Speakers

Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck is the author of Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan provides unique and intimate insights into Bhutanese culture and society. She is also the author of Of Rainbows and Clouds: The Life of Yab Ugyen Dorji as Told to His Daughter.

Chetan Bhagat’s four novels; Five Point Someone, One Night@the Call Center, The 3 Mistakes of My Life and 2 States: The Story of My Marriage are all bestsellers. One Night@ the Call Center and Five Point Someone have inspired major Bollywood.

Bulbul Sharma is the author and Illustrator of A Book of Indian Birds. She has published three collections of short stories, My Sainted Aunts, The Perfect Woman and Anger of Aubergines which was subsequently translated into French. She is also the author of Banana-Flower Dreams.

Choki Tshomo started her career as a reporter / producer in the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS). Currently she is the Managing Director of Kuzoo FM.

C P Surendran is a poet, journalist and novelist. His collections include Portraits of the Space We Occupy, Canaries on the Moon, Posthumous Poems and Gemini II. He is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, An Iron Harvest. Lost&Found is his forthcoming novel.

Dasho Karma Ura, the Director of Centre for Bhutan Studies, has written The Hero With a Thousand Eyes, Deities, Archers and Planners in the Era of Decentralization, The Bhutanese Development Story. He is the translator of the classic epic The Ballad of Pemi Tshewang Tashi: A Wind Borne Feather. He has also served as the Vice-Chairman of the National Council.

Dasho Kinley Dorji is the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Kuensel, Bhutan's national newspaper. His book, Within the Realm of Happiness is a collection of short stories, memoirs, and essays representing a mix of childhood memories, travel tales, and contemporary reflections on a rapidly changing populace.

Gulzar is an iconic Indian poet, lyricist, filmmaker and writer. He has written well-known films like Anand, Guddi, Bawarchi and Namak Haram. He is also the author of many books on poetry, short stories and several books for children. He shared the Oscar with A R Rahman for best original song for the song Jai Ho for the film, Slumdog Millionaire.

Jai Arjun Singh is a Delhi-based freelance journalist who writes for Business Standard, The Hindu, Tehelka and The New Sunday Express, among other publications. He writes about books and films on his blog Jabberwock (jaiarjun.blogspot.com). His forthcoming books are Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and Writers on Film.

Jigme Drukpa is a Bhutanese folk performer and an ethnomusicologist. He has travelled and performed in about 30 countries. His interests are culture and music of the mountain people, travelling and sports, especially archery.

Karma Tenzin 'Yongba' founded and headed the Crime and Special branch of the Royal Bhutan Police. He is the author of a detective fiction, The Restless Relic.

Kunzang Choden has been writing on Bhutanese oral traditions, folklore and women. Her books include The Circle of Karma,Chilli and Cheese- Food and Society in Bhutan and Tales in Colour and other stories.

Kynpham Sing writes poems and short fiction in Khasi and English. He has put together Khasi myths and legends in his book, Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends. He is also the author of Moments, The Sieve and Death in a Hut and Other Stories from the Khasi Hills. He has co edited the Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from North-East India along with Robin Singh Ngangom.

Leila Seth is the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court in India. Her autobiography, On Balance, was published by Penguin India. We, the Children of India: The Preamble to Our Constitution is her forthcoming book.

Lyonpo Jigmi Yoezer Thinley is the first elected Prime Minister to the Government of Bhutan. He was appointed as Bhutan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations office. His government works to base its policies on Gross National Happiness rather than purely economic considerations.

Mitali Saran is a journalist. She writes for Outlook Traveller and Business Standard. She has also written articles and columns for The Indian Express and Open.

Namita Bhandare studied journalism at Stanford University and joined the Sunday magazine in 1991. After a stint with India Today, she worked with the Hindustan Times as the editor of its Saturday paper. She has edited several books as part of the Hindustan Times leadership series. Her first book, Madhavrao Scindia: A Life, co-written with Vir Sanghvi, was published by Penguin in 2009. She now runs an aggregate blog, www.asianwindow.com

Namita Gokhale is a novelist, publisher and Co-Director for the Jaipur Literature Festival. Her books include Paro: Dreams of Passion, A Himalayan Love Story, The Puffin Mahabharata and In Search of Sita among others. Founder Director for Siyahi's Translating Bharat conferences, Namita is also the Programme Advisor for the Mountain Echoes literary festival.

Omair Ahmad has worked as a political advisor on international security issues in South Asia, as well as having been a journalist in the US and India. He is the author of The Storyteller's Tale, Sense Terra and Encounters.

Patrick French is an award-winning English writer and historian, based in London. His books include Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, Liberty Or Death: India's Journey To Independence and Division, Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History Of A Lost Land and The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in the US.

Pavan Varma, a writer-diplomat, has held many key positions in the Government of India. Currently he is India's Ambassador to Bhutan. He has written over a dozen books including The Book of Krishna, Krishna: The Playful Divine, Ghalib : The Man, The Times and the Havelis of Old Delhi, The Great Indian Middle Class, Being Indian - The Truth about Why the Twenty First Century Will Be India’s and Mansions at Dusk: The Havelis of Old Delhi. His latest book is Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity.

Ravi Singh is publisher and editor-in-chief of Penguin India, where he has worked since 1994.

Sadanand Dhume is a writer and a journalist. His first book, My Friend the Fanatic: Travels with a Radical Islamist is a part travelogue and part memoir. He writes regularly on politics, business and books for the Wall Street Journal. He also contributes to, among others, Forbes, Commentary, Yale Global, The National and Foreign Policy.

Sampurna Chattarji is a poet, fiction-writer and translator, with seven books to her credit, including her poetry collection, Sight May Strike You Blind, published by the Sahitya Akademi; her translation of Sukumar Ray’s poetry and prose Abol Tabol: The Nonsense World of Sukumar Ray, published by Penguin. Her first novel Rupture was published by HarperCollins in 2009.

Sanjoy Hazarika is Saifuddin Kichelew Chair at the Centre for North East Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He also is Managing Trustee, Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES). Editor, Writer and Author, he is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Policy Research and a member of the National Disaster Management Advisory Board. A consulting editor for the Sunday Guardian, he has written books like Strangers of the Mist: Tales of War and Peace from India's Northeast and Rites of Passage: Border Crossings, Imagined Homelands, India's East and Bangladesh among others.

Sarnath Banerjee is a graphic novelist and a film maker. He is the co-founder of the comics publishing house Phantomville. Corridor was his first graphic novel followed by The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers. He is the only Indian artist to have been invited to the Sao Paolo Bienal and the Frieze Art Fair.

Shashank Ghosh is a writer, director, producer and filmmaker. He is widely known for films with powerful performances and a strong story line. He has penned down the story of Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II and Aisa Bhi Hota Hai. The concept of his recent release Quick Gun Murugan, an iconic south Indian spoof of a western cowboy, was much appreciated. He has also acted in Aamir.

Shekhar Pathak, the founder of People's Association for Himalaya Area Research (PAHAR), is a historian, writer and academician. He is the author of Kumaon Himalay: Temptations and is the co-author of Asia ki Peeth Per (Beyond Asia's Back), a biography of Himalayan explorer, Pundit Nain Singh Rawat.

Siok Sian Pek-Dorji is the editor of the annual Bhutan Magazine. She has been telling Bhutanese stories through her documentaries and articles as an effort to preserve Bhutan's rich culture and identity. She is the director of the Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy.

Sonam Kinga is particularly interested in literary traditions of antiquity and their transmission into contemporary times. The author of Changes in Bhutanese Society: Impact of Fifty Years of Reforms, he has also appeared in Travellers and Magicians, a film that won international awards.

Soulmate, a musical band from Shillong finds inspiration in the roots and groove sounds of the Blues, Blues-rock, Soul, Rock n Roll, Funk and R&B and have released two albums, Shillong and Moving On. The band has performed many concerts in India as well as in Kathmandu, France, US and Singapore. Rudy Wallang is the lead singer and songwriter for Soulmate. Tipriti Kharbangar is a vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the band.

Sunil Sethi presents the weekly literary show “Just Books” on NDTV, India’s leading TV channel, and is a commenter on arts and culture. He was a founding member of India Today and is a columnist for Business Standard. He has written for several leading papers including the Times of India, Indian Express, Economist, The Sunday Telegraph magazine and the Boston Globe.

Tashi Pem writes short stories and poems when something moves her and everyday life provides ample subjects to reflect upon. In 2006, she published a short story and poetry collection called Ordinary Stories. She is currently working as the Deputy Resident Coordinator at Heveltas (an NGO), Bhutan.

Tshering Penjore is a script writer, producer and director. He has written scripts for Bhutanese films and directed documentaries for The Royal Textile Academy and the Textile Museum. He has produced two Bhutanese films, Golden Cup and Swadeekhrap.

Tshering Wangyel is a film director and editor in Bhutan. He has directed around twenty four films and has also received the Best Director award (Viewers' choice) and the National Award for Best Editor.

His Eminence Tsugla Lopen Rinpoche Samten Dorji is a renowned scholar, specializing in Madhyamaka Philosophy and has studied under some of the greatest Vajrayana Buddhist masters. His Eminence's position as the Tsugla Lopen entails looking after the education of all of the state supported monks in the country and he acts as the Chancellor of the Higher Buddhist Studies Centre.

Urvashi Butalia is a writer and publisher. Co- founder of India's first feminist publishing house, Kali, she is now Director of Zubaan, an imprint of Kali. Her best known work, The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India is the oral history of Partition and has won many awards.