhi (2021). His work includes a movie named Setu which is a Akshay Kumar starrer based on An atheist archaeologist who turns into a believer, faces a challenge to prove the existence of 'Rama Setu' before the evil forces destroy the heritage site of India.

Mishra has published four collections of Hindi poetry: Yada-Kada (1997), Ayodhya Tatha Anya Kavitayen (1999), and Dyorhi Par Aalaap (2005). He has also written Devpriya (2007) and Sur Ki Baradari (2009) about the life and work of thumri singer Girija Devi, dancer Sonal Mansingh and shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan. Vismaya Ka Bhakhan (2012) is an essay compilation on music and arts.

Zahid Hussain (born 18 February 1940), better known by the pen name Wasim Barelvi, is an Indian Urdu-language poet. He was born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. His ghazals, many sung by Jagjit Singh, are very popular. He has been awarded with the "Firaq Gorakhpuri International Award", the Kalidas gold medal (by the Haryana government, in recognition for his services in the field of Urdu and Hindi poetry); the Begum Akhtar Kala Dharmi award; and the Naseem-e-Urdu award. Barelvi is Vice Chairman of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL). He has also performed at Culrav 2012 (the cultural event of NIT Allahabad). He is also Member of Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh since 2016.

"Swastika Mukherjee is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bengali and Hindi films and television. She is the daughter of actor Santu Mukhopadhyay. Mukherjee made her screen debut with Devdasi, a Bengali TV series. She made her big screen debut with Hemanter Pakhi. Her first leading role came with Mastan. Mukherjee spent her childhood in a self-described ""simple life"" with her father Santu Mukhopadhyay, younger sister Ajopa, and mother Gopa. Her favorite films were Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She was educated at Carmel School, Kolkata, St. Teresa's Secondary School, and Gokhale Memorial School."

"Satya Vyas (born 1 January 1980, Bokaro, Jharkhand) is an Indian writer of modern Hindi. He is a graduate in Law from Banaras Hindu University. He is born and brought up in Bokaro Steel City and has authored 5 bestselling Hindi Novels. Vyas' first book Banaras Talkies, was published in 2015, and an English language translation by Himadri Agarwal was published in 2022. His other books are Dilli Darbar, Chaurasi / 84, Baghi Ballia, and Uff Kolkata."

"Pratap as a journalist with 33 year plus experiences in Hindi print and online Journalism.having credit to break 100's of stories, dozen of impactfull series, many of awards and fellowship reached in my basket through these work. More than 100 poems published in prominent magazines, literature supplements of Newspapers and Collections. Some of them translated in English, Kannada, Bengali, Urdu and Oriya. "

"Mehak Goyal is a computer science engineer, start-up founder and B2B sales leader before committing herself to writing. Failure to Make Round Rotis, her debut poetry collection, is published by Juggernaut and released in July 2023. "

Lisa Rani Ray is a Canadian actress. She began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like Bombay Dyeing and Lakmé. She made her acting debut in 1996 in the Tamil film Nethaji. Her first Bollywood appearance was in 2001, in the offbeat romantic thriller Kasoor.

Gurcharan Das is an Indian author, who wrote a trilogy based on the classical Indian goals of the ideal life. India Unbound was the first volume, on artha, 'material well-being', which narrated the story of India's economic rise from Independence to the global information age.

Dhara CEO of Lit-चौक is an amalgamation of art, literature, and culture... India's cleanest city takes pleasure in presenting Nation's First Ever Socio-Cultural Festival

Sobhita Dhulipala (born 31 May 1992) is an Indian actress. She won the Femina Miss India Earth 2013 title at Femina Miss India 2013 pageant and represented India at Miss Earth 2013. Dhulipala made her acting debut in Anurag Kashyap's Hindi film Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) and rose to fame playing a leading role in the Amazon Prime Video drama series Made in Heaven (2019, 2023).