The Team
Sundaresan Kumbakonam
Sundaresan Kumbakonam, has 3 decades of experience in the Semiconductor Industry. He split his time between the Silicon Valley in the Bay Area, USA and Bangalore India, designing chips and managing large engineering teams. In 2016, he quit as Senior Director, Engineering, Broadcom Corporation. He started Tapasya Yogashala in Bangalore. In addition to Hatha Yoga classes, the studio offers Yoga Teacher Training Programs. He is also working on a cloud-based platform to create and share recipes. He plans to curate traditional Indian recipes to promote home cooking. Sundar’s inner journey started in the 90s. In his quest for ‘something more’ than the usual life he read a lot. He came in contact with the Gurdjieff work in 2011 which provided a way to put theory into practice. He is an active member of Gurdjieff Foundation of India.
Sankalp Rawal
Sankalp Rawal is a screenwriter and Filmmaker based out of Mumbai. He is currently writing a Web-Series for Amazon Prime and another for MX player (Times of India). He has worked with renowned international directors such as Pan Nalin, Prakash Jha, Kunal Deshmukh and Alankrita Shrivastava. A short film, Samskara/Impressions, written and directed by Sankalp was an official selection at Kansas Film Festival, USA; Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Streatham Film Festival, London; and Southeast Asian film festival, New York. Raised by his grandparents, Sankalp had an early exposure to the Indian spiritual traditions and texts. The turning point in his journey was at the age of 18 when he came in contact with the Gurdjieff teaching. It compelled him to seek and verify deeper truths within himself as well as those embedded in ancient myths and texts.
Aseema
Aseema is a writer, editor and translator. She has been associated with theatre as an actor, director, scriptwriter and translator since 1984. She was granted a Fellowship by the Ministry of Art and Culture, which she completed under the aegis of the National School of Drama, India. She has been the Editor (English) at NSD for the past nine years. Aseema also conducts voice, speech and expression workshops, and teaches Spoken English and Communication Skills. As on stage so in work she endeavours to feel the rightness of words and pauses. Aseema’s father, a Sufi at heart, has had a significant influence in her quest for truth. Her search took her to various spiritual schools. Now she lives in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh and has been a part of the Gurdjieff work in India since 2013.
Anika Dhir Bhasin
Anika Dhir Bhasin, a Creative head, has over 12 years of experience in Graphic Design. She worked with The Lalit Hotel before moving to London to follow her passion, and completed her Masters from Kingston University, London (U.K). She runs her own Design House, NowHere Designs, and has worked with many brands like Haldiram’s, Bata, Hush Puppies, ColorBar, Stellar and is currently working with Jeff Bowler, an Emmy Award winning Hollywood producer. In 2016, Anika partnered with The Good Food Cafe, a healthy continental restaurant. Her creativity, design and vision have added value in creating a brand for TGFC and exploring new horizons, taking it to greater heights. An urge to have a deeper connection with the source of creativity led her to explore the spiritual path. In 2010 she began her journey with Gurdjieff Foundation of India.