Workshop Facilitators

Gayathri Durairaj is an author, poet, global nomad and an economist by training. She has run a parent’s writers club at American School of Bombay from 2016 to 2018. Her first book of poems was titled Quintessential Me. She currently lives in Hong Kong and has published her poems in many magazines like Ariana, Beyond Boundaries and the ASB online magazine and http://oopss.in/ website. If you want more information about Gayathri, please click here

Deepti Arora is a Primary School Librarian with an IB school. She is passionate about picture books and loves to tell stories and interact with children. Deepti is exploring different ways of expressive writing with a vision to hone her skills. She believes "A word after a word after a word is power"- Margaret Atwood.

Gayathri Durairaj is an author, poet, global nomad and an economist by training. She has run a parent’s writers club at American School of Bombay from 2016 to 2018. Her first book of poems was titled Quintessential Me. She currently lives in Hong Kong and has published her poems in many magazines like Ariana, Beyond Boundaries and the ASB online magazine and http://oopss.in/ website. If you want more information about Gayathri, please click here

Heeru Bhojwani is an Information Media Specialist. She shares her ideas and learning through her blog posts. She enjoys writing and discussing ways to edit, revise outlines of drafts to raise the standard of the written piece. She believes that building a writing community will help adults hone their craft of writing and expression. She enjoys writing nonfiction narratives using her experience in her profession. She is an editor to her schools publication.

Sargam is a medical student who has been writing ever since she was young. She's a voracious reader, who enjoys blending her love for writing with her philosophical pursuits and existential musings. Her focus as a writer is to amplify women's voices and hopes to inspire other women to write about their own experiences and find solidarity and liberation through literature. Her writing is influenced by women like Clarice Lispector, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Kathy Acker, Lidia Yuknavitch and Donna Tartt, who are all known for subverting traditional narrative forms in some capacity and their unflinching portrayal of the patriarchal society they were born in. She considers writing to be the ultimate form of self-expression and has experimented with different narratives like letters, short stories, poems, essays and film analysis to explore the themes of personal and political identities.

Akriti Agrawal, started off as a pre-primary teacher in an inclusive school in Delhi after which she had the opportunity to work for a school in Hyderabad where she taught grade 1 and 5 as a homeroom teacher as well as helped build the curricular structure for the PYP experimental programme as the school was transitioning into an IB school. She also taught grades 3-5 and grade 9 in an after-school remedial programme.Then she got the opportunity to come to Mumbai and become the Academic Coordinator responsible for school setup, training, quality assessment, curriculum design and implementation for 7 pre-schools. Currently she is doing my Masters in Education. Writing for her is a form of emotional catharsis, a source of solace during discomfort as well periods of joy.

Darpana is a librarian by profession, books are her constant companions. Books befriend her, striking several conversations in her head. She occasionally writes a verse or pens a poem to share her thoughts. Art and creativity are vital for her to de-stress. Painting her world with the magic of colours, she loves transforming the ordinary with her creativity. As Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.”These words strongly resonate with her.

Swarnima is a Teacher Librarian and English faculty at Garodia International Centre for Learning Mumbai (GICLM). She is a graduate of Philosophy and has a masters in English from Mumbai University. Also, she has done her Bachelors in Education. She has written and presented a couple of papers on Charvaka's philosophy and Social media and it's ill effects. Being in the field of education for more than 9 years has allowed her to look at life with a curiosity of a child and she adores being a forever absorbing and evolving learner for life. In the past, she has done extensive work as a reading program developer, developing leveled group reading initiatives for kids. She loves working with students of all age groups and is developing her passion for writing through writing in anthologies. She is an avid reader and enjoys exploring her creativity through various art projects, experimental cooking and hair styling. Basically, she doesn't believe in labels but doesn't mind being called a 'Potterhead' and a 'Nature lover'.

Chandni Shah's first published work was a poem titled Vacation featured in a children's newspaper when she was about ten years old. Since then, writing has always been her favourite medium of communication. It helps her untangle the knots in her thoughts and clears her mind. It helps her put forth her views coherently. But mostly, she writes to preserve memorable moments so that she can cherish them for life. As an educator, she is very passionate about exploring how literature and writing connect with children's social-emotional development.

Sargam is a medical student who has been writing ever since she was young. She's a voracious reader, who enjoys blending her love for writing with her philosophical pursuits and existential musings. Her focus as a writer is to amplify women's voices and hopes to inspire other women to write about their own experiences and find solidarity and liberation through literature. Her writing is influenced by women like Clarice Lispector, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Kathy Acker, Lidia Yuknavitch and Donna Tartt, who are all known for subverting traditional narrative forms in some capacity and their unflinching portrayal of the patriarchal society they were born in. She considers writing to be the ultimate form of self-expression and has experimented with different narratives like letters, short stories, poems, essays and film analysis to explore the themes of personal and political identities.

Jagadamba Pisapati has worked as a special needs teacher for eight years in a reputed school from Hyderabad. Experiences with children filled her with humility and love. Her tryst with Carnatic music and literature started at an early age and remained an integral part of my life. Traditional Telugu influences her, and she says, "The beauty and tone of the language never cease to impress". She believes the writer's power is visible from the research-backed evidence expressed in their stories. The subtlety and warmth of the words transpose her into the lap of my roots. She aims to bring regional stories in Telugu close to English readers of this generation. She believes India's rich language diversity has millions of stories yet to be told in native tones. Her debut series Papaayi in Telugu has been published in a leading journal. The readers' response was very encouraging. Her blog in Telugu enlists poems and prose across various topics of spirituality, family, struggles of life and community life.

Deepti Arora is a Primary School Librarian with an IB school. She is passionate about picture books and loves to tell stories and interact with children. Deepti is exploring different ways of expressive writing with a vision to hone her skills. She believes "A word after a word after a word is power"- Margaret Atwood.

Manisha is a Chartered Accountant with diverse experience. She is a fervid entrepreneur and is co-founder of a financial technology company i2ifunding.com. A mother of two, for the past almost 5 years, she is actively pursuing her passion of writing and learning more about human psychology in order to be a better friend - to herself, to her children and to others.

Padmavathamma m is a librarian at an international school. She uses this opportunity to pass on a love for reading to students of all ages. She loves learning new things and experimenting.

Heeru Bhojwani is an Information Media Specialist. She shares her ideas and learning through her blog posts. She enjoys writing and discussing ways to edit, revise outlines of drafts to raise the standard of the written piece. She believes that building a writing community will help adults hone their craft of writing and expression.

Sushweta Saha is a Librarian with a past. She is passionate about reading especially Indian authors. She loves to pen down random thoughts and quotes from works she reads. She believes in the magical power of words used wisely can move mountains.

Sakhvir is a Teacher librarian at an international school. She likes to doodle occasionally thereby capturing her raw feelings and thoughts on paper. She believes that stories are all around us, we just need to look closer and identify the stories that resonate and inspire us. She believes that imagination, experience and the power of words can convert even day to day events into magical creative written expression.

Gizelle Rodrigues is a librarian and believes that one’s creativity always shine through when you tie in reading and writing. Everyone has a story and every story is important. Our stories connect us all. And that’s why it’s important to write and share. She enjoys writing and is enthusiastic to empower one with building writing skills.

Gayathri Durairaj is an author, poet, global nomad and an economist by training. She has run a parent’s writers club at American School of Bombay from 2016 to 2018. Her first book of poems was titled Quintessential Me. She currently lives in Hong Kong and has published her poems in many magazines like Ariana, Beyond Boundaries and the ASB online magazine and http://oopss.in/ website. If you want more information about Gayathri, please click here

Manisha is a Chartered Accountant with diverse experience. She is a fervid entrepreneur and is co-founder of a financial technology company i2ifunding.com. A mother of two, for the past almost 5 years, she is actively pursuing her passion of writing and learning more about human psychology in order to be a better friend - to herself, to her children and to others.