Mandakini Mathur

Founder & Chairperson, Devrai Art Village, NGO (2008-Present):

  • Established Devrai Art Village, an NGO dedicated to sustaining and evolving traditional art forms while empowering indigenous artists, particularly women.
  • Pioneered ‘Devrai Rock Dhokra’ (patented), a groundbreaking technology combining stone and metal, for the production of sculptures and statuary.
  • Developed Devrai Art Village into an R&D center for traditional Indian metal art, employing over 35 artists and training more than 1000 individuals including Adivasi artisans and artists and students from art and design schools.
  • Collaborated with artisans nationwide and received the National Entrepreneurship Award (2019) from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
  • Advisory board member of NCERT for the Department of Art and Aesthetics, contributing to Art Integrated Learning initiatives.
  • Currently documenting and exploring Indic storytelling arts through various mediums such as puppetry, sculpture, painting and film making.

Other achievements:

  • Currently working on a documentary film on Varanasi titled “Materialising the Spiritual – Kashi”.
  • Masters in French (Specialization Literature) from JNU, M-Phil in Cinema Studies from Sorbonne, Paris (1989). Filmmaker focusing on environmental concerns, Indic culture, spirituality, and child- centric themes.
  • Notable works include “Looking for a God with River Krishna” (Documentary for Film Division, 2001), “Aapa-Akka” (Feature Film, 2010), and “River Goddess” (awarded at UGC-sponsored festival, 2008).
  • Author of two books: “Radha, Poems of Love” and “End Of The Circle,” with the latter adapted into a feature film script.
  • Produced English Teaching Audiovisual Resource material for marginalized communities and vernacular medium schools based on Indian tales so that they stay connected to their roots.
  • Playwright and director of over fifteen plays, addressing social issues through street and stage performances.