Arti Kirloskar (Convener)
Arti Kirloskar attained her Bachelors and Masters degree in Fine Art from College of Art, New Delhi and SNDT College, Pune respectively. She is currently the Convener of INTACH Pune, which works towards conserving Pune’s heritage. INTACH Pune has been running a successful social enterprise project with the Tambat craftsmen in Pune and has currently launched the ‘Coppre’ range of products under this umbrella.
Arti is also the Chairperson of Plan India, an international child-centric organization presently operating in 30 countries. It is also one of India’s largest NGOs that works in 11 states for child rights and protection. Arti was actively involved in starting the ‘Saath Saath’ project to celebrate the birth of the 7 billionth girl child in the world. Initially a girl child sponsorship program, it now sponsors boys as well. In Pune, she was involved in various events that were organized to raise awareness and funds for Plan.
Arti is also the Executive Member of the `Kirloskar Foundation’ that has been conducting the ‘Clean and Beautiful School’ competition in and around Pune for the last 40 years. The Foundation has launched The Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Program in select schools in Pune and its vicinity. It encourages employees of Kirloskar to work as volunteers to facilitate soft skill and training programs. This ensures that the volunteers also learn about the many problems faced by children.
Arti is interested in Art, Photography, Theater, Dance, Spirituality, Environment and Wildlife. In her spare time, she enjoys painting, reading, walking, yoga and traveling.
Madhav Chandrachud (Chairman)
Mr. Madhav Chandrachud has graduated in Mechanical Engineering from College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). Thereafter, he completed his M.B.A from I.M.D.R., Pune. He has worked in Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited, for several years. During his long tenure, he held various Managerial positions in the company, finally superannuating as Head of a Strategic Business Unit, that he shaped for quite a few years. He is presently President of Kirloskar Proprietary Limited (KPL). KPL promotes and manages Kirloskar group initiatives including the initiative to conserve the environment. One strong belief of Kirloskar is to protect and improve the environment and mother earth and leave it for the next generation in better condition than what we inherited. Towards this objective, Kirloskar factories are run in environmental friendly manner, and also contribute by designing and manufacturing environment friendly products. These products help customers to run their business in environmentally friendly manner. The factories also promote and participate in local environment conservation projects and spread the conservation awareness. To spread this message, Kirloskar is presenting Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival. He has always promoted, and actively participated in initiatives to conserve the environment.
Virendra Chitrav (Festival Director)
Virendra Chitrav is working as festival director of Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival (KVIFF), Kirloskar Vasundhara Eco Rangers (KVER) and Ramnadi Restoration Mission (RRM) along with ‘Asian Film Festival’, ‘Global Pulotsav’ (The complete art festival of India), which are globally acclaimed for last 15+ years. He was a partner in ‘The Grid’, an architectural & interior designing firm for more than 10 years. He started first local video news channel ‘Pune Varta’ in 1989. This attempt was first of its kind in India. He was appointed as member of the Film Advisory Board, (Govt. of Maharashtra) and then Govt. of India’s Central Board of Film Certification, popularly known as ‘Censor Board’. He is actively involved in Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI). This movement was founded by veteran film director Satyajit Ray, 50 years back. Mr. Chitrav was executive president of FFSI Maharashtra Chapter and presently regional council member of FFSI western region. He is the Secretary of Aashay Film – Sanskrutik Club and trustee of ‘Da. Ma. Mirasdar Pratishthan’. He is a writer, critic & well-known speaker too. Mr. Virendra has done pioneering work in the field of film, drama, music, literature, other fine -visual art forms and environmental protection. He has been active in the field of organisation for the last 40+ years. Till today, he has organised more than 400 festivals, which have been acclaimed nationally and internationally.
Dr. Gurudas Nulkar (Curator)
Gurudas is a teacher, researcher, and an author. He has a PhD in environmental management in industrial ecosystems and was the Endeavour Fellow of Government of Australia where he worked with Victoria government studying sustainability programs of city councils around Melbourne. He is the Sir Ratan Tata Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru as a post-doctoral researcher. Gurudas is an adjunct faculty at Symbiosis International University. He is on the board of trustees of Ecological Society and works closely with Pani Panchayat and YASHADA in their watershed ecology education programs. Gurudas has published three books, several research papers, and articles. He is a founding member of the Ramnadi Restoration Mission and an advisor to the Meenanadi Restoration Program. He is a member of Indian Society of Ecological Economists, India and a member of Association for Sustainability in Business, Australia.
Swapnil Kumbhojkar
Swapnil is an Electrical Engineer passionate about wildlife conservation. He is currently pursuing his PhD on human-leopard coexistence in Jhalana near Jaipur. He has three international research publications to his credit. He is the only Indian Game Ranger at Kruger National Park in South Africa. Swapnil has worked on carnivore conservation in Namibia, primate conservation in Peru and Polar bear conservation in Canada. He is a registered speaker with RSPB, UK and has worked as a co-organiser with ARRCN, WOC and WILD conferences. Swapmil has travelled extensively to 90 countries.Aniruddh Chaoji
Aniruddh Chaoji is an experienced wildlife specialist and expert in ecotourism. He is the Liaison Officer of the GPAFS in Maharashtra, and has been with KVIFF since January 2018. Currently he is an ecologist at Melghat Tiger Reserve, Director of RAN MANGLI Foundation; Member, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group); Observer, IAPA – International Association of Protected Areas, China; Executive Committee Member and Treasurer of Eco-tourism Society of India (ESOI); Executive Committee Member of Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and Founder and Honorary Member of Adventure Tour Operators of Maharashtra (ATOM). Aniruddh founded Pugmarks, one of the pioneering Wildlife and Adventure Camping organisations in India.Arti Kulkarni
Arti is news anchor, environment journalist, documentary film maker and a poet. She has worked with prestigious news organisations like BBC News, IBN Lokmat and Maharashtra Times. Currently running her own YouTube channel 'Shekru', Journey of conservation stories. Arti has created well researched reportages and documentary films raising environment issues, questioning decision makers, creating public awareness and bringing environment journalism into mainstream news. She has worked extensively in the field of environment and wildlife conservation for 25 years. She has received Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism, the highest award in India in the field of journalism. She was honoured with the prestigious, 'Sanctuary Asia' and ' Kirloskar Vasundhara Mitra' for Eco Journalism.Dr. Mandar Datar
Dr. Mandar Datar has a post-graduation in Angiosperms and a Ph. D in Plant Taxonomy. He received the Junior Research Fellowship and worked in Botanical Survey of India. Mandar works in the Biodiversity & Paleobiology Group at Agharkar Research Institute and studies the diversity, distribution, and endemism of flowering plants of India, focussing on Northern Western Ghats. In his lab, he is engaged in multiplying rare and endemic orchid species using tissue culture and reintroduce them in wild. He has authored several books and research papers in international journals. Mandar regularly contributes articles in Marathi media for civil society.Dr. Priyadarshani Karve
Dr Karve is a Ph.D. in Physics and the founder of Samuchit Enviro Tech. She has earlier worked with Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI), where she invented several improved biomass burning cooking devices, to reduce smoke in the kitchen and dependence on firewood, and technology for converting agricultural waste into 'renewable' charcoal. Dr. Karve has also made an easy-to-use Samuchit Carbon Footprint Calculator and is involved in imparting education about sustainable development and climate friendly lifestyles. She has been honoured by several national and international awards, including World Technology Award 2005 (by World Technology Network, New York) and Sahyadri Hirkani Award by Mumbai Doordarshan.Dr. Rajashree Joshi
Dr Rajashree Joshi is a development professional based in Pune. She is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and holds a doctorate from university of Pune. For the past 26 years she is actively involved in development projects focusing on themes such as rural and tribal development, natural resource management, livelihoods and food security, participatory conservation and revival of biodiversity, ecosystem based approaches of development, nutrition sensitive agriculture and building resilience to climate change and variability. Currently she is working as Chief Thematic Program Executive (interdisciplinary programs) at BAIF and hence is involved in apex coordination of development projects across India.
Suvarna Bhamburkar [Vasundhara Club]
Suvarna has more than 10 years of experience in office administration and coordination with outside agencies. She worked with NBFCs and small business enterprises, where she was handling back-office. She also has experience of web based research and MIS reporting. She is associated with KVIFF since June 2012. Suvarna has done masters’ degree in Management Science (MMS) with a specialization in Marketing.