On Her Own Terms

Pavan Jha is a technocrat and cultural historian whose contributions span the fields of technology, governance and the arts.  He is recognized as a film and music historian, particularly in the realm of Hindi cinema and film music. He collaborated with the BBC for four years on contemporary film music and has contributed insightful articles to major publications such as The Hindu, Outlook, and The Quint.

Jha has also developed and maintained digital knowledge-warehouses on artists such as Gulzar and Salil Chowdhury. some of the longest-running websites of their kind, sustained for over twenty-five years. Jha also runs a popular podcast titled Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak Hai, which explores pop culture references in cinema, literature, and music in the context of Indian culture. His recent creative productions includes a comprehensive history of Hindi film music titled Meel ke Patthar, in collaboration with historian Vijay Verma; a book a tribute to the legendary lyricist and poet Shailendra, authored by his daughter, Amla Shailendra titled Shailendra – A Love Lyric; and a comprehensive book on Gulzar’s work for children.

S R Ramakrishna has spent close to four decades in the newsroom. He was last with the Deccan Herald, where he served as associate editor. He has worked with a host of publications, including The New Indian Express, Bangalore Mirror, and Talk. He was the front page editor of Yahoo! and resident editor of Mid Day. He continues to write a column for DH on its Sunday page Prism. He now works with IIMBx, IIM’s digital learning centre, as head of quality. He is working on launching an online music magazine. A coffee table book on the Hindustani musicians of Karnataka co-edited by him is pending release.

His interests include music and translation. As a harmonium player, he has accompanied several renowned Hindustani classical vocalists. He has scored music for theatre, TV and film projects in Kannada, including those helmed by Girish Karnad, Girish Kasaravalli, Nagabharana, Umashankar Swamy and K M Chaitanya. In recent years, he has been experimenting with the vachanas, 12th century spiritual poetry in Kannada, in a contemporary band setting. Ramakrishna was the founder-editor of The Music Magazine (1999 – 2004), India’s first online music magazine, though it did not survive the dotcom bust!

Ramakrishna’s translations include the Chaplin-esque autobiography of poet Siddalingaiah, published as Ooru Keri (Sahitya Akademi) and subsequently enlarged as A Word With You, World (Navayana); Suragi (Oxford University Press), the autobiography of Jnanpith laureate U R Ananthamurthy; Birds, Beasts and Bandits (Penguin), the quirky hostage account of Krupakar and Senani, kidnapped by the forest brigand Veerappan; and more recently, the works of P Lankesh and Devanura Mahadeva.

Shruti Bhide, widely celebrated as the ‘Golden Girl of Karnataka’ is a dynamic, versatile, and expressive multilingual vocalist known for blending tradition with innovation. She is admired for her rich tonal quality, magnetic stage presence, and effortless renditions across languages, eras and genres.

An All India Radio graded artist and a versatile professional, Shruti has carved a unique space in India’s contemporary and concert music circuit. She is a playback singer, concert performer, audio engineer, voice-over artiste, and theatre performer. She has been honoured with prestigious recognitions including the International Fellowship of Rotarian Musicians Award and the Sangeeta Kala Ratna. With over 3000 performances across India for major concerts and corporate events, Shruti is also the founder of the Golden Girl Voice Series, cementing her place as one of the country’s most celebrated and impactful stage performers.

Samarth Desai is a Bengaluru-based Hindustani Classical guitarist and one of the rare practitioners to bring the 12-string acoustic guitar into the Indian classical tradition. His playing bridges the rigour of the Guru-Shishya parampara with contemporary and fusion sensibilities, creating a sound that is at once deeply rooted and distinctly his own.

Samarth has shared the stage with some of India’s foremost musicians, including Pt. Jayateerth Mevundi, Vijay Prakash, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Shivamani, Roop Kumar Rathod, and Runa Rizvi. He leads 7-Headed Soul, a professional ensemble active on the live circuit, and has produced original albums including Fusion Regalo and Romanticism. A Trinity College of London alumnus with Distinction, he is also the recipient of four State Awards and a National Award at the Government of India’s National Youth Festival. As the founder of his own guitar academy, Samarth teaches across levels, with a focus on Hindustani Classical guitar technique through the traditional Guru-Shishya approach.

Gaurav Sharma is a storyteller and motivational speaker known for bringing rare, unheard stories from the world of Indian films and music to life and leadership. He has collaborated on the National Award-winning film Pancham Unmixed on Rahul Dev Burman, as well as Kaagaz Ki Kashti, celebrating the life and legacy of Jagjit Singh. His content and talks have garnered over a million views on Instagram. Alongside his creative pursuits, Gaurav is also a senior corporate leader at a fast-growing start-up, having graduated from IIT and, as a Gold Medallist, from IIM.