Research Team
Dr. Anita Patil Deshmukh
Reshma Ludbe
Swati Sanghavi
Kiran Sawant
Shrutika Shitole
Tejal Shitole
Sonia Srinivasan
Consultants
Vikrant Deshmukh
Advisory Team
Naresh Fernandes
Shilpa Phadke
Research Team
Dr. Anita Patil-Deshmukh
Anita is the Principal Investigator for the Mythologies of Mumbai project. For further details please click here.
Reshma Ludbe
Reshma is no stranger to Dharavi and had, prior to joining the PUKAR team, already made inroads into Mumbai’s largest slum district’s colourful communities. An alumnus of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, she has been working in the field for over five years, a majority of these spent working with Dharavi’s youth groups. With a specialization in gender and micro-finance activities, she worked with ‘YUVA’ as a project co-ordinator on the livelihoods project in Dharavi. Over three years were spent studying pockets of this congested colony of hutments, economic activities and myriad backgrounds, on working with women’s self-help groups and micro-financing opportunities available to them. Reshma joined the Mythologies of Mumbai team in 2008, and currently she is the research associate for Dharavi portion of the project.
Swati Sanghavi
Swati, is a practicing architect and urban researcher. She is trained in architecture from University of Pune and has done her Masters in Urban Design from the City University, New York. She also attended University of Oregon, Eugene for a Masters in Community and Regional Planning. Swati joined PUKAR as a Research Associate for the Mythologies of Mumbai project in November 2009 and currently handles the Mapping section of the project using various tools like Open Street Maps, ArcGIS 9.3 and Google Maps.
Kiran Sawant
Kiran grew up in Mumbai’s western suburb of Andheri. After completing his BA in Marathi literature from Ruparel College, currently he is pursuing law from University of Mumbai, now in his second year Llb. Kiran joined PUKAR as a Youth Fellow in 2006. In his first year of Youth Fellowship Program he conducted research on the issues of caste and youth’s perception of it. In moving up the PUKAR ladder and acquiring greater responsibility, he became a youth catalyst in the second year heading research on HIV and AIDS. Mid-way through this he joined the Youth and Governance project a precursor to the Mythologies of Mumbai project, in which he was primarily interested. He studied and documented the Chinchpokli and Kalachowkie neighborhoods of Girangaon. Now also associated with the Healthy Cities Wealthy Cities project, Kiran spends all his hours working with PUKAR. With every year spent at PUKAR, he has built knowledge and skills and created for himself a vast storehouse of information.
Shrutika Shitole
Shrutika studied in Dadar’s King George School and went on to graduate in Marathi literature from Ruparel College. She continued studying the subject for her Masters in Marathi Literature at Mumbai University. Simultaneously she also pursued a course in Marathi journalism at St. Xavier’s College. Her first project as a barefoot researcher with Youth Fellowship Program was on caste; her team members and she realized that caste was a thread common to all. She moved on to the Youth and Governance project at PUKAR before finally taking on the Mythologies of Mumbai project as a Research Associate. Currently, Shrutika is also working with the Healthy Cities Wealthy Cities project. For the Mythologies of Mumbai project she documented the Lalbaug and Curry Road area of Girangaon.
Tejal Shitole
Tejal is one of PUKAR’s proud barefoot researchers who started in 2006 as a Youth Fellow and today working in different capacities. She has a B.Sc in Botany from Mumbai University. Her main focus through the Mythologies of Mumbai project lies in cultural heritage documentation, promoting the various local art forms and taking them to an international stage. She is also a Research Associate for Healthy Cities Wealthy Cities project and in future aspires to be a Public Health professional with her interest in women and child studies. As a Research Associate for the Mytholgoies of Mumbai project she was majorly involved in documentation of the Byculla surroundings of Girangaon.
Sonia Srinivasan
Sonia grew up in the suburbs of Mumbai, Thane. Her early school days in Holy Cross Convent were the building blocks that kept her always intrigued to learn more about the media. After graduating in English Literature from Kelkar College, Mulund Sonia joined Sophia Polytechnic in 2007 to pursue my media studies and received a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Communications Media. Sonia’s previous employers NDTV and CNBC TV-18 where she spent around three years put together, was one of her most enriching learning experiences.
Sonia loves dance and professionally trained for over two years with Shiamak Davar Institute Of Performing Arts. Photography, traveling, adventurous sports and watching world cinema is what keeps her going through the fast paced craziness of Mumbai.
Vikrant has over nine years of in the field of film and television production after
attaining a postgraduate degree in mass communication. He worked for eminent
directors and have also directed several projects under his own banner, now with the
wide range of experience and skills he is preparing to step in to the shoes of a feature film director.
As an Independent Filmmaker Vikrant has directed a Documentary film for “ Smita Patil Foundation’s”, worked on an television commercial for ZigZag Films Ahmedbad, directed a documentary funded by Ford Foundation of India for “PUKAR” (NGO) on
“Girangaon – Village of the Mills”, directed a Social documentary film for STREE BAL SHAKTI. (NGO), directed an AV for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Swades” for post release publicity, directed Documentary for Vihangam Yoga Institute of India. Covering 7 Yoga
Ashrams in different states of India, directed a 26 min corporate documentary on Ruby Hall Clinic Pune under Grant Medical Foundation.
Vikran has made AV’s of Magsaysay Award winners like Sandeep Pandey, Dr. Airole, AV
on Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan of Loksatta. AV on Ram Kapse Governor Port Blair
Andaman Nicobar Island, AV on Mr. Ashok Khosla on Developmental Alternatives.
And many more for INDIAN NGO’s.com, directed a Corporate Film for CITY BANK social responsibility cell, directed a 15 min without dialogue fiction film.
His market and academic projects include one feature film script, screenplay for short films, a 20 min. documentary on English Language Teaching Institute, short plays for Symbiosis in house production, conceptualization and direction of a SHOWREEL on Symbiosis College.
Vikrant enjoys playing percussion instruments, Clarinet, mandolin, flute, and mouth
organ, Photography & Photo Editing.
Advisory Team
Naresh Fernandes
Naresh Fernandes is a prolific writer and the editor-in-chief for the Time Out, India. He recently authored the title essay of Bombay Then, Mumbai Now, a photographic book about the city’s historical and contemporary development. He has previously co-edited Bombay Meri Jaan, an anthology of writing about the city. Over his two-decade career, he has covered religious riots in Bombay in 1992-1993, examined erstwhile textile mill industrial neighborhood, and has written about the social dynamics of new neighbourhoods spring up on the edges of the city. He is currently working on a book on how jazz influenced Hindi film music in the middle of the last century.
Shilpa Phadke
Shilpa Phadke is a sociologist, researcher, writer and pedagogue. She is Assistant Professor at theCentre for Media and Cultural Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has been educated at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, SNDT University and the University ofCambridge, UK. She conceptualised and led the Gender & Space Project at PUKAR from September 2003 to September 2006. Her co-authored book based on this research, titled, Why Loiter: Women and Risk on Mumbai’s Streets will be published later this year from Penguin Viking. She has published both in academic journals and in the popular print media. Her areas of concern include gender and the politics of space, the middle classes, sexuality and the body, feminist politics among young women and pedagogic practices. She loves the chaotic city of Mumbai and fantasizes that it will one day have a very large park.
