Melting Pot

Chitra leads the development and communications team and has been with Akanksha for over 10 years. She drives fundraising initiatives for all of Akanksha’s programs and works closely with the Board of Directors & the CEO to raise funds to support the strategic direction of the organisation.  Her role involves planning and implementing both internal and external communication for all stake...

A sneak peak into the RISE a series featuring the people of the Akanksha Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hailing from Jodhpur, Jai has been working in cinema for 17 years and worked as an assistant director on feature films with Wes Anderson, Zoya Akhtar, Rajkumar Hirani, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Gurinder Chaddha, Ashim Ahluwalia, Abhinay Deo, Rajesh Mapuskar and many others before he started making films independently.    After working on 32 feature films and more than 300 TV commercials,...

Shreya Dev Dube studied photography in Melbourne and later went on to specialise in cinematography at Eicar, Paris.  BITTU her most recent short film won the student Academy Awards, 2020.Her feature length film called Cat Sticks, premiered at Slamdance and won the Grand jury prize at Mammoth Lake film festival. BBC1 premiered A suitable boy, directed by Mira Nair. Shreya operated the camera f...

Ariadna Cabrol studied Drama at Meisner Technique with Javier Jalitó Cava in Barcelona and afterwards she moved to London in order to pursue her studies at "LISPA (London International School of Performing Arts)".  Ariadna made her film debut with JOVES by Carles Torras and Ramon Térmens. After working in several productions she played the lead, Eloïse, in Jesus Garay’s ELOISE LOVER’S. ...

Nebbou was born in Bayonne in France and started his career by appearing in the film My Sweet Home , directed by Filipos Tsitos . In 2004, the director Samir Nasr offered him the leading role in the film Seeds of Doubt , which won the Golden Gate Award for best film at the San Francisco Film Festival . 2005 was a turning point in Nebbou's career thanks to the film Schläfer by German film director...

Rachel Noll James is an award-winning screenwriter, producer and director. She is also a classically trained actor with a background in both theatre and film. Notable credits include feature films 'The Storyteller' 'Malibu Road' and 'Don't Pass Me By', and short films 'Follow the River' 'Paramnesia' and 'Half Light'. She was the recipient of the Silver Prize in the Page Screenwriting Awards 2015 a...

Maaza Mengiste is a novelist and essayist. She is the author of the novel, The Shadow King , which is shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and was a 2020 LA Times Book Prize Fiction finalist. It was named best book of the year by the New York Times , NPR, Elle , Time , and more. The Shadow King is now available in paperback and was called “a brilliant novel…compulsively readable” by Salman Rushd...

Mansi Zaveri of Kidsstoppress.com fame is a fab mommy on-the-go. A true believer in 'explore to learn', Mansi started her parenting blog leaving behind a plush corporate job to be able to take care of her children. Also a Podcaster, Brand Strategist and Yoga practitioner, Mansi is mom-of-two and contributes to various webzines and has to her credit the title of being India’s first parenting blogge...

A photojournalist currently based between Beirut and London, Adib Chowdhury was raised between the muted greens of the English countryside and the lush greens of Bangladesh's paddy-fields. With a background in politics (MSc in international relations and Conflict Studies at the London School of Economics) his projects contain a heavy emphasis on research and giving agency to those photographed. Th...

Esha Desai is the author of HotCuppaFiction, a collection of short stories to let readers enjoy their reading in small doses, one sip at a time. A lover of stories, Esha is herself a lover of coffee and has curated all stories of her collection with stories which are different from one another and not limited to any one genre. Through this book you can savour the strong taste of ‘thrillers’, citru...

A communications professional who focuses on making technical information accessible and meaningful to a wider audience, Maha is the Editor of Professional Investor Magazine (CFA UK). Maha works with companies on improving their investment literature, thought leadership content, marketing materials, strategic communications, and magazine contributions. Author of The Curse of Mohenjodaro, Beautiful...

Brice is an intrapreneur/entrepreneur, a sustainability defensor, and an optimist. He founded a company called Bizsu to help companies grow while being more sustainable. He is also a sustainability writer for various newspapers and magazines including The Business Times. With Bizsu, Brice and his team are focussing on solutions like patented aircon solution reducing your energy consumption by 25%,...

Looking at Tania's work, you would assume she has been a potter her whole life. The skillful mastery she exhibits - in particular, with her handcrafted flowers - is just incredible. However, before dedicating herself to ceramics, Tania worked as an Architect and Urban Designer. For many years, she designed townships as well as slum redevelopment projects around the world. After her decision to pur...

With a successful career in gemstones, jewellery and fashion industries, Terry is now a well-known gallerist specialising in Asian Contemporary and Modern art. A dynamic and established top executive with more than 25 years of professional experience that covers retail to manufacturing in the Asia Pacific region, Terry has a broad suite of operations, finance, business development, supply chain, s...

Amanda is the founder and art therapist at Art for Good, a social enterprise which uses art to create good. She also works as an art therapist with the charity The Red Pencil and is an adjunct lecturer at the School of Positive Psychology. She currently sits on the Board of Directors as the Honorary Secretary of Rare Disorders Society of Singapore. Amanda has worked with many other social enterpri...

Having delved into community work, family work, intra-psychic type of psychotherapy such as Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy, Sarah is weaving in knowledge from neuroscience and body work into integrative psychotherapy. She believes that everyone is a unique individual and deserves exquisite listening and attending. Sarah strives to be of service to the betterment of psychological heal...

Presenter Michelle Martin has been part of Singapore’s historic moments on radio and TV for 20 years. She’s spoken at Tedx, been the “live” Channel 5 commentator for Singapore’s National Day Parades, has been voted Singapore’s favourite Radio Personality, and broke the 2020 General Election’s results live, helming the Straits Times, “Situation Desk” watched by the nation.  Michelle teaches br...

Charina has been the creative lead for DFW creative Pte. ltd. with clientele from lifestyle brands to Fortune 500 companies. Her foresight in creating marketing platforms such as DFW, created more than 28 million PR value with more than 400 million eyeballs reached yearly. Her approach is to always place a unique emphasis on digital outreach to different markets with creative marketing campaigns....

Sunaina is a contemporary artist of Indian origin, who lives and works in Singapore. Educated in India, she moved to Tokyo in the late 90’s and has spent the last two decades in various parts of North and South Asia. Having completed her formal education as a textile designer specializing in print, she chose to pursue an immersive education in the traditional art form of Nihonga in Japan, where sh...

A'shua Imran is a Singaporean artist working primarily in the medium of painting and performance. He graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts (Singapore) with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (Goldsmiths, UK) in 2014, and has since presented his works in Singapore, The Netherlands, Egypt, South Africa, and Spain.  Currently, Imran is the artistic director of Mural Lingo , a creative enterpris...

Nonita Kalra has three decades of media experience, in print and television. From 2016, till 2020, she was the Editor of HARPER’S BAZAAR  India . Prior to that (from 2000 to 2012), she was the Editor-in-Chief of ELLE India, where she spent nearly 13 years, at the helm. She has been an influencer in fashion, beauty and lifestyle; her ideas and initiatives have shaped careers and launched trend...

After spending 18 years in corporate life (last assignment - Head of Xbox India at Microsoft), Anshu Mor quit Microsoft in 2016 to become a standup comedian. In his first year he was recognized as the rising star of standup comedy by times group. In just 4 years, he is now one of the leading comedians in India having performed over 500 shows in India and Abroad. Highlights Over 500 shows in India...

Abel is the Programmes Manager at the Singapore Mental Health Film Festival. He strives to use his training in social work and sociology to curate thought-provoking conversations that could inspire action. He advocates for a multi-faceted approach when understanding social issues - including adopting a questioning mind where we challenge conventional structures, in hope for positive change.  ...

Rukmini Vijayakumar, is the artistic director of Raadha Kalpa Dance Company, and the director of Lshva, a creative space for artists in the heart of Bangalore. She is the founder of The Raadha Kalpa method, an educational system for Bharatanatyam that is based on the idea of neutrality.  Rukmini’s approach to Bharatanatyam is dedicated, rigorous and layered. She has presented her work as a so...