MEET THE TEAM
Dheeraj Dubey
Founder
Dheeraj is a media professional with a keen interest in studying visual mediums. He holds an MBA in Development Management from SPJIMR, Mumbai, and a Master’s in Media and Cultural Studies from TISS, Mumbai.
He has led media and communications initiatives for prominent non-profits such as Pratham Education, the National Skill Development Corporation, DLF Foundation, and Tech Mahindra Foundation. His work focuses on leveraging the power of storytelling and visual communication for social change.
Nikhita Singh
Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer
Mumbai-based Playwright, Screenwriter, Director and Educator — Nikhita works around themes of gender and culture, across theatre, film, and digital media.
She’s the Founder of Parwana Theatre (a Mumbai-based theatre and performing arts collective), and Co-founder & CCO of the Centre for Contemporary Folklore (a non-profit working towards preserving, promoting, and celebrating India’s diverse and rich folk culture).
Outside of theatre, her portfolio ranges from research, writing, and executive production of several YouTube shows for Girl Effect India’s Chhaa Jaa to writing podcasts, animation, and digital learning modules for Chambal Media and Khabar Lahariya. She was also a Senior Researcher with Amazon Prime and BBC Studios for their true-crime documentary series, ‘Wedding.Con’.
She has co-directed the award-winning short documentary – ‘Behind The Bazaar’, is the Creator & Co-Director of ‘Didi ki Rasoi’, a cooking show-style podcast about the lives of domestic workers who work as cooks in Mumbai, and Director of the ParrotHouse Podcast which platforms lesser-known folklore from diverse regions of India.
She has taught Theatre & Stagecraft at Mumbai University’s Wilson College, and holds an M.A. degree in Media & Cultural Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a B.A. degree with Honours in Sociology from Maitreyi College, University of Delhi.
Pauline Awungshi
Consultant at CCF
With a Master’s Degree in Sociology from JNU and a Bachelor’s Degree in History from St. Stephen’s College, Pauline discovers a fulfilling intersection of history and society in the study of folklore. A strong advocate for equal opportunities and accessible spaces, she passionately believes in the urgency of preserving ones cultural heritage.
Ashmeen Bains
Consultant at CCF
With a background in Creative Writing from the University of Kent and curatorial experience at Galerie Isa, my practice lies at the intersection of folklore, environmental reverence, and artistic storytelling. From editing Tibetan exile narratives to illustrating the forgotten water guardians of Jodhpur’s stepwells, I’m driven by the need to archive and reawaken ecological memory embedded in oral traditions—one rooted in empathy, reclamation, and environmental imagination.
Harsh Haldonkar
Intern, Archival Research
Harsh Haldonkar is a product designer based in Goa, whose work and interests centre around culture, empathy and community. He strongly believes in creating spaces and platforms to bring out the voices of the marginalised and the needy.
Bhavna G Krishnan
Intern, Visual Design
Bhavna is a 2nd-year textile design student at NIFT Bengaluru. She loves to explore history; she enjoys working with cultural narratives and perspectives through illustration, print design and textiles.