Mythili Devarakonda
Staff Writer
Mythili Devarakonda joined The American Bazaar as a Staff Writer in October 2024. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. While her portfolio goes back to her teenage years, when she contributed to various online pop culture publications; her recent endeavors include working as a reporting fellow with USA Today, gaining millions of reads for her stories. She was also the audience engagement fellow for Chalkbeat, a non-profit publication covering education in America. Some of Mythili’s reportage has appeared in Maryland’s regional newspapers such as The Southern Maryland Chronicle and The Enquirer Gazette, as part of her capstone course where she worked on the data and graphics desk at Capital News Service. Now, as part of The American Bazaar, Mythili hopes to serve the Indian American and South Asian communities with quality news.
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Rumaisa Khusru
Reporter and Online Editor
Rumaisa Khusru is a recent MSc graduate from the University of Oxford in Applied Linguistics, with a focus on Neurolinguistics. She completed an Oxford Scholarship program in Japan earlier this year. She has been a reporter and editor for publications like the Cherwell and Oxford Blue newspapers at Oxford, a researcher and writer at the International Business Times in Bangalore and editor-in-chief of Ethos magazine during her undergraduate years in Jeddah. She can be reached at editor@americanbazaaronline.com
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Arun Kumar
Editor-at-Large
Arun Kumar is an Editor-at-Large at The American Bazaar. He has a wealth of experience in covering Washington and the United States. Prior to joining AB, he served as the North America Bureau Chief of the Indian news agency IANS for 11 years. Previously, he worked for the news agency PTI in various roles, including as Chief News Editor, Editor of Special Services, Assistant General Manager and as foreign correspondent in Islamabad and Beijing.
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Vishnu Kaimal has over a decade of experience in both broadsheet and digital journalism. A graduate of the Asian College of Journalism Chennai, he has published stories for The Hindu, The New Indian Express and International Business Times, among other publications. He is an avid reader who spends his free time buried in books and when the mood strikes him he immersed himself in narrative-driven video games. He can be reached at editor@americanbazaaronline.com.
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Dileep P. Thekethil
Consulting Editor
Dileep P Thekethil, a Mass Communication post-graduate degree holder from Pondicherry University, is based in Bangalore. Prior to joining The American Bazaar in 2013, he was an SEO Content Manager for ISPG Technologies Pvt. LTD., the official channel partner of Google Adwords in India. He currently heads theÂIndia operations of The American Bazaar, leading the editorial, design and marketing team from the Bangalore office. He is a frequent blogger who keeps a tab on the latest updates in the technology arena. While at Pondicherry University, he anchored in creating a separate website for the Mass Communication Department www.puinquirer.edu.in.
Jayshal Sood
Contributing Editor
Jayshal Sood, an international journalist, was Editor at The American Bazaar prior to taking responsibilities as the Managing Editor of the news publication. Sood’s journalism experience includes more than a decade of experience in news media, where he started his career as a Reporter. He has worked with national as well as international media houses including Highlands Productions, Inc, BBC News (Washington, DC), Asian News International (ANI), Oscar’s Institute of Art and Research, and Triveni Production International. Sood has a thorough understanding of all facets of news coverage that is reflected both in his work experience and academic background. He was awarded Hall-of-Nations scholarship in 2006 by the American University, Washington, DC. He is also a recipient of Liu Foundation Multicultural Scholarship from Syracuse University, New York. His report in International Investigative Reporting, under renowned investigative journalist Charles Lewis, was commended as the best report in 2007. Sood has worked on documentaries on various subjects including US-Iraq war, US-India nuclear accord, global warming and prominent Indian Americans.
Brian Scott Preston
Reporter and producer
Brian Scott Preston is a reporter and producer based in the Washington,DC, area. He worked at the Washington Daily News as a writer, reporter, and film critic. He was staff science writer for Mankind Research Unlimited. As an LD, DP and writer, he has also worked in ENG, feature film and documentaries.
Isha Roy
Reporter and producer
Isha Roy is a Washington-based television and print reporter, and producer. She has been covering the South Asian American entertainment and culture for five years for various television, online and print outlets, including NewsX, MHz Networks, The International Business Times, The Khaleej Times and Yahoo. She has also been a contributing writer and producer for Global India Newswire for the past two years.
Isha was a regular host for Darshan, a weekly South Asian variety show. As an on-air reporter, she has developed a reputation for being able to relate with viewers within the community and abroad.
Rakesh Agrawal
Writer
Agrawal, who holds a PhD in international law, has more than two decades of experience in writing features. A compulsive traveler and ardent trekker, he has written for a number of newspapers, including The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Pioneer and The Business Standard. He has also written regularly for magazines such Civil Society, TerraGreen and Down-to-Earth, for which he worked as a correspondent from 1994 to 1997. He is also a feature writer for Global India Newswire.
Asif Ismail
CEO & Publisher
Asif Ismail, a journalist based in Washington, DC, is the founder of Global India Newswire. From 2000 to 2008, he worked as a writer and editor at the non-profit investigative journalism outfit Center for Public Integrity. As part of the Center’s investigative team, he has won several top journalism awards, including a 2006 Society of Professional Journalists award and a 2004 Investigative Reporters and Editors prize. He is also a winner of the South Asian Journalists Association award in 2004 and 2005. Ismail started his journalism career with The Times of India in New Delhi, and he has also worked for Khaleej Times in Dubai.
Muhammad Faizal
Manager, Sales and Operations
Muhammad Faizal has more than eight years of managerial experience with a number of international companies. Most recently, he was a manager at Turning Point Software Solutions, a US-based information technology company. Prior to that, he was a team leader with Synchronoss Technologies, headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Faizal holds an MBA degree from the John Mathai Center, Department of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Calicut.
Anil Prayag
VP, Marketing and Sales
Anil Prayag joined The American Bazaar as the Vice President of Marketing and Sales in April 2017. Previously, he was the Area Procurement Manager for Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, of Waste Management, Inc., a $13 billion company. After graduating from National Institute of Technology (Karnataka, India) in Mechanical Engineering, Anil worked for an automobile bearing factory in Pune as their Tool Planning and Materials Management Manager. A few years later, he started three businesses in Pune, India —one of them being a Pattern Shop. He came to the United States to explore the possibilities of exporting the patterns from India. After leaving Waste Management, he started Prayag, Inc. a consultancy firm for Procurement, Marketing and Sales.
Anand Sharma
Head, Business Development
An incisive professional with over 15 years of experience as former Banker, Wealth Manager and Business Unit head, has to his credit a vast experience of handling the overall sales & marketing operations of Media & Publication Industry.
Anand has worked at various levels across banking & financial services industry, in India as well as Dubai, UAE. His experience encompasses of working with Multinationals such as American Express Bank, Noor Islamic Investments Plc, CCH India – a Wolters Kluwers Business as well as with growth firm The VCCircle Network – acquired by News Corp one the largest news & information service provider globally. Anand joined The American Bazaar as the Head of Business Development in January 2017 after stepping down from the position of Associate Vice President – Training Initiatives from the News Corp VCCircle.