The Kaveri River

Maya Jayapal is an author, urban historian, columnist and teacher. She has written five books, including two on Bangalore. Her books are a result of her abiding interest to know more about the place where she lives. She has travelled widely and has spent twenty-four years in Singapore and Indonesia where she wrote two books, one on Old Singapore (Oxford University Press, 1992) and one on Old Jakarta (Oxford University Press, 1993). In 1993, she returned to India and settled in Bangalore. Her books on Bangalore, Bangalore, Roots and Beyond (Niyogi Books, 2014) and Bangalore: The Story of a City (East West Books, 1997), provide a portrait of the city of yesterday and of today. With rare photographs and extensive research, she turns her historical lens on the diverse communities that breathe life into the city. 

A prolific contributor to newspapers and magazines in three countries, India, Singapore and Indonesia, she has been a regular contributor to The Hindu, Deccan Herald and other publications. Maya has also taught English in Jakarta and Singapore at the university level, and is a practising counsellor. As an avid traveller, she has a keen eye and an ability to evoke a sense of the history and people of the places she visits, as seen in her most recent book on her journey along the Kaveri river.

A former Washington State Senator and a lifelong organizer for immigrant, civil, and human rights, Representative Pramila Jayapal is currently serving her fifth term in Congress for WA-07, which encompasses Seattle and surrounding communities. In 2016, she became the first South Asian American woman ever elected to the House. She came to the United States alone at the age of 16 and went on to start the largest immigrant rights organization in Washington state before becoming one of only two dozen naturalized citizens serving in Congress today. Representative Jayapal is the lead sponsor of multiple landmark progressive bills including the Medicare for All Act, the College for All Act, the Housing is a Human Right Act, the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, and the Roadmap to Freedom immigration resolution. She currently serves on the Judiciary Committee, where she is also Ranking Member of the Immigration Subcommittee, as well as the Budget and Foreign Affairs Committees. She is a Chair Emerita of the nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, having led the caucus for six years and establishing term limits. Congresswoman Jayapal lives in Seattle with her husband Steve and dog Otis, and most importantly is the daughter of respected author, Maya Jayapal!

Prateeti Punja Ballal grew up in Bangalore and did her postgraduate work in the US. She taught Literature at various universities there, and earlier worked in the software industry for fifteen years. She has curated exhibitions and is part of the curating team of the Bangalore Literature Festival. A musician and dancer, she has a sustaining interest in the arts and has co-authored a volume, Celebrating the Arts.