India Currents Collage of Influential Thinkers, Writers, and Cultural Icons · South Asians in Silicon Valley

Title: India Currents Collage of Influential Thinkers, Writers, and Cultural Icons
Subject: South Asian intellectual history; diaspora inspiration
Description: A framed collage from Vandana Kumar’s living room, featuring renowned South Asian and global figures who have inspired, shaped, or been featured in India Currents across its 30+ years of publication.

The collage includes portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Paramahansa Yogananda, Amrita Pritam, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), Satyajit Ray, and other writers, activists, scientists, and spiritual leaders.

Together, these images represent the intellectual and cultural backbone of India Currents’ editorial mission, documenting South Asian creativity, global activism, spiritual traditions, political movements, literary achievements, and the personal stories that connect these legacies to diasporic life in the United States.

This collage also reflects the magazine’s role as a bridge between continents, bringing South Asian thought, art, and public life into conversation with the lived experiences of immigrants in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Creator: Curated by Vandana Kumar
Individual photographs sourced from India Currents archives and public domain materials
Date: Collage assembled c. 1990s–2010s; subjects span late 19th century to contemporary figures
Format: Photographic collage (JPEG image)

Media: India Currents Collage of Influential Thinkers, Writers, and Cultural Icons