Rajashree Khalap
Rajashree is a landrace dog enthusiast and naturalist with a special interest in spiders. In the past she worked with a street dog welfare non-profit (1993 to 2007). In 2002 she started an informal group called the Indian Pariah Dog Club, later renamed to INDog Club, to create awareness about India’s village dogs and to create respect for them. After leaving animal welfare work, she converted the INDog Club to a larger effort called the INDog Project, to bridge gaps in public knowledge on this subject.
She collaborated on a seminal paper (Shannon & Boyko) on the genetics of village dogs, including Indian village dogs, which suggested a Central Asian origin for the domestic dog. She has also collaborated on arachnology studies with well-known Indian researchers.
Rajashree’s other interests include birding and stargazing. She has also worked with a wildlife conservation non-profit for many years.
Krishna Mohan
Krishna Mohan is a Surgeon, environmentalist & techno-fetishist, who suffers from chronic photophilia and wanderlust. Other interests include Arachnology research, dogs, birds and environmental ecology. He’s described five species of spiders and reported several more new to the region. He currently divides his time between practising medicine, teaching photography and exploring the wilderness.
Gautam Das
Gautam Das was in the Indian Army from 1968 to 1991 as an infantry officer of the 11th Gorkha Rifles. He was a consultant with WWF-India at their Delhi HQ in the years 1994-1998. He is a member of several Specialist Groups in the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).
He has owned and entered dogs of several breeds at KCI dog shows, mainly in Obedience classes.
Gautam Das has recently authored three books on military history, including ‘Unlearned Lessons: An Appraisal of India’s Military Mishaps’, 2007, ‘Srilanka Misadventure: India’s Military Peace-Keeping Campaign 1987-1990’, 2008, and ‘China-Tibet-India, the 1962 War and the Strategic Military Future’, 2009.
He is a founder member of the Delhi Bird Club.
Aditya Panda
Aditya Panda is a naturalist, wildlife conservationist, photographer and canine enthusiast based in Orissa. An avid champion of the INDog, he is committed to raising its profile and having it officially recognised as a breed. His first INDog, Robin, sparked his interest in the breed and he has observed INDogs as pets, working animals and as free-ranging animals for many years.
Aditya is an award winning naturalist and wildlife conservationist. His day job is that of a safari leader and when he is not on safari, he spends his time working on conserving tiger and elephant landscapes of eastern Central India, particularly Orissa. He is particularly involved in bringing attention to tiger conservation in the Satkosia-Mahanadi landscape and is engaged in human-elephant conflict mitigation in the region. He has been awarded the ABN – Amro Sanctuary Asia Young Naturalist Award, 2007 and the prestigious Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award, 2010.
Aditya is also deeply involved in canine activities in his state. He is a member of the Orissa Kennel Club and the German Shepherd Dog Confederate – Kalinga. He nurtures a serious interest in breeding and showing dogs of breeds that he is passionate about, and in restoring the German Shepherd Dog to its original healthy working dog form. He currently owns German Shepherd Dogs and a Doberman at his kennels in Bhubaneswar.
Ryan Braganza
Ryan Braganza is an IT professional who doesn’t allow his day job to stop him from indulging in his first love: motorcycling. His love of riding has taken him to different parts of the country on his trusted motorcycle aptly named Gypsy. He uses the opportunity to pursue his other interest: photographing INDogs, Dhangar dogs and other village dogs around India. His love of nature and a keen interest in landrace domestic dogs, wild canids and other species make for very interesting journeys and conversations. Ryan has been an active participant in the INDog Project since 2007.