LokVani-About Us

'Lokvani' translated literally means 'Public Voice'. We aim to serve the Indian community in New England through this website. We invite your participation in making it a success. Share your opinions, ideas, articles, poems etc... Do keep in touch and spread the word! Remember this website is more "about you" than "about us".

Established: August 2001

Founders: Anil Saigal, Anoop Kumar, Late Chitra Parayath, Nirmala Garimella and Ranjani Saigal

THE CORE TEAM

Anil Saigal - The Originator

Famous for his 'Saturday morning tea brewing', he brews tea and ideas equally well! He dreamt the dream and got his wife to implement it. No small task that! He saw Lokvani become what it is today much before any of us did.

Anil has a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering. A Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University, he keeps us on track and on top of things.

Anoop Kumar - The Techie Tornado

The baby of the group, he is the genius who has the unique knack of solving even the most intricate technical problems in no time at all. Usually working the grave yard shift on the promise of a possible good 'Gongura Chutney' he keeps the wheels of Lokvani churning smoothly and efficiently.

Anoop has a PhD in Computer Science.

Nirmala Garimella - The Queen Bee

The bee who spots bugs and mistakes, who pulls us up by the socks and makes us fix wrongs. A people person , she writes for Lokvani.com and is a great gatherer of information and facts.

Nirmala has a degree in Journalism and Mass communication and her interests include travel, reading ( getting lost in a bookstore being her favorite) and making exotic chutneys to serve her unsuspecting friends.

Ranjani Saigal - The Battery Charger

The smooth talker who knows not what 'can't do' means. She believes that if it is to be done, it will be and makes it look like fun. Her theory of time management is based on the assumption that one can do at least eight things simultaneously.

She has a masters in civil engineering and computer science. She also teaches Bharatnatayam and Kuchipudi . She is an individual of many talents. Most importantly, she is the wind beneath the wings of the team at Lokvani.com.

Chitra Parayath - The Dreamer

The Late Chitra Parayath, also a founding partner of Lokvani passed away on April 18th, 2005 in a tragic road accident in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. She was the Dreamer and can be summed up in these words:
'The laid back lazy one who works only if there is the sword of a deadline hanging over her head.... loves words more than anything except maybe fine wine. She has the incredible ability of presenting creative multi-dimensional perspectives on any topic and can put those thoughts into words in no time at all'.

Chitra Parayath was an Engineer by training and a freelance writer by choice.

Other Contributors

This site would not have been possible without Suneet and Ritu Chadha who spent hours brainstorming and guiding us through the initial process. Our thanks to Vinita Damodharsway who spent many hours programming and giving us her generous support and to Sushil Chacko for her invaluable advice regarding the running of this website.