Ranjana Pandey
Ranjana Pandey, is an Indian puppeteer, playwright, theatre and television director, and educator. In 1982, Ranjana Pandey founded and directed Jan Madhyam (“the people’s medium” or “of the people”), a community media-based, educational puppetry company. She is one of the pioneers in the Indian subcontinent to explore puppetry as therapy. In 2000-2002, Ranjana Pandey created and directed the first puppetry-based, 18-episode television series for children, Khullum Khulla (Free and Open), which was telecast by India’s national broadcasting corporation, Doordarshan, several times through a period of eighteen months. Ranjana Pandey is on the faculty of several teacher training and mass communication colleges including Jamia Millia Islamia (National Islamic) University in New Delhi and she gives workshops on puppetry for education, therapy and development.

Dr. Atul Sinha
Dr. Atul Sinha is an educator, animator, painter, puppeteer; a sand artist. He did his Ph.D. from Jamia Millia Islamia University titled ‘Exploring the art of shadow puppetry through multimedia: A study of animation, video and interactive activities’.

He directed a paper puppet theatre performance for young audience The Little Red Hen which has been showcased at IIC- Delhi, Jan Madyam’s fundraiser at Bikaneer House- Delhi, Dhatu International Puppet Festival, Bengaluru 2017 and on Children’s Day at Sangeet Natak Akademi - New Delhi. He collaborated with Katkatha Puppet Art Trust for Anurupa Roy’s 2016 directorial The Mahabharata and 2018 Maharaja of Mastipur. During 2017 he did a live sand art performance for World Health Organization, on depression. His short animation “Vanvas” is on display at the Indian Music Experience Museum, Bengaluru. He was the main collaborator for a special project “Shadow Play” curated by Anurupa Roy, for the Serendipity Arts Festival Goa 2019.

Building on his previous experience both in and out of the classroom, he continues to work today using a variety of techniques and aesthetics. He aspires to create exceptional work while maintaining a distinctive “artist’s hand” in its quality.

Dr. Shilpi Goswami

Dr. Shilpi Goswami is the Director, The Raj Art Initiative along with being an independent editor, researcher and curator with a PhD in cultural studies, MA in Museum Studies, PG Dip. & BA in Book Publishing. She has been a recipient of grants for archival research from Deutsches Forum für Figuren Theatre und Puppen Spiel Kunst (DFP), Germany and Association des Villes Amies de la Marionnette (AVIAMA), France (2025), India Foundation for the Arts (2021) and MurthyNAYAK Foundation (2020). Previously, she has been the archivist for the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts; a curator at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Artistic Director of Gallery Nature Morte. She has been a consultant for The Gujral Foundation, Qatar Museums and What About Art?, Mehrangarh Museum Trust and the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation in various capacities. Her post doctoral research was for the National University of Singapore Museum on a Government of India Art donation to the NUS in 1959. She has been an English news-reader with the All India Radio. She is also a core team member of the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust for their festivals and academic endeavours. She serves as a blind peer-reviewer to two international art journals. 

Publications: Shilpi has co-authored: Mastering the Lens: Before and After Henri Cartier-Bresson in Pondicherry, and has written in Allegory and Illusion: Early Portrait Photography from South Asia, Unveiling India: The Early Lensmen, 1850-1910 etc. Her latest co-edited book titled Framing Portraits, Binding Albums: Family Photographs in India, published by Zubaan Books was released earlier this year. 

Manjima Chatterjee
Manjima Chatterjee is a theatre-maker, educator, and writer whose work blends storytelling, activism, and pedagogy. As a playwright, her original work has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition, and leading Indian festivals. She is a recipient of The Hindu Playwright Award and her writing has been widely published and anthologized. In parallel with her creative practice, Manjima has led innovative arts-in-education programs as the Central Arts Curriculum Lead and Vice Principal at Shiv Nadar School, and now serves as Head of Sustainability Programs. Her approach centers on using theatre and the arts to cultivate empathy, creativity, and justice—both in classrooms and communities. She continues to train teachers, collaborate with global and local arts organisations, and advocate for integrated, experience-based learning that sparks curiosity and touches both heart and mind.
 

Karen Smith
Karen Smith (Australian and US citizen) is a member of UNIMA India, UNIMA-USA and UNIMA Australia. Member of the Executive Committee of UNIMA International 2012–2025), she chaired the Publication Commission, was Vice President and President. Now serves three UNIMA commissions—Asia-Pacific, Heritage, Publications. Since 2010, she is Editor-in-Chief of UNIMA’s online World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts (https://wepa.unima.org). She is copyeditor of UNIMA-USA’s Puppetry International Research. Her MA (1982) is on modern Indian drama. She was a Delhi puppeteer with Shri Ram Centre, Jan Madhyam, Ishara Puppet Theatre. She studied Javanese Wayang Kulit in Jakarta. She presents at international puppetry conferences, with a special interest in Indonesian shadow theatre and Indian puppetry, has curated exhibitions on Wayang in India and the USA, and contributed to a UNESCO photo documentary on Wayang. She has lived in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and California, and currently lives in Australia.

Anurupa Roy
Founder of The Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, Veteran puppeteer, director, and designer holds a diploma in puppet theatre from Stockholm University and has trained in glove puppetry in Italy; directed over 25 performances and received numerous awards, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar and META Best Director and Production awards.