Pukar

PUKAR is an innovative and experimental initiative that aims to contribute to a global debate about urbanization and globalization. It takes Mumbai as its conceptual base and laboratory for cross-disciplinary research projects. PUKAR also organizes seminars, workshops, talks and film screenings in English, Marathi and occasionally other Mumbai languages, and focuses specifically on producing a new space for critical engagement. Its goal is to generate new urban knowledge by encouraging maximum participation of Mumbai's citizens in this process, thus also contributing to the city's dynamism and sustainability. PUKAR's team consists of a group of scholars, social and cultural activists and professionals in the fields of art, journalism, film, architecture, urban planning and social sciences. The group was founded in 2001 by Professor Arjun Appadurai (Provost & Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs, New School University, New York, USA), who serves as the President of its Board of Trustees.

PUKAR is open to a diverse, multi-lingual and multi-generational audience with programs especially focusing on the city’s high school and college students, its Marathi speaking public, its research community and its many creative communities.

PUKAR's work is guided by a group of Advisors and a Board of Trustees and is supported by grants from UNESCO, Sir Ratan Tata Foundation, India Foundation for the Arts, Indo-Dutch Program for Alternative Development (IDPAD), Mumbai Metropolitan Region –Heritage Conservation Society (MMR-HCS), The Ford Foundation, The University of Chicago, Yale University and by anonymous private donors.