40th Symposium On Living Traditions Of Mahabharata

Trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta by his hyper-polyglot, polymath and spiritually accomplished sakala-shaastra-paarangata father, late Sri Paturi Sitaramanjaneyulu garu, Dr Nagaraj Paturi is seriously committed to the transmission of Vedic sciences to the present generation. In his PhD thesis (1998, University of Hyderabad), he developed an Indic Model of Myth Criticism of Literature and in his MPhil (1987, University of Hyderabad), he foregrounded Vakyapadiya as the theoretical foundation of the Ashtadhyayi. In addition to over 50 publications and about 60 conference/seminar/workshop papers, Dr Paturi has designed several courses pertaining to the contemporary applications of Vedic Sciences and has been successfully teaching them and getting them taught. Formerly Senior Professor of Cultural Studies FLAME School of Communication (& FLAME School of Liberal Education) and a Visiting Professor, University of Chicago (USA), Dr Paturi is currently Senior Director and Chief Curator at INDICA, a Distinguished Professor, Curriculum Designer, Executive Committee Member, Board of Studies, MIT School of Vedic Sciences (Pune, Maharashtra), Member, Board of Studies at Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University (Ramtek, Maharashtra) and Rashtram School of Public Leadership (Sonipat, Haryana). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of International Journals of Studies in Public Leadership and is a member of the Advisory Council of Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam (Bengaluru, Karnataka). He has provided consultancy to numerous culture research, theatre, and dance innovation projects. He has authored scores of creative writing works for Classical Dance, Modern Theater, and magazines and has delivered several series of talks and other programs on Radio and Television channels.

Dr. Sushumna Kannan has a PhD in Cultural Studies from Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bengaluru, India. Her research on the South Asian devotional traditions and feminist epistemology focused on the medieval saint, Akka Mahadevi and her vachanas. She received the BOURSE MIRA, French research fellowship in 2006 and 2007 and the Sir Ratan Tata fellowship for PhD Coursework and Writing in 2003 and 2007. Dr. Kannan has published her research on bhakti, dharmashastras, ethics, women’s writing in Kannada and English as well as on translation theory in peer-reviewed journals and as book chapters. She received the Indic Academy fellowship in Indic feminism to study “Women’s subjectivity in the dharma texts” in 2021. She is currently working on a book project, Hinduism, Violence and Nonviolence and is finishing an essay on “The Mahabharata as a stri-shudra text.” Dr. Kannan is Scholar-in-Residence at Indic Academy. She runs a podcast on Women and Hinduism for INDICA.

Prof. Pulikonda Subbachary, Former Head, Department of Folklore and Tribal Studies, is currently Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Folk Arts and Telugu, PS Telugu University. He was Part-time Lecturer (with full workload) at the Department of Telugu Osmania University. Worked in the Centre for Folk Culture Studies and Visiting Professor CDAST, University of Hyderabad. He has a Ph.D from the Osmania University. Dr. P. Subbachary has numerous awards and recognitions to his credit. He authored 32 books and published 270 research papers in Telugu and English. He attended 105 Seminars/Workshops. Dr. P. Subbachary has successfully completed 4 research projects and is also part of an ongoing project.

Prof. Ajay Chaturvedi is an entrepreneur, author, award-winning innovator, Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa Paṇḍita, and scholar who bridges ancient wisdom and contemporary systems. A former banker, he is an alumnus of BITS Pilani, The Wharton School, and the Harvard Kennedy School. Honoured as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and CNN-IBN Youth Icon, he founded HarVa—India’s first all-women rural BPO, which entered the Limca Book of Records. He is the author of the Time Trilogy and Lost Wisdom of the Swastika, and has delivered keynote lectures globally on innovation, leadership, and Vedic philosophy. His academic interests span Vedic time systems, sacred geometry, and temporal symbolism in mythic narratives. He teaches Strategy and Dharmic Economic frameworks like the Kullhad Economy at leading Indian institutions including IIT Mandi.

An avid reader of history and ancient texts, Pranshu Saxena inherited love for writing and reading along with diabetes from his forebears. This madhurmeha (and madhumeha) stuck with him through his education on three continents. He enjoys delving into details of stories to find hidden truths which his young students at Vidyalaya enjoy. His stories are published in INDICA anthologies (Unsung Valor, Flight of Deities, Shared Roots, Adrsya) and on Real Mahabharata of Veda Vyasa. His writings on Epics and history are available on various portals. Pranshu resides in New Jersey where he shares his life with wife, daughter, father-in-law, and a lifelong collection of books.

Sivasankar Babu (Babu) is a Techno Functional Banker with a passion for marketing and Mentoring, Now he is leveraging his Business Analysis, Presentation & Marketing Experience in spreading awareness about Our Rich Heritage to the younger generation thru Talks, Walks and workshops under his umbrella brand of Babu4Heritage. Unlike a Scholar or Researcher, his role as a Heritage Awareness speaker focusses on shring his understanding the vast amount of research in indian heritage and present in a simple and visual form easy to understand to the beginners, students so that they quickly graduate to next level of art appreciation. He is also Central Govt Ministry of Tourism certifed Incredible India Tourist Guide - Advanced Heritage Level.. He is also part of Tamil Heritage Trust (THT) and several other Heritage NGOs in Tamilnadu and mentors training for Heritage to teachers & Temple & Monument guiding to Docents (Voluntary Guides) His YouTube Channel “babu4heritage” contains his temple art & architectural talks as well as 80+ categories of curates categories of Popular Heritage videos

Shivakumar G V is 'Director - INDICA (Guru-Saadhaka Sachiva). His responsibilities focus on INDICA’s critical mission to cultivate leadership. He guides initiatives to serve Gurus, perpetuate their legacies, enable/empower leaders committed to IKS to become influential thinkers, institution builders and public leaders, and bolster the broader IKS ecosystem. Over the next 36 months, Shivakumar embarks on an ambitious pledge to honor and sustain the legacies of 108 Living and Past Gurus from the 20th Century. His efforts will focus on organizing, making accessible, and cultivating a parampara that highlights their significant contributions to our civilization. As an IKS Research Scholar, Shivakumar remains dedicated to his scholarly pursuits in Itihasa-Puranas and Indian Knowledge Systems. His work includes developing contemporary frameworks based on IKS principles, with a special focus on the Mahabharata and Purushartha. He has been a prolific contributor to INDICA Today, sharing his insights and knowledge with both academic and general audiences. He has delivered several story telling and courses on Mahabharata, Purushartha, Indic Civilization Studies for aspiring leaders and students. He is the curator of ‘Aryaa - An Anthology of Vedic Studies’ a collection of 10 stories on 10 Vedic Women by 10 Authors published by INDICA. Shivakumar holds an M.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay and a B.E. from the National Institute of Technology, Surat. With 25 years of experience in the IT industry, his expertise spans theoretical computer science, algorithms, and learning system design. Shivakumar resides in Bengaluru with his family and is a devoted follower of the River-Goddess Saraswati.

Dr B C Anish Krishnan Nayar holds multiple masters degrees in English, Linguistics, Philosophy and Religion and Psychology.His doctoral research was on multivalency ie how a text can provide multiple at times contradictory interpretations.He is mAdhva by faith and focuses on Agamic systems.His research works mainly focuses on colonial constructs and narratives of religion and their effect on the colonized.He has written numerous articles in Tamil and English on Tantra , Comparative Literature and related topics.He teaches Technical Communication in college level and does independent research. Some of his writings can be read here: https://tamizhini.in/2018/11/14/devadasis-beyond-constructs-and-contentions-b-c-anish-krishnan-nayar/