Jutta Jain-Neubauer

Writer & Art Historian

Dr. Jutta Jain-Neubauer, an art-historian, has been engaged in researching India’s water monuments, especially the diverse formations and cultural histories of water architecture of India for decades now. Her book The Stepwells of Gujarat in art-historical Perspective (1981) is considered a pioneering work on the subject. Her recent book Water Design. Environment and Histories (ed., 2017) attempts to explore the interconnection of the spatial topographies, aesthetic forms and the ecology of water all over the Indian sub-continent. Besides working on Sultanate period concepts of urbanism in connection with water and the water strategies of the Tughluq rulers (1320-1413), her other areas of specialization are the comparative study of canonical tenets (shastra) and architectural practice (prayoga) with special reference to the northern Indian temple entrance. Presently she is engaged in exploring other forms of water monuments, such as temple tanks and river ghats.

A. Mridul

A. Mridul Architect

A. Mridul, an internationally awarded architect, has a palette of diverse projects in India and the US. An alumnus of Chandigarh College of Architecture, India, his architectural consultation practice, A. Mridul, Architect, was established in 1985. A recipient of prestigious awards in India, Istanbul and Vienna, his projects and articles have been published in leading national and international magazines. Mridul is passionate about the ancient water heritage of India. He believes and practices the idea of making India water positive by contemporizing the traditional water heritage through its regeneration, replication and mainstreaming. In this pursuit, his practice has adopted and has been restoring numerous historic stepwells and water bodies. But most importantly he has been advocating iteration of traditional water architecture which he has successfully exemplified by designing an award-winning contemporary stepwell –Birkha Bawari, built in 2009, which has the capacity to harvest over 17 million litres of rainwater. His practice is an interesting mix of various typologies: institutional, public, housing, museums, religious, etc. Among many of his important museums, he has designed a unique Desert Museum, with cast‐in‐situ mud blocks, popularly known as Arna Jharna Museum for Rupayan Sansthan at Jodhpur. He has co‐founded The Jodhpur Lore, an initiative to promote centuries old traditional crafts of the region through workshops and training.

Vandana Sinha

American Institute of Indian Studies

Vandana heads the Center for Art and Archaeology of the American Institute of Indian Studies. During her association with the AIIS CA&A in the last two decades, she has headed several national and international documentation, research, and archiving projects of the Center. Her current area of interest is international collaboration in the field of digital cultural heritage. Towards this, she has worked with the British Library, London; Universities of Oxford, Pennsylvania, and California at Los Angeles; ArtStor, New York and The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney in developing and enhancing the visual resources on Indian art and architecture for online dissemination. Vandana was part of the planning committee who conceived and executed the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds (www.vmis.in), a Ministry of Culture, Government of India funded project. In addition, Vandana has led several workshops and programs involving digital collaboration including virtual workshops for Indian museum professionals, funded by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, and AIIS funded Digital India Learning (DIL) Summer Student Fellowships 2022 and 2023.

Rana Safvi

Author & Historian

Rana Safvi is a prominent figure deeply committed to India's rich cultural heritage and diverse civilizational legacy. Her work spans a variety of media including writings, podcasts, videos, and translations. With a remarkable portfolio, she has authored ten books that delve into topics ranging from culture and history to the monuments of India. Notable titles among her works include "Tales from the Quran and Hadith," "The Delhi Trilogy: Where Stones Speak," "The Forgotten Cities of Delhi," "Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi," "A Saint, A Folk Tale and Other Stories," and "In Search of The Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India." In addition to her literary contributions, Rana Safvi has undertaken the task of translating significant works into English. Notably, she has translated Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's pivotal piece on Delhi, "Asar-us-Sanadid," and "Dastan-e-Ghadar," along with four accounts of Delhi from the 19th and 20th centuries. Her prowess extends beyond the written word—she is a regular contributor to various national newspapers and magazines and has actively participated in conferences and seminars. Rana Safvi's blog, "ranasafvi.com," serves as a treasure trove of cultural, literary, and historical insights.

Nitin Barchha

Material Immaterial Studio

An Aluminus of Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, Nitin Jain established an Architectural and Interior Design practice in 2006. He likes the idea of transition spaces which probed him into then establishing a Product Design studio in 2015; Material Immaterial Studio. The studio works at the tri-junction of Architecture, Design and Art. The main body of the studio’s work comprises of collectible objects which are physically made of concrete or another material (that is immaterial), but the most important elements that these objects are made of, is the whole assemblage of shade and shadows created using architectural elements like Stairways, Arches Openings and Terraces as tools. The studios recent projects are ‘Sanctum’ and ‘Re-cast’ ; a series of miniature architectural models of 9 Magnificent step wells representing different typologies as per their architecture and an open-ended 3-dimensional architectural puzzle.

Shireen Quadri (Moderator)

The Punch Magazine

Shireen Quadri is the founder and publisher of The Punch Magazine. As the director of Punch Art and Cultural Foundation, which endeavours to chronicle the proliferation of arts, literature and culture in India and around the world, she has been working in the area of art and culture advocacy for the last seven years. She has earlier worked as a marketing and communications professional with several publishing houses, including Westland (Amazon) and Simon & Schuster India. She writes on books, culture, travel and hospitality. She has served as project coordinator for Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters and has been on the jury for the tve Global Sustainability Film Awards 2021. The Punch Magazine’s Anthology of New Writings by Women Writers, edited and introduced by her, in late 2021. Occasionally, she writes on books and culture for Hindustan Times, Mint Lounge and others. On Twitter and Instagram, her handle is @shireenquadri.