Book Launch of “The Flight of Deities: An Anthology of Desecration & Devotion”

Meenakshi Jain is a former Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and currently Associate Professor in History at Gargi College, University of Delhi. Her recent publications include Parallel Pathways: Essays on Hindu-Muslim Relations (1707-1857) and India They Saw: Foreign Accounts of India from the 8th to mid-19th Century (3 vols.). She is the co-author of The Rajah-Moonje Pact: Documents on a Forgotten Chapter of Indian History.

Hari Kiran Vadlamani ( Hari) is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a serial entrepreneur, having been involved in four ventures in Technology and Energy sectors. He is deeply passionate about Art, Philosophy and Indian Cultural Heritage and is a Dharmic- Indic Liberal. In 2015 he transformed himself into a Social Entrepreneur pursuing the preservation, protection and promotion of Indian Heritage. He founded INDICA ( www.indica.in) and NICE (www.niceorg.in) , both not-for-profits in the area of Cultural Education and Entrepreneurship.

Hari brings in an entrepreneurial mindset to his work of delivering indigenous knowledge as a service, product or an experience by incubating a portfolio of ideas, rapid prototyping, absorbing failures, applying a three horizon framework, thinking of scale etc.

Having the mindset of a venture investor, Hari is focussed on backing passionate individuals. He encourages, enables and empowers them to discover, nurture and express their creative potential. He believes in transforming the narrator and not the narrative. A strong advocate of pluralism, Hari envisions a vibrant ecosystem of diverse set of players and ideas and seeks to build the enabling infrastructure. Hari believes that Indian thought and the indigenous way of life from various global traditions have solutions to some of the key challenges we face today, especially sustainability, happiness, well-being and peace. He is working on developing the requisite institutional mechanisms that can transform a billion global consumers into conscious thinkers, entrepreneurs, leaders and most importantly seekers. He has developed a unique six dimensional integral strategy for pursuing this vision.

Avatans Kumar is a columnist, public speaker, media panelist, and activist. Originally from Patna, Bihar, Avatans holds graduate degrees in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he also taught Linguistics, and Hindi as a foreign language respectively. Several of his Hindi poems have also been published. As a trustee, Avatans leads the US operations of Indic Academy, incorporated as INDICA, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in the US. INDICA seeks to preserve India’s traditional institutions, knowledge, and practices; protect her identity against distortions; and promote Indic thought to local and global consumers, practitioners, and seekers.

The pursuit of the Lord Vaikuntha idol across lifetimes as Bhu Bhuvara and Swara (past, present, glorious future) merge across a Swapna Bharata-Kaal. Is it just a dream or possibility to be realized?

Surela is a freelance journalist on culture, lifestyle, health and photography. She also loves to write poems. You can find her work at www.surela.in. Homecoming is her first story in an anthology.

The tale of ensuring safe passage for Srinathji (Thakurji) to safe resting place of new Vrindavan, Nathdwara.

A Construction Management Professional bringing modernity to the desert of Bahrain, Devamalya has strived to slake his thirst in lifelong pursuit of that Oasis called Learning. His creative output as playwright and poet has resulted in plays and books on poems in Bengali and English as well as the best seller “Living a Wealthy Life”. You can look up more of his compositions at http://www.facebook.com/stories123 and http://m.facebook.com/DiarySnippets

What is rubble and rubbish, now continues to carry its history via Multani mitti, harking back to the healing properties of Surya whose temple was once lovingly housed in this land

As soul changes bodies one by one, Kavita has changed her professions seeking the nirvana of the written word to fiercely share her understanding of Hindu philosophy and mores.

A visitor to the temple at Puri finds out that it is a living monument to the tenacity of Hindus.

When Aneesh is not getting his merchant navy ship lost on the high seas, he treks through the history of India to share the fruits of his searches with readers. His books on Maratha History and Lachit Barphukan have been bestsellers.

Story of a heist executed by intrepid men and women to win back the ancient icons for new temples in this ancient land. The rescue of the alive and non-inert alike from the Mughal clutches.

Computer Scientist Pranshu got into the habit of recording life around him in his frayed notebooks that fuels his imagination and sometimes leaks through to the keyboard. Some of the outpourings are available at  Purans and Vedas | Facebook and https://www.facebook.com/RealMahabharata.

Suhabhatta, the right-hand man of Sikander Butshikan -- the marauding iconoclast -- stands at the gate of Death and looks back at a life of violence and destruction.

A writer and a Bharatanatyam dancer currently pursuing her Masters of Performing Arts, Aditi Gopinath is interested in stories and different ways of telling them.

The story of the relationship between Uddhav, a reluctant purohit, and the deities he is sworn to serve, and the quest for a flower from Vrndavan

Prolific writer and speaker on Hinduism, Hindu-American experiences and leader in inculcating love for indic novels and ideas among readers, Aditi has used her talents to showcase amazing inspiring women like Devi Parvati and Gandhari while mentoring budding writers and reviewers to carry on the torch of Hindu soft power.

This is the saga of Natarajan and Sundari and their forebears as they waged a generational endeavor to serve the deities and secure our amrta kala tomorrows.

Technologist Rajesh showcases his love for Indian culture in his debut short story that showcases the hidden strengths that lie within all of us.

Three hundred years of tapa for Agyaat the spy and the patient Deity doing his Ananda Tandava. Ehimay’s silence of centuries was finally heard by Shruti, a student of archaeology.

Shubhra is a playwright, comic book/short story writer and a theatre artist committed to exploring the vast and rich heritage we are fortunate to inherit.

Somasambhu Shivacharya's tapasaya to protect The King and Queen Eternal of Madurai, Lord Sundareswara and Devi Meenakshi.

A student of the Shaiva agamas, Deepa’s deep love for the eternal temples of India shines through in her short story. Her Ph D. thesis “Temple Management in the Agama-s” is also published by Indic Academy.