The Author of the Month Series is conceived as a year-long curatorial programme at BLR Reads – Library and Archive, reinforcing the library’s identity as an open cultural and civic space. Rooted in BLR Reads’ philosophy of reading beyond books, the series will feature one author each month in focused book discussions that connect literature with broader themes of the city, history, design, culture, and everyday lived experiences. The initiative seeks to deepen reader engagement, encourage sustained community participation, and cultivate collaborations with authors, publishers, academic institutions, and cultural organisations. As an outreach effort, the series will increase BLR Reads’ visibility, strengthen its networks, and position it as a regular and meaningful presence within Bengaluru’s literary and cultural landscape.

The edition will centre on Chronicles of a Global City, featuring a conversation between Carol Upadhya and Swathi Shivanand with Champaka Rajagopal, further positioning the series as a vibrant space for dialogue, reflection and shared learning. Set against the evolving urban fabric of Bengaluru, the book brings together diverse voices to unpack the complexities of a rapidly globalising city tracing intersections of migration, labour, infrastructure and everyday life. Through layered narratives and critical insights, it explores how the city is shaped as much by policy and capital as by the lived experiences of its people, making it a compelling lens to understand Bengaluru’s past, present and possible futures.

Author of the month – Carol Upadhya 

Carol Upadhya, a social anthropologist, is Honorary Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, India, where she heads the Urban and Mobility Studies. She is the author of Reengineering India: Work, Capital, and Class in an Offshore Economy (Oxford University Press, 2016), and her monograph on the Amaravati project in Andhra Pradesh is forthcoming from Berghahn Books (May 2026).

Swathi Shivanand is a historian with research interests in modern and contemporary India and its development trajectories. She teaches at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in the Bengaluru campus.

Champaka Rajagopal is an independent practitioner and researcher in urban policy, planning and governance. She brings over twenty years of experience of having worked with national, state and local governments in several countries including India, USA, China, France, Sri Lanka, Libya, Vietnam and Indonesia.

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