Very ‘वारी’ (Vāri)

Pornima Rajkarne is a doctoral student at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, where she works with Dr. Deepti Navaratna at the Music, Brain, and Creativity Lab. Trained in socio-cultural anthropology and a recipient of a Junior Research Fellowship, her academic interests lie at the intersections of music, culture, and tradition. Her doctoral research focuses on the Varkari Sampradaya of Maharashtra, exploring its practices, histories, and living heritage.

Dr. Deepti Navaratna is a musician and neuroscientist interested in an alchemy of research and performance. After several years of neuroscience research at Harvard Medical School, USA, her current research interests span neuroscience, arts and humanities; exploring new frontiers of interdisciplinary knowledge such as cognitive hermeneutics, neuropsychology and empirical musicology. She is a Chevening Clore Fellow (2021-23), recognized by the UK Government as one of the most creative artists and dynamic leaders across the globe. In 2021, she was invited to perform at the Parliament of World Religions at Chicago, where she premiered her inter-faith music diplomacy project ‘Dialogues With The Divine’. Until 2022, she served as the Regional Director, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Bengaluru, India. At the National Institute of Advanced Studies, she heads the ‘Music, Brain and Creativity Programme’ whose mandate is interdisciplinary research at the intersection of neuroeducation, musicology, culture, neurotheology and creativity: https://musicbrain.in/

Anuka Sushma is a founder of The Pran Collective, an organization that documents, curates, and exhibits the diverse cultural aspects of India.

Prithvi Prabhu is a founder of The Pran Collective, an organization that documents, curates, and exhibits the diverse cultural aspects of India.