Vinita Sidhartha wears many hats. Writer, entrepreneur, revivalist, researcher, trainer, social sector consultant, corporate executive… are but some of the roles she plays. The written word though remains her first love!
She started her career in communication and has organically explored several realms based on her interests, passion, and an abiding desire to make a difference to the community. Through the years she has been writing – her thoughts, feelings, experiences and about the amazing people with whom she has come face to face.
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MASTERPAGE
Vinita returned to India from the US in 1990 armed with a degree in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Realising that she wanted to balance both family and career, Vinita opted to set up her own agency in content development called Masterpage. An early pioneer in the field, the agency provided well researched content backed by creative design and thinking to support organisations, NGO’s, educational institutions and even some media houses. Amongst some of the noteworthy projects were a series of articles in The Hindu on Wedding Customs of India and another series on Traditional Games of India in the Young World of The Hindu.
KREEDA
As a busy professional, and a mother of two, Vinita turned to her grandmother for babysitting support. Her grandmother in turn spent hours with the children teaching them a number of traditional Indian games. Watching her children play these games the personal and the professional merged in Vinita. Thus, was born Kreeda, meaning play in Sanskrit, which markets traditional games that are Indian in spirit and global in quality. As part of this endeavour, Vinita researches and documents these games to understand their relevance in the modern world.
With our modern nuclear families and an increasing dependence on digital recreation we have lost our connect with the games our grandparents played and this aspect of our heritage. Kreeda is now a byword in India in conversations about traditional games and has grown to be one of the anchors of Vinita’s professional identity, giving her a pan India and even international footprint as a revivalist of traditional Indian games.
Vinita is best known as the founder of Kreeda – with the iconic, eco-friendly and cheerful boxes gracing shelves across India. It gives her a great sense of satisfaction that in bringing back these games into our lives and making them accessible to all, she has not only been able to save this aspect of our heritage but has been able to build a fun way to connect across generations. Vinita travels far and wide in search of games or people who would know of them. As her knowledge grows, so does her passion. By virtue of the extensive research and documentation she has done in this field, Vinita is, today, one of the country’s experts in the area of traditional games and is often invited to talks, workshops and other collaborative partnerships.
DEVELOPMENT SECTOR
Vinita also got involved in the social sector. She joined the Heroes Project (established by Richard Gere and Parmeshwar Godrej) to address communication about HIV related issues in India. She also consulted with Population Services International on Project Connect, to bring in corporate partnerships into HIV/AIDS efforts in various states. Over the years Vinita has continued her work in the social sector, consulting with Save our Children, Care India, etc and volunteering at Crafts Council of India, Sugun Thomas Foundation, to name a few – working on a range of issues from HIV to child trafficking and domestic child labour, craft revival to education and women’s empowerment.
PETRALTHAN PILLAIYA TRUST
Vinita Sidhartha spearheads and manages the Petralthan Pillaiya Trust that works to support children living with HIV across the state of Tamilnadu by providing them counselling and support for higher education. In this role she manages several innovative programs that harness the power of media and celebrities to extend the awareness about HIV and support to HIV+ve children.
POWER CENTRE PVT.LTD.
Another aspect of Vinita’s career is her role as a Director in the IT company she runs with her husband and a sister concern in diesel generators. Power Centre is a leading Microsoft Partner and provides IT solutions for corporates and institutions. Her roles and responsibilities include the HR, Communication, and Marketing.
AS A PERSON
Vinita loves the multiple roles she plays and the opportunity they afford her to engage with and give back to the community. Her unique experiences in the corporate and NGO sector as well as working with media houses coupled with her experiences as a home maker and entrepreneur have moulded her thinking and her attitudes. She is a lover of animals, a mother of two grown children and has enjoyed motherhood and the creative outlets it gave her. She enjoys cooking and pottering about in her kitchen to come up with innovative recipes using vegetables she grows.
In 2021 Vinita returned to her first love – writing!
Ripples Of Life and Time 