Kumud Merani BA St Xavier's College, MA, Mumbai lectured at the University of Mumbai before becoming the first television news reader and anchor at ‘Doordarshan', with the inception of television in Mumbai.

She provided voice-overs for India Radio, radio advertisements and the Indian News Review, shown in cinemas.

When she arrived in Australia, Kumud presented the weekend World News on SBS television, before moving into radio as the Hindi Language Executive Producer, a position she has held for 22 years.

She has also been involved in the scripting and production of several radio documentaries and has received many national and international awards for her work.

Her documentary about Anglo-Indians, ‘Jumping the Fence', received the international Asian Award for Best Radio Documentary. ‘Sweet Sorrow', Kumud's thoughtful documentary about the lives of Indian people living in Fiji won the prestigious International Australia Pacific Broadcasting Union award for Best External Broadcast 2005.

Kumud's contribution and maintenance of Indian art and culture in Australia has also received community recognition.

As a well known and respected member of the Indo-Australian community, she was one of 16 Indian journalists invited by the Ministry of External Affairs of India to the Pravasi Bharti Divas 2009.

The purpose of this non-resident Indian conference is to further ties between homeland and adopted countries.

In 2010, Kumud plans to stage an English dance drama,‘The Nautch Girls', aimed at building bridges of understanding between Indian society and mainstream multicultural Australian society, whilst providing a platform for youth participation. The drama is set against a background of colourful dance ballet.

Kumud has a strong commitment to her heritage and to a future of cultural acceptance through understanding and awareness. She regularly speaks about Indian culture at various forums and is an active volunteer in assisting Indian students in Australia.