Team & Collaborators
The People Behind the Magic
Management Team
Mukul Purohit
Executive Producer & Director
Mukul Purohit is the Executive Producer of Mystic Art Retreats, where he leads the company's global expansion strategy. With over more than a decade of multinational experience, he has built deep expertise across corporate finance, corporate development, international business strategy, and licensing, working across a diverse range of industries including technology, media, telecommunications, medtech, life sciences, the creative sector, and hospitality. Outside his professional practice, Mukul is a committed patron of the arts. A collector and private investor in emerging talent, he supports sacred artists in bringing their work to international audiences, including participation in major art fairs. His longstanding engagement with indigenous cultures informs a personal study that spans art, ritual, folklore, and cultural geography. Mukul holds a Business degree from Queensland University of Technology in Australia and a degree in Arts from the University of Greenwich in London, with continuing education in Corporate Finance from the UK. He is currently developing a real estate project at the intersection of art, community living, and spirituality — one that seeks to redefine the built environment as a conscious space where living, creating, and belonging converge.
Silvia Maggi
Visual Storyteller
An internationally acclaimed artist, photographer, and film director, Silvia works across documentary film, video art, and photography, bringing deep emotional sensitivity and artistic presence to her work. Based in Berlin, born in Italy in 1982. She studied Sociology at the University of Urbino (Italy) and Visual Journalism in Bilbao (Spain). Her work moves across film, photography, and archival storytelling, blending the personal and the political through a poetic gaze. Since 2004, she has been presenting her work at festivals, art galleries, and universities including the Royal Geographic Society (London), Centro de Arte de Vanguardia Neomudejar (Madrid), Yermilov Center for Contemporary Art (Kharkiv), Festival del Cinema Indipendente (Cineteca di Milano), Italian Film Festival (LA), and Radial System (Berlin), among others. Silvia recently led the Visual Storytelling as the official photographer at our Seats of Power II retreat in India where she captured the essence of sacred spaces, intimate practice, and shared transformation with her signature care-based lens.
Karishma Aggarwal
Company Secretary
Karishma Aggarwal is an accomplished Independent Practicing Company Secretary with industry experience in legal and secretarial services. She specializes in providing comprehensive advisory across corporate laws, business management, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, debt recovery, intellectual property rights, and FEMA-related matters. Her expertise extends to turnkey business implementation — including company, LLP, and startup registrations — corporate restructuring, secretarial audits, due diligence, compliance management, and drafting and vetting of various agreements and petitions. Karishma handles all compliances for Mystic Art Retreats.
Manas Gajare
Head - Digital Presence
Manas Gajare is a serial entrepreneur and technology advisor specializing in artificial intelligence, full-stack development, and emerging technologies. He is the Founder, CEO, and CTO of AI Leela, where he is building the world's first social platform for AI talent and showcase-driven collaboration. Previously, as Founder and CEO of Zabuza Labs, he led the development of over 1,500 applications and 50+ games, including innovations in VR and AR, with multiple products reaching top rankings and millions of users globally. An international speaker, Manas has presented at leading platforms such as the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco and MGF in Seattle. He also contributes to academia through curriculum design and advisory roles, and is a recipient of honors including the Shivgaurav Puraskar and Shikshan Tapasvi. His work focuses on helping organizations and communities harness AI and emerging technologies to drive meaningful innovation and growth. Beyond technology, he maintains a deep interest in the exploration of mind and consciousness, and recently launched Detacha.com, a structured self-inquiry platform designed for individuals on a path of inner growth and awareness.
Destination Curators
Payal Barua
Destination Curator — United Arab Emirates
Based in Dubai, Payal is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, speaker, and mentor who is passionate about guiding clients towards optimal health. Specialising in gut and hormone health, metabolic wellness, weight loss, fertility, menstrual health, and autoimmune conditions, Payal emphasizes the crucial connection between the body and mind. Payal is also a certified Hatha Yoga teacher from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta in France, with extensive training in yoga for individuals with injuries, disabilities, seniors, and prenatal yoga. She is also an upasak from the SriVidya lineage in Devipuram, India. Fluent in French and English, she has taught yoga in Paris, India, and Dubai, while also coaching private health clients from diverse locations such as Denmark, Chile, and Lebanon. Her deep commitment to health originates from her personal journey of raising a special needs child.
Carolina Mastio
Destination Curator — Italy
Carolina Mastio is a wellness and solo travel advocate from Sardinia, Italy — one of the world's five Blue Zones — regions where people live longer, healthier lives, and where a deep connection to nature is part of everyday life. Her roots have always inspired her to seek destinations that reconnect us with our essence and the Earth. She holds an Arts Honours degree in Business and Events Management from Greenwich University in London and a technical diploma in Tourism and Accounting. With a background in communication and a deep love for yoga, Carolina creates and curates transformative experiences that blend movement, presence, and cultural exchange.
Marta Grigoreva
Destination Curator — France
Born in St. Petersburg and based in Monaco, Marta is a celebrated portrait artist blending realist oil painting with Impressionist vibrancy. Trained initially in music (violin/piano conservatory) and economics (master's degree), she shifted to fine arts at Harvard after working at Christie's and Sotheby's in New York. There, she studied portraiture under Nelson Shanks before pursuing full-time painting in Italy and London. A commission from easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou brought her to Monaco in 2011. Her oil portraits of people, animals, and landscapes — painted directly on canvas — capture personality and emotion, held in private collections across Europe, Russia, and the U.S. She also works as a Harvard-trained art historian and certified yoga teacher (700+ hours).
Saroja Dharamadasa
Destination Curator — Sri Lanka
Saroja Dharmadasa is an accomplished artist, illustrator, and curator hailing from Rathnapura, Sri Lanka's renowned city of gems. With more than two decades of humanitarian service at the United Nations World Food Programme, Saroja brings a rare fusion of cultural richness, creative vision, and global insight to her new role at Mystic Art Retreats, to expand the company's offerings in Sri Lanka. Deeply inspired by traditional Sri Lankan temple painting, mandalas, and sacred design, Saroja's art embodies her belief that creativity is both a meditative practice and a path to healing. She holds a Diploma in International Relations, a Financial Accounting Certificate from CIPFA UK, and a Master's in Business Administration from Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales.
Teachers & Facilitators
Hover over a portrait to see name and role.
Tova Olsson
Scholar of Religion, Author & Yoga Teacher
Mavis Gewant
Sacred Artist, Labour & Postpartum Doula, Birth Educator
Sonja Picard
Jewelry Designer
Nirali Kartik
Teacher & Facilitator
Anahita Rao
Teacher & Facilitator
Ramaa Venugopalan
Teacher & Facilitator
Anita Sinclair
Teacher & Facilitator
Jacqueline Kapur
Teacher & Facilitator
Judy Schneider
Teacher & Facilitator
Samantha Buckley
Teacher & Facilitator
Erika Strauss
Teacher & Facilitator
Victoria Lautman
Teacher & Facilitator
Elena Jessup
Teacher & Facilitator
Mariya Karagyozova
Teacher & Facilitator
“Sacred art is Rasa made durable. The dancer evokes it and it dissolves. The poet evokes it and it lives as long as language. The sculptor evokes it and it lives as long as stone. But the Rasa itself — the taste of the divine — was never born and will never perish. The art is only its occasion.”