Writer. Editor
Suchitra Karthik Kumar is a playback singer who has some of the best foot-tapping Tamil numbers of recent years to her credit. Suchitra is also a popular Radio Jockey and anchors a three-hour morning show on Hello FM 106.4 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Apart from singing and RJ-ing, she does dubbing as well. In a quick chat, she talks about what fun means to her and what she enjoys doing!
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I can’t have enough of writing about love. Just how many possibilities exist! The more I write about love, the deeper I seem to go down this abyss called human heart. Gitanjali is a first-person narrative of a woman about a beautiful memory from her past which she can never erase from her soul.
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Education and learning is an important aspect of the life of any individual. But what does it mean to children or adults with mental developmental disabilities? I spoke to the mothers of two special children – one diagnosed with Down’s syndrome and the other with autism, both at a very young age. Read on to know more about what teaching and learning has meant in the context of these children and what special education is all about.
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S. Sowmya is a popular and widely travelled Carnatic vocalist. She is a disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan as well as Smt. T. Muktha, of the legendary Brinda-Muktha duo. Sowmya is a double postgraduate (Master’s in Chemistry as well as Indian Music) and was a top-ranked scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the University of Madras. She discontinued her doctoral research program at IIT to concentrate on her music. S.Sowmya, talks about the qualities she expects in her students, what she has learnt from her revered Gurus and many more interesting aspects concerning music. Catch the conversation here.
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Geeta Ramanujam, a recipient of the Ashoka Fellowship, Washington, USA, is the Founder Trustee and Executive Director of Kathalaya Trust, a centre established with the intention of reviving the ancient art of storytelling and using it in schools as a cultural tool in education. Kathalaya does storytelling sessions and workshops for schools as well as empowerment programmes for teachers. Kathalaya’s Academy of Storytelling, which is affiliated to International Storytelling Centre, Jonesborough, Tennessee, USA, has two centers in India: one each in Bangalore and Chennai, and offers short-term and long-term certificate courses in storytelling. In this interview, she talks about how she began using stories as a teaching aid and why stories are very relevant in education and de-stressing.
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Sathya Saran was, till recently, the creator and editor of ME, a monthly magazine from DNA. Earlier, Sathya was the editor of the popular women’s magazine, Femina, and was also on the Board of governors of the NIFT. She is currently Adjutant Professor at NIFT, Mumbai, where she teaches Fashion Journalism. She has authored a book of short stories, ‘Night Train and other Stories’ as well as a biography, ’10 years with Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi’s Journey’. Her latest book, ‘From Me to You’, which is a selection of her writings over the years, has been published by Westland. Sathya Saran talks about the people she has met and the lessons that she has learnt from life over the years.
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Dr.Anita Ratnam is a classical and contemporary dancer and choreographer. She is also the founder director of Arangham Trust, a cultural foundation that seeks to explore, enrich and promote the performing and visual arts of India and to contemporize the rich tapestry of Indian creativity for modern audiences. A Ph.D. in Women’s Studies, Anita lectures in various universities and museums overseas. She talks about the qualities and lessons she has learnt from her Gurus, what she drives as a Performance Mentor in her students and the relevance of arts in a highly mechanized world. Excerpts from the interview.
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Anita Nair is the author of the bestsellers ‘The Better Man’, ‘Ladies Coupe’ and ‘Mistress’. She has also authored a non-fiction collection ‘Goodnight and God Bless’ published by Penguin in 2008. This interview is part of a series of interviews done with specialists in different fields relevant to India. I spoke to Anita Nair about Indian Writing in English.
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