Priya Thuvassery | Director
An independent documentary filmmaker and television producer based in New Delhi, Priya’s body of work has focused on women and gender, her stories windows into myriad experiences of the body, the environment, the community, mapped from a gender and feminist perspective. Priya has been directing, producing and editing documentary films & television programmes for New Delhi Television, Fox Traveller, CNA, National Human Rights Commission of India, Films Division of India, Public Service Broadcasting Trust & Khabar Lahariya for over a decade now. Priya is currently a Director at Chambal Media.
Kavita Bundelkhandi | Co-founder & Co-CEO
Kavita Devi is the CEO at Chambal Media & Co-Founder of Khabar Lahariya, and her primary responsibilities include working closely with the Chief Reporters' network on conceptualising, planning and execution of stories. A Banda local herself - she likes to call herself Kavita Bundelkhandi, having chosen to drop her last name deliberately many years ago - she is also the region's first Dalit woman anchor to host her own news and views weekly, The Kavita Show. The only Dalit member of the Editor's Guild of India, Kavita brings with her several years of field reporting, having started out as a reporter herself, and often reports on special stories even today. Viewed as a formidable figure of inspiration and empowerment locally, especially for women, Kavita is also a TED speaker.
Sunita Prajapati | Operations Manager
Suneeta Prajapati, 24, is one of the many young reporters in the Khabar Lahariya team. A passionate print journalist, Suneeta has embraced Khabar Lahariya’s digital/video avatar. Suneeta is from Mahoba district, around 100 kilometres from where Khabar Lahariya first put down its roots. Over the years, Suneeta has taken on the nexus between politicians, media and mining contractors, and in exposing the conditions of work in the mines. In her video reports, viewers are suffocated with the fine dust in the air; the circularity of the testimonies; the feeling that the space between death by hunger or tuberculosis or fatal accident are all too close, and too inevitable. She is currently a Operations Manager at Chambal Media.
Gargi Yadav | Project Manager
Gargi (she/they) works as both a development communication practitioner and a social worker. Having studied at TISS Mumbai, Gargi has extensive experience establishing participatory communication networks to improve the accessibility and reach of information.
She is passionate about public health and community media and has led Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) campaigns focused on various topics such as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), Nutrition, Child and Maternal Health, and Debunking fake news, etc. As a strong advocate for community media, Gargi works as a Project Manager at Chambal Academy.
Sonam Priya | HR & Admin Lead
Sonam is an HR and Admin professional at Chambal Media Private Limited. Hailing from a small city in Jharkhand, she has extensive experience in facilitating sessions focused on social-emotional learning (SEL), gender, and emotional well-being in the school ecosystem for students ranging from 6th to 12th grades in both Jharkhand and Mumbai.
Sonam's unwavering curiosity and passion for learning have been the driving forces behind her accomplishments. In addition to her professional pursuits, she is an avid traveler who revels in immersing herself in new cultures and forging meaningful connections with people from different walks of life. During her free time, she derives solace from activities such as cooking, reading poetry, and indulging in books.
Meera Devi | Managing Editor
Meera Devi is the Managing Editor at Khabar Lahariya. With 12 years of reporting on rural issues, Meera specializes in investigative journalism and policy reporting. Her special reports have included lifting the curtains off the administrative apathy around the broken healthcare systems combating T.B.in the rural hinterland of U.P. She also hosts a show on local politics, titled Rajneeti, Ras, Raay.
Lakshmi Sharma| Senior Producer
Lakshmi Sharma, a native of Madhopur chhata village, from the Sheohar district of Bihar, joined Khabar Lahariya in 2010 as a reporter. She went on to run the Bihar edition of the print newspaper before moving onto the production side of things in the Delhi newsroom, where she headed the production desk and became Senior Producer at KL in 2015. Since 2019-20, Lakshmi has moved up as core leadership at Chambal Media, KL's mothership, where she currently leads the production of special features, including shorts, documentaries, podcasts, and animations. Through the years, Lakshmi has also garnered experience in the areas of anchoring, editing, and in voice-over skills.
Harshita Verma| Outreach and Comms Lead
A Digital Marketing professional by education & training, Harshita's passion for creative marketing and social media landed her a gig with Khabar Lahariya at the time the revolutionary newspaper was finding a new lease of life as a digital platform. A few years of experience in the field, coupled with her ambition, creative energy, and passion for technology, has earned her a place in the leadership team at Chambal Media today. A great team player, self-confessed legit Kanpuriya, Harshita's love for photography, deconstructing influencer cultures, and understanding impact are also key value add-ons.
Geeta Devi | Senior Reporter & Expansion Manager
Geeta Devi is the Chief Reporter at Khabar Lahariya, India's only women-run brand of ethical and independent rural news. Having joined the organization in 2009. Her special reports on environment, climate justice and resilience, migration, including her deep dive investigative pieces have earned her great repute in the world of reportage, both national, and with her appearance in a Google News Initiative short, international as well.
Lalita | Senior Producer
Lalita is a driven journalist and a proud resident of Sajahra village in the Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh. She began her journalism journey as a reporter at Khabar Lahariya in 2012, where she passionately covered local issues and reported stories that made a significant impact.
Through hard work and dedication, Lalita has now become a senior producer at the Delhi office, where she leads a team and hosts her own show on technology. Her experience and expertise have helped her become a respected leader in her field, and she continues to inspire and motivate others with her knowledge and experiences.
Lalita's commitment to journalism and her drive to make a difference have been evident throughout her career. She remains committed to strengthening her skills and sharing her experiences to help others succeed in their careers.
Shyamkali | Senior Reporter
Shyamkali is a senior reporter at Khabar Lahariya, the country’s only women-run brand of ethical and independent rural news. She was married off at the age of 8, never getting a chance to complete her education. She is mostly a self-taught reader and writer, picking up basic literacy and storytelling skills while working with Khabar Lahariya. She is one of three protagonists featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary, 'Writing With Fire'.
Guneet Narula | Tech Consultant
Guneet is an information technologist with experience in web development, design, data processes and information visualization. His core focus is effectively communicating technological concepts and ideas to improve collaboration and work. He has an active interest in internet freedom, free and open source software, open data and the sociopolitical ramifications of information technology in governance.
Jyotsana Singh | Senior Visual Designer
Jyotsana is a visual designer & illustrator. Her practice is experimental, playful, and human-centered with a focus on iconography. This approach has led to a multi-disciplinary portfolio in food and lifestyle, music, social development, and other design communication projects. She’s also a plant enthusiast, who lives with her aquatic pets in New Delhi.
Chinmayi Arakali | Consultant
Chinmayi Arakali is a communication design consultant and educator. She founded Kitki - a creative communication design studio based in Mysore. She works on design assignments and is a visiting faculty at Amrita School of Arts and Sciences. Chinmayi has deep experience working in the area of communication for change in the non - profit sector, particularly on gender issues. She currently consults with IT for Change on a field project called Namma Maathu, Namma Jaaga.
Chinmayi’s education has been in film and video communication design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She loves film, birdwatching and reading to her son. She lives and works out of Mysore.
Disha Mullick | Co-founder
Disha is the co-founder of Chambal Media, a company that produces feminist media for rural audiences. Chambal Media hosts the iconic rural news brand, Khabar Lahariya. She has a masters degree in Gender Studies from the University of Warwick, and is an Acumen and South Asia Speaks writing Fellow. She has worked in publishing and as a journalist before her journey with Khabar Lahariya.
Nidhi Thachankary | Advisor
Nidhi has 10 years of experience in education and skilling in the Hospitality & Tourism sector. She works as an independent consultant and is also a second-generation Entrepreneur. Nidhi joined Chambal Media as a consultant to lead the Pilot launch of Chambal Academy. She worked on setting up the e-learning platform, designing the structure of online assessments and virtual community spaces, and leading the team to mobilize and train 270 women and girls from rural UP, MP and Bihar.
Nidhi is also a Director in her family’s business - Munnar Catering College, a private hotel management institute that trains nearly one thousand students a year from middle and low-income families.
Nidhi holds an MBA from Oxford University, where she focused on social enterprises. After studying at Oxford, she worked on creating sustainable vocational training models and new training pedagogies with Pratham Education Foundation in Mumbai. Nidhi is an IBL@Oxford (Impact Business Leaders) Fellow, Oxford Leading for Impact Fellow and an Acumen India Fellow.
Pooja Pande | Co-CEO
Pooja Pande is a writer whose passion for intersectional feminism led her to Chambal Media, home to Khabar Lahariya, India's grassroots, feminist news network and IWMF Courage in Journalism Awardee 2021, where she is currently the co-CEO and is part of the core leadership team at Chambal Media.
Shalini Joshi | Co-founder
Shalini Joshi is a Program Director for Training and Network at Meedan. As a regional lead, Shalini is involved in expanding Meedan's work and its global network in the Asia Pacific region. Shalini provides support to fact-checkers, newsrooms and academics involved in addressing and researching misinformation.
Shalini is also the co-founder of Khabar Lahariya, India's only independent, digital news network available to viewers in remote rural areas and small towns.