Festival Team

Shinie Antony is a writer based in Bangalore. Her novellas include Eden Abandoned: The Story of Lilith (won the 2025 Laadli Award and the Wise Owl Prize for fiction), Can’t (longlisted for 2024 Crossword Book Awards), and The Girl Who Couldn’t Love. She has written short-story collections Barefoot and Pregnant, The Orphanage for Words, compiled anthologies Hell Hath No Fury, Boo, Why We Don’t Talk, An Unsuitable Woman, and co-edited The Art of Holding On, Letting Go. Her story A Dog’s Death won the Commonwealth Short Story Asia prize in 2002.

Friend, Philosopher, Mentor and Ultimate Fundraiser, Ravi is the guiding spirit behind making us India’s only citizen-funded literature festival. As a self-proclaimed ‘Patron Saint of Lost Causes’, Ravi wears many hats or shall we say many camauros. He is known for his role as a Civic Evangelist, driving many pro bono initiatives for Bangalore city. His stints at BITS, Pilani, IIMA (where he was nicknamed Don) and running Feedback Consulting all sort of helped in ‘tilting at windmills’ a la Don Quixote!

Srikrishna is a venture capital investor investing in early stage start-ups that create large scale social impact. His past experience is in consulting and implementation with organizations that improve the lives of people at the ‘Base of the Pyramid’. Passionate about travel, books, Indian classical music and radio, Srikrishna has hosted a daily show on India’s first and only wellness and lifestyle radio station.

Anushya is a social media maven and photographer based in Bangalore. As a digital native, she enjoys observing how people live online and evolve with an ever changing digital landscape. This curiosity about human nature has also informed her experience as a photographer. Anushya manages communications and social media for the Festival.

Balasree “Bala” Viswanathan is the founder of Improv Lore, an improv theatre company based in Bangalore. With a belief that childlike curiosity and a willingness to play are all you need to solve most problems, she is passionate about nurturing creativity and connection, often emphasising that we’re all “8 billion potential friends”. Having formerly worked in venture capital investing and as a mechanical engineer, Bala now specialises in organisational development. When not on stage, teaching or travelling, Bala enjoys taking long walks with her dogs Kali and Suzie, and her cat, Mochi. Give her a shout out if you’d like to volunteer with us.

Lakshmi Subodh and Subodh Sankar are the dynamic founders of Atta Galatta, Bengaluru’s beloved independent Indian language bookstore and cultural hub. Since its inception in 2012, Atta Galatta has been a thriving space for creativity, hosting over 2500 events ranging from book launches and poetry readings to theatre performances, art exhibitions, film screenings, storytelling sessions, and workshops. Atta Galatta and the Bangalore Literature Festival share a proud partnership as co-presenters of the annual Atta Galatta–Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. Lakshmi brings her passion and expertise to curating the Festival’s engaging children’s programming, while Subodh is the driving force behind its vibrant bookstore, a favourite among Festival-goers.

Niti Sharma (she/her) is a Communication Strategist, Educator, and Storyteller who fosters a belief that stories spark honest dialogue and connection. Along with her ardent love for embroidery, she also weaves narratives, helping folks find their rhythm in language and expression. Following the path of building an inclusive community, she is determined to help people reclaim their voice through communication.

Between her love for food and the loyal company of her dog, Athena, Niti finds joy in nurturing the literary community by hosting storytelling sessions, book launches, and open mics at Crossword Bookstores. Her work reflects a deep curiosity about how words can anchor and awaken a world in constant transformation.

Sanjana Kapur is an author and editor with over 15 years of experience in children’s publishing. Formerly an Associate Editor at Amar Chitra Katha, she has written and edited over twenty comic books across genres. Besides this, she has written several books for children, including the award-winning Who Stole Bhaiya’s Smile? Sanjana has also hosted quiz shows and children’s events in schools across India. When she is not writing, Sanjana is attempting to make sense of the world for herself and the people around her.

Shruti is a sports management professional and her day job involves working on grassroots sport projects across India. At the Festival, she enjoys playing the operations game, making sure we run a tight ship.

Vikram Sridhar is a performance storyteller and theatre practitioner. He travels the country performing and speaking at various spaces for children and adults. He believes in the desi way of storytelling as a strong medium of conservation from nature to human relationships. His stories are rooted in folklore, myths and legends inspired from various communities of the soil. Vikram is sure that it is ‘A Story a Day keeps the Doctor Away‘ not an apple!

Prateeti Punja Ballal grew up in Bangalore and did her postgraduate work in the US. She taught Literature at various universities there, most recently at Hunter College, City University of New York. She earlier worked in the software industry for fifteen years. She has been a recipient of a Mellon fellowship for her research and several regional and international awards for her technical publications. A musician and dancer, she has a sustaining interest in the arts.

Sadhana Rao is a research-led writer and curator in the arts & culture spaces. She has written on arts, film festivals, music, craft, travel and socio-economics for leading publications. As a curator, Sadhana works with artists and conservatories across genres to weave narrative-backed lecture demonstrations and performances. Amalgamating pedagogy, artistic diversity and inclusivity, her endeavours find home among myriad platforms, from academic conclaves to cultural festivals to the community at large. Living in Bangalore she continues to be a student of the arts.

Shrabonti is a writer and editor at Mint. She has held editorial positions at The Times of India, Business Standard, and The Telegraph, writing on business, personalities, lifestyle and social trends, design, culture and startups. She has also been with Factor Daily, a tech-focused digital news website where she covered the intersection between technology and society/culture in India.