Gateway to Influence: Mumbai's Cultural Soft Power

Karishma Swali has been at the forefront of preservation, revival and conservation of India’s intangible cultural heritage. Since 1998, she has led Chanakya International, a global textile house established in 1984. In 2015 she established the Chanakya Foundation and in 2016, the Chanakya School of Craft. Across her 25-year journey, Karishma has collaborated with celebrated contemporary artists to forge an interdisciplinary language for contemporary art. In 2020, she and the graduated artisans of the Chanakya School of Craft collaborated with American feminist artist Judy Chicago to create 22 monumental hand-embroidered artworks, currently on display at the New Museum in New York. In 2024, the Chanakya Foundation presented the artistic collaboration between renowned Indian artists Madhvi Parekh and Manu Parekh, This exhibition, titled 'Cosmic Garden,' was featured as a collateral event of the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. In 2024 she received the Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite from French Ambassador Thierry Mathou.

Pavitra Rajaram is Founder and Creative Director of the award-winning design firm, Pavitra Rajaram Design. It is a multidisciplinary practice that straddles the worlds of interior design, brand strategy and experience and product design. Pavitra is the recipient of several awards including the INTACH Urban Heritage Award and the EDIDA award for Product Design and a 7 time winner of the prestigious AD100. She also spent 25 years as the Lead Designer of Good Earth. Currently, Pavitra is the Design Director at Asian Paints where she advises the brand on strategic initiatives. She works closely with design luminaries like Sabyasachi Mukherjee to produce collections for Nilaya from Asian Paints across wallpaper, fabrics, floor coverings, furniture and lighting. She is also Creative head of a yet-to-be-announced luxury retail offering by Asian Paints. Based in Mumbai, Pavitra is the Brand Custodian of the Sarmaya Arts Foundation, a museum archive she co-founded with Paul Abraham.

Asad Lalljee is the SVP of the Essar Group, CEO of Avid Learning – an arts and culture public programming platform, and the Curator of the Royal Opera House, Mumbai. He brings several years of advertising, publishing, marketing, and business development experience, spanning global and local markets. Before relocating to India, Asad worked for 14 years as one of the ‘Mad Men’ advertising executives on New York's Madison Avenue. He was with McCann-Erickson, and earlier with Hill Holiday, a subsidiary of advertising giant IPG. In 2018, Asad was inducted into the prestigious FICCI Art and Culture Committee as a distinguished member. In 2022, Asad was co-opted as Kala Ghoda Association’s Executive Committee member, with whom Avid Learning shares a decade-long partnership. He was also on the advisory board of the Mumbai Urban Art Festival 2022-2023 by St+Art India Foundation.