Journeying Into Oneself

Namita Devidayal is the author of The Music Room, Aftertaste and The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan. Her most recent book is Tangerine: How to Read the Upanishads Without Giving Up Coffee. She is a senior journalist with The Times of India based in Mumbai and a trained Indian classical singer. She graduated from Princeton University in the US.

Aritra Sarkar is a storyteller with a social mission: to help people lead more meaningful, purpose-driven lives. His work blends narrative power with psychological insight, inviting readers to reflect, heal and grow. His debut, Goliath of Shenzhen (2016), broke new ground as the world’s first dual-facing novel, told in both prose and graphic formats, encouraging readers to reclaim their inner strength in the face of authoritarianism. In 2024, he published Stress to Zest: Stories and Lessons for Personal Transformation , the first volume in his Parables for Growth series. The second volume, Are You Lonesome?, will launch in Feb 2026. The series explores how storytelling, when paired with practical wisdom, can serve as a catalyst for emotional and spiritual transformation. His most recent title, Soulful Cal! (Wordphonics, 2025), is a lyrical tribute to his beloved hometown, Kolkata, capturing its soul through essays that blend memory, nostalgia and cultural commentary. Today, he is spearheading an educational initiative with the ABP Group to train the next generation of journalists. When he’s not teaching at the CMI Institute, he devotes his time to spiritual exploration and literary creation. An alumnus of New York University, he is also passionate about tennis, fitness, travel, cinema and, above all, human connection.

Jonquil Cooper is a wellness practitioner, yoga teacher, filmmaker, author and storyteller with a relationship with India spanning over 30 years. She first arrived in India in 1992, the period in which her book It’s Not Yoga, It’s You! is set. In 2002, she returned to make her first documentary film, India and Beyond. In 2010, she made a second film, The Pilgrim: A Journey to Mount Kailash in Tibet, working alongside Academy Award winning collaborators. She has been teaching yoga and wellbeing practices for over 30 years, working internationally, in London, and for 10 years in Mumbai. She has worked extensively with children and teenagers, teaching self-awareness, mindfulness, communication and emotional resilience and has also taught wellness and presentation skills in corporate and creative environments. Her second book, What Yoga Is Not, is a continuation of her journey. She is now based in Goa, choosing to live and continue her work in India as an act of respect and reciprocity to the land that has taught her the most.

Priyambada Jayakumar was raised in India specifically in the City of Joy, Kolkata. Born to a Bengali mother and a Tamil father, she completed her schooling from La Martiniere for Girls, Kolkata. The capital city of Delhi soon beckoned where she received her BA (Hons) degree in History from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. A Tripos in Social and Political Sciences followed thereafter from the University of Cambridge. Subsequently, she attended Harvard University for a further period of study. She has lived variously between Delhi, London and Boston. She is married with three children and currently lives in Singapore. MS Swaminathan: The Man Who Fed India is her first book.