Team

Shiju is the Chief Archivist and Director at the foundation. The foundation was born out of Shiju's decade long hobby digitization work, which culminated in the Granthappura (Kerala Digital Archive) collection.

A supporter of Shiju's work from the early days, Jisso is a director at the foundation and oversees operations and finances. A history lover and Bangalore based techno-entrepreneur, he runs Totient, a tech consulting firm and MicroCharity, a crowd micro-donation platform.

Kailash leads the dictionary projects at the foundation and helps with technology. A hobbyist open source software developer, he works on Indic language projects such as Olam and Alar. Based out of Bengaluru, he is also the CTO at Zerodha.

Sathish leads the daily archival activities at the Bangalore centre. Retired from a corporate career, he enjoys writing short stories and poetry, and has a book to his name—Anubhava Narmma Nakshathrangal (അനുഭവ നർമ്മ നക്ഷത്രങ്ങൾ). He is the academic coordinator of Malayalam Mission (Karnataka), President of the Deccan Cultural Society (Bangalore), and founder secretary and ex-president of Kerala Samajam Bangalore Southwest.

Reena helps in the daily archival activities at the Bangalore centre. She is a graduate in travel and toursim and has worked in the travel and banking industries.

Meena helps in the daily archival activities at the Thiruvanathapuram centre. She is a graduate in literature. Her interests are literature, travel, music and cinema.

Deepthi helps in the daily archival activities at the Thiruvanathapuram centre. She is a graduate in sociology and certified in Library and Information Sciences and has seven years of experience in medical research and records management.

Ameen helps in the daily archival activities at the Thiruvanathapuram centre. He is interested in open source and public-contribution projects. He is currently pursuing BA LLB from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram. He has worked on transcription and public-mapping projects.

Deepthi helps in the daily archival activities at the University of Madras Library centre. She is a commerce graduate from MG University, Kerala.

Bincy helps in the daily archival activities at the University of Madras Library centre. She is a commerce graduate from Kannur University, Kerala.

Dr. Arul George Scaria is a long-term well-wisher of the Granthappura project and has been advising the foundation on legal matters since its formation. Arul is a Professor of Law at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, where his work focuses on the intersection of law, technology, and innovation. His core areas of interest include intellectual property, artificial intelligence, data governance, and open science. Prior to joining NLSIU, he was an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Innovation, Intellectual Property and Competition (CIIPC) at National Law University, Delhi. He pursued his doctoral studies at the International Max Planck Research School for Competition and Innovation (IMPRS-CI) and was awarded his doctoral degree with summa cum laude. His post-doctoral research at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Belgium, focused primarily on access to research data. His publications include two sole-authored books: Piracy in the Indian Film Industry: Copyright and Cultural Consonance (Cambridge University Press, 2014) and Ambush Marketing: Game within a Game (Oxford University Press, 2008). He was the first academician to be appointed as an Independent Expert by the IP Division of the Delhi High Court. Recently, he was appointed by the Delhi High Court as an Amicus Curiae in ANI v. OpenAI, the first GenAI-related copyright litigation in India.

Kannan Shanmugham is a long-term, dedicated volunteer of the Granthappura project, playing a key role in identifying and digitizing rare collections. He works closely with IDAF team members to prioritize materials for digitization, ensuring that valuable and at-risk resources are preserved. Kannan Shanmugham has played a pivotal role in engaging with the authorities of Perinad CKP Vilasam Grandasala and Ayathil Sahithya Vilasini Grandhasala in Kollam, helping initiate digitization projects at these institutions. He has also been instrumental in persuading noted authors such as Kesavan Nair and Sreeni Pattathanam to release their works under free licenses, making them available for digitization. Kannan Shanmugham currently serves as the Headmaster of Government LP School, Prakkulam, in Kollam district. He is also actively involved in volunteer-driven initiatives such as Malayalam Wikipedia and other open-source projects.

Tony Antony is a long-term volunteer and key supporter of the Granthappura project, known for his significant contributions in identifying rare collections from in and around Kottayam. He played a pivotal role in engaging with the authorities of Kottayam Public Library, which ultimately led to the establishment of a digitization centre at the library. In addition to his work with Granthappura, he is involved in various open-source initiatives. Tony Antony is a retired TTI Principal, bringing with him years of experience in education and community engagement.

Junaid P.V. is a longer term technical supporter of the Granthappura project from its early days. He countinued that support even after the foundation is formed in 2022. Junaid helped with the development of new technologies and also helped to run the software and technology stack. He is a technology consultant hailing from Kannur.