Biography

  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Story
  • Publications
  • Talks and Workshops
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Srivi Kalyan is a multifaceted artist, designer and scholar. She works at the fluid and exciting intersection of arts, media, education, design, environment and consciousness.  Her artistic work, in image, text and performance delve into the landscapes of interiority, to reconnect with the natural world and with ourselves. Her art is an act of wandering within the sacred place of the self. Rooted in the mystical and aesthetic traditions of the Indian subcontinent, she delights in creating art and creative writing that inform and intertwine with each other. Quirky, playful and paradoxical she actively forges works that explore the interplay of void and earthiness, creating complex patterns of the self- reflecting, mirroring and rejoicing. Delicate, feathery numinous lines of gold belie convictions on paper to be savoured in slow time.
 
She has a doctoral degree from the University of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), Bangalore. She has a Masters in Arts in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge and a Masters and Bachelors in History of Fine Arts & Graphic Design from Stella Maris College, Chennai.  She was the Founder-Director of Fooniferse Arts Private Ltd. and worked on diverse projects for 14 years. Her personal work can be viewed at www.sriviliveshere.com. She is an adjunct professor at the Consciousness Studies Program, National Institute of Advanced Studies and a trustee at the Trust for Environmental Education.

At Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology (SMI), She is the principal investigator at Lila- Artist Research Studio at SMI. She is the head of the centre and one of the principal investigators of the Centre for Reimagining Transitions at SMI. She is also a recognized PhD Guide with Manipal Academy of Higher Education.  She was the Dean for M.Des (Masters of Design) and B.Des. Information Arts and Information Design Practices, M.Des Earth Education and Communication as well as their respective post graduate diploma programs in the cluster of Law, Environment and Planning at Srishti Manipal. She has set up and also leads the Integrated Doctoral Program in Reimagining Transitions. She encourages students to discover the heart of their own creativity. Her doctoral research focused on Indian philosophical traditions, aesthetics and personal art practice to uncover intrinsic ecological consciousness. Blending expertise in research and practice across multiple disciplines, Srivi brings trans-disciplinary approaches and insights to her work.

She has authored and illustrated several children’s books as well as stories for adults and is an award winning writer and illustrator. Her stories and illustrations have been published by Katha, Puffin, Tulika, Ediciones Castillo, Oxford Bookstore Website, Reader’s Digest, Manoj Prakshan and others.  She also writes on art and art education in magazines and websites like Parent Circle, Azim Premji Foundation’s Learning Curve, thealternative.in and others. 

She has worked for some of the leading educational/edutainment organizations like Sesame Street, NCERT, idiscoveri, Katha, Tulika, Birla Edutech, Ilango’s Art space, designing cutting edge books and media for children and young people on one end, and workshops, curriculum, teacher training modules, interdisciplinary strengthening, design and delivery of curriculums on the other. Her work through the creation of educational media reaches millions of children across India through reprints of textbooks, and creative products. 

Srivi’s commitment to meaningful education began as a pre-schooler, when she came back home and diligently started to teach her dolls. With their intuitive belief in creative and thoughtful education, Srivi's parents have been her life-long guides and mentors. She was inspired by the loving respect they gave to little minds and souls, creating safe, challenging and creative spaces for them to grow in. Art and Education have both been an inseparable passion for her and in art-education, she found­ a way to integrate the two. Srivi believes in working closely with young people, making their creative nature visible to them through the processes of art making, listening to each other, and closely observing their connection to nature. To her education is about nurturing holistic people. She believes that education should not focus on how successful students are in the corporate world or elsewhere, but how genuine they are to living life with purpose and inner strength. She strongly believes that being an educator also involves being a good role model as children learn more from our gestures than our carefully planned programs. Being an artist, designer and entrepreneur who is constantly learning herself, she finds that children and young people connect better when they know that the person who teaches them has a dream and is living it every day. Her work and workshops draw in the rich connections between language, art, performance, thought, and play.  By creating open and powerful sanctuaries in her educational workshops, she explores leadership, creative and critical thinking, community development and team building. 

In a society that is constantly growing into greater violence, health issues, environmental destruction, her work in education is to build a strong voice for sustainable and compassionate living. And through the arts, she finds a way to engage people in the most important conversations they must have with themselves.

Areas of Interest: Artistic Practice, Arts Education; Visual Design; Illustration; Earth Education; Conservation, Communication; Art History; Creative Writing; Indian art, aesthetics and philosophy, Consciousness Studies, Ecological Consciousness, Eco-ethics, Eco –philosophy/Ecosophy and Eco-aesthetics, Transdisciplinarity.
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Oxford Apeejay  e-author contest, (2006)
Srivi won the 2nd runner up for her collection of short stories. 
Her e-book can be downloaded on Oxford Bookstore site or here. 
Two of the stories "Mahadeva" and "The Train" were also published in Reader's Digest supplement 'JOY'

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Srivi's illustrated picture book 
"A Pearl! A Costly Pearl! Did you find any?"
was shortlisted for the Katha Chitrakala award in 2005 
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Srivi's illustrated essay: "What would life be like without fear?" won her second prize in the Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition, the world's oldest global writing prize for young people in 1997. To read the essay, click here. 
1998 "Why not be different?" 
Scholarships 

  • Lady Meherbai Tata Scholarship (Rupees 2 lakhs for one year masters program at HGSE), 2006
  •   Lotus Trust Grant Scholarship for education overseas (Rupees 50,000 for one year masters program at HGSE), 2006
  •   AMM Foundation loan grant for education overseas(Rupees 1 lakh), 2006
  •   Study grants and Partial funding from individuals interested in educational design and arts (Rupees 3 lakhs), 2006
  •   HGSE scholarship and Partial funding for AIE program (7000US$), 2006

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Academics

  • Gold Medal for excellence in the History of Fine Arts, 2004
  • First Class with Distinction and First Rank Holder, 2004
  • Cash award of Rs.2500 for Best Graphic Design Student of the year, 2004

I started out watching toads, frogs and grasshoppers. I think when I was about two years old, the entire focus of my life was about spotting frogs, especially the tiny ones, and waiting for them to take a leap. If it wasn't frogs, then it was grasshoppers. And then butterflies, pursuit of fallen leaves, clouds, raindrops... I can't remember how many frog leaps and jumps I have counted. Today, it is scary to think, that in the city, after the rains, there are barely any frogs to watch for. 

I like to think that most of my journey has been like the little frog's leap into the unknown. The grace of its hop, it's perplexed thought before choosing a direction and it's pursuit of exploring a new territory. I have always had a sense of adventure and play and these two traits continue to drive me to explore new ideas, experiences and places. 

Some of my journey has been great, some messy, some rock bottom, some with the soaring sense of flight. It's been fun most of the way, but definitely not easy. When I am writing this and putting the website together, I say to myself ,"Wow! Srivi, that is quite an impressive lot of work you have done!" But trust me, while you are doing it, you only have a vision, a hope that it will build into a whole, and there are so many frustrating, grueling,  confusing, silly, days with so many dead-ends before it starts making sense. And even though, the general idea of 'go with the flow' might make sense now and then, life is about building on opportunities, lack of opportunities, and planting seeds and nurturing them in barren lands. And the famous 'flow' could be a barely there trickle! Personally, I have been very fortunate and many good things, great things have come my way, many wonderful people have supported me and helped me grow. But financial struggles, disappointing experiences, and things which break our spirit all abound amidst the good things. The clue seems to be to hold on to our deepest most meaningful and compassionate dreams, work hard and let the universe conspire to make it happen!

Finding the artist, the environmentalist and the educator in me!
As fate would have it, I entered a painting contest when I was two and half years old, because my sister who was then around 6 was painting. The organizers were being nice to my parents and to this silly excited toddler, that even though I didn't even qualify for the age group, they let me join in and the theme was on wildlife! And so to speak historically, I managed to win a special consolation prize for my drawing and was given a huge huge poster of a tiger, a small book on birds, a series of cards on reptiles. As was my usual habit then, I decided to teach my dolls all about the birds, the reptiles, the tiger and drawing and painting skills! So that's how it all began.... 

The dancer
Another toddler story! I started learning Bharatanatyam when I was three. At that time, I must say, I was a very serious kid. I really mean to get those hand gestures, footwork and graceful movement that I was observing in my wonderful young teacher. And I practised sincerely, providing hours of entertainment to my teacher and my mom! If you have a three year old around you, try teaching him/her to touch their ring finger with their thumb and hold it!  This hand gesture called "Tripatakam" is used to denote a peacock among other things. My little three year old self was fascinated by how, if and when I held the posture right, I could become a thrilling dancing peacock! And the hours I spent practising becoming a peacock and then subsequently a parrot, a fish, a tree and the rest of the creatures in the wide universe have taught me to continue to be silly, happy and persevere really hard! Just imagine, you could, you just could become that elegant, graceful, unimaginably beautiful, colourful peacock!

School Years 
My School years across Mount Carmel, Ahmedabad, MVM, Hosur, SBSM, Chennai and PSBB, Chennai were engaging experiences, where I experimented and learnt and formed core foundations to many of the ideas I explored later. As everyone laments, I have also often felt the claustrophobic nature of the schools and education systems we have propagated  but I also see the rich possibilities of what these systems can offer. Thanks to the wonderful teachers I have had, and the amount of passion and hard work, they put into every single day of our lives, I believe, that if all of us care enough, we can make our schools into vibrant learning centres, where intelligence and compassion are nurtured. Where instead of being driven by the great economic fallacies of success of this century, we come together to solve the world's greatest ecological and human problems with thoughtfulness and gratitude together.

The Arts and Art Education
Five years at Stella Maris College in exploring Art History, Creative Painting, Design and Art philosophy (Both western and eastern) have grounded me deeply in the cultures of the arts. I had time to build my own creative experiences and growth, question being an artist, and reflect deeply on creative processes and the philosophical approaches to creativity. 

After teaching Arts, social studies and dance at AVRS, a residential school in the beautiful Chikmaglur, I was driven by the need to understand Arts education more deeply. And fortunately, in the Arts in Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education, I found all that aligned with my quest and my spirit. Through my interaction with peers, professors and in working on my own projects, I knew I had found most of the ingredients that I needed for building the dream, that had arisen in my mind as that toddler teaching her dolls. My intuitions now grounded in research through both my masters programs in India and the US, gave me the tools to build something concrete out of years of creative exploration.

Publishing Children's books and educational materials
While I cherish most the time I spend directly interacting with children, I also had a deep need to reach more children with my work. I had been gifted with so many wonderful children's books that had shaped and changed my life in so many ways and I wanted a way to give back. So writing, illustrating and designing children's books has become a big part of my work. With over 40 children's books, some that I have illustrated, some that I written, co-authored, designed or directed, I have great satisfaction in knowing my work reaches millions of children across India and the world. I have had the privilege and honor of working with wonderful publishers like Katha, Sesame Workshop India, Tulika, Ediciones Castillo Mexico, NCERT, Manoj Prakashan, Young Zubaan and others. 

In working as the Creative Director of Sesame workshop India for two years and consulting with them for another three, I was able to work on exciting, fun and meaningful educational products for underprivileged children across India, from conceptualisation to finish, both evolving the books, games and other products, as well as working directly training teachers and interacting with children. This experience gave me the background to start my long-time dream Fooniferse. 

Design and Media
Design, media and technology are other areas of interest as well as focus for me. Working on identity, concept, look and feel for brands is an exciting creative process. I also relish pure design, that is not driven by any client requirements, but to bring a concept into its rightful form, giving it energy and contemporary form. Designing books, websites, posters, folders, campaigns for a wide range of clients, organizations and social causes, I have been able to reflect using a medium that is very contemporary.

Fooniferse
Since 2009, my energies have been focused on building up Fooniferse as a platform for social change through arts, design, media and education. With a core focus on using the Arts as a tool to transform consciousness, this foray into a entrepreneurial space has been engaging, exasperating and extremely satisfying. Even as there is a long way to travel yet, I am glad to be hear at this point in my life and look forward to the rest of the journey.

ArtIndea Project, SarasKalyan Project are at the moment, quieter explorations that I hope to build further in the years to come. Through ArtIndea Project, I hope to make the wonderful knowledge, experience and mysteries of Indian art, artistic philosophy and thought more accessible and friendly to young people. In Indian arts lie a wealth of rich thought and reflections for daily living that can transform how we think about the world. Having had the opportunity to research, explore and enjoy the myths, philosophies, sustainable ideas from many streams of Indian art and thought, I hope to make the expanse, beauty and paradoxes that they hold more visible in collaboration with other wonderful organizations working towards similar goals.

SarasKalyan project, is a tribute to my parents, that I hope will grow into a foundation for parents, supporting them in their quest, love and hard work in bringing up children. Parents, with a vision for  deeply engaging their children's spirits, and nurturing them for the good of the greater earth and its beings are the need of the hour. For now, this is just a young evolving dream to add to many others that engage me and keep my spirit alive. 

The philosopher, mystic, wandering spirit
Of all the remarkable gifts that life has bestowed upon me, I am truly grateful for the gifts and joy of mysticism that have cradled, protected, provoked and challenged me through my life to discover the  depths of my individual consciousness as well as connect with the expanse of the greater consciousness. In the words of saints and poets from across the world, I have been nourished and guided over the years, by energies that I share through my art and writings.

Truth
Thanks much if you have managed to read through this long passage of my journey. There are those of you who may find companionship, and others questions. There may be many of you who disagree with some of it as well. Fortunately, I have friends of all kinds and I respect all your perspectives. To me truth, is the essence of all that I delve into, and I enjoy truth in subtlety, holistic expanse, paradox, purpose and in relationship. As Thoreau writes, I believe, "It takes two to speak the truth, — one to speak, and another to hear. [A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers]



Books and chapters
Coming home to earth: Space, Line, Form 
A.V.Ilango and  Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram, Sublime Galleria, Fooniferse Arts, Chennai, 2015. Funded by Sublime Galleria

Creativity as Intrinsic Ecological Consciousness
Kalyanasundaram, Srisrividhiya. 2019.  In Art, Ecojustice, and Education: Intersecting Theories and Practices, edited by Raisa Foster, Jussi P. Mäkelä, and Rebecca A. Martusewicz, 152-165. New York: Routledge.
https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781138732452/default.php
routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781138732452/resources.php

Papers 
Chasing Manodharma: In conversation with Kamalini Dutt
Kalyanasundaram, Sandhiya & Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram (2024). Making Television Dance (Again) International Journal of Screendance, Fall 2024, Vol. 14

Elemental Play (Līla): Atmospherics of Perception through consciousness, emotions, senses and the body
Kalyanasundaram, Srisrividhiya & Sandhiya Kalyanasundaram (2024). Atmosphären Issue 51, Polylog- Forum for Intercultural Philosophy. Vienna

Constructing an Aesthetic selfhood - interiority, community and cultural identity in the aging self
Kalyanasundaram, Sandhiya & Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram (2023). Scholar & Feminist Online (S&F Online), Issue 19.1, Summer 2023 Barnard Centre for Research on Women, USA (Indexed in DOAJ- Directory of Open Access Journals) ISSN 1558-9404 

Poetry Publication from my collection “Iyalbu- On being”
Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram Dec 2022. The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy  Canada

Embodied Landscape Language: Tamiḻ Poetry and Aesthetics
Kalyanasundaram, Srisrividhiya and Sandhiya Kalyanasundaram. 2020. Indian Literature Journal (Septemeber 2020), New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi

Bird and Line: Tracing Indian aesthetics to find an ‘Ecosophy’ of personal art practice
Kalyanasundaram, Srisrividhiya. 2020. The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy (December 2020) Canada
http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/article/view/1574

A Porous Consciousness in and as Artistic Practice: Re-engaging with classical Indian philosophy and aesthetics as a living tradition
Kalyanasundaram, Srisrividhiya. 2020.  Journal for Artistic Research, 20 https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/614184/614185/10/43 [accessed 23/07/2020]. https://doi.org/10.22501/jar.614184

Conference Papers
Transdisciplinary Futures: Where do embodiment, ethics and education meet for Sustainability Leadership? 
Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram and Sandhiya Kalyanasundaram. Lens Network on Sustainability. 2019. 
 http://lensconference3.org/images/program/VOLUME4.pdf

The Loom and the Pot
Co-authored with A.V.Ilango, paper presented at International conference for creativity and cognition in Design (ICCCAD) organized by NIMHANS and NID. Conference proceedings published as a book by Bloomsbury, 2018

Conference Presentations
Connecting Energies – Creating Visuals – Transforming Selves, SDEA Theatre Arts Conference , Singapore Drama Educators Association, June 2-5, 2011​
Gender Sensitivity in Illustrations for textbooks and Educational Material – A holistic approach, National Consultation on Using Visuals as a Pedagogical Aid for Gender Sensitivity organised by Department of Women's studies (NCERT)& Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS), New Delhi, 18th Feb 2011 
Where does this circle become a point? - Making learning a thoughtful, fun and lifelong journey, Second World Conference on Arts Education organized by UNESCO, May 25-28, Korea, 2010
The Tree of Life: Educational Design: Making learning a thoughtful, fun and lifelong journey, Rethink  Redesign: Towards Socially Responsible Design. International conference organized by Stella Maris College & Lalit Kala Academy
Popular Articles
  1. The Role of the artist in our world, AIE CTC (Arts in Education, Continuing the Conversation), Harvard, 2014 (Online)
  2. Arts Education for Conservation Consciousness at AIE CTC, Harvard,  2013 (Online)
  3. Panel Discussion, "How to talk about your art?", Ilango's Artspace, Chennai, February 2013
  4. Playing with Kabir at the alternative.in, January 2013 (Online)
  5. Notes on the Sky Self: When Art becomes the Aritst in Learning curve Issue XVIII, Focus: Arts in School Education, Azim Premji Foundation, September 2012 (Print and Online)
  6. What a wonderful world! : Nurturing Wonder, Rediscovering Learning in Parent Circle, August 2012 (Print)
  7. Book Making- A Creative and Cognitive Process in Parent Circle, July 2012 (Print)
  8. Your Child the storyteller  in Parent circle, June 2012 (Print)

Fiction
  1. "Grandpa's Boats" in the collection: Puffin's Book of Magic for 8 year olds
  2. Srivi won the 2nd runner up for her collection of short stories in the Oxford Bookstore E-author contest in 2006. Her e-book can be downloaded  here. 
    Two of the stories "Mahadeva" and "The Train" were also published in Reader's Digest supplement 'JOY'

Children's Books
Illustrator
  1. Hanuman’s adventures in the Nether world- 32 page mythological story book for age group 9-12, Illustrator, Katha Publications, New Delhi, 2005
  2. Activity and information book for child survivors of a school fire accident in South India, Illustrator, Indian Council For Child Welfare, Chennai, 2006
  3. The Sky Queen - Illustrated for a 24 page Indian folktale for age group 6-10, Illustrator, Katha Publications, New Delhi, 2006
  4. Parthiban’s Dream”- Illustrated for a 230 page historic-fiction for the age group 10-16, Illustrator, Katha Publications, New Delhi, 2007
  5. A Gift from the Sea, Illustrator, Tulika Publications, Chennai 2007
  6. No Cualquier Dia (No Ordinary Day), Publisher: Grupo Macmillan/Ediciones Castillo , Mexico,2012
  7. Jungu, The Baiga Princess, Publisher: Young Zubaan, 2014
  8. Run Ranga! Run!, Publisher: Katha, New Delhi, 2014
  9. Tales of Love and Adventure, Publisher: Scholastic, 2016

Designer and Illustrator
  1. “Anansi and the ear of corn” –24 page African folktale for age group 6-9, Designer/Illustrator, Pages for Ages, Division of Manoj Prakashan, Chennai, 2005
  2. Math Magic- Grade 2,3,4 &5,  Designer/Illustrator,(Different chapters illustrated by different artists) Several Artists,National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, 2005-2008
  3. My Special Heart(As part of Heart and Human Body Kit - storybook, gameboard, poster, flipbook) Design and Illustration, Concept and Story – SWI team, Sesame Workshop India, 2010
  4. Heart Kit Storybook 2- Flipbook – Find our friend, Design and Illustration, Concept and Story – SWI team, Sesame Workshop India, 2010
  5. The journey of a coin, Design and Illustration, Concept and Story – SWI team, Sesame Workshop India, 2010
  6. Three storybooks on Health, Design and Illustration, Concept and Story – SWI team, Sesame Workshop India, 2011

Co-Author, Designer and Illustrator

Co-Author – Heer Chokshi 2007-2009 for the following works

  1. Chamki’s Wonderful World, as part of Chamki’s wonderful World Kit (Kit has 1 book + 25 flashcards), Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2007
  2. Chowkor Raja, as part of Googly’s world of Shapes Kit (Kit has 2 books, and a collection of 100 geometric shape cut-outs of different sizes), Co-Author + Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2007
  3. Story Pond, as part of Story Pond Kit (Kit has 1 book and a 5X5 ft gameboard), Concept, Co-Author + Illustrator and Designer, Sesame Workshop India, 2007
  4. Googly’s Green Party kit, Story & Activity Book – Googly’s Green Party(Kit has 1 book and 14 gardening-related  cut outs), Concept, Co-Author, Illustrator, Designer, Sesame Workshop India, 2007
  5. All my Friends Puppet Kit, Kit has 50 Puppets, flashcards, 1 book, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  6. Ready for School Book 1- The Great Germ Hunt (Kit has 2 books and 25 flashcards), Concept, Co-Author,  Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  7. Ready for School Book 2 – Uncle, Fly and Health Detectives, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  8. Scribble World Book 1- Funny Scribbles (Kit consisted of 3 books, a blackboard, a box o chalk), Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  9. Scribble World Book 2- What is hidden in the blackboard?, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  10. Scribble World Book 3, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  11. Mobile Community Viewing Booklet 1 – Eat your Colours, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  12. Mobile community Viewing Booklet 2 – The Great Germ Fight, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  13. Mobile community Viewing Booklet 3- Health and Fun at Nutriworld, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2009
  14. Mobile community Viewing Booklet 4- Milk Fun, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2009
  15. Health and Fun at Paushtikpur, Accordian book, Concept, Co-Author, Illustration and Design, 2009
  16. The Clever Kite (e-book), Concept, Co-Author + Illustration and Design, Sesame Workshop India, 2009

Co-Author, Art Director

  1. What can you see?, as part of Googly’s world of Shapes Kit, Concept, Co-Author, Art-Director, Sesame Workshop India, 2007
  2. Advocacy flipbook, concept, Co-Author and art-direction, Sesame Workshop India, 2008
  3. Storybook – Amazing Bijilee, (Amazing animals Kit has a storybook, a set of animal puzzles, and a poster), Concept, Co-Author and Art Direction, Sesame Workshop India, 2009
  4. Go Grow Glow Kit has 5 recipe poem story cards, 50 food cards, Nutrition wheel, Food List card, Plate and Vessel cards, Dice), Concept, Co-Author and Art Direction, Sesame Workshop India 2009
  5. Storybook - Count them All, Numbers are Everywhere Kit, (Kit has a storybook, a gameboard, Gameboard instruction cards, Story poem Accordians, character cards for play), Concept, Co-Author and Art Direction, Sesame Workshop India, 2009
  6. Tips on storytelling, Design and illustrations, Sesame Workshop India, 2007
Conferences, Talks, Workshops
  • Speaker, Connecting with loss: Tracing ecological consciousness within, Master Class at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, August 2024
  • Workshop Lead: Illustrating for Children, Expressing Adivasi and Dalit Lives, Katha, August  2024
  • Speaker and Workshop Lead - Immersive Connections: Designing Place-Based Experiences, Talk and design workshop IFS participants at Jungle Lodges & Resorts, Kabini, February 2024
  • Panelist - Imagining an Alternative World: Curiosity, Compassion and the Planet, Panel Discussion, Hyderabad Literature Festival, January 2024
  • Poet - Kaavya Dhaara - (Indigenous and Endangered Languages). In our own tongues (Multilingual readings - Poetry), Hyderabad Literature Festival, January 2024
  • Panelist - Climate Education for a Changing Planet, Panel Discussion, Hyderabad Literature Festival, January 2024
  • Speaker, Stage Talk: Prana: Art, Nature, and the Suffused Worlds, Hyderabad Literature Festival, January 2024
  • Brews and Brainstorms: Educating for Climate Change, Kupu climate Change Festival, Bangalore, Youth Conservation Action Network, Trust for Environmental Education, June 2023
  • Forest, River & Sky- Porous inquiries to find ourselves in relationship, Two sessions, Talk to IFS participants at Jungle Lodges & Resorts, Kabini, June 2023
  • Between ‘Cosmic Order, Truth and Ethical Action’: Pedagogical inquiries as a philosophical quest into self, social and ecological consciousness.  July 2-5 2023
  • Transforming Consumption-Production Systems Toward Just and Sustainable Futures, a joint 5th SCORAI, 21st ERSCP, and Wageningen University Conference.   https://www.scp-conference-2023.com/web
  • Self in a zillion eco transitions – Experiencing, Documenting, Reflecting, Togetherness , Interactive workshop and talk, Global Festival and International Conference, Climate Coaching Alliance, March 2023
  • Reflective healing through Art and Design, Humanising medical practices indigenous, interdependent and cross-cultural insights, Online International Symposium, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Consciousness Studies Program, Bangalore, 29 July 2022
  • Designing Projects, Talk and Workshop, Stella Maris College, 26 July 2022
  • The Porous Self – Interactive workshops and lectures for Fellows of the YouCan Earth Educators Fellowship Program, as part of a National Geographic Fellowship, Masinagudi, June 28-30, 2022
  • Forest, River & Sky- Porous inquiries to find ourselves in rela1onship, Two sessions, Talk to IFS participants at Jungle Lodges & Resorts, Kabini, March 2022, June 2022
  • The Porous Self, Interactive writing and art session, Online International conference, Global Festival, Climate Coaching Alliance, March 6, 2022.
  • Women as primordial beings and mystics, Online talk in NIAS CSP Women’s Day program on Reading Women- Sharing Unspoken Worlds, March 2022
  •  Wandering in Elephant Being: Artistic Inquiries to Find ourselves in relationship, Online Talk, Friends for Elephants, March 28, 2021
  • Consciousness, Creativity and Transdisciplinarity: Personal practice as research in the arts  Conference on Research in Art, Design and Culture, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. December 21-22, 2018.
  • Porosity and Transdisciplinarity -  Invited talk that showcased the diversity of my work in education, educational design, social and environmental design, art, writing, bookmaking, children's books and others and discussing how it is possible to cross disciplinary boundaries to create new paradigms of thought and work and how the pathways have led to my current doctoral work. Looking Beyond - Confluence of Art and Design: National Seminar on Art and Design at the Department of Fine Arts, Stella Maris College, Chennai. 25-26th September 2018
  • Art practice as transformation and equilibrium (Yajna and Hrdayavisranti), Conference at Srishti: Meditation in the Age of Anxiety, 2017 
  •  Learning to experience nature in porous ways through art, National Conference on "'Redefining Early Childhood Development Profession in India: Challenges and Potential', Workshops for teachers – Organised by Association for early childhood education and development (AECED), Azim Premji University and UNICEF, 2016
  • Online international panel: Re-imagining Relationships Around the World, as part of the Continuing the Conversation Re-imagining Relationships Conference (aieconversation.org), 2013
  • Panel Discussion, "How to talk about your art?", Ilango's Artspace, Chennai, February 2013
  • Connecting Energies – Creating Visuals – Transforming Selves, (With Bindhumalini N) SDEA Theatre Arts Conference , Singapore Drama Educators Association, Singapore, June 2-5, 2011
  • Paper presentation (Selected): Gender Sensitivity in Illustrations for textbooks and Educational Material – A holistic approach, National Consultation on Using Visuals as a Pedagogical Aid for Gender Sensitivity, Department of Women's studies (NCERT)& Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS), New Delhi,                   18th Feb 2011 
  • Talk and discussion session with primary school teachers -  “The relevance of using art as an entry point into Language”, Dyatmika School, Bali, September 2010
  • Paper presentation (Selected): Where does this circle become a point? - Making learning a thoughtful, fun and lifelong journey, Second International Conference on Arts Education organized by UNESCO, Korea, May 25-28, 2010
  • Paper Presentation: The Tree of Life: Educational Design: Making learning a thoughtful, fun and lifelong journey, International Conference on Rethink Redesign: Towards Socially Responsible Design. Organized by Dept of Fine Arts, Stella Maris College and Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai Jan 28-29, 2010
  • Paper presentation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, ‘Graphic Design, museum labels and learning’, Student Research Conference, Cambridge, MA, 2007 February
  • Round table presentation, HGSE, ‘Discover India and Africa through educational Software’, Student Research Conference, Cambridge, MA, 2007 February
  • Panel Discussion, Katha, “Does India produce world class Children’s books – a debate”, Katha Asia Utsav, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India, 2006 February
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