Meet the Team

Urvashi Butalia

director, Founder and CEO

Urvashi Butalia co-founded Kali for Women in 1984 and, in 2003, Zubaan. With over 50 years of experience in feminist and independent publishing, she has a formidable reputation in the industry in India and abroad. She also has a long involvement in the women’s movement in India, and is a well-known writer, both in academia and in the literary world. She has several works to her credit, key among which is her path-breaking study of Partition, The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India, which won the Oral History Book Association Award and the Nikkei Asia Award for Culture. She has also taught publishing for over 20 years. She has received many awards, among which are the Pandora award for women’s publishing, the French Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres and the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours awarded by the Indian government.

Satish Sharma

Director, Chief Financial Officer

Satish has over twenty-seven years of experience working in non-government organizations. He has been with Kali and then Zubaan for fourteen years. He manages the sales figures and accounts of various projects undertaken by Zubaan, as well as contributes a lot to the unhindered functioning of the office space. He can also manage a mean backhand in badminton and give players younger than him a run for their money.

Santosh Singh

Logistics

Santosh is our office assistant and postal in-charge. He helps with the delivery and processing orders as well as running important errands which enable the smooth functioning of the office.

Melissa Fernandes

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN EDITOR

With over 15 years of experience in content creation, book production, and design, Melissa has honed her skills in various facets of the creative industry. Having grown up in Mumbai, she recently relocated to Goa during the lockdown. When she’s not writing or reading, one can find her parked in front of the television binge-watching sitcoms or swimming in the sea, playfully pretending to be a dolphin.

Moumita Pal

Sales co-ordinator

Moumita has completed her master’s degree in Gender Studies and worked on the Gendered Politics of Food in India. A foodie at heart, you will find her chomping down on plates of spicy delicacies. As a fifth-grade student, she attempted to understand math concepts like profit and loss by trying to sell homemade gulab jamuns to her classmates. Her first attempt was a failure, and she was told she would never succeed as a salesperson. Challenge Accepted! Today, when you enter Zubaan’s bookstall or visit the office, you’re likely to spend more than you originally planned.

To meet the team from our NGO wing, click here