Pranav is an avid actor who has been involved with Natya Bharati since its inception.

Bina & Brij Koolwal

Occupation: Retired CPA from EPA Manju Gupta is a member of the Natya Bharti Board of Trustees since 2006, after serving as President 2003 -2005, as Treasurer from 1997-2002, and as member of Advisory committee prior to that. With a background in literature, and a love for theatre, she enthusiastically supports Natya Bharti’s mission of promoting local talent through theatre. She actively helps with outreach, fundraising, play reading, and play selections. She acted in Khamosh Adalat Jari Hai, Arey Sharif Log, and was the Executive Producer for Mera hwaab and Gharonda. She has hosted rehearsals of many plays in her home, enjoying months of frequent rehearsals and cast parties after the play performance. She likes the excitement of seeing the different stages when a play goes from the reading to the final performance on stage in front of a live audience. Now, enjoys a leisurely retirement after a career in Civil service.

Anonymous

Occupation: Retired Senior Executive from Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Dr. Vijay Deshpande is one of the founding members of Natya Bharati. Even before the inception of Natya Bharati, he has been active in theater in Washington area since 1978. Over last 39 years he has served in various positions in the Executive committees of Natya Bharati, including Publicity Officer, Secretary, President (1996-98), and Board of Trustees. He has directed three Hindi plays, “Bin Baatike Deep, “Dhai Akshar Premka”, and “So Ja Rajkumar” along with acting in several Marathi and Hindi plays. He also co- wrote three English plays. He has been a producer, helped with stage management, sound, and lighting design, … his most favorite was lighting and special effects. He designed and executed special lighting effects for over 25 plays for Natya Bharati and other local theater groups. He now lives in Tampa Florida with his wife Lalita. Lalita also has been a theater enthusiast for a long time. She has acted in several Marathi and Hindi ( NB) plays including Masoom , Arre Mayavi Sarovar, and Arre Shareef log. She has co-directed one play and has been involved in the production of several Natya Bharati plays.

Sant Gupta has been living in Northern Virginia for past 25 years. He immigrated to the US in 1969 to undertake graduate studies in Electrical Engineering. He has worked as an Engineer, Sales executive, Marketing and Product management. Along the way, he earned M.B.A, with major in Marketing and Finance. Currently, he works for a defense-oriented electronic equipment-manufacturing firm as a Business Development Executive in VA. He has been engaged inter-faith dialog for a number of years, representing Durga Temple, Fairfax Station, VA. He has been the President and the Vice President of the Executive Board of the temple. He is the member of the Governing Council and Executive Board for World Hindu Council (VHPA, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America). His focus has been to present the Hindu perspective and make effort to dispel distortion and ignorance about Sanatana Dharma. He organized Hindu-Catholic Dialogue in May 2015 and in September 2017 in cooperation with USCCB, which included representatives from the Vatican, Catholic Churches and Bishops. He has participated in the Holocaust Commemoration with JCRC for a number of years. He is active with and member of a number of local and national organizations such as IFCMW (Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington), HAF (Hindu American Foundation), UHJT (United Hindu-Jain Temple) Association, GOPIO, NFIA, OFBJP, JIDS (Jewish Islamic Dialogue), Marg Foundation, to name a few. Sant has three adult children and four grandchildren who are well settled in New York and New Jersey. Sant can be reached at: 703 980 7487 (M) e-mail: santguptava@gmail.com