“In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
With a discerning eye for detail and keen appreciation for the intricate beauty of traditional Indian arts & crafts, Akansha is committed to ensuring a thriving future for the country’s craft heritage. Having worked for more than 15 years in the apparel sector, she brings global design and craftsmanship sensibilities to her work. Keen to use techniques that will catalyse growth of the handicraft sector, she has deployed 3D-printing technology to prototype the intricate designs found in Indian handicraft – helping artisans at the grassroots-level better visualise the new designs that they need to create.
A post graduate from NIFT Delhi, a national award winner and an entrepreneur, Akansha is often invited by the Government of India to be part of juries and panels at art & craft festivals. She has a deep understanding and admiration of India’s multitude of crafts, their intricate processes and their contribution to India’s cultural standing, globally. She nurtures artistry, believing that true greatness unfolds with passion, patience, and dedication.
An avid learner, Akansha loves to hone her skills continuously to expand her understanding of craft processes and art history. Her other interests include trekking to high mountain passes and exploring the beauty of coral-reef systems around the world. Through Naayaab, she envisions a future where India’s master artisans, many of whom she counts among her friends, gain global acclaim; with their craftsmanship celebrated beyond borders.
A traveller at heart, with a perennial curiosity for life and its multiple dimensions.
An engineering and management graduate, Ajay worked in organisations like Mercedes Benz, Tata Honeywell & Hewlett Packard, where he was awarded for his many pioneering initiatives.
Having grown up in a house where art was worshipped, he imbibed a lot being surrounded by books, music and conversations in the company of acclaimed artists, musicians & sculptors. A trained tabla player, Ajay is proud of his collection of books, including some rare copies, which give appropriate company to his selection of artifacts brought from his travels across the world along with some of his prized golf trophies.
At home in nature, he measures his years by the countries explored and cultures experienced. He practices his belief in aesthetics as the physical manifestation of divinity, and is committed to building a global platform, the ‘next new’, for Indian artisans, inspiring them in their journey of creating ‘masterpieces’, while putting the spotlight back on splendor of India’s cultural grandeur.
Ekta is the founder of IKAKI, a platform for preserving and promoting the arts. She is a Chartered Accountant, an MBA from IIM Calcutta and a Fellow, EUVP (European Union), but Ekta has always been drawn towards the creative side of things. At Naayaab, she brings her unique skills that combines a sense of business acumen, with that of imagination.
As a former television news anchor (Times Now-Reuters, CNBC) and a journalist, her opinion pieces on current affairs and human rights are carried by some of the top publications both in India and abroad. She has been invited by various international TV channels, talk shows, conferences, and also collaborates with several European organisations on human rights, to promote SDG’s and gender equality. She is the National President for Gender Lens Investing (WICCI) that helps empower women in the entrepreneurial eco-system.
Ekta is an Amazon bestselling author, and an artist who has exhibited her artwork at the Pune Biennale along with artists from 18 other countries, and also showcased her paintings at the historic Salar Jung Museum (Hyderabad).
