Meet Kalamandalam Bindhulekha, the mural painter who paints on temple walls – a profession that few women, if any, are involved in.

Interview by Amrita Rajan

Kalamandalam Bindhulekha is a talented, self-assured young woman fast gaining acclaim for her work in a traditional male bastion – the temple art of mural painting in Kerala. Belying her matter-of-fact manner, she expresses herself through the use of vivid hues in her paintings. Elemental reds, blues and yellows reveal the rich landscape of her mind.

Here, she talks about following her dreams, creating her own opportunities and powering through life with self-confidence.

Amrita Rajan (AR): When did you start painting murals?

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Meet Aishwarya Natarajan, Director of Indianuance – an artiste management firm – and  proud recipient of the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur Award in Music.

Interview by Anne John

Anne John (AJ): You’ve talked about your growing up with music and starting Indianuance previously. Could you tell our readers briefly about what  Indianuance does and where it fits in the music world?

Aishwarya Natarajan (AN): Ours is an idea born out of the desperate need for professional management among Indian classical musicians, much like it exists in the Western world where managers are  respected for taking an artist’s career to new heights; and the need to see Indian music find a more ready audience amongst the young – to see them enjoy classical music as much as they would a rock music gig.
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Saffron Tree, a blog that began as one mother’s passion for children’s literature is now among the most popular destinations online for readers seeking out children’s books.

By Aparna V. Singh

We caught up with Praba Ram, the Founder of Saffron Tree, to talk about the wonderful work they are doing and especially to discuss CROCUS, an annual Saffron Tree event that seeks to ‘Celebrate Reading of Culturally Unique Stories’.

Praba is an accomplished writer, having recently co-authored Dinaben and the Lions of Gir with Meera Sriram, another Saffron Tree author.

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Mita Kapur, Founder of literary consultancy ‘Siyahi’ discusses the Indian book market and the task of translating Bharat for more readers. 

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Meet Bhavna Chauhan, author of ‘Where Girls Dare’, an entertaining debut novel on women making waves in the Indian army. 

By Aparna V. Singh

Graduated from the School of Planning and Architecture, served as an architect in the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, married an army Engineer and now a full-time homemaker and mother ; Bhavna Chauhan has packed much experience into her years.

Not content with that, she decided to add one more feather to her cap – the result of which is the novel ‘Where Girls Dare’, recently published by Penguin Books as part of its Metro Reads series. An easy and entertaining read, the novel is set in the Officers Training Academy where a batch of young women endures the grueling regimen to emerge as officers in the Indian army.

Over to the interview, where Bhavna talks candidly about life in the army for women and discusses her writing.

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