education:Master's Degree
high school:St. Georges College, Mussoorie
occupation:Training, Information Techonoogy
Presently working with Sumeru Software Solutions
activities:Trainer of Art of Living Courses for Adults and Youth (YES!+) programs
Amit Periwal
I have completed my BCom (Hons) from Bhawanipur College, Kolkata in 2003. I have 6 years of work experience in the textiles line.My family business is trading in Denim & Cotton, Polyester & cotton mix fabrics in Kolkata. We are the Dealers for the east zone of the complany Soma Textiles & Industries Ltd, Ahmedabad where i have also undergone technical training for 2 months. I play darts at the states & nationals level & have also represented my state West Bengal in the 3rd Nationals Darts Tournament in delhi.
Anjana Vivek
Education:
1) Masters in Computers, K.J Somaiya Institute of management and studies.
2) Master of Commerce, Mumbai University.
3) Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.), K.J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce.
I have worked for 2 yrs as a software architect.
I have been an AOL Teacher from last 5 yrs taking ART EXCEL crs in India & Europe.
From last 14 months I have been taking YES!+ Crs in Mumbai. I have been a part in organizing Mega Events of AOL.
Recently joined a business venture name PRAKRITI Network.
I Do 3 M in AOL- Mind (I teach ART EXCEL, YES!+ and Part I Crs) Money (Handle Finance of different Events of YES!+) Masti (Organizes Picnics, Different Camp, movies..... etc)
I am just superb dealing with people. I love to cook. Lots of people call me Annapurneshwari Devi. No one goes without food from my home. I love to walk on a beach at night having hot roasted corn. Loves wet sand. Love to shop till I drop. My Strength is undying enthusiasm, diplomatic in dealings, my smile & my volunteers. My Passion is to follow Guruji wherever hE goes.
Arundhati Ganorkar
Arundhati with the most amazing SMILE . . . . . . is a graduate from Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics. She holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Care & Education from Sophia Polytech.
Winning an award at age of 8yrs for portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in an inter school play competition. She started her modeling career at the age of 17 with ad films like Fair & Lovely, Pepsodent, Bru coffee, Heinz tomato ketchup, Kodak & very recently seen in Calcium Sandoz.
She was the face of Zee TV when launched in ’92.Moving on to do serials like “Kismat” with Ramesh Sippy, “Daraar”, “Adhikar”, “Kahan se Kahan Tak” with Lekh Tandon, “Gardish” with Anand Rai & “Naina” with Imtiaz Ali.
Arundhati compered concerts for Lata Mangeshkar in US.
She has done the film “Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai” with Anubhav Sinha & National award winning film “Laaddo”.
She has been full time faculty since 2001.She was one of the persons instrumental in getting the Circular passed with Maharashtra govt for sponsorship of employees to do the Art of Living courses. She initiated the Vidharbha Farmers project with the Relief & Rehabilitation department , Maharashtra Govt.
Good cook. . . . . (have to taste her pesto sauce, veg Biryani & sizzlers to believe) inspiring colleague, a source of strength for many & a charming person on the creative aspect . . .painter& innovative at art & craft.
Atika Dhandhia
A graduate in Commerce from the Delhi University's esteemed Shri Ram college of Commerce and Indraprastha college.a qualified Jewellery designer from GIA (gemmological institute of America). Now taking courses worldwide for the Art Of Living Foundation concentrating mainly on youth most recently conducted a yes+ programme at the CCS , Corporate culture and spirituality seminar at the European Parliament at Brusssels ,Belgium. Apart from being an active faculty member and trainer for teachers with the Art of Living Foundation she also runs a highly successful company called Veda Wellness which provides Wellness solutions to corporates in india.
Bhavesh Tolani
Bhavesh Tolani was born in Gujarat, India. After completing his basic education in Gujarat, he obtained a diploma in software engineering from Mumbai University.
During his career as a software engineer, he attended the Art of Living course in 1998. From 1999 to 2001 he worked as a Business Manager,Car Finance at Standard Charted Bank,Mumbai. However he was hugely inspired by the Art of Living course and finally chose to train himself to become an instructor.
Since 2003, besides India, he has traveled to various countries in Africa and Europe, teaching people this ancient knowledge of the Art of Living. He has worked extensively with youth, both rural and urban, institutions of various nature, ministries and governments of different countries.
Besides the YES+ course, he also teaches Part1, DSN, TTC Phase-1, Sri Sri Yoga, YES, Art Excel, Prison SMART, YLTP Phase-1, YLTP Phase-2.
Bidisha Sen
YES+ Faculty and East Zone Coordinator for WAYE, Art of Living Foundation
Introduced to Art of Living ten years back, Bidisha has been involved an active volunteer since, conducting workshops for children, teenagers and youth between 8 to 30 years. She has conducted workshops and given numerous talks in various parts of India and in the United States, in institutes such as the IITs, IIMs and Stanford University.
Bidisha has completed her engineering in Energy Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. She has over seven years of experience in the IT industry and has worked with prestigious companies such as Computer Associates, Cognizant Technology Solutions and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Currently she has started her own consultancy company, Ashmi Consulting Services.
Bidisha balances her life between her social service activities, her profession and her three year daughter. An avid reader and a writer too, she loves spending her time with friends and family and is passionate about travel, trekking, dance, yoga and meditation.
Christian Matta
Christian Matta has a degree in advertising from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) and the International Academy of Arts and Design in Montreal. He was trained by Ogilvy and worked in different companies across Montreal. He also had a chance to work as a freelancer. Since August 2006 he became a full-time Art of Living teacher traveling across Canada and recently in the middle-east.
Devang Vora
Devang Vora - Looks like a sportsman and thankfully, is one too! He plays volleyball and has been a skater at a professional level. People who know him will vouch for the fact that he is adventurous and loves challenges. If you think it cannot be done, meet Devang.
His interests include trekking, especially in the Himalayas and meeting new people. During his leisure time (which is like, about 2.05 minutes in 24 hours...on rare days), he likes to catch up on sleep. He also digs long walks. Especially in the rains with friends, with a chai thrown in from the roadside tapri!
Devang is a total foodie. If you cook and if you especially cook sweet stuff, you can count on him to be your long time fan. And a confirmed "best friend"! If you have promised him a sweet treat, rest assured he won't forget about it. Not in this lifetime. And the nice guy that he is, you won't even feel like depriving him of his treats! And he adores Indian cuisine. Who doesn't?! He also likes watching comedy and thriller genre movies. He is a bike-maniac.
He had dabbled in modeling during his engineering days. And he retains those model looks! His hobbies also include investments (He says he likes to make money work for him, not vice versa!).
Devang is a YES!+ teacher and one of Bawa and Dinesh's big assets. He has been with the Art Of Living Foundation for six years now. He has given talks and seminars related to the same across India. He was part of the core committee that organised Yuvaratri in 2006 that was attended by well over 50000 young people and which announced the foundation of WAYE (World Alliance for Youth Empowerment). He has been actively involved with WAYE. Devang is also the founder of the Blue Ribbon Movement, an NGO with over 125 members in Mumbai, all involved in youth development.
He also started and led the biggest interschool project of Mumbai – Khoj in 2001. Ask our Gujju Boy how he would describe himself in one short sentence and he says - Kewl Chu!
Diego Cob
Luis Diego Cob was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica (Central America), he attended the distinguished Williams College in Western Massachusetts, USA, he graduated in 2004 with a double major in Political Science (International Relations) and Chinese and an additional concentration in Environmental Studies. He has lived and traveled in different parts of Europe, Asia, South Africa, China, Brazil, and since 2004 has made Mexico his base working for the Art of Living. He has taught and coordinated projects with street children, impoverished communities, battered women, juvenile delinquents, general public, university students and young professionals. Diego has managed a team of youth leaders with funding from the World Bank on 2 separate occasions and coordinating events such as the the Art of Living's 5K Run for Youth for a Stress-Free Violence Free Society. Diego works full-time with the Art of Living and teaches, Part I courses for adults, the YES!+ course for young professionals and university students, YES! for High School students, the Art of Living Prison Program and the Breath Water Sound Program for marginalized communities, in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the USA.
Emily Peck
As a faculty member of the Art of Living Foundation, Emily teaches programs for youth in high schools and universities. Her teaching experience includes some of the most prestigious universities throughout the United States: MIT, Cornell, UPenn, Yale, and University of Chicago. In addition, Emily specializes in teaching faculty and administration of educational institutions.
As a part of Art of Living Foundation's Campaign for a Violence-Free, Stress-Free America, Emily spear headed a human values based educational program, Teens for Teens Around the World, which brought the values of compassion, cooperation, friendliness and peace to 6,500 students, in 175 classrooms across the US.
Emily has a background in conservation biology, satellite technology and leadership development. Her professional experience includes work for the World Wildlife Fund, EarthSat Corporation, the Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland, and United Nations delegate.
Emily graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS in Geography, and from the State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry with an AS in Forestry.
Jaina Desai
B.A and Ll.B from Mumbai Uniersity with a degree in French as well. Has worked with a law firm and a french magazine. Had travelled to France, taught The Art of Living courses there. Has taught thousands of children the ART EXCEL course over a long period of time since she became teacher. Had handled secretariat of Pujya Sri Sri Ravishankarji during Silver Jubilee of The Art Of Living and continues in the office handling international secretariat. Now also an eternity course teacher besides being a Yes!+ teacher. Has great communication skills, very sharp and very hard working, very loving and caring. Has the ability to connect with people, to work very well with people, and the greatest strength is the Guru.
Meghana Shah
Educational Qualifications:
1) B.Com. Mumbai University – 1999 2) Web Masters World Wide Web Institute, Geneva
Work Experience:
1) Blossom Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd. May 2000 to November 2002. Web designing and programming, coordinating with clients, content writers for data collection, layouts and logistics
2) Wipro Spectramind Services Pvt. Ltd. Since November 2002 till March 2004
Quality Coach in US based Process.
My profile in quality team was to create PPT presentation and conduct training on customer support skills and voice and accent.
3) Intelenet Global Services Ltd. Since March 2004 till December 2005
Quality Coach in US based Process.
Interacting with the clients in the US through weekly calibration calls and keeping at par with the quality standards. Providing training to the OJT (On the Job Training) batches to help them prepare to join the floor. Managing team of 50 members.
Area of Work in Art of Living:
My journey with AOL started in the 2000 and since then there is no looking back. I have organized and assisted various PartI courses and satsangs. I became AOL teacher in the year 2006 and have taught nearly 200 Art Excel Kids and around 150 YES students. Have organized Grishma Mahotsav a mega Art Excel and YES course in 2007. I have organized various YES+ courses and been a part of core team in organizing the mega youth event YUVARATRI in 2006. Have been teaching YES+ since last six months and have taken courses in Pune for the UNFPA and take regular courses in Mumbai.
Talent and Strength:
Commitment, devotion, Smile :), good communication, good listener, good cook, patriotic,
good trainer, manage to sing J
Milind Gupta
I have done my diploma in Mech. Engg. From Institute of Mech. Engineering. I have also done advance diploma in Computer Hardware Engineering and I am professional Computer software and hardware Engineer. I am into e-commerce business with excellence in promotion of products. Also pioneer in bringing FOREX Automated Trading technology in India (only firm providing Automated trading in Forex Market).
I am very good in delivering interesting talk on any topics specially Indian Culture and Indology. I am amazing extra ordinary brilliant cook with mastery in Indian and Chinese foods. I can sing any song backwards. I am excellent orator of “Agnihotra”. Currently working in the Vidarbha region for Yes!+ activity (Same Vidarbha where farmers are committing suicide, surprisingly Vidarbha is very prosperous indeed). I was also coordinator of Y.L.T.P. for Vidarbha region uptil April 2007.
Nanda Sugandh
is a faculty with the WAYE, she packs together her unique creativity, vivacious charm and spiritual charisma in delivering action packed and fun filled workshops for the youth.
Over the last 9 year Ms Nanda has tirelessly dedicated herself to the cause of youth empowerment and guidance. In her inspired endeavor she has traveled the nation from Gujarat to Mehalaya, Delhi to Karnataka. She has transformed thousands of lives from slums in Nagpur to generation Xkids in Delhi .She has won a huge fan following with her recent seminar in North India and Nagpur .She has taught in IIT KANPUR, LLRM medical college Meerut, Shree Ramdev Baba Engineering College Nagpur, Government Medical College Nagpur etc. she has students from Delhi University, New Horizons Bangalore, in Nagpur she has students from VNNIT, Lata Mangeshkar medical college, YCC, Priyadarshini.
Ms Nanda is a graduate from L.A.D. College Nagpur prior to social service; she had a successful career as a fashion designer. In her free time she loves to cook delicious recipes for her adoring fans or organize large outdoor musical events.
Mrs Pooja Tolani
Mrs Pooja Tolani was born and brought up in Meghalaya, a state in the north-east of India. She completed her education in Mumbai, India. In 2000 she received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from St. Xavier’s college, the topmost college for humanities studies in India. In 2001 she specialized in Marketing and Advertising with a diploma from SNDT University, Mumbai.
She took the Art of Living Part-1 program in the year 1999 in Mumbai. After being vastly benefited from the course, she had an opportunity to meet H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the year 2000. Immensely moved by Sri Sri’s single pointed determination to serve humanity, she decided to dedicate her own life to service. She started teaching Art of Living programs in the year 2001, traveling across the world, conducting various programs especially for the youth.
She has worked with various ministries and government official and agencies to reach out to various sections of the society, specially educators, social workers and parents. She has worked with youth and juveniles from violent backgrounds, and those with drug dependency to help them come back to a normal life. She has also worked with various schools and colleges spreading the message of human values and peace.
Ramnik Bansal
education:Master's Degree
college/university:IIM-Bangalore, IIT-Bombay
major:Finance, IT
degree:MBA
occupation:Trainer, youth seminars
industry:Non-Profit, Programme Development
company:Art of Living
job description:Conduct Youth Empowerment Seminars at various colleges across india.
Rashmin Pulekar
B.com from R.A.Podar college, Mumbai University, worked with Indian Railways as a chess player, with international rating in chess.
I teach Yes!+ course of The Art of Living, I sing, compose and am a happy, disorganized, funny, lazy, good human being. I have played chess at national level, like to watch one-day cricket. I like all cuisines that has cheese in it. Others call me cute, sweet, sings well and have a charming personality, with unmatchable humour.
Have taught ART EXCEL, YES and Yes!+ courses in Mumbai, Nasik, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Jammu, Solapur, Osmanabad and Pune.
Dr Rohit Sabharwal
I'm a Dental Surgeon(Periodontist) by profession, practicing in Andheri, Bombay for the last 12 years. I'm ex-Professor & Head of the Dept., Dept of Periodontics, People's College of Dental Sciences, Bhopal. Presently a Post-Graduate teacher in Periodontics in MAR Dental College, Pune.
Passion:- to fill people's life, Gums' surgery
What I love most? Laugh my guts out, Paani-puris, trekking, reading espionage stories, sleeping.
What I Detest? Thinking
Hobbies: Singing bhajans, playing dholak, watching action movies.
What I Do best? Gums' surgeries and teaching AOL course.
My strength: Faith in my Guru and my flexibility.
Saleel Pulekar
Saleel Pulekar, born in 1973, graduated as Electronics Engineer in 1995 from University of Bombay.
After having worked for 9 years in the Information Technology industry in India, Europe, South Africa and Singapore, he is currently employed with the Art of Living Foundation, the world’s fastest NGO which has reached out to millions in more than 148 countries through its social projects and self-development and educational programs.
Saleel’s IT career involved various roles like software programming, customer requirements analysis, product testing, quality assurance, designing systems and project leadership.
He has been associated with the Art of Living for the last seven years. He has a passion for youth and has been instrumental in various youth development initiatives. He is one of the leading faculty & Programme co-ordinator with “WAYE” (World Alliance for Youth Empowerment), in collaboration with the United Nations. He has addressed youth audiences and/or conducted seminars in various universities like IITs, IIMs and other reputed institutes in India.
He has conducted Youth Seminars in various universities in Germany.
His talks and educational programs have also been a great source of guidance to corporate audiences especially IT companies. On the lighter side, Saleel loves chess and cricket. Singing and dancing are his passion. He loves spending time with youngsters, perhaps that’s what keeps him young ;-).
Sanjay Gulbani
Sanjay has done a Masters in Computer Science from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia in 1999 and a Graduate Certificate in Information Technology from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia in 1997. Prior to this, he had completed a 3-years part-time Masters Diploma in Software Engineering from Aptech in Mumbai alongwith BSc in Chemistry from Jai-Hind College, Mumbai in 1993. He has been working for a little over 14 years in the Software consulting Industry of which 3 years were in Australia working with Katies Fashions (the largest womens retail chain in Australia, based in Sydney) and a federal government department (in Sydney), and 6 years in the USA working with Delta Airlines (Atlanta), Trilogy/Ford JV (Austin TX), HP/Compaq (Houston TX) and Xtria (a company based in Plano TX developing software products for the Banking industry). He just left his 2-year old job as a Project Manager in Wipro Technologies and is looking forward to join Sumeru Software in Bangalore. He has developed software for many different industries including manufacturing, airlines, automotive, banking insurance and transportation
Shavina Prakash
Educational Background:
Bachelor of Arts from Calcutta University.
Diploma in Travel Tourism and Hotel Management
Diploma in French Literature
Diploma in Early Childhood Education
*Work Experience: Worked with a travel firm for 7 years organizing and conducting outbound tours to Europe, America and South East Asia
Recently worked at the American Embassy School, New Delhi in the Elementary Department as a teacher.
*My skills & talents: Enjoy interacting and networking with people of all age groups, cultures and strata of society.
*Determination- Once I focus myself on any activity or project I am not willing to let anything get in my way to completing it.
* My association with the Art of Living in terms of different projects:
*Helped organize Part 1 and DSN courses 2 years ago.
*Have been actively organizing and assisting YESÍ+ courses for the last one and a half years.
*Worked with the corporate sponsorship team during Yuvaratri 2006 in Mumbai.
*Have assisted Dr.Richa Chopra in liasoning with government and UN agencies during the past one year for activities related to WAYE.
Dr Shilpa Sabharwal
I am Shilpa Sabharwal, a dental surgeon(Prosthodontist) by profession, practicing dentistry in Mumbai for the last 14years. I am teaching AOL part-1, ART EXCEL, YES, Yes!+ courses in India and abroad for the last two years. My special talent is my singing. I am trained classical and light classical singer and have toured all over India, Australia, Dubai and Brazil doing satsangs. Another thing I love and do well is cooking. I can replicate different cuisines of the world with ease and good degree of reliabilityand finally make everybody love Indian Food. My strength: my faith in Guruji and sensitivity to peoples need.
Shreya Chugh
Age : 27 years
The Art of Living Youth Empowerment Seminar Facilitator and Sri Sri Yoga Teacher I have a Masters degree in International Business and have been professionally Associated with multinational corporations working on animated projects and graphic Illustrations in Australia and USA.
Its been a beautiful journey cutting across technology and traditions ! I have been teaching The Art of Living Youth Empowerment Seminar for over 2.5 years now in some of the major colleges in India, Sultanate of Oman, Kingdom of Bahrain, UAE and Qatar . I have also conducted these programmes in the North East of India, particularly in the Tribal Regions of Nagaland. A region surrounded by insurgency and hit by the Underground movement. Its been absolutely wonderful too see the transformation in the youth in these areas. Some of my professional accomplishments have been : I have represented India on Project KEO - a satellite launched by the French Government and NASA with information about the various cultures of the earth This involved studying the ancient scriptures and traditions of India to select and present the right blend of our ancient wisdom and its relevance to our modern age.
Worked as the official designer for Your Practice Online, one of the top most Medical Health Care portals of Australia . Conceived, conceptualised and published the first ever Newsletter for medical portals online ! I have been awarded the Kirmani award for outstanding sportsmanship in the Rappling category in 1998 and also the Best River Rafters Award at the National Adventure Festival, India.
Tapan Vaidya
Educational Qualifications:
1) B.E. Electronics M.S University Baroda India - 1999
2) M.S. Computer Engineering North Carolina State University Raliegh, US - 2000
Work Experience:
1) Netcontinuum Inc : San Jose CA USA from 2001 to 2004
2) Intel Corporations Bangalore, India from 2004 to 2005
3) Conexant Systems Hyderabad, India from 2005 to 2008
Area of Work in India:
Worked for Basic Course, YES+, fund raising and satsangs in
1) Gujarat
2) Bangalore
3) Hyderabad
Countries:
1) Assisted and taught Part I course in California US.
2) Taken Yes+ course in University of Southern California CA, USA
Talent and Strength:
1) Smile :)
2) Good communication
3) Devotion, and Patriotism :)
Qualities:
All good ones :)
Upasana Saijpal
Did B.A from Ruia college, Mumbai University, and Masters in library science from SNDT and had worked with Smt Kapila Khandwala College of Education liberary for eight years.
Taught Yes!+ courses in Mumbai, Jaipur, Chennai and Nasik.
Also taught a few courses in collaboration with UNFPA for Doctors.
Had been to Jakarta, Indonesia recently to teach.
Strengths: Language skills.
Vaishali Ganorkar
Vaishali did her graduation in Home Science(Nutrition) from Nirmala Niketan College of Home science.She also did P G Diploma in Dietetics from the same college and stood 1st.She went on do her M.Sc from Maharaja Sayajirao University, where she stood 2nd.She also did a certificate course in sports science from Piramal Hopital and ranked 2nd.
She started as a research assistant at the SNDT university. In 1994 she joined the famous fitness chain Talwalkars in Mumbai. After a short stint here she went on to work with the renounced Mickey Mehta’s Marathon Works as a Nutritionist. In 1997 she joined Dr Vijaya Venkat’s Health Awareness Centre. She worked as a health counselor and managed the administration there for 9years.
An inter school badminton player. An adventuress who traveled to the US twice, to work in a summer camp for kids with special needs. A great planner,organizer,administrator and PR.With an eye for detailing and intricacies. Excellent cook. Talented at Croche and tatting.
Faculty at The Art of Living foundation, since 2002.Travelling faculty from end 2006.Has been with WAYE since Jan 2007 teaching the Yesplus course in south Mumbai. She has traveled to Thailand twice.
Versha Pragji
Born in Zimbabwe, did graduation in Practical and Child Psychology. Also a florist by profession, did business for 11 years. Had dabbled in Scientology, Landmark Forum, Alpha-Omega before coming to The Art of Living courses.
She has traveled and taught The Art of Living courses in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Germany and India(South Kolar Gold Fields and Ranchi).
Has interests in poetry, Art and loves music. She is friendly, easily approachable(though damn cheeky at times), loves to laugh.
Among her strengths, is her openness and easy adaptability with good rapport with youths and of course the Guru.