About
The Archival and Research Project (ARPO) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to discovering, documenting, and sharing lesser-known aspects of cultural heritage in accessible and creative ways.
Founded in 2021 as a collective, ARPO is driven by a shared belief that a deeper understanding of culture and heritage is essential to building a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future. We work at the intersection of research, storytelling, and community engagement to reconnect people with their roots.
Through multimedia storytelling, digital archiving, research, events, and on-ground interventions, ARPO seeks to expand public access to cultural knowledge and foster meaningful engagement with heritage. Our work spans local histories, art, architecture, cultural practices, and oral traditions, with a strong emphasis on voices and narratives that are often overlooked.
ARPO is registered as a Society under the Travancore–Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955
(Registration Number: TVM/TC/830/2021)
Our approach
Our primary aim is to make lesser-discussed cultural knowledge accessible to wider audiences. We do this by identifying meaningful subjects and engaging with them through creative cultural and social projects. These initiatives are shared across popular media platforms, helping build stronger connections between diverse audiences and the cultural narratives we work with.
Beyond documentation, ARPO’s approach to conservation and promotion is rooted in the idea of reconnection. Drawing inspiration from the familiar cheering cry “ARPO–IRO” heard at Kerala’s regatta races—where ARPO is followed by a resounding IRO—we extend this rhythm into our practice. For us, cultural archiving must move beyond preservation to active engagement through Intervention, Restoration, and Outreach.
This philosophy guides our efforts to create meaningful opportunities for artists, artisans, and cultural practitioners—facilitating creative collaborations, strengthening livelihoods, and enabling their participation in the wider creative and financial economy.
Our Values
At ARPO we share a collective belief that understanding our culture and heritage will help us create an inclusive, equitable and sustainable future.
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Respect
We hold deep, non-hierarchical respect for all communities and cultures, free from judgment or discrimination. We value every individual irrespective of their race, caste, religion, gender, or any other social construct, fostering an environment of positive regard and equity.
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Collaboration and Co-creation
In every endeavor, we prioritize collaboration and co-creation. This applies both within our own team, ensuring diverse perspectives are integrated, and with all our stakeholders, including the communities we serve and our partners. We believe the most impactful solutions arise from shared effort and mutual understanding.
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Professionalism
We strive to bring efficiency in the use of our time, financial resources, and other assets. Professionalism for us means keeping the mission and the work at the forefront of every decision, coupled with unwavering honesty and uprightness in reporting our progress and operations.
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Solution-Oriented Mindset
We approach challenges with a proactive, solution-oriented mindset. Our focus is on identifying effective, sustainable strategies and interventions that directly address the needs of cultural preservation and community empowerment. We aim not just to identify problems, but to actively implement practical, impactful solutions.
Team
Akshai Augustin
Logistics Manager
At ARPO, Akshai ensures that ideas conceived on paper translate smoothly into action on the ground. With a background in Computer Science and Business Intelligence, he brings systems thinking to planning, coordination, and problem-solving. He hails from a small village nestled in the foothills of the Brahmagiri hills of the Western Ghats, and carries a deep connection to land and community. Akshai loves farming. Shaped his service at the National Cadet Corps , he sees logistics not just as execution, but as responsibility—aligning people, resources, and time in service of ARPO’s cultural mission.
Angelin Joy
Content Manager
With experience across publishing and digital media, Angelin leads ARPO’s content and narrative strategy. Her work includes collaborations with publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, and HarperCollins, along with leading digital content teams in fast-paced brand environments. A 2019-20 Young India Fellow at the Ashoka University, she also combines interdisciplinary learning with hands-on editorial expertise. Beyond work, she is passionate about storytelling through art, long-distance running, and cats.
Parvathi AR
Vice Chairperson, ARPO Society
A passionate researcher and an art enthusiast, Parvathi is one of the founders of ARPO. She holds a master's degree in economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and was working as Assistant Professor of Economics at the Government College Munnar. She is now pursuing her PhD in Public Policy from IIT Delhi. She is a Mohiniyattam dancer and also a trained singer. She has hosted cultural events for organisations including ICCR. Books are her companions and she also loves to travel.
Sravan
Brand Development Associate
Sravan, a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Sree Chithra Thirunal College of Engineering, has always been drawn to ideas beyond machines. In college, he organised events and thrived in fast-paced environments. At ARPO, he works across brand and on-ground coordination, translating culture into experiences young people connect with. As an event coordinator of Cult A Way ’25, he strengthened his ability to execute large-scale ideas. Passionate about Kerala’s art traditions, he believes heritage should feel wearable, shareable, and alive — bringing Gen Z energy to ARPO’s evolving vision.
Sruthin Lal
Executive Director & Secretary, ARPO Society
Sruthin Lal is a social entrepreneur, multimedia journalist and storyteller. Previously, he led the newsroom of Asiaville, covered the business beat for Hindustan Times, co-founded multiple media project. He occasionally writes articles for The Hindu and the Frontline Magazine. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, Sruthin was listed among 51 notable mobile journalists by Journalism.co.uk in 2021, and was selected by the US State Department for the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP). His noted work was the coverage of the migrant labour crisis in Uttar Pradesh during the Covid-19 lockdown in the form of a video documentary, which he and his colleague shot on mobile phones by travelling about 700km on bicycles from Delhi to Lucknow. He has a background in Indian classical music and dance and is deeply passionate about art, history and culture.
Vimal Hari
Video Editor
Vimal works with visuals, where stories take shape through frames and edits. With close to seven years of experience in the media space, his practice has largely revolved around editing — yet his engagement goes beyond the edit table. Having independently created documentaries, he brings a sharp eye for narrative and an instinct for storytelling that is grounded and empathetic. Over the past two years, Vimal has deepened his focus on visual storytelling as a medium to document, reflect, and engage with people and their realities.
Vysakh R
Lead Researcher
Vysakh R is a linguist and anthropologist who holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. Grounded in long-term ethnographic and linguistic fieldwork in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, his research explores multilingualism, language endangerment, and the intimate ties between language, ecology, and lived experience. Trained at JNU and the English and Foreign Languages University, he combines academic rigour with a deep sensitivity to community narratives. Previously a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Vysakh’s work bridges scholarship and cultural stewardship, foregrounding languages as living archives of memory and survival.
Yadukrishnan P U
Creative Director
Yadu leverages a decade of experience with national and international brands to lead all creative and visual aspects of our work—from video and social media to logos and events. A passionate enthusiast of vehicles, cameras, and technology, his extensive travels, particularly across Kerala, have enriched his creative vision with a deep understanding of cultural diversity.
Advisory
ARPO is a growing community of researchers, storytellers, artists and creative professionals of different stripes. We are fortunate to also have advisors who have been generous with their time and wealth of knowledge in their respective fields to support our work.
Anirudh Sharma
Independent Advisor
Anirudh Sharma leads Spatial AI Lab at Amazon Lab126, where he builds edge based AI systems that connect vision, audio, and physical world signals to intelligent devices. He previously founded Graviky Labs, creator of AIR-INK, a material made from captured air pollution that has been adopted by global brands and shipped in products used by millions, and he is an alumnus of the MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group.
Before MIT he co-founded Lechal Wearables, a haptic shoe that helps visually impaired people navigate using vibro-tactile cues - exited 2015. His work has earned MIT TR35 Innovator of the Year, INK Fellowship and Forbes 30 Under 30, Time 100 Inventors and has featured at TED, WIRED, Fast Company etc.
Swarup BR
Independent Advisor
Swarup is a brand strategist and communications expert with over three decades of experience. As Creative Director and Managing Director of Stark Communications (1994-2014), he played a key role in transforming Kerala into a premier global tourism destination through internationally acclaimed, award- winning campaigns like Your Moment Is Waiting. Since founding BR&S Consultants in 2014, he specialises mostly in healthcare branding. His work establishing Aster Medcity as Kerala’s most powerful healthcare brand redefined healthcare communication across the State. A certified coach and mentor, Swarup has translated two books from Malayalam to English for Harper Collins. Swarup serves as pro- bono advisor to many social initiatives, combining intuitive creativity with strategic planning.
Manu S Pillai
Independent Advisor
Manu is an acclaimed Indian historian and author known for his works on the Travancore monarchy and the history of Princely India. His books have been widely praised and have earned him several awards, such as the 2016 Tata Prize for best first work of non-fiction and the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. In addition to his writing career, Manu has held various positions, including serving as the Chief of Staff to Indian MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor and working with the BBC on their Incarnations History series.
Manju Sara Rajan
Independent Advisor
Manju Sara Rajan is a columnist, editor and arts manager. She is presently a Senior Advisor at Asian Paints and the Editor-in-chief of beautifulhomes.com, India’s largest design and décor content platform by Asian Paints. She is also a founding member of the Bengaluru-based KAASH Foundation, which creates and showcases art and contemporary design products from within India’s vast crafts heritage. She is the former CEO of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, where she oversaw the management of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016. She was the founding editor of the Indian edition of Architectural Digest, which set new benchmarks for the coverage of design in India by featuring spaces that had never been open to the public and visualizing a design style that is uniquely Indian and contemporary. MSR began her career in 2002 as a reporter in Time newsmagazine’s Asia bureau in Hong Kong, before moving to India and other media publications like Indian Express, Mint Lounge, and Open magazine. Almost two decades of experience in media and arts management has provided her with a great deal of insight into the creative and commercial parts of the fields of design, art and media.
Contact us
If you like our work and would like to get in touch with us, write to us at arpo.india@gmail.com, or director@arpo.in.
You can also find us on social media.
