Jaipur Photojournalism Seminar
Dr. Vipul Mudgal
Director and Chief Executive – Common Cause
Head – Inclusive Media for Change (im4change)
Dr. Vipul Mudgal is the Director, Publics and Policies Programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, where he is also heading the Inclusive Media for Change, a Ford Foundation funded project, which works to build bridges between mainstream media and rural India’s multiple crises.He has earlier held senior editorial positions at the Hindustan Times, India Today, BBC World Service and Asia Times in India, U.K., and Thailand. He has edited Lucknow and Jaipur editions of the Hindustan Times and headed the paper’s Research and Insight team for several years. As a political commentator he specialised on political and social violence and issues of democracy and sustainable development. He has extensively covered issues of marginalized communities in rural areas and India’s agrarian crises.
He has conducted extensive media research and over a dozen nationwide surveys to determine how people make sense of political, cultural and social processes around them. Vipul Mudgal was awarded doctorate in Media Sociology by Leicester University, U.K., in 1995 on media and political violence. He was also awarded the Nehru Centenary British Fellowship in 1991 and US Govt’s Jefferson Fellowship by the East-West Centre, Hawaii, in May 2003. He has presented academic seminars at the universities of Oxford (Queen Elizabeth Hall), Cambridge (Trinity College), Leicester (CMCR), and Hawaii (East-West Centre) among many other places. He is frequently invited for lectures, particularly on democratic responses to terrorism, at the Administrative Staff Colleges, communication courses for senior Armed Forces Officers and at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad. The Publics and Policies Programme focuses on issues of participatory democracy and mobilises academic knowledge and research for policy making. As the director of the programme Vipul also works on issues of development alternatives, food security, land and displacement, and transparency in legislative processes.
Ms. Paroma Mukherjee
Head- National Photography Desk
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Ms. Paroma Mukherjee was born in Bombay and educated at the University of Mumbai and London. She has photographed for National Geographic Traveller, BBC Good food, OPEN, Tehelka, Marie Claire, Outlook Traveller, Rolling Stone, Man’s World and Time Out International. She has also written several pieces on photography, published in Mint Lounge, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Scroll.in, The Wire, Blouin ArtInfo, Vogue and others.
She was photo editor at Blouin ArtInfo Monthly Editions, International as well as Time Out, Delhi and prior to that, senior staff photojournalist at the Indian Express, where she began her career in 2005. Paroma also created the first ever Instagram column in print for Mumbai Mirror back in 2013, which ran for nearly 3 years. Her photographs are in permanent collection of the Kyosoto Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan and she has exhibited at the Angkor photography Festival in 2006 and The Indian Express/ World Press Photo exhibition in 2005. In September 2016 she was awarded a prestigious grant from European Union Delegation to India to travel across Europe on a photography project about the Indian diaspora there. The photo exhibition was held at India Habitat Center in New Delhi and the National Center for Performing Arts in Mumbai in October and December 2016, respectively. For her, photographs are an undeniable trace of experience. Her photography and life experiences are inseparable and yet there memories differ when considered closely. This is the direction of her present relationship with the medium. She is interested in the social and visual landscape of the present. And this interest does not always obligate the presence of a camera. She currently is Head- National Photography Desk at Hindustan Times, New Delhi.
Mr. Ajay Chopra
Entrepreneur
Crayons Advertising Ltd
Mr. Ajay Chopra born in 1957 in Gangashahar, Bikaner now became the owner of Crayons Advertising Ltd. and member of Jaipur Stock Exchange as of now. He has managed many businesses in the past life TEA, TRANSPORT, MARBLE, JUTE, MARINE, COLD STORAGE, OIL MILL AND COTTON GINNING AND PRESSING. He has also served as Chief Editor SMRITI GRANTH, Editor in ANUVRAT. He also has a very good cultural interest and has organised more than 250 cultural and social events throughout India. He has been to Europe, South Africa, Japan, Middle East and in India for his cultural interest.
Mr. Rohit Parihar
Assistant Editor, India Today
-Rajasthan
Mr. Rohit Parihar is the Assistant Editor of India Today. After graduating in Physics (Honours), he studied Mass Communications at Panjab University, Chandigarh. He is in journalism for 23 years. He has covered Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. He joined India Today in 1996 and is based in Jaipur since 1997. He is an alumni of two prestigious international programmes, Chevening (UK) and International Visitors Leadership Programme (US).
He has won many honours and awards through his career in media. He has been awarded the Chevening Fellowship at University of Westmin st re, London in the year 2000. He was nominated and selected for the International Visitors Leadership Programme in Human Trafficking in US in 2006
and has also been awarded the Sawai Madho Singh Award for Investigative Journalism in the year 2006.
Mr. A. P. Gaur
General Manager
Corporate Communication
Cairn Oil & Gas
Mr. Ayodhya Prasad is a Corporate Communication professional, a Theater Artist, an Avid Traveler, established Writer and Motivational Speaker. He started writing while pursuing a Master’s degree at JNV University and later worked for regional and national newspapers including Hindustan Times. His first book—a biographical novel about the life and time of the last queen of Marwar, has been termed as the ‘first biographical novel’ of Hindi literature. Second book ‘Durg Gaatha’ has been adapted for Mega Light and show on Veer Durgadas Rathore. His third book ‘Chautha Dhandha’ exposes dark side of journalism in India. ‘The Vulture’s Feast’ is his fourth book where as a co-author he shares his own experiences as a journalist. Mr. Gaur is a founding member of the Press Club in Jodhpur, the city where he currently resides, and Rajasthan Heritage and Nature Society (RAJHANS).
Mr. Purushottam Diwakar
Sr. Photojournalist, India Today
Chairman, Jaipur Photojournalism Seminar
IMAGINE Photojournalist Society, Jaipur
Mr. Purushottam Diwakar is having 25 years of rich experience in photojournalism and got the opportunity to capture exclusive stories and events around the globe. He was born and brought up at Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and completed Bachelor in Journalism & Mass Communication from The Global University, Nagaland. He is associated with India’s highly reputed & premier news magazine ‘India Today’ as a Senior Photojournalist since 1998. He holds the merit of mainstream Photojournalism and various International assignments in Africa, Thailand and Dubai. His many evident photographs achieved the cover pages of the magazine ‘India Today’ and appreciated throughout the world. Mr. Purushottam headed a development project in Ghana, Africa named ‘Building a better life for Cocoa farmers’ in 2015 and 2017. His assignment in Congo outlined the problems of the community and the investigative pictures brought the attention in 2018. The other project in 2017 was undertaken by him on Indian Tourism in Thailand which uncovered many stories of importance. During this professional journey he got associated with many NGOs and companies like Care India, Alliance India, Cairn Energy for photo documentation of their numerous projects.
Mr. Purushottam had also accomplished many photo assignments for the international magazine, ‘TIME Magazine’ and renowned photo agency, ‘SIPA Press’. He covered the major events in the country like Serious Draught in Rajasthan, Devastating Earthquake in Gujarat, World’s Largest Fire in Indian Oil Corporation’s Oil Tanks at Jaipur, Serial Bomb Blasts by terrorists in Jaipur city, Unprecedented Godhara Massacre, Mass Agitation on Reservation by Gurjar Community in Rajasthan etc. His camera outlined the rare images related to social issues like woman & child health, nutrition, girl education, gender discrimination, HIV, water crisis in Rajasthan, preservation of culture & heritage and many more issues. His efforts and service to the people had achieved recognition’s like ‘Award for Excellence in Photojournalism’ by District Administration, Jodhpur, ‘Photojournalist Award’ by Photojournalist Society of Jodhpur and ‘Award for Excellence’ by National Nature Society, Jaipur. He has designed and conducted a Specialized Workshop for DIPR Photographers of Government of Rajasthan.
He founded IMAGINE Photojournalist Society in 2012 with the objective to transform the skills of Photojournalism and Photography among people and students around the globe. He has trained many professionals, students and learners. The latest experiment of Field reporting on camera is widely quoted as a group of young girls created a milestone in the male dominated field under his specially carved training program named ‘Camera Commando’. The girls worked for 45 days in the extreme harsh conditions, odd temperature, they traveled for around 5000 kilometer in different regions of India and produced the rare glimpses. His IMAGINE Photojournalist Society conducts Photography Exhibitions, Professional Training Camps, Skill Oriented Workshops for students and professionals whereas Research Programs and the Photojournalism Seminar was also launched in 2015. His Photojournalist Society is the one in Asia to hold the yearly National as well as International Seminar on Photojournalism and dedicated to Photojournalism Literacy.
Mr. Umesh Gogna
Nature & Travel Photographer
Mr. Umesh Gogna hails from a business family. While writing his thesis and short listing some photographs clicked by him, he realised that photography was his passion and soon decided to consider it as a full time profession. His work mostly comprises in the field of Handicrafts, Jewellery and the Hospitality Industry. A traveller at heart, Umesh Gogna loves to capture nature through his camera lens. Over the years he has spent a lot of time documenting the cultural architectural and natural heritage of Rajasthan and the Himalayas. The wilderness and the open paces of the desert and the mountains attract and inspire him. His work has been published in several books on these subjects.
In order to help the young and amateur photographers, Gogna conducts workshops on subjects related to Portraiture, Photographing Jewellery, Fashion Photography, Digital Photography and Digital Post Production. He has conducted workshops for Canon India Ltd., Allahabad University, BITS Pilani Photography Club, Women’s Polytechnic College, Jaipur, Camarena (Multi Brand Stores in India), Central University of Bihar, Patna. Gogna is also a member of DPA (India’s Largest Stock Photo Agency) Dinodia Picture Agency, Mumbai. Gogna is also from March 2015 became Sony Alpha Mentor and Brand Ambassador and Conducted 150 plus Photography workshops allover India.
