Padmaja, K,
K Padmaja  has studied at NIFT, New Delhi and her work now ranges from research, documentation and design development to fashion and textiles. Her last assignment included showcasing a range of clothes for women created out of MUGA and Eri silks of Assam at a special Assam textiles evening held at and organized by Taj Mahal Mumbai. She ahs participated in many international symposia such as " International Symposium on Natural Dyes" under the aegis of UNESCO and the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) and "Sui Dhaga: Crossing Borders through Needle and Thread" in collaboration with the India International Centre and Crafts Council of India. Currently, she resides in Kolkata, where she has her own studio and works closely with crafts people.

Palchoudhuri, Ruby,
Ruby Palchoudhuri is one of India’s leading experts and voices on craft revival and documentation. She is currently the advisor and President Emeritus of Crafts Council of West Bengal. She was earlier elected as Honorary General Secretary and Executive Director, Crafts Council of West Bengal (affiliated to Crafts Council of India (CCI) and World Crafts Council (WCC), a voluntary non-profit making organization, established to revive dying craft and to promote cultural thoughts and purpose amongst connoisseurs, craftsmen and organisations interested in crafts. She was elected as Vice-President of Crafts Council of India.She has been Felicitated by FICCI Ladies Organisation, Kolkata Chapter for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Revival of Craft. Set-up various Training-cum-production Centres in Kolkata and Santiniketan as part of the income generation programme for lower income group while focusing on the revival of various craft forms. Palchoudhuri is the author and editor to numerous publications on crafts. She has curated exhibitions in different Museums and spaces across the world.

Pandey, Juhi,
Juhi Pandey, has worked with more than 1000 traditional artisans across the country with the main aim of facilitating processes to build identity and ownership through the development of local economic and traditional value chains using indigenous fibres and natural dyes as the basis of textile and craft development. Human-centric and a process based approach has helped her to study, learn and work with varied communities finding solutions relevant to the present context. She has a career spanning across a little more than 2 decades starting of as the first ever designer to be hired by one of the oldest textile companies of India - Century Textiles and Industries Pvt Ltd in Mumbai, India, she then went on to working in the high-street fashion industry. After 8 years of being the in the mainstream industrial sector, she switched to the education and crafts sector as a facilitator, innovator and academic. She facilitated the set-up a children and women organisation, Tara Trust Goa in 2011 aiming at education and empowerment of the marginalised through art and design interventions. She has been the Director of Khamir Craft Resource Center, facilitating the development of local craft value chain, in local indigenous wool and indigenous leather through the already established local value chain of Kala Cotton by Khamir in Kutch. She has been the Director of Hatheli Sansthan, the craft enterprise of Barefoot College Tilonia, Rajasthan, India, the oldest social development organisation of the country and the Technical Head for Nila House Jaipur, a CSR initiative of JCB India in Rajasthan. She is currently the Centre Head for the Centre of Excellence for Khadi(www.coek.in), in Shillong, in North East of India, working closely towards the innovation and development of the wild eri silk of the region through handspun and handwoven processes with some of the oldest Khadi institutions of the region. She is a honorary advisor of a dignified livelihoods collective for India called Vikalp Sutra(www.sutra.vikalsangam.org), working towards creating a Right to Dignified Livelihood policy in the future. She is a regular visiting faculty with NID-Ahmedabad and some of the NIFT institutions and other design institutions of India for more than a decade. She mentors in subject areas of Design Thinking & Processes ; Social Design ; Sustainable & Equitable Development Processes through Design. After spending 8 years in the mainstream industrial sector, her experiences and learnings made her want to get back to her main passions which was education and crafts.  

Pandey, Kirti,

Kirti Pandey is an architect.  She graduated in 2013, from the Faculty of Architecture, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She is currently working in New Delhi.

   

Paris, Betty de,
Betty de Paris  learnt the use of natural dyes in Japan where she specialised in blue dyeing under the great Japanese Master SHINDO Hiroyuki, recognized as Master Artist and Dyer. In 2002 she crated a major exhibition on natural dye at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. The Betty de Paris natural indigo vat is listed as a “Rare and Endangered Art to be Preserved” by the Ministry of Culture in France. She was commissioned by Cité des Matières, Lillebonne, France to set up a garden of dye yielding and fibre plants. She has been elected to the Union of French Artists Betty de Paris has held numerous workshops and exhibitions all over the world.

Paswan, Raju,
Raju Paswan, Community Coordinator, Sarprakshak Project. He has been working closely with the snake charmers.

Patel, Divia,
Divia Patel is a curator in the Asian Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She specializes in contemporary art and design, popular culture and photography from South Asia. She curated the exhibition Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood (2002 - 2007) which travelled nationally and internationally and won a BBC award for achievement in the Arts. Since then she has curated The Photographers’ Pilgrimage: Exploring Buddhist Sites (V&A, 2009), co-curated Indian Life and Landscape (2009-10) which toured extensively in India and curated M.F Husain: Master of Modern Indian Painting (V&A, 2014). She has published on all of these subject areas including substantial articles on the 19th century paintings of Ajanta and 19th century photography. Her more recent research has been on contemporary design from India which resulted in the publication of her book India Contemporary Design: Fashion, Graphics, Interiors (Roli Press, 2014). She was co-curator of the V&A’s major exhibition, The Fabric of India (2015-2016) with responsibility for the modern and contemporary content. She is one of three authors of The Fabric of India book (with Rosemary Crill and Stephen Cohen, V&A Publishing, 2015). Her focus on contemporary South Asia has led to significant acquisitions of work by contemporary artists and designers for the V&A’s permanent collections.

Patel, Usha Nehru,
Usha Nehru Patel is currently Professor and Course leader for Foundation Design Studies at the Pearl Academy of Fashion. In addition to being involved in the pedagogical development of various design programs, she is also a practicing artist whose paintings, drawings as well as fibre and fabric installations have been featured in various galleries, museums and private collections. Further, Usha has also been involved in craft documentation and design development projects focused on traditional crafts and textiles.

Pathak, Anamika,
Anamika Pathak is a Former Curator at the Decorative Arts and Textiles department of National Museum, New Delhi. She is a Masters in Buddhist Studies and Ancient Indian History and Culture and Ph.D. in Mughal Costumes, Museum Management Course from Art Institute Chicago. More than three decades of curatorial career at National Museum, curated three permanent galleries {Indian Textile (1996), Wood Carving (2012) Decorative Arts, (2013)} and several temporary exhibitions, the last one was on ‘Baluchar: The Woven Narrative Silks of Bengal’ (Feb-2019). Closely associated with several academic and cultural institutes in teaching and guiding Graduates and Masters level students on musological aspects, Textiles, decorative arts. The few important ones are ‘Indian art history at National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology’; ‘Archaeological Survey of India’; ‘Lady Erwin College’, Delhi University; ‘NIFT-Delhi’, ‘Dayal Bagh University’, Agra; ‘Indian Institute of Crafts and Design’, Jaipur etc. Actively examiner for Master’s and Ph.D thesis at various Universities.Presented research papers in several national and international seminars. The few are; ‘Sacred Textiles-its tradition and variations’, held at India Heritage Centre, Singapore in March 2018; ‘Woven Words: Its Styles and Variations in Traditional Indian Textiles’ held at National Museum in Feb 2019 and on ‘Himroo: The Prized Museum Pieces’ at India International Centre, New Delhi in Nov-2019. More than fifty research articles have been published in National and International research journals like; Marg (Mumbai), Arts of Asia (Hongkong), Annals of the Naprstek Museum, (Prague), Bulletin of National Museum, Puratan, Purattava, Indian Journal of History of Science, New Delhi, etc. Contributed the catalogue entries of textiles and decorative arts objects in eight International exhibition catalogues, the last was ‘Fabric Arts of India’ (2015). Books to her credit are ‘Pashmina’(2003); ‘Indian Costumes’ (2006) by Roli Publications.  The few, published by the National Museum, New Delhi are; ‘Arts of Calligraphy and Beyond’ (2015); ‘Ram-Hanuman few selected episodes’ in Hindi (for Children) (2016), and ‘Ramayana: The Poetic Expression on Temple hanging’ (2017). Co-editor with Dr. B. K. Sahay ‘Splendors of Pahari Embroidery’ (2018) published by B.R. Publications, New Delhi and Co-editor with Dr. B. R. Mani ‘Textiles: The binding threads between the Cultures’ (2019) published by National Museum, New Delhi. Founder member of academic association named as Textiles and Clothing Research Centre (TCRC) in 2017. Working as Chairperson, actively involved in organizing events with museums, universities and cultural organizations. Four seminars, four public lectures, four workshops, five e-journals and publication of a book have done so far.

Pawar, Shama,
Shama’s realization of how tall India stood as a country in terms of heritage was at an early age. It led to her lifelong journey of working on conservation with the community. In 1995, her undeterred commitment began with a multitude of projects at the historic settlement of Anegundi of Hampi World Heritage Area. She has created proofs of concepts that integrate conservation, creativity and livelihoods through a holistic approach. She continues to run and direct holistic programs that encompass solid wate management, planting and maintaining of trees, developing crafts based on locally available materials, vernacular architecture, zero plastic events, awareness regarding environment and heritage amongst youth and children. These projects have impacted Socio -Economic and Environmental ecosystems. Shama calls this model Rural Development in a Heritage Setting which urges one to look at the impact that any activity be it an event, economic venture or skilling that takes place in a region that has a specific social, visual and environmental  identity. Livelihood through Creative and Cultural Industries:
  • Setting up of a non-traditional cottage industry (Banana Fibre) that has become the craft identity of the region
  • Creating a livelihood opportunity from water hyacinth craft something that is a threat to the marine environment
  • By creating partnership between The Kishkinda Trust and Educational institutes Shama continues to work on new ways of strengthening of agrarian economy for the region as a proof of concept.
  • She is currently working with some smaller regional clusters towards strengthening agrarian and creative projects.
  • Introduction of creative education summer program for local children which gives them exposure to newer horizons within the area that they live in.
Conservation:
  • Creating a dynamic model for conservation that allows for restoration of the visual identity of a destination. Integrating concepts like adaptive reuse to create facilities
  • Environmental conservation by reinforcing the riverbanks by forestation and recreating the mythical forests of Kishkinda. The themed forests also allow for growing of resources through plantations that result in livelihood opportunities for the future and provide ecological mobility options through tree covers pathways.
  • Facilitating conservation of Gagan Mahal Anegundi, which was done by Deccan Heritage Foundation
  • Conservation of the South Gate (Talwarghatta) of the historical settlement of Anegundi through CSR
Responsible Tourism:
  • Created and continues to create tourism models that have a positive impact on the destination and also throw light on the local traditions in terms of food and culture, local traditional architecture.
  • As a part of District Tourism Committee and Convenor of INTACH has addressed pressures of growing population, their aspirations, footfall of pilgrims and tourists, through suggestions to Govt and communities by developing Integrated plans towards responsible tourism.
  • Designs and concepts provided for the Craft Tourism village scheme of the Ministry of Textile GOI
  • Execution of the Rural Tourism Project with GOI and Endogenous Tourism Scheme with UNDP
The Kishkinda Trust, Anegundi, HAMPI - Founder & MD (1997 - PRESENT) INTACH Anegundi-Hampi ChapterConvener (2007 - PRESENT) Uramma Cultural Residency, Anegundi — Social Entrepreneur & Director (2012 – PRESENT)

Prajapati, Uma,
Uma Prajapati is the Founder of Upasana Design Studio in Auroville. Her interests lie in designing for social development and she was the initiator for the Tsunamika project that brought into sharp focus the plight of the victims of the Tsunami. A graduate in Economics with a Diploma in Fashion Design from NIFT. New Delhi she has worked on a wide range of projects including Small steps, a project for the development of the Varanasi Weavers and design work for many NGO. She is Visiting Faculty at several Design Institutes.

Prakash, Aditi,
Aditi Prakash is an industrial designer who works with traditional craftspeople in India. Aditi's product design skills, acquired at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, combined with her undergraduate training in the fine arts bring a unique aesthetic to the crafts sector. She regularly provides design input and market awareness to various artisan communities in India through product diversification and design workshops. She has also worked with craftspeople from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Prasad, Ritika,
Ritika Prasad a British Chevening (Radhakrishnan) scholar from Oxford University has extended her interest in history to encompass reading and writing on crafts and artisans. She is currently perusing a doctorate degree on Historiography.

Punja, Shobita,
Shobita Punja holds a Bachelor degree in Art History, a Master’s degree in Ancient History from JNU, New Delhi, another Master’s degree in Art Education from Stanford University, California and a doctoral degree for her contribution to the field of Art Education in 1982. She is author of over 15 books including Museums of India, and Great Monuments of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, (Hong Kong). Divine Ecstasy - The Story of Khajuraho and Daughters the Ocean - Discovering the Goddess Within. (Viking Penguin, India). Dr. Punja worked at Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, and then at INTACH as Chief Programme Officer and established the Heritage Education and Communication Service, INTACH. She assembled a professional team for the restoration of Chowmahalla Palace and Museum, Hyderabad, Jai Vilas Palace Museum, Gwalior, Reis Magos Fort, Goa and others historical sites. Her last appointment was as CEO, National Culture Fund, Ministry of Culture, and GOI, 2011-13. Dr Punja was on the Governing Council and Executive Committee of INTACH. She is a member of the Governing Council of the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad, Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi. She has served as Trustee of Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur, the John L. Bissell Foundation and the Helen Hamlyn Trust, UK for several years. She has lectured on Indian Art at prestigious institutions and universities in India and abroad and offered a popular elective course titled “Whose heritage is it?” for the YIF programme at Ashoka University, Haryana for the last 4 years.