Speakers
Twenty-six people.
Activists, lawyers, historians, artists, and the park’s own former chief gardener, all with something different to say about the same 300 acres of green in the middle of Bengaluru.
Cubbon Park: Citizens’ Perspectives and Many Visions for the Future gathers their voices into a single, layered chronicle of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, moving beyond dry archives and simple nostalgia. The book reframes the historic 1870 park not just as a green refuge, but as a democratic micro-cosmos of the city, a site of citizen resistance, urban identity, and social coexistence, while confronting gentrification, rising surveillance, and commercial encroachment head-on.
This session brings the book’s contributors together in conversation, alongside a short film and an audience Q&A, to explore what it takes to hold that many perspectives in one place, and what it will take to keep Cubbon Park public.
Speakers
Chiranjiv Singh
Chiranjiv Singh, former Ambassador of India to UNESCO in Paris, joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1969 and retired in 2005 as Development Commissioner of Karnataka and Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka. He held various positions in central and state governments, including Principal Secretary heading the Culture and Tourism Departments. Since retirement, he has worked with non-governmental organisations in rural development, environment, and culture, and received the Rajyotsava Award in 2005. He was also the president of the Alliance Française, Bengaluru.
Madhu Bhushan
Madhu Bhushan is an independent activist-writer and researcher who has worked with the Centre for Informal Education and Development Studies (CIEDS) and Vimochana, a feminist collective, for almost three decades. She has been part of the women’s movement for many years, working on crisis intervention, community outreach, and advocacy. She serves on the governing boards of the Centre for Vernacular Architecture and the Alternative Law Forum.
Shakun Doundiyakhed
Shakun Doundiyakhed worked in the IT cell of a public sector bank while volunteering with Vimochana. On leaving the bank, she joined CIEDS as a core committee member. As part of the Gamana Mahila Collective of CIEDS, she has worked on strengthening the organisation through mentoring and training, action research, advocacy, and supporting other non-governmental organisations. Madhu and Shakun are founding members of Vimochana, now known as Gamana.
Akkai Padmashali
Suresh Jayaram
Suresh Jayaram is known for his contributions as a visual artist, art historian, mentor, and curator, with work that explores the relationship between culture and nature. He served as Dean and Professor of Art History at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath from 1993 to 2007, after which he founded 1 Shanthiroad Studio Gallery, an artists’ residency and art space active since 2002. He authored the award-winning book Bangalore’s Lalbagh, a history of the city’s botanical garden.
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