Mahesh Elkunchwar, (Literature Live! Lifetime Award recipient 2022) was Head of the Department of English Literature at the University of Nagpur. He has taught at the Film and Television Institute, Pune and at the National School of Drama, New Delhi. He has written 20 plays, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his work in India's Parallel Cinema as actor and screenwriter. He is considered one of the foremost playwrights in Marathi and Indian theatre. He has received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour in performing arts in India. His latest book, ‘The Necropolis Trilogy, is a collection of musings on his childhood and youth.