the bait

Our Sponsors

HR JAYARAM

HR Jayaram is a social entrepreneur and the founder of the Greenpath Eco hotel, organic store and a restaurant which fosters holistic kitchen practices. He works on environmental causes. He is the founder–president of Arkavathy, Kumudvati river rejuvenation committee. He is the Founder-Secretary of Jaivik Krishik Society. He is also a successful lawyer with a lucrative practice. His love for organic farming has enabled him spread wings and establish an urban community at ‘Green Path’ which embraces sustainable living. He has created spaces for people around the world to come here and participate in such activities - as farming, urban gardening, water management and food manufacture. He is also an athlete and loves to participate in marathons.


DR GEORGE THOMAS

Dr. George Thomas, chief orthopaedic surgeon at the St. Isabel's Hospital in Mylapore, has been interested in serious debate from student days. He is the editor of The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. He is a judge for the "Debating Matters" competition conducted in India by the Institute of Ideas and has been a judge for the final round held in the UK.


SHRIRAM

Shriram Raghavan works for a Swiss headquartered multinational firm “Evolva Biotech” in the synthetic biology & genetic chemistry space. He has more than a decade of experience in various startups and has experienced the spectrum of investment cycle – greenfield projects to initial public offering. His previous companies include Jubilant Biosys, Reametrix & Cytogenomics. He also has exposure various life science businesses including pharma & biotech, diagnostics, agriculture, biofuels, bioinformatics, flavours & fragrances. He has a masters in biochemical engineering.


DR PASUPATHY

He is a certified lead quality manager as well as a lead auditor in food safety and environment management systems. He has also walked from Chennai to Pune, throughout Tamil Nadu while also cycling across the state to understand the country better. He is the coordinator for 57 such centres in the country. He launched Vigyan Rath, a mobile lab which empowers rural children by enabling them to perform experiments. He is a consultant on food safety for more than 76 star hotels across the country. He is the founder of Mind Openers forum, a public speaking club for the last 25 years. He has also successfully completed a Guinness effort in public speaking by speaking extempore for 16hours and 40 minutes continuously.


LAKSHMINARAYANAN

Lan, as he is popularly called, is the Chief Endowment Officer of Azim Premji Foundation, a $2 billion fund to improve the quality of education particularly in rural India. For sixteen years prior to this, he has been with WIPRO in various positions including Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Treasurer. His interests include quizzing, reading, mythology and financial history.


RITA RAMESH

An M.Com and B.Ed holder, she is the director of a preschool called Chennai Champs. A Central Government approved training instructor, she runs not only her preschool but also a day care centre called Champ Nest and an afterschool activity centre for kids called Kids Campus in West Mambalam, Chennai. With over 15 years of experience in the teaching field, she was a teacher in PSBB Senior Secondary School, KK Nagar prior to Chennai Champs. She is also the co-ordinator for the Change project by British Council and is an editor with Aster publications. Apart from this, she is the co-ordinator for ISO quality circles.


VINEET JOSHI

Vineet Joshi is a Mechanical Engineer and an MBA in International Business from IIFT Delhi. During the course of his in-service training, he has undergone courses in IIT(Bangalore) and Amity School of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development. Today, he is the Chairman of CBSE and the man behind shifting the CBSE 10th board exams from a mark-based system to a grade-based system.


COMMODORE SHEKAR


SUMITRA SAWANT


M KESHAV

A science graduate in chemistry with a diploma in journalism, he has worked with Aside Magazine as sub-editor and business manager. He has also worked in the advertising and garment exports industry. Now, he runs an Attitude Consultancy firm, MANTRA. He specialises in capsules related to Communication, Inter Personal Skills, Organisational Behaviour Study, Speaking Skills and Effective Presentation. He has 1600 workshops to his credit. M. Keshav is well known as a presenter on Radio & Television, having worked from 1981 with Akashwani(AIR) and Doordarshan. He has also anchored the popular Wonder Quiz an inter-school quiz programme on the RAJ TV network.


VENKATESHWARAN

A priveleged first batch student of Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram way back in 1987, Venky, as he is popularly called, went on to graduate in English Literature. The last two decades has seen him as a businessman, sourcing leather and footwear for various European buyers and offering technical and commercial end-to-end solutions. In 2006, he entered the greenfield industry of digital media with Influx Interactive and currently caters to clients such as Reliance Infocom, Big Cinemas, PVR Cinemas, Apollo Hospitals, Kingfisher Airlines, Vodafone, etc for their online web and media requirements. Apart from his professional pursuits, Venky is ready at hand to support anyone whose cause he believes in.


SUDHIR KUMAR

Sudhir Kumar is an alumni of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram. After passing out from school in 1991, he went on to graduate from DG Vaishnav and has a PG Diploma in Management in 1995. He established his own business in 1997 – a manufacturing unit of uniforms. They are associated with RYA, Maheshwari Sabha, Round Table and Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram for the last thirty years. HE is also a member of Friends for Tribals society.


C KASTURI RAJ

A law graduate and am MBA holder, his prophetic zeal, vision and dynamism are the factors in helping the company grow steadily in a sustainable manner. He is the Managing Director of Firm Foundation, an apartment promoter. Apart from his professional pursuits, he is an avid athlete with particular interest in football and hockey.


HARI PENDYALA

Hari Muralidhar Pendyala has 15+ years experience in IT Strategy and Operations specialized in Information Security. He is currently working as CEO, Chief Advisor for Zraddhaa Information Services Private Limited. He held various positions in Banking, Product and Consulting industries. Hari received his Master's in Computer Engineering from Florida Atlantic University, FL, USA and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical and Electronics engineering from S.V.University, Tirupati, India. He also holds several security industry certifications, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), GIAC and ITIL. Hari is passionate about Entrepreneurship in Sunrise Industries and Socio-Economic issues.


V JAYAKRISHNAN

A Chartered and Cost Accountant by qualification, V. Jayakrishnan is the secretary of Padma Sarangapani Matriculation group of schools in Chennai. He is the founder director of V.V.Rajan & Co. Pvt. Ltd., a leading Publishing house in Chennai. In the last 5 years, the company has diversified into many fields like newspaper publishing, with its 13-edition neighbourhood newspaper, Apollo Times, real estate-Vaikund Estates and educational multi media- Digi Class. A dynamic entrepreneur, Jayakrishnan has been responsible for introducing effective teaching methodologies in the school like using mind mapping and using technology and multi media for effective learning. He is the brain behind the annual Science Expo- Synergy in which he ensures that every student participates, with the motto- Learning by Doing. His networking skills, good market sense and visionary approach have made him a leader in the field.


ARUNA KALAHASTRI

Aruna.Kalahastri is an engineer by education. She lived in the US for 10 years embracing the alternative lifestyle and worked with small forums in urban spaces to seed holistic concepts in lifestyle, education, food and culture .She is currently the Director of Projects at Bhoomi network an NGO working on sustainable living in Bangalore. She is also a regular columnist in Eternal Bhoomi, a magazine for food, community and sustainable living. Has deep interest in Ecofriendly farming practices. She is a member of ‘The Southern Action on Genetic Engineering’ (SAGE) a group working closely with the farming community to promote non GM food production. She also conducts workshops in several colleges in Bangalore on food, health and climate change. Working with small communities in Pugal , Rajasthan, to foster economic independence while preserving their cultural heritage. Deeply interested in Philosophy particularly Buddhist and reads books which encourages alternative thinking and questions the current growth paradigm.

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