Contribute

We are currently seeking passionate contributors for Utsava Maa 2025, including speakers, workshop leaders, and artists, who are dedicated to our core themes of creativity, ecology, and divinity, and are eager to inspire and empower others through their expertise and experience.

Join Us in Co-Creating Utsava Maa 2025

We invite women from all cultures and backgrounds to come together in shared purpose—to explore the essential role of the feminine in ecological care and community renewal. Across time and place, women have tended forests, guarded medicines, nourished families, and protected water. These are not distant myths, but living truths. Yet much of this wisdom has been silenced or forgotten in the face of environmental degradation.

Utsava Maa 2025 offers space to return to these roots and reimagine our future. We focus on what can be done in our homes, local environments, and communities to restore ecosystems, rekindle cultural knowledge, and respond to the ecological shifts already underway. We welcome speakers, healers, artists, teachers, and workshop leaders whose work - whether scientific, spiritual, therapeutic, or creative—centres care, sustainability, and feminine wisdom. You don’t need to be a conservationist. If you feel called to protect the Earth, honour the sacred, or nourish others, this is your platform.

Together, we’re building a movement rooted in care, reciprocity, and relational wisdom. Every offering should reflect our core themes: ecology, divinity, and creativity, and inspire grounded, transformative action in the small, meaningful ways that ripple outward from community.

Since 2016, Utsava Maa has held space for women to unite, share resources, and face the complexities of ecological and social change—together. If you’re passionate about sacred ecology, sustainable living, or the power of feminine energy to restore balance, we invite your contribution to Utsava Maa 2025—a festival of healing, courage, and collective renewal.

Share your Talents

Utsava Maa is an all-female collaborative platform, built upon your contributions, skills, and shared wisdom. We warmly invite contributors whose knowledge and messages align with our core themes of ecology, sustainability, holistic living and women's empowerment to apply to join us this autumn.

Key-Note Speakers

We seek visionary speakers, particularly ecological leaders and creative thinkers, to inspire our diverse audience. As a keynote speaker, you'll share stories, insights, and innovative ideas to spark meaningful conversations and facilitate transformative change. Whether your expertise lies in ecological conservation, women's empowerment, creative innovation, community advocacy, or sustainable practices, your perspective will significantly shape Utsava Maa 2025.

Workshop Leaders

If you have interactive skills, creative talents, or expertise relevant to ecology or women's empowerment, we invite you to lead a workshop at Utsava Maa. Workshops offer practical tools, transformative experiences, creative exploration, and empowering insights in engaging, intimate settings. Possible topics include ecological awareness, women's health, creative arts, crafts, and contributing to the inspiration and connection of our participants.

Filmmakers

Filmmakers with compelling, thought-provoking, and creative films related to ecology, sustainability, women's empowerment, and community interconnectedness are encouraged to submit their work for our 3-day pre-seed film screenings. Films selected for screening may also include an optional Q&A session, offering the oppotrunity to share and discuss your work, as well as fostering deeper interaction and thoughtful dialogue amongst the festival's community.

Performers

We seek inspiring performers—puppeteers, dancers, singers, musicians and more —to showcase their talents and captivate attendees. Performers are warmly invited to reflect UM25's themes, as well as local and traditional arts. Performers are also invited to facilitate group workshops that allow other women to engage with, appreciate, and learn from your unique artistic skills and styles. This is a space to celebrate shared expression, where performance becomes both offering and invitation.

Artists & Collectives

Artists and India-based art collectives are invited to apply and contribute to the overall creative direction of Utsava Maa. We’re especially interested in work that weaves together ritual, ecology, social justice, and the sacred feminine. This is a chance to co-create an immersive and meaningful experience through installation, performance, participatory works, or other creative mediums. We welcome proposals that are thoughtful, bold, and in resonance with the spirit of the festival.

Photo/video-graphers

Photographers, videographers and filmmakers are warmly invited to apply to help document Utsava Maa. We’re looking for visual storytellers who can thoughtfully capture the festival’s atmosphere, highlight its core themes, and preserve its most powerful and intimate moments. Whether your focus is portraiture, candid moments, or cinematic storytelling, we’d love to hear how you envision contributing to this celebration of feminine energy and collective creativity and greatly value your ideas.

Artisans

We invite artisans from local and regional communities to showcase your distinctive handmade crafts at our festival Bazaar. This is your opportunity to highlight your craftsmanship, connect directly with festival attendees, and offer workshops to share your traditional skills and creative processes. Participating traditional artisans will also have the opportunity to sell their crafts to festival attendees without commission.

Translators

We seek experienced translators fluent in English and Hindi to help facilitate clear and inclusive communication throughout the festival. As a translator, you will play a vital role in ensuring all participants can fully engage, understand, and exchange knowledge seamlessly. Your contribution will significantly enhance mutual learning, accessibility, and inclusivity, fostering deeper connections between diverse attendees.

Bloggers & Influencers

We’re looking to collaborate with bloggers and influencers who align with the values of Utsava Maa and have a proven record of authentic, values-driven content. You’ll help share and promote the festival, report on the experience, and amplify the ideas and voices at its heart. A genuine interest in ecological healing, spirituality, and women’s empowerment is essential to representing the festival's community with integrity.

Throughout the festival, experienced English–Hindi translators will be present, providing real-time translations to ensure all participants can fully engage with and access the content, promoting

mutual inclusion and understanding.

Please complete our application form below to participate in Utsava Maa and contribute to this empowering, creative, and collaborative experience. We welcome international applications to ensure a diverse and enriching programme, though priority will be given to India-based contributors. This prioritisation aims to centre Indian knowledge, geographically relevant ecological practices, and culturally specific perspectives, ensuring authentic representation and relevance to the

context of the festival.

Apply

What We Offer Contributors

Utsava Maa is a not-for-profit co-created, heart-led gathering, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who helps bring it to life. In exchange for your contribution, we offer free festival access, accommodation, daily meals, and group transport between Jodhpur and the venue.

All contributors will also receive a welcome gift bag as a token of our appreciation.

Please note that this is a voluntary, community-based event. While most contributors join on a voluntary basis, we offer stipends to select speakers and workshop leaders, depending on the nature and extent of their involvement. Keynote speakers are hosted in the palace and receive an honorarium.

If you're offering something especially involved or unique, we’d love to chat further.

While we are currently not able to offer international travel support, we will do our best to support travel within India wherever needed and feasible.

Utsava Maa is a not-for-profit initiative, and all proceeds from the festival go toward funding further education

in conservation for young women in Rajasthan.

Previous Contributors

Utsava Maa 2020

Below are a selection of the remarkable women who contributed to Utsava Maa 2020,

offering their wisdom, leadership, and expertise across diverse fields, from ecological conservation to spiritual guidance and creative expression.

Artisan Activist

Ruma Devi

Ruma Devi is a renowned artisan and social activist celebrated for her work in reviving traditional crafts and empowering thousands of rural women across India by creating sustainable livelihoods and platforms for their voices to be heard.

Founder of Utsava Maa.

Shreejan Sita

A devoted yoga therapist and Ayurveda practitioner, cirector of Yoga Programs at Shri Jasnath Asan and founder of Utsava Maa, she has led the festival since its inception in 2016, guiding its growth into a federally recognised initiative rooted in collective leadership and healing.

Screenshot 2025-03-24 at 15.49_edited.jp

Author & Speaker

Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert is an internationally acclaimed author, best known for her novel Eat Pray Love, visiting India for the first time since its publication to share insights on creativity, healing, and the feminine spirit in times of transformation.

Social Activist

Urmi Basu

Recipient of India’s Nari Shakti Puraskar, she shared the powerful story of founding New Light—an organisation dedicated to supporting and empowering women and children in Kolkata’s red-light district through education, shelter, and advocacy.

Inclusion Advocate

Sneh Gupta

Sneh Gupta, founder of the Indiability Foundation—an organisation committed to the inclusion and empowerment of physically challenged children—led impactful workshops that championed accessibility, resilience, and dignity during the festival.

Storytelling Facilitator

Dr. Kristen Ali Eglinton

Dr. Kristen Ali Eglinton, Executive Director of The Footage Project, facilitated powerful storytelling workshops designed to amplify the voices and creative agency of local young women through media, art, and participatory learning.

Mystic Teacher-Healer

Maa Gyaan

Maa Gyaan Suveera is a mystic teacher, healer, and founder of the

Ci Plus Meditation technique, who guides seekers in ancient wisdom, healing, and self-realization.

Spiritual Leader & Ecological Advocate

Gajra Choudhary

Gajra Choudhary is an Indian educator and child marriage survivor who became Deputy Director of Rajasthan’s largest school district.

Kathak Dancer

Pooja Nathawat

Pooja Nathawat is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, educator, and member of UNESCO's International Dance Council, known for beginning her classical dance journey at age 30 and advocating for cultural and environmental preservation.

Filmmaker

Disha Arora

Disha Arora is an award-winning feminist documentary filmmaker and development communications specialist, known for her documentary Women and Religion in India (2018), which explores the intersection of gender and faith across the country.

Filmmaker

Kavita Bahl

Kavita Bahl is a three-time National Film Award-winning Indian documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on environmental conservation and marginalised communities. She presented a workshop on storytelling through filmmaking and photography.

Kathak Dancer

Vishaka Saraf

A gifted Kathak dancer who,

along with her troupe, delivered a captivating performance during

the festival.

Arts Collective

Undergrowth CIC

Arts Direction Team, responsible for curating and overseeing the artistic vision and creative projects at the festival.

Ecological Rangers

Pushpa Shekhawati & Pushta Pawar

Forest Guards and Custodians of the Great Indian Bustard, who protect endangered species in the Sudasari Desert National Park and contributed a talk on conservation.

Artist & Activist

Alisa Ruzavina

Entrepreneur and Social Impact Innovator, who empowers women and promotes sustainable practices through impactful projects.

Author & Advocate

Nanda Huneman

Author of "Widows Don’t Fall in Love," who engaged participants with discussions on single women's experiences in India.

Teacher & Mentor

Lisa Milnor

Lisa Milnor is a passionate facilitator of Trauma Release Exercise (TRE), sharing this powerful somatic practice to support others in releasing stress and trauma stored in the body.

Artist & Activist

Berenice Gaca Courtin

Bérénice Gaca Courtin is a multidisciplinary French artist who explores themes of resistance and memory through textile arts and presented a workshop on the power of textiles as a medium for resistance.