Anuradha Roy is a writer and potter based in Ranikhet. Her books have been widely translated and won various awards, including the DSC Prize for Fiction. She has been lon­glisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlis­ted for the International Dublin Literary Award. The Earthspinner is her fifth novel.

Ajai Bijli is the Chairman and Managing Director of PVR cinemas. His passion for movies led him to set up PVR Cinemas in 1997, currently the largest multiplex chain in India. With an Owners/President Management program from Harvard Business School under his belt, the cinema chain has grown under his leadership and bagged Fortune India's Next 500 Big and Mid-size companies award. He is also the lead singer of his newly formed band, 'Random Order.'

She is a retired professor of English. Since her retirement, she has written several stories for children. She is keenly interested in the education of children from economically weaker sections of society and is involved with an NGO called Leafbird Foundation. She has written a bird book called Birds of Uttarakhand, in both English and Hindi, to make the local people proud of their natural heritage. She is currently working on educational material for children on flora and fauna of Kumaon.

Buddhi Sagar is a Nepali author. Karnali Blues and Firfire are his two published novels. Karnali Blues is one of the most widely read novels in Nepali literature. He also has a collection of poetry – Buddhisagar ka Kabita. In 2019 he was an honorary fellow of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. His new novel Eklo is scheduled to be published in October 2022.

She is a conservationist of historic properties in India, ranging from classic Colonial era estates in the Nilgiris to traditional plantation bungalows & vernacular architecture of the Malabar region of Kerala. Her latest book Queenie In The Hills, is inspired by her passion for the welfare and protection of the Indian native dog breeds and street animals.

Daleep began his career as a writer and editor at Reuters in New York City and now spends his time developing experiential boutique hotels in the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Adhering to strict sustainable practices, he currently manages a jungle lodge called Jim’s Jungle Retreat at Corbett Tiger Reserve and a unique B&B The Shumshere, in Dehradun.Daleep also devotes his time to writing about the jungle and its unique wildlife, acts with a traveling theatre company

He is a Chef and Co-Founder of Tres, a fine dining restaurant in New Delhi. He is a ‘curious and accidental chef’ with two decades of culinary experience. He is known for his passion for discovering new flavours, indigenous & regional produce, & experimenting with cooking techniques. His ever-evolving unconventional cooking style to understand flavours, textures, palate leads him on to breakdown ingredients to manipulate & play with them & create an exciting marriage of global & Indian flavours

She is the founder and CEO of Purearth, an award-winning Ayurvedic skincare and wellness brand. A qualified Ayurvedic beauty specialist and organic cosmetics formulator, she was a Wall Street firm lawyer and director at Deutsche Bank before shedding her corporate avatar in 2011. Kavita has worked closely with women’s micro-credit and self-help groups from Kashmir to Kumaon. She has hosted her own TV shows on Ayurveda and DIY beauty on Tata Sky.

Kelly Dorji, the Bhutanese- born model transitioned into films in 2005 as the antagonist in Tango Charlie, with Ajay Devgn and Bobby Deol in the lead. Having acted in close to 30 films in multiple languages, Kelly moved to Bhutan a few years ago to establish his travel company, start an art gallery and co-direct the Mountain Echoes Literary Festival. The 48-year-old has now written and illustrated his first book called The Hidden Rainbow published by Penguin India.

Megha Sharma is an award-winning journalist with 13+ years in the industry. She is currently associate executive editor and prime-time anchor at NewsX, iTV Network. She has been part of the journalism industry for 13+ years and tracks the international affairs beat. Her all-encompassing role includes running the news channel, deciding the editorial line the channel toes and team-building and mentorship, among other things.

Namita Gokhale is a writer, festival director, and author of twenty works of fiction and non-fiction. Her acclaimed debut novel, Paro: Dreams of Passion, was published in 1984. Her latest book, The Blind Matriarch, examines the Indian joint family against the backdrop of the pandemic. Jaipur Journals, published in January 2020, is set in the vibrant Jaipur Literature Festival, of which Gokhale is a founder and director.

She was the Editorial Lead for BW Businessworld, where she launched the new vertical 'BW Well-being world.' She curates content, speaking opportunities, and event production on mental health and well-being. She is a 'Key Contributor' to Deepak Chopra's film "The Mindfulness Movement" (April 2020). Her mental health journey led to the launch of her platform, Pursuit of Balance with Nina Kler, creating content on all aspects of well-being, mental health, and relational dynamics.

Neeraja Joshi is a nature lover who lives in Kumaon. She started her career in the corporate world with professional services firms like Arthur Andersen, EY, and Everest Group- working in the area of Human Resources. Neeraja then moved to the development sector in 2015, heading an Uttarakhand-based NGO, Aarohi, as its Secretary. In her last full-time role, she was a Careers & Programme Development Advisor at an Education Trust called Vedica Scholars Programme for Women.

Pushpesh Pant is a part time teacher, part time author, TV anchor and independent producer of documentaries. Obsessed by food for the last few decades, he has been trying to rediscover lost culinary gems from India’s vast and varied repertoire. Pant doesn’t believe in prohibition or prescriptions when it comes to dietary matters.

He's a conservationist, wildlife historian, storyteller, & independent researcher. His fields of expertise include the wildlife and forest history of India, conservation policy, and conservation issues in the country's ‘Red Corridor’ landscape. His writings appear in The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Wire, Sanctuary Asia, RoundGlass Sustain, Seminar, Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, and other natural history and wildlife journals. He has also contributed essays to edited anthologies.

Rushina is a Culinary Chronicler, but switch hats between being a teacher, a Corporate Food Consultant, and Curator of Food experiences. She owns A Perfect Bite® Consulting (a premier food consulting firm) and APB Cook Studio® (Food incubator lab, Test Kitchen, and Food Content Studio) in Mumbai. Her deep knowledge of global cuisine and specialization in Indian Food Studies, focus on her mother's cuisines of Uttarakhand and Gujarat regions apart from other regions.

She is a fifth generation musician. She writes on music for The Hindu, The Tribune, The Asian Age, Sruti magazine, & the prestigious IGNCA journal. She has helped organise music and dance festivals for state governments and private organisations, including the Department of Language, Art & Culture, Himachal Pradesh, & IGNCA. She lectures on music at the India International Centre and IGNCA. She's also archived the North Indian classical music collections at Prasar Bharati & Sangeet Natak Akademi

Sunita is a mythologist and a storyteller. She decodes Hindu scriptures to show their relevance in today’s times. She has authored hundreds of books for children, twenty-five books for adults and young adults on folk literature and mythology. She reinterprets the timelessness of characters from the epics and foundational texts in her stories, seamlessly blending mythology and history with real life. Her latest bestsellers are KRISHNA The Management Guru and Everyday Gita published by Rupa.

Sujeev Shakya is a Himalayan citizen who works across geographies bringing new dimensions to how human beings interact with business, development, management, and the economy. He is the founder and CEO of beed, a Nepal based global consulting firm, chairs the Nepal Economic Forum that also operates the Himalayan Circular Economy Forum. An acclaimed columnist, he is the author of Unleashing Nepal and Arthat Arthatantra. He also has a chapter in the book Himalayan Arc edited by Namita Gokhale

Shashiraj Singh first set foot in 1945 at age of 5. An adept sailor, a keen golfer, an angler par excellence and a crack shot with a rifle. He can identify birds by their call and flowers by their scent. He knows the latin names for most flora and fauna. His pets over the years include a chital, a blue bull and a python named Pongo. He is a treasure trove of wisdom and anecdotes.

Vir belongs to an illustrious industrial family of India and is the grandson of Late Sir Jwala Prasad Srivastava who served as a member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council in the 1940s. He is a passionate sailor who has been managing the affairs of the Nainital Yacht Club as its Commodore for several years. Vir has diverse business interests ranging from hotels in Uttarakhand, to managing his family’s infrastructure development projects in Gwalior. He is a keen golfer and patron of music.