Dinyar Patel is an assistant professor of history at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches courses on Indian history and the British empire. He completed his PhD in history from Harvard University in 2015. He is the co-editor of two published volumes: From Ghalib’s Dilli to Lutyens’ New Delhi, with Mushirul Hasan (Oxford University Press, 2014); and Dadabhai Naoroji: Selected Private Papers (Oxford University Press, 2016). At the moment, he is turning his dissertation into a biography of the early nationalist leader Dadabhai Naoroji.
Murali Ranganathan researches the nineteenth century with a special focus on Bombay/Mumbai and western India. His current areas of interest include the Bombay Country Trade, industrial archaeology and history, print history and culture, photography, newspapers and periodicals, and public performance. His publications include Govind Narayan's Mumbai: an urban biography from 1863 (Anthem Press, 2008), which is a translation of the iconic Marathi urban biography Mumbaiche Varnan, supplemented by a biography of Govind Narayan, biographical sketches of Mumbai men and organizations of the nineteenth century, and extensive notes. He has edited and introduced the Collected works of J V Naik: reform and renaissance in nineteenth century Maharashtra (Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 2016).
Simin Patel runs Bombaywalla, a platform that creates awareness about Bombay’s built environment and social history. Bombaywalla operates a blog and conducts historical walks of the city’s localities and celebrated structures. Simin completed her PhD in Modern South Asian History from Balliol College, University of Oxford in 2015.
Vikram Doctor is Editor, special features for The Economic Times as well as one of India’s most respected food writers, critics and commentators. Doctor has specialized in writing on food issues for the past 12 years. He writes a column called On My Plate for the Economic Times.
About Partners:
Avid Learning, a public programming platform and cultural arm of the Essar Group, has conducted over 750 programs and connected with more than 65,000 individuals since its inception in 2009. Driven by the belief that Learning Never Stops, AVID’s multiple formats like Workshops, Panel Discussions, Gallery Walkthroughs, and Festival Platforms create a dynamic and interactive atmosphere that stimulates intellectual and creative growth across the fields of Culture & Heritage, Literature, Art and Innovation.
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is a repository of the cultural ethos of the country and showcases the changing art forms through the passage of the last 160 years starting from about 1857 in the field of Visual and Plastic arts. The first NGMA was opened in New Delhi at the historic Jaipur House, in the presence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and artists and art lovers on March 29, 1954. The National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai was opened to the public in 1996. It hosts various exhibitions and also has its own art collections comprising paintings, sculptures and graphics with a focus on Indian and International artists. It is located in the precinct of the former auditorium the Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall and the Institute of Science. This architecturally marvellous building was designed and built by the famous British architect George Wittet which has been completely redesigned keeping only the facade edifice that was Public Hall. It has hosted eminent artists like, K.H. Ara, F. N. Souza, Gaitonde, S.H. Raza and M.F. Hussain and contemporary artists like, K.G. Subramanyam, Sudhir Patwardhan, Nalini Malini, Atul Dodiya and Sudarshan Shetty. The NGMA in Mumbai is run and administered as a subordinate office to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, which has two branches one at Mumbai and the other at Bengaluru.