Lakshmi Pattabi Raman is an adoptive parent to a 13-year-old who believes deeply in the power of peer-led spaces to build and sustain mental well-being. She has worked across the corporate and development sectors in leadership roles spanning strategic philanthropy, systems change, and community-led development. She cares deeply about mental health and believes that honest peer-led conversations are not just a source of comfort — they are a meaningful practice of care. Having anchored a Sharing Circle for adoptive parents at the last edition of Manotsava, she saw firsthand what it means to be heard by people who truly get it.

Tahira Thekaekara is a parent to two children and has experienced parenthood through both adoption and birth. She has spent over two decades working in the social sector, building and supporting organizations committed to creating a more sustainable, equitable and compassionate world. Raised in a small non urban community where adoption was visible and normalized, she grew up with friends and peers who were adopted, an experience that continues to shape her understanding of family and belonging. As an adoptive parent, Tahira is interested in questioning dominant narratives around adoption and reflecting on the labels, assumptions, and expectations that are often placed on adopted children and their families. She cares deeply about how we listen to and speak with our children, and about creating space for conversations grounded in empathy, curiosity, and respect for their lived experiences. Having participated in Sharing Circles herself, she has experienced the connection, honesty, and sense of community that can emerge when people are able to share openly and be heard. She believes in the importance of peer-led spaces where adoptive families can explore complexity, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another without judgment.

Gayathri Rao is a psychologist and special educator with over 14 years of experience working with adults, children, and families across emotional wellbeing, development, and everyday functioning. Her work with adults has focused on helping individuals better understand themselves, navigate life transitions, strengthen relationships, and build practical emotional skills that support long-term wellbeing. She brings together psychological insight with warmth, reflection, and a deeply human approach—creating spaces where people feel understood rather than judged. Alongside her clinical and educational work, she is passionate about making psychology accessible and helping people translate insight into meaningful change in everyday life.

Bhargavi Raman is the Founder of Studio AMHI (Arts for Mental Health Initiative), a Bangalore-based practice working at the intersection of mental health and the arts. A Somatic and Expressive Arts Therapist and Mental Health Educator, she holds a law degree from NLSIU (2013) and an MA in Expressive Movement Therapy from SPPU (2024), and is trained in Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP), Somatic Experiencing (SE) L1, and Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM). She works with individuals and groups, drawing on movement, sound, and visual arts to support nervous system regulation and trauma healing.

Bhargavi serves as a SMART supervisor for 3 years, has worked as visiting faculty at Azim Premji University, and has facilitated internationally with Mind & Life Institute, Asia Europe Foundation, Google, Toyota, L&T etc. She holds memberships with IEATA, IADMT, CMTAI, and the MHPSS Network. Through AMHI, she leads trauma-informed expressive arts programmes, including work with custodial women residents through FAHI. Outside her practice, she is an open water swimmer, deep sea diver, singer and mover.

Over the last decade and a half, Shashank has worked in learning, education, and organizational development across multiple organizations and sectors. Through the Unmaskulinity Project, he explores how masculinity shapes our relationships, workplaces, and communities, and brings these insights into the spaces he facilitates. He believes learning and growth are rooted in reflection, conversation, and lived experience. He is also passionate about music and movement, and enjoys weaving these into learning spaces wherever possible.

Dr Jwala Narayanan is a consultant neuropsychologist with expertise in cognitive assessment, dementia, and healthy cognitive aging. She works extensively with individuals experiencing memory disorders and their families, with a particular interest in early diagnosis, cognitive rehabilitation, and improving quality of life for older adults.

Her work bridges clinical practice, research, and community outreach, with a focus on making brain health accessible to the public. She has developed and conducted numerous programmes on dementia prevention, cognitive stimulation, and caregiver support, and is actively involved in promoting awareness of brain health and ageing in the Indian context. She also runs Cogworks, an enrichment programme for people with dementia.

Dr Soumya Hegde is a Geriatric Psychiatrist, trained in the UK and India with over two decades of experience working with seniors with mental illness. She has a keen interest in Dementia and managing challenging behaviours holistically. She has worked extensively with residential care facilities helping them structure individualised care plans and train caregivers.

She is the founder of Memory Matters in Bangalore, an initiative to increase awareness of senior mental health issues and support family caregivers through community programs as they navigate their journey of caring.

Rajesh is an adoptive parent and has a wide range of interests spanning across music, education, theater, health and fitness. He has spent most of his life in Bangalore and loves the city’s bylanes and markets as much as its bars and performance venues.

Tahira Thekaekara is a parent to two children and has experienced parenthood through both adoption and birth. She has spent over two decades working in the social sector, building and supporting organizations committed to creating a more sustainable, equitable and compassionate world. Raised in a small non urban community where adoption was visible and normalized, she grew up with friends and peers who were adopted, an experience that continues to shape her understanding of family and belonging. As an adoptive parent, Tahira is interested in questioning dominant narratives around adoption and reflecting on the labels, assumptions, and expectations that are often placed on adopted children and their families. She cares deeply about how we listen to and speak with our children, and about creating space for conversations grounded in empathy, curiosity, and respect for their lived experiences. Having participated in Sharing Circles herself, she has experienced the connection, honesty, and sense of community that can emerge when people are able to share openly and be heard. She believes in the importance of peer-led spaces where adoptive families can explore complexity, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another without judgment.

Vandana Srivastava is the Founder of Zuva Life, a platform working at the intersection of longevity, midlife transitions, and what it means to stay engaged, economically active, and connected across longer lives.

With over 35 years of experience across leadership, sales, marketing, and business building, Vandana has spent her career understanding what moves people, what builds trust, and what makes organisations and communities work. She founded Zuva Life after recognising how little structured support exists for people navigating the middle decades, a stage that is widely experienced but rarely held in dedicated space.

That same instinct for people, for what they need and what they are ready for, shapes how she designs and facilitates experiences at Zuva Life. Through sharing circles, storytelling sessions, workshops, and retreats, she brings together people across generations and life stages, creating room for the conversations that shape what comes next.

Devina is a researcher and designer whose work sits at the intersection of care, dignity, and how systems shape the way people move through significant life transitions. With over a decade of experience across public institutions, civil society, and multilateral organisations, she brings a global perspective and a deeply human lens to the questions Zuva Life holds.

In a room, she is known for noticing what is not being said, asking the question that shifts the conversation, and holding structure lightly enough that people forget it is there. Trained in design thinking, participatory methods, and futures and speculative design, she has facilitated spaces across diverse global contexts, from policy rooms to community circles, always with the same instinct: to create conditions where people feel genuinely heard and where collective thinking can go somewhere real.

Her background in care systems, gender, and the design of dignified spaces for people in transition shapes everything she brings to Zuva Life.

Ragini Rao is a Psychotherapist and Trainer; and a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (TSTA), the senior most level in the Transactional Analysis field. She is qualified and authorized to train professionals to become Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

She has over 30 years’ experience as a Mental Health professional and is Co-Founder of InfinumGrowth, an online platform for Mental Health and Personal Development Services.

She leads and supervises a team of qualified and experienced professionals providing Counselling, Psychotherapy, Training, Coaching and Mentoring services.

Vandana Srivastava is the Founder of Zuva Life, a platform working at the intersection of longevity, midlife transitions, and what it means to stay engaged, economically active, and connected across longer lives.

With over 35 years of experience across leadership, sales, marketing, and business building, Vandana has spent her career understanding what moves people, what builds trust, and what makes organisations and communities work. She founded Zuva Life after recognising how little structured support exists for people navigating the middle decades, a stage that is widely experienced but rarely held in dedicated space.

That same instinct for people, for what they need and what they are ready for, shapes how she designs and facilitates experiences at Zuva Life. Through sharing circles, storytelling sessions, workshops, and retreats, she brings together people across generations and life stages, creating room for the conversations that shape what comes next.

Ragini Rao is a Psychotherapist and Trainer; and a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (TSTA), the senior most level in the Transactional Analysis field. She is qualified and authorized to train professionals to become Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

She has over 30 years’ experience as a Mental Health professional and is Co-Founder of InfinumGrowth, an online platform for Mental Health and Personal Development Services.

She leads and supervises a team of qualified and experienced professionals providing Counselling, Psychotherapy, Training, Coaching and Mentoring services.

Devina is a researcher and designer whose work sits at the intersection of care, dignity, and how systems shape the way people move through significant life transitions. With over a decade of experience across public institutions, civil society, and multilateral organisations, she brings a global perspective and a deeply human lens to the questions Zuva Life holds.

In a room, she is known for noticing what is not being said, asking the question that shifts the conversation, and holding structure lightly enough that people forget it is there. Trained in design thinking, participatory methods, and futures and speculative design, she has facilitated spaces across diverse global contexts, from policy rooms to community circles, always with the same instinct: to create conditions where people feel genuinely heard and where collective thinking can go somewhere real.

Her background in care systems, gender, and the design of dignified spaces for people in transition shapes everything she brings to Zuva Life.

Dr. Paras Sharma is the co-founder and Director at The Alternative Story – a mental health startup, and an Assistant Professor in Psychology at a prominent institute in Bengaluru. He holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling, a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies and a Doctorate in Psychology. In a career spanning over 15 years, he has worked in hospitals, helplines, corporate mental health organizations, and academic institutions. He has contributed to the establishment of government initiatives to address Violence Against Women and mental health in multiple states in India. He is actively engaged in research on issues of men’s mental health, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and invisible disability.

Vandana Srivastava is the Founder of Zuva Life, a platform working at the intersection of longevity, midlife transitions, and what it means to stay engaged, economically active, and connected across longer lives.

With over 35 years of experience across leadership, sales, marketing, and business building, Vandana has spent her career understanding what moves people, what builds trust, and what makes organisations and communities work. She founded Zuva Life after recognising how little structured support exists for people navigating the middle decades, a stage that is widely experienced but rarely held in dedicated space.

That same instinct for people, for what they need and what they are ready for, shapes how she designs and facilitates experiences at Zuva Life. Through sharing circles, storytelling sessions, workshops, and retreats, she brings together people across generations and life stages, creating room for the conversations that shape what comes next.

Devina is a researcher and designer whose work sits at the intersection of care, dignity, and how systems shape the way people move through significant life transitions. With over a decade of experience across public institutions, civil society, and multilateral organisations, she brings a global perspective and a deeply human lens to the questions Zuva Life holds.

In a room, she is known for noticing what is not being said, asking the question that shifts the conversation, and holding structure lightly enough that people forget it is there. Trained in design thinking, participatory methods, and futures and speculative design, she has facilitated spaces across diverse global contexts, from policy rooms to community circles, always with the same instinct: to create conditions where people feel genuinely heard and where collective thinking can go somewhere real.

Her background in care systems, gender, and the design of dignified spaces for people in transition shapes everything she brings to Zuva Life.

Techie-entrepreneur, who co-founded IDfy. He’s part day-dreamer, part marketer, part juggler… Vineet is father to a son, loves dad-jokes, Bengaluru FC, and horses.

Dr. Paras Sharma is the co-founder and Director at The Alternative Story – a mental health startup, and an Assistant Professor in Psychology at a prominent institute in Bengaluru. He holds a Master’s Degree in Counselling, a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies and a Doctorate in Psychology. In a career spanning over 15 years, he has worked in hospitals, helplines, corporate mental health organizations, and academic institutions. He has contributed to the establishment of government initiatives to address Violence Against Women and mental health in multiple states in India. He is actively engaged in research on issues of men’s mental health, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and invisible disability.

Sukriti is a trauma-informed psychologist and a dance/movement therapy facilitator who works with diverse individuals, couples and groups across the lifespan, via her private practice – Mentally Yours. In her practice, she believes in meeting people right where they are at and working with them using mind-body practices, relational and trauma approaches, in an eclectic and queer friendly manner. Having done her post graduation in Clinical Psychology, she has also completed certifications in Dance/Movement Therapy (CMTAI), Trauma Informed Care (TISS) and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (ICEEFT) with close to a decade of experience in the field.

Holding a deep interest in education, she currently serves as – Faculty and Course Director of SoulUp’s Group Facilitation Certificate Program, Faculty and Course Co-Director of CMTAI’s flagship DMT certificate course, Faculty for TATC X VIMHANS DMT Diploma, faciliator for short term trainings, and a supervisor for mental health practitioners. Furthermore, her workshops are extended to corporates, universities, miscellaneous groups and she has also had the privilege of being a Tedx Speaker.

I am a leadership coach and organisational development practitioner with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and teams to navigate complexity, change, and growth. I work with CEOs, founders, and senior leaders across corporate, social impact, and purpose-driven sectors in India and globally. My practice is grounded in adult development, systems thinking, neuroscience of change, and somatic awareness, helping leaders slow down, see more clearly, and surface the often invisible patterns that shape how they relate, decide, and lead—so they can engage with their work and context with greater presence, choice, and possibility.

Prior to coaching, I held senior leadership roles in public policy and social impact including being on the founding teams of PRS Legislative Research, and, Azim Premji Foundation, working at the intersection of strategy, institution building, and leadership development in complex, evolving systems.

I bring a deep respect for human experience across difference, and a commitment to creating reflective, inclusive spaces for dialogue, learning, and shared understanding.

Durga Nandini is a global communications strategist with deep expertise in human rights, movement building, and global advocacy communications. With a strong track record in leading international communications teams at Amnesty International and the Change.org Foundation, she brings extensive experience in shaping narratives that translate complex human rights issues into compelling public discourse.

Over the last decade and a half, Shashank has worked in learning, education, and organizational development across multiple organizations and sectors. Through the Unmaskulinity Project, he explores how masculinity shapes our relationships, workplaces, and communities, and brings these insights into the spaces he facilitates. He believes learning and growth are rooted in reflection, conversation, and lived experience. He is also passionate about music and movement, and enjoys weaving these into learning spaces wherever possible.

Dr Jwala Narayanan is a consultant neuropsychologist with expertise in cognitive assessment, dementia, and healthy cognitive aging. She works extensively with individuals experiencing memory disorders and their families, with a particular interest in early diagnosis, cognitive rehabilitation, and improving quality of life for older adults.

Her work bridges clinical practice, research, and community outreach, with a focus on making brain health accessible to the public. She has developed and conducted numerous programmes on dementia prevention, cognitive stimulation, and caregiver support, and is actively involved in promoting awareness of brain health and ageing in the Indian context. She also runs Cogworks, an enrichment programme for people with dementia.

Dr Soumya Hegde is a Geriatric Psychiatrist, trained in the UK and India with over two decades of experience working with seniors with mental illness. She has a keen interest in Dementia and managing challenging behaviours holistically. She has worked extensively with residential care facilities helping them structure individualised care plans and train caregivers.

She is the founder of Memory Matters in Bangalore, an initiative to increase awareness of senior mental health issues and support family caregivers through community programs as they navigate their journey of caring.

Lakshmi Pattabi Raman is an adoptive parent to a 13-year-old who believes deeply in the power of peer-led spaces to build and sustain mental well-being. She has worked across the corporate and development sectors in leadership roles spanning strategic philanthropy, systems change, and community-led development. She cares deeply about mental health and believes that honest peer-led conversations are not just a source of comfort — they are a meaningful practice of care. Having anchored a Sharing Circle for adoptive parents at the last edition of Manotsava, she saw firsthand what it means to be heard by people who truly get it.

Durga Nandini is a global communications strategist with deep expertise in human rights, movement building, and global advocacy communications. With a strong track record in leading international communications teams at Amnesty International and the Change.org Foundation, she brings extensive experience in shaping narratives that translate complex human rights issues into compelling public discourse.

Vandana Srivastava is the Founder of Zuva Life, a platform working at the intersection of longevity, midlife transitions, and what it means to stay engaged, economically active, and connected across longer lives.

With over 35 years of experience across leadership, sales, marketing, and business building, Vandana has spent her career understanding what moves people, what builds trust, and what makes organisations and communities work. She founded Zuva Life after recognising how little structured support exists for people navigating the middle decades, a stage that is widely experienced but rarely held in dedicated space.

That same instinct for people, for what they need and what they are ready for, shapes how she designs and facilitates experiences at Zuva Life. Through sharing circles, storytelling sessions, workshops, and retreats, she brings together people across generations and life stages, creating room for the conversations that shape what comes next.

Devina is a researcher and designer whose work sits at the intersection of care, dignity, and how systems shape the way people move through significant life transitions. With over a decade of experience across public institutions, civil society, and multilateral organisations, she brings a global perspective and a deeply human lens to the questions Zuva Life holds.

In a room, she is known for noticing what is not being said, asking the question that shifts the conversation, and holding structure lightly enough that people forget it is there. Trained in design thinking, participatory methods, and futures and speculative design, she has facilitated spaces across diverse global contexts, from policy rooms to community circles, always with the same instinct: to create conditions where people feel genuinely heard and where collective thinking can go somewhere real.

Her background in care systems, gender, and the design of dignified spaces for people in transition shapes everything she brings to Zuva Life.

Dr Jwala Narayanan is a consultant neuropsychologist with expertise in cognitive assessment, dementia, and healthy cognitive aging. She works extensively with individuals experiencing memory disorders and their families, with a particular interest in early diagnosis, cognitive rehabilitation, and improving quality of life for older adults.

Her work bridges clinical practice, research, and community outreach, with a focus on making brain health accessible to the public. She has developed and conducted numerous programmes on dementia prevention, cognitive stimulation, and caregiver support, and is actively involved in promoting awareness of brain health and ageing in the Indian context. She also runs Cogworks, an enrichment programme for people with dementia.

Dr Soumya Hegde is a Geriatric Psychiatrist, trained in the UK and India with over two decades of experience working with seniors with mental illness. She has a keen interest in Dementia and managing challenging behaviours holistically. She has worked extensively with residential care facilities helping them structure individualised care plans and train caregivers.

She is the founder of Memory Matters in Bangalore, an initiative to increase awareness of senior mental health issues and support family caregivers through community programs as they navigate their journey of caring.