Participants
Akshay Agarwal
Akshay Agarwal is an architect graduated from government college of Architecture, Lucknow. He is currently running his practice in doon valley with the aim of creating awareness of contextual design and respect towards heritage. He is also involved in academics and takes guest lecturers in various colleges. He has worked with eminent architects of India and is now working to revive the heritage sites of Dehradun.
Arif Hussain
Arif Hussain has a Master in Urban Design.
Ghanshyam Rai
Ghanshyam Rai has done his graduation in legislative law. He is a co-founder and walk leader of a Dehradun-based citizen’s group called Been There, Doon That which offers numerous walks through the historic sites of the region. He is a national player of multi sports and runs India's only Stag Basketball Academy. He's enthusiastic to find out about different cultures and food. He is interested in photography and takes pleasure in riding bikes. He is up for learning new things and adventures in life.
Meghna Chatterji
Meghna Chatterji is a conservation architect, co-founder of the firm 'Kaarkhana' and is currently working as an assistant professor in DIT University Dehradun. She is a registered architect since 2013 and has been working on heritage and urban conservation based projects since then. She completed her masters in Architectural conservation from SPA Delhi. Her professional journey started as a volunteer for ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) on the project - Post disaster cultural assessment of Uttarakhand, funded by UNESCO. She then worked as a project architect with Aishwarya Tipnis Architects on renowned projects like Dutch in Chinsurah funded by the Embassy of Netherlands.
She has also worked as an architectural consultant for INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) Sawai Madhopur Chapter and has listed and travelled the built and the natural heritage of more than 2000 villages in the districts of Sawai Madhopur and Dausa in Rajasthan. Apart from that she has been associated with several workshops and alternative educational events from time to time. She also happens to be a vocalist and an admirer of all kinds of art forms.
Riddhima Karwa
Riddhima Karwa is a graduate in Mathematics and has a post-graduate certification in Development Leadership from the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM). Her main areas of interest are heritage, history and environment. She currently works as a project consultant for Do-No Trash, a program which addresses the issues of waste management, sustainable lifestyle and plastic-free living.
Sana Mehra
Sana Mehra is a double graduate in Hospitality & Hotel Administration and in Tourism Management from Institute of Hotel Management Dehradun & Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) respectively. She has an experience in working with luxury hotel chains in India like The Park Hotel, ITC Grand Bharat- Manesar & Vana (Wellness Retreat). Currently, she is working with Been There Doon That as a Hospitality & Soft Skills Trainer with various communities of the Uttarakhand & Himachal Pradesh. She has also worked as a Research Assistant at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Her interests include incorporating sustainability in the Hospitality and Tourism sector.
She has assisted as researcher on the MDDA-INTACH-Book World Publication titled ‘Walking with Laata: 50 Trails Through Doon Valley’s Living History and Nature’ published in 2019. She has also assisted as a researcher on the INTACH project ‘Chronicling Ganga: Documenting the Cultural Heritage Along River Ganga from Gaumukh to Ganga Sagar’ which entailed documenting the communities’ perspectives about the river from the point of view of tourism, rituals and indigenous knowledge systems.
Sargam Mehra
Sargam Mehra is a Doctoral Fellow at Doon University researching on heritage communication in the Doon Valley. She graduated in history from the University of Delhi and holds a masters in history and a masters in communication studies. She is the co-founder of the citizen’s initiative Been There Doon That which does weekly heritage walks and works with several village communities in the Western Himalayan region. She has previously worked as a sub-editor with the United News of India, New Delhi and subsequently as an Assistant Professor at Doon University. She has been a research assistant with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) with keen interest in history and heritage.
Shushanshu Thapa
Shushanshu Thapa is a Post - Graduate in Archaeology and Heritage Management, from Delhi Institution of Heritage and Research Management, Delhi. She is currently working in citizen’s initiative Been There Doon That (BTDT) as an active member. She leads the BTDT heritage walk to the Mindrolling Monastery, Dehradun and has an interest in Buddhism, Indian Mythology and Heritage.
Shreyansh Kala
Shreyansh Kala is a Master in Geology from HNB Garhwal University. He has been working in development sector for past six years with organisations like UNDP, INTACH, HERE Maps. He has an experience in implementation of projects aimed at high altitude biodiversity conservation and building resilience of local communities towards climate change, through alternate livelihood opportunities. He has worked in diverse landscapes of Uttarakhand by coordinating initiatives and activities with state government and relevant line departments, civil society organizations, academic and research institutions, community level institution.
He is an avid trekker and aspiring mountaineer and likes to ride his motorcycle to various nook and corners of Uttarakhand.
Soham Seal
Soham Seal is a doctor in Life Science.
Swati Bisht
Swati Bisht is an architect.
Tushar Gupta
Tushar Gupta is a Graduate in Media and Communications studies, founder of Pichchar production, a video production house in Dehradun. Recently, his film ‘CODE’ won bronze medal in Indian Film Project, Season 10. Currently, he and his team are doing Government projects and also working as a freelance content creator for various brands. He is also a heritage enthusiast and posses keen interest in projecting lesser known stories and facts of Dehradun through film- making.
Udit Nautiyal
Udit Nautiyal is a Post-Graduate in Media and Communication Studies from Doon University Dehradun. He has worked as a Research assistant with INTACH. He has also worked in the documentation of History of Kumaon region funded by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. Currently, he is working in the documentation of Ganga from Gaumukh to Ganga Sagar, funded by Namami Ganga, Government of India. He has keen interest in the history of Uttarakhand.