AREAS OF EXPERTISE/EXPERIENCE

• Subjects: Sustainable fashion, crony capitalism, corporate corruption, the Northeast, conflict, cinema, media.
• Skillsets: Reporting/writing, editing, designing, news coordination and planning, content development, website design-development.
• Media: Print, online, wire.
• Books: Author of three books, lead author of one, co-author of one, joint author of one.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• texfash.com: Bengaluru/Kolkata
  Co-Founder/Executive Editor: March 2022 onwards
  • Writing cover stories and special features.

• Fibre2Fashion: Bengaluru
  Contributing Editor: January 2015 - August 2021
  • Writing lead stories and special features.
  • Helm the magazine's content.

• Journalist/Researcher: Bengaluru
  Independent journalist and researcher: July 2014 onwards
  • Columnist at various publications.
  • Ghostwriter.
  • Consultant: content strategies and publishing.
  • Working on three books concurrently.

• Daily News & Analysis (DNA): Bengaluru
  News Editor: February 2012 till June 2014
  • Initially: Responsible for production (including news monitoring, news selection and all other editorial operations) of the Bangalore edition of the newspaper.
  • Subsequently: Report exclusives/specials. Plan and execute specials and special pages.

• Newswatch: New Delhi
  
  Editor: July 2003 till February 2012
  • Responsible for running www.newswatch.in, the only comprehensive portal on Indian journalism. The portal covered the journalism profession and the news industry, and received worldwide acceptance and acclaim.

• Contractual assignments: New Delhi
  Columnist/contributor: December 2010 till February 2012
  • Magic Lantern Foundation; December 2010 onwards; Communications consultant.
  • Regular columns with FirstPost.com, TheAlternative.in, Yuva, Media Voice, Kindle, The Imphal Free Press, AsianCorrespondent.com, Rediff.com, Just Books.

• SPG Publications: New Delhi
  Executive Editor: April-August 2010 (contract)
  • Job required looking after the entire editorial operations of four magazines: Land Forces, Naval Forces, Aviation, AirBuzz.

• Wildlife Trust of India (WTI): New Delhi
  Head of communications / Editor: July 2002 to April 2003, October 2009 to March 2010 (contract)
  • Job required editing and designing publications, besides editing and designing one-time target-specific publications like research studies, manuals, and reports.
  • Additional job responsibilities entailed liaising with the media and coordinating content for the website wildlifetrustofindia.org.

• Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI): New Delhi
  Executive Editor / Assistant Secretary General (Publications) : October 2000 to July 2002
  • Job required editing and designing the bimonthly mouthpiece of the Indian hospitality industry titled FHRAI Magazine, besides editing and designing one-time publications like research studies, manuals, and reports.

• Centre for Science and Environment (CSE): New Delhi
  Asst Coordinator, Books Unit: July 1998 to March 1999
  • Job required editing manuscripts on environmental issues for the books unit. One also had to plan thematic structures for books and commission writers to contribute to the projects. This was apart from raising funds for publishing the books.
  • Was part of the team which brought out the Fifth State of the Environment Report.

• The Telegraph: Calcutta
  Joined as sub-editor in January 1995, left as Chief Sub-Editor: June 1998
  • Job required handling shifts, copies and pages for the Region Desk. This included three weekly supplements, and the Northeast and Orissa daily pages. Travelled regularly to the Northeast on special assignments. Wrote regularly for the Edit and Op-ed sections.
  • Instrumental in creating the need for an infographics department.
  • Wrote over 100 edit page articles and features.

• Press Trust of India Ltd (PTI): Calcutta
  Sub-editor: October 1991 to January 1995
  • Worked on the Eastern Metropolitan Desk: handled copies on all subjects (politics to sports) coming in from the seven Northeast states, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Sikkim, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
    
  • Did more than 40 feature stories.

REPORTS / RESEARCH

• Green Indicators 2004, the first effort at quantifying India’s green wealth.

• Tail tell tales: How the Indian news media covered the tiger census report launch
• One murder, umpteen versions: How the news media covered the killing of a CEO
• Identities and descriptors: How the news media described the Assam clashes
• Guilty mileage: How the Indian news media covered the judgment in two high-profile cases
• Extinction of concern: How the media failed to contextualise the IUCN Red List announcement
• Insensitive: How many news outlets threw ethics to the winds by naming a rape victim
• Extensive, theatrical: What people thought of the Mumbai terror attacks coverage on TV
• Written off: How the Indian news media deals with its freelance journalists
• Undermined: How the news media covered the Vedanta/Niyamgiri issue
• Newsability of Indian Corporate Websites

PRIZES/FELLOWSHIPS

• Selected as an inward fellow for National Foundation for India's Northeast Media Exchange Programme in 1996. Subject was Changing traditional and cultural patterns in Mizoram, with special emphasis on the youth.
• Awarded prize in science fiction categeory by Children's Book Trust for manuscript co-authored with Richa Bansal.