Children's Fest Facilitators

Bhavana is a Childrens' book illustrator based in Bangalore. She holds a Master's Degree in Visual Communication from Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. She transitioned into the world of children's illustration after working as a Big Data Engineer.

Her illustrations often have a dash of colors and warmth in them. Having grown up in a multicultural neighbourhood, her illustrations involve diverse cultures, food, festivals, inclusivity and nuanced everyday moments of joy. She loves drawing things that are whimsical in nature and those which involve animals too.

Apart from illustrating books, she works on illustrating book covers and concept illustrations.

Devashish Makhija is a poet, author, graphic artist, screenwriter and filmmaker. He has written and directed the multiple Filmfare Award-winning Joram, the National Award-winning Bhonsle and the internationally acclaimed Ajji, alongwith several multiply-awarded short films.

Makhija has had his own solo show of graphic-verse Occupying Silence, has written the bestselling children's books When Ali Became Bajrangbali, Why Paploo was perplexed, We are the dancing forest, and Go Go Flamingo!; a critically acclaimed collection of 49 short stories Forgetting, the multiple-award-winning YA novel Oonga, and the collection of poetry Bewilderness. He has been widely published by the Sahitya Akademi, Harper-Collins, Penguin, Akashic, Red River, Tulika, Scholastic, and many others.

Janaki Sabesh writes, performs and lives through stories. Her distinctive and authentic style of blending narration, music and movement is loved by children, youngsters, corporate professionals, teachers and everyone alike. Janaki’s engagement with children began when she produced an audio cassette “The Learning Train” (1995) simplifying the world of numbers through stories and songs.

A multi-faceted creative professional who wears many hats—and loves every bit of it! Janaki is an accomplished actor with over 30 films in Tamil and a few in Telugu and Malayalam, a voice-over and theatre artist, an experienced marketer, facilitator, and professional speaker. She’s also a happy Chief Fun Officer at her storytelling initiative 'Golpo Tales'—with 'Golpo' meaning 'story' in Bengali.

She curates and facilitates workshops on effective story-telling techniques in communication and marketing, for educators, corporates and many professional networks. She is a visiting faculty at Great Lakes Institute of Management where she teaches various aspects of storytelling as part of Corporate Learning and Development.

A simple question from a child during one of her sessions prompted Janaki to write her first picture book ‘The Jungle Storytelling Festival’ published by Tulika Books, available in 9 languages . Her second picture book is titled ‘Paati’s Rasam’, which she has co-authored with her daughter Dhwani Sabesh, is published by Karadi Tales. ‘Paati’s Rasam’ won the 2023 National Jarul Book Award, that recognises Indian picture books. Her third book is a multi-format one, titled ‘Appu the thirsty crow’ published by Crea-Play. Her recent picture book is ‘Mugi and the Rainbow’ published by DC Books.

She is currently a contributor to Tinkle magazine, where her ‘Naanu Paati’ stories are featured every quarter. She has also written short stories on request for Parent Circle magazine.

Janaki has curated multiple stories and monologues that she performs for adult audiences. Some of the notable ones are “The Other Sita”, “Agni”, “Discovering Kodhai,” “4pm coffee call” , “Nila”, to name a few. She also brings people together through intimate storytelling experiences around personal tales, food, music and nostalgia.

She believes : “A story told from the heart will always win more hearts”.

Niyatee Sharma is a children’s author based in Bengaluru. An interior architect by training; Niyatee combines her love for writing and her expertise in design to create much loved books for children.

Some of her books are featured in the Parag Honour List, Toka Box top South Asian picture book awards, Jarul book award long list and Green Lit Fest long list.

She is usually found tending to her vegetable garden, exploring the green pockets of her city or curled up with a book and her adorable cat.

Shreya is the author of Muddy Feet Raya, published by Tulika Books. Her work focuses on nurturing children’s connection to nature and sparking conversations about the human relationship with the wider world, whether it’s the environment, animals, or everything unseen that shapes our lives. She believes in the power of stories to inspire empathy, curiosity, and responsibility in young readers.

Shreya is a children’s author whose work celebrates the wonder of the natural world and our place within it. Her debut book, Muddy Feet Raya with Tulika Publishers, invites young readers to explore the magic of small creatures and hidden corners of nature. Passionate about how humans interact with the world beyond us, from spider webs to forests, she weaves curiosity and care into stories she tells.