Sandhya Mendonca


Sandhya Mendonca is an Indian writer, editor and publisher. Born in Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, India, she gained a BA in Economics, Political Science & Sociology from St. Joseph's College of Arts & Science, and an MA in Political Science specialising in International Relations from Bangalore University. She has a Diploma in Public Relations from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. She lives in Bengaluru.

Career

Sandhya Mendonca worked as a journalist for over sixteen years before co-founding a media company with her husband and veteran journalist Allen Mendonca, Raintree Media, of which she is the Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief. She is also the mentor at , a web and mobile based curated content platform, and the Festival Director of , India's first multi-arts festival curated by women.
A native Kannadiga, Mendonca is a chronicler of the cultural history of the state of Karnataka through books published by Raintree Media such as Karnataka - A Cultural Odyssey, Raj Bhavan Bangalore - Through the Ages, Marvels of Karnataka & more and many others. She is the co-author of Marvels of Mysore & More, published in 2012. This book has been hailed by author Shashi Deshpande, and editor-in-chief of Outlook, Krishna Prasad. In 2015, Marvels of Karnataka & More was translated into Kannada as Karnatakada Vismayagalu.
Her latest book Disrupt and Conquer - How TTK Prestige Became A Billion Dollar Company co-authored with Mr. TT Jaggannathan, has been published by Penguin Random House in 2018. Random House also published her earlier book on the REVA electric car Reva EV - India's Green Gift to the World, in 2013. Her autobiographical stories are published in the Chicken Soup for the Indian Couples' Soul & Chicken Soup for the Indian Singles' Soul series, both a part of the international Chicken Soup for the Soul series, published in India by Tata Westland in 2012.
In 2019, she edited and published the Augmented Reality embedded Innovate Bengaluru, which features the top 100 innovators and enablers in Bengaluru's ecosystem. The book was launched in April 2019 at the Innovate Bengaluru Festival, which brought together over 300 Icons, Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Emerging Leaders, Enablers and Investors.

Arts

Mendonca is an amateur actor and has acted in an original play about child sexual abuse Shadows on the Wall written and directed by Vijay Nair, and a comedy about golf Sliced Balls written by Poile Sengupta. She most recently acted in Robi's Garden directed by veteran director Vijay Padaki of .
In 2009, Mendonca started an informal initiative in memory of her husband, Under the Raintree, that hosted play readings, artistic interactions, and concerts. Starting with the dramatised reading of Anita Nair's Nine faces of being when it was a work in progress to concerts and talks, this initiative engages artistes with audiences in informal, intimate settings.
In 2015, Mendonca was inspired to form the , giving expression to the voices of women through poetry and art for social good. In sync with artists like Shan Re and Romicon Revola, poets Poile Sengupta & Kavita Rajshekar, among others, she offered the forum of SHE Collective Hub to , and the . The House of Hope provides 24-hour care to over a hundred AIDS affected orphans and their siblings. Dream India Network nurtures the most vulnerable and socially excluded children and provides them a safe haven.
In 2017, both these initiatives coalesced, and Mendonca created . Held over three days in Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bengaluru, the festival had more than 200 participating artistes. More than 6000 people attended the festival. The 2nd edition in Nov 2017, was registered at  the United Nations Partnerships for SDGs, and provided the stage for 42 events across 7 stages, featuring the voices of over 150 Writers, Poets, Musicians, Artists and Scientists.
A past member of the Rotary Club of Bangalore, Mendonca is also a Paul Harris Fellow of the International Rotary fellowship. She frequently speaks at literary, industry and corporate events.

Awards and recognition

Mendonca is invited to speak at events such as: