Category Archives: sessions

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan wears many hats. She is an award-winning children’s author whose works have been published in India and the United States. She is also a poet, a translator, an editor and a voice-over artist. As a former non-profit development professional, she worked tirelessly to advocate and raise funds for the disabled. Her voice-over work has involved documentaries, educational programmes, journalistic initiatives and audio books. Prabha Khaitan Foundation recently invited Srinivasan to An Author’s Afternoon to discuss her book: The Extraordinary, Ordinary Life of Lily Tharoor, and to celebrate mothers and their contribution to our lives. Srinivasan was in conversation with Nilisha Agarwal, Ehsaas Woman of Kolkata. Both Srinivasan and Agarwal were introduced to the audience by Esha Dutta, Ehsaas Woman of Kolkata.

Chandrachur Ghose

“The disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chanda Bose has bothered generations of Indians. Eighteen years ago, in 2004, a few friends and I decided that we needed to find out what happened to Netaji—something that nobody has been able to conclusively establish. Did he die in a plane crash? Did he survive? If he did, what happened to him after that?” These were some of the questions and points raised by best-selling author, researcher and commentator on history, Chandrachur Ghose, as he talked about his book, Bose: The Untold Story of an Inconvenient Nationalist, at a session of An Author’s Afternoon, organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation at the Taj Bengal. Ghose was in conversation with educationist Mohua Chatterjee, and the speaker and moderator were introduced to the audience by Shefali Agarwal, Ehsaas Woman of Kolkata. 

Ghazala Wahab

Ghazala Wahab has been a prominent voice, that over the years has brought into the mainstream, the deep sense of insecurity faced by Muslims in India. As a renowned journalist and Executive Editor of Force magazine, she has written articles on homeland security, terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir, left wing extremism, religious extremism, communalism and human rights. Her book Born A Muslim: Some Truths about Islam in India, is a riveting account that seamlessly brings together a blend of journalistic, legal, academic and philosophical discourses. More importantly, it brings forth an engaging narrative that involves personal stories from her own life as well as the experiences of many others with whom she has interacted within the Muslim community.

Anshul Chaturvedi

A lot has been written about Subhas Chandra Bose, from his deeds of valour that helped India achieve independence from British rule to his differences with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to the circumstances around his disappearance or death in August 1945. Yet all these writings have focused on Bose, the leader, often at the expense of Bose, the person.

Vaibhav Purandare

On 30th November, Prabha Khaitan Foundation organized a session of an author’s afternoon with Vaibhav Purandare. Vaibhav is the senior editor at the Times of India and is the author of many books. He has a passion for public affairs, history, culture, politics and the global and national landscape which is reflected through his many literary works. In conversation with him was film journalist, festival curator, author and national award film recipient Ratnottama Sengupta. 

Vidhie Mukerjea

Prabha Khaitan Foundation organized a session of An Author’s Afternoon with Vidhie Mukerjea. Vidhie is a young, dynamic author born in India and raised in Bristol. She is the daughter of Peter and Indrani Mukerjea. She has poured her heart out in her book, ‘Devil’s Daughter’, a personal reflection on one of the most harrowing experiences one could possibly encounter.  In conversation with her was Ehsaas woman of Kolkata, Esha Datta.

Rijula Das

A virtual session of An Author’s Afternoon was hosted by Prabha Khaitan Foundation. Introducing and welcoming the guests was Modhurima. The guest was Rijula Das. Rijula received her PhD. in creative writing in 2017 from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where she taught writing for 2 years. She is a recipient of the 2019 Michael King Writers Centre Residency in Auckland and the 2016 Dastan award for her short story, “notes from a passing”. Her other short story, “The grave of the heart eater” was long listed for the Commonwealth short story prize in 2019. Her debut novel, ”A death in Shonagachi” was long-listed for the JCB prize for literature in 2021. Rijula hails from West Bengal and currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand. In conversation with her was Bharti Harlalka, an interior designer, wellness enthusiast and has even staged plays. She is also a disciplined reader.  

Payal Kothari

An Author’s Afternoon, Kolkata, hosted Payal Kothari for the afternoon, presented by Shree Cement Ltd. in association with Taj Bengal. Payal Kothari embarked on her health and wellness journey with the world’s largest nutrition school, IIN—Institute for Integrative Nutrition, New York USA, IIN Advanced Business, Medvarsity, India’s leading training academy, Kaizad Kapadia’s K11 and QI academy. She has 150 published articles under her belt from prestigious publications like Times of India, Vogue, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and ET Panache. She holds practical certifications from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and has been a part of some of the most powerful global Transformation Programs like Date with Destiny & Unleash the Power Within with Tony Robbins. Today, Payal is one of the rare few IIN-certified coaches in India who practises Integrative Nutrition and Transformation. 

Abhay K

On 5th February Prabha Khaitan Foundation in association with Ehsaas women of Kolkata, The Taj Bengal and Shree Cement Ltd. organized a virtual session of An Author’s Afternoon with Mr. Abhay Kumar. Mr Kumar has authored nine poetry collections, most recently of ‘The Alphabets of Latin America’, and the editor of ‘The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems’, ‘CAPITALS’, ‘The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems’ and ‘New Brazilian Poems’. His poems have been published in several literary journals including ‘Poetry Salzburg Review’ and Asian Literary Review.’ His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 50 languages. He received SAARC Literary Award 2013 and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 2018.  

Meha Dixit

The first live session of An Author’s Afternoon Kolkata hosted Dr Meha Dixit In Taj Bengal. She has a PHD in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her thesis, ‘Human Security in Post Conflict Reintegration of Child Soldiers; Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration Programmes in Macamba in Sara Lyon”, is inspired by her expertise in Peace and Conflict Studies and her interest in analysing the process of reintegration. She has worked with MST international and save the Save the Children Organisation and also taught at Kashmir University.