Volunteers & Facilitators
Anita Anand is a development and communications professional and artist. She started her Mindfulness practice after participating in a retreat with Thay in Delhi in 2008 and is involved in the activities of Ahimsa Trust and the NCR Sanghas. The practice has brought a sea change to her life.
Raka Sinha Bal is founder of the Delhi based Angaja Foundation, which works in urban settlements on youth and women’s empowerment, health, environment, and education. After listening to Thay’s and Shantum’s teachings she started the practice several years ago, which has helped her to control her negative emotions and take suffering in her stride.
Ananya Goswami began her practice with Thay’s book ‘Living Buddha, Living Christ’ in 2007. Associated with Ahimsa Trust since 2014, her practice has been nurtured with the Sangha and is at the core of her life, as a quiet, unobtrusive guide that helps her manoeuvre the meandering ways of life.
Aarti Chandra is an AIMA certified trainer having conducted life skills workshops in schools and working as a freelance copy editor. Presently taking care of her aged parents. She has been practicing since 2012, is a member of the Noida sangha, and hopes to grow in her practice and as an individual.
Anika Batra Chhokar was in business analysis and project management in the corporate sector for 13 years. Chancing on a book by Thich Nhat Hanh, she found an immediate connection. Being an active part of the Noida sangha for seven years and with her practice, she is constantly rediscovering herself.
Vivek Arjun Dutta manages a financial consultancy based in Delhi and Mumbai. A long-time interest in comparative religion and philosophy led him to Thay’s teachings 20 years ago. An active member of the Gurgaon Sangha since 2010, he is a regular practitioner and feels the benefits of practicing mindfulness in many aspects of his life and being.
The late Rita Mitra is much missed by the Ahimsa community. She retired from the Audit and Accounts Service in 2018. She had been a practitioner since 2003 and passed away in September 2020 to cancer. RIta was the leading facilitator of the Noida sangha and was very active in the activities of Ahimsa Trust, especially in bringing mindfulness to education. She always said that she benefited from the teachings of Thay and experienced changes in her life as a result of the practice.
Amrita (Amu) Lalljee is an educator working in schools, using drama and music with learners of all ages. In the corporate sector, her work had focused on creating a collaborative, communicative and healthy work environment. Her Mindfulness practice gives her strength, support, equanimity, love and enables her to see herself more authentically.
Sheela Reddy: A journalist and author. She has been enriched by the practice of mindfulness ever since she first learnt about it fifteen years ago
Poonam Sahi has been a practitioner of Mindfulness for about 20 years. She enjoys the simplicity, gentleness, and compassionate nature of the practice. Being mindful helps her to deeply appreciate the small pleasures in life, get better understanding of herself and be a better version of herself.
Sonal Sena is trained as a social worker. She has taught human rights and is presently exploring and learning Creative Movement Therapy. She found her way to Mindfulness in 2014.
Gitanjali Seth: is a Founding Trustee of Ahimsa Trust and a ‘full time’ volunteer for the Trust with coordination responsibilities. She is a ‘retired’ lawyer and was introduced to the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition of practice in 1995. She is a regular visitor to Plum Village, her family’s second home. She co leads and facilitates sanghas as well.
Mala Tandan: A certified trainer by AIMA, she has conducted Life Skills & Behavioural Skills workshops at leading educational institutions for senior students and teachers. As a volunteer with Ahimsa Trust she assists at retreats in Mindfulness for educators, while integrating schools under the WakeUp Schools global movement.
Indira Unninayar is an activist-lawyer, mediator, and peacemaker, representing the unrepresented. Her practice has helped her to be more compassionate and transform her approach from raging against injustice to trying more peaceful methods. A long-term practitioner of yoga and mindfulness, she has lately been focusing on mindful consumption and the body-mind connection.
Annie Jacob Oberoi is a teacher at the Shri Ram School. She wanders along with her students, seeking knowledge and accepting the impermanence of being. Floating with the currents of the river of Mindfulness, she pauses to reflect upon her learnings: did she make a difference to those who needed her?
Ajeer Vidya served in the Indian Administrative Service for thirty-three years. After voluntary retirement, he has been engaged in studying Buddhist philosophy and facilitating workshops and meditation sessions. He is active in the work of Ahimsa Trust and the Gurgaon Sangha.
Chandana Dey, Manish Galrani, Pragati Sahni, Malashree, Ira Chauhan, Shalini Law, Meenakshi Negi, Lovleena Modi, Rakhee, Ranjani Shankar, Mamta, Shubra, Vikram Joshi, Ananya Zutshi, Preeti Sharma, Saiyam Khosla, Charu Aindley Das, Bina Aranha, Kamlendra, Rajesh Sharma and many others are also very much part of the volunteer team of facilitators and practitioners.