Speaking of the City with Rohini Nilekani

Bangalore's Shapeshifts: A Personal Journey”

Rohini Nilekani on the city's role in her work as a philanthropist and social innovator.

About The Speaker:

Rohini Nilekani is a commited philanthropist and social activist who has been involved in the founding of, among others, Pratham Books, a non-profit publisher for children; Arghyam, a foundation that strives to provide safe, sustainable water for all; and Ek Step, an open learning platform. The Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies have funded a wide range of cultural and social organisations in Bangalore and elsewhere. Nilekani writes and speaks extensively on subjects including philanthropy, environment and water, and civil society and governance.

About The Series:

Bangalore’s World-Famous Semi-Deluxe Writing Program sponsors a bi-monthly curated talk called “Speaking of the City” at Shoonya. Writers, artists, journalists, scholars, architects, scientists, entrepreneurs, historians, geographers, activists or anyone who has worked on and for Bangalore is invited to speak of this city.

These are free talks for the students and alumni of the program and for the general public. The inaugural talk in the series, in July 2017, was given by Ramachandra Guha whose discussion about his life and work in Bangalore drew a packed house. Subsequently, the series has featured Kannada writer Vivek Shanbhag, top editor and journalist Sugata Srinivasaraju, English language novelist Lavanya Sankaran, popular historian Maya Jayapal, bestselling novelist Anita Nair, award-winning journalist Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed, urbanist and architect Naresh Narasimhan, acclaimed writer and film lyricist Jayant Kaikini, the chief editor of The Hindu, Mukund Padmanabhan, and celebrated Kannada author Vasudhendra. These talks have analysed the city from various angles personal and public, thereby contributing to an oral history of south Indian urban life.