Ashis Nandy Chintane: ಅಶೀಶ್ ನಂದಿ ಚಿಂತನೆ: ಆಯ್ದ ಲೇಖನಗಳು

Ashis Nandy (born 1937) is an Indian political psychologist, social theorist, and critic. A trained clinical psychologist, Nandy has provided theoretical critiques of European colonialism, development, modernity, secularism, Hindutva, science, technology, nuclearism, cosmopolitanism, and utopia. He has also offered alternative conceptions relating to cosmopolitanism and critical traditionalism. In addition to the above, Nandy has offered an original historical profile of India's commercial cinema as well as critiques of state and violence.

He was Senior Fellow and Former Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for several years. Today, he is a Senior Honorary Fellow at the institute and apart from being the Chairperson of the Committee for Cultural Choices and Global Futures, also in New Delhi.

Nandy had received the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2007. In 2008 he appeared on the list of the Top 100 Public Intellectuals Poll of the Foreign Policy magazine, published by The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Born into a Havyaka Brahmin family in a small village in Karnataka, South India, K.V. Subbanna had his initial education at Sagara and Shimoga. He then went to Mysore to do his B.A.(Hons.) in Kannada Literature at the University of Mysore, where he had such acclaimed teachers as Kuvempu and S.V. Parameshwara Bhatta and U.R. Anantha Murthy as a fellow-student. After his degree he returned to his village to continue his family profession in areca farming. He then took a keen involvement in various aspects of the sociocultural life of his community - the most important of which are the Ninasam institutions (Ninasam, Ninasam Theatre Institute, Ninasam Tirugata and Ninasam Culture Course etc.) and the publishing house Akshara Prakashana, a prominent name in the Kannada language. He has directed several important theatre productions which include classical plays like Mricchakatika, Uurubhanga, Hamlet, modern presentation of folk theatre like Sangyabalya, contemporary plays like Ashad Ka Ek Din, Ghasiram Kotwal, Baka, adaptations of novels like Chomana Dudi and experimental plays like Meghadoota and Loka Shakuntala. His works in Kannada include a collection of poems, several plays, adaptations of several world classics, translation of Dasharoopaka from Sanskrit, An Actor Prepares by Stanislavsky, Interval during politics by Dr. Lohia etc., etc. He received several honours including the Magsaysay Award for journalism, literature and creative communications in 1991.

Born 24th April 1960, Akshara K.V. got his BA in literature at Sagara, and then got theatre training at National School of Drama, New Delhi and MA in theatre arts from the Workshop Theatre, University of Leeds, UK. He is associated with the Ninasam group of organizations as a teacher and theatre director as well as administrator. He also heads Akshara Prakashana, a prominent publishing house in the Kannada language. He has written 6 plays, directed more than 60 productions in Kannada, has taught theatre at Ninasam and elsewhere, and has presented papers in various seminars. He has published more than 30 books in Kannada, related to literature, theatre, cinema, culture and has translated essays and books related to culture and society from English. Three of his books have received the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi award, and he is also a recipient of the Karnataka Nataka Academy fellowship and the central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He has also received VM Inamdar Award, Kanthavara Kannada Sangha Award, BH Sridhara Prashasti and Alva’s Nudisiri Prashasti for his work in theatre and literature.

Prof Jaswanth Jadhav is an English lecturer in profession. He has organized and taught in many workshops on literature and film all over Karnataka. He has translated many essays for publishing on Matukate, a newsletter journal by Ninasam. He is also in the editorial board for Matukate journal.