Our Story

Why we started it?

FOUNDING MEMBERS

Metamorphes has been the collective brainchild of committed veterans with dynamic and vibrant ideas seeking confluence in a rightful cause for betterment of society. Meet our founding members:

Col Pankaj Goel
About Him

An alumnus of the NDA and Air Defence gunner to the core, Pankaj has seen service in many operational areas including Siachen. An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, he is an operations person and connects with ground for results. Pankaj is principled, ethical and quality driven leader with extensive experience both in the corporate and the Armed Forces. Networking is something that he adores.
Philanthropy is his best suit, giving back to the society with creative ventures under him with compassion at the forefront. An artist and thinker, Pankaj has ventured into the academic arena and founded a university in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
Pankaj (based at Dehradun) is the National Coordinator for Metamorphes.

Wg Cdr Ashwani Puri
About Him

An alumnus of the NDA and an accomplished Fighter Pilot, Ashwani has seen service in many operational areas. He established the prestigious Indian Institute of Advanced Research in Gandhinagar, Gujarat to conduct cutting edge research in Bio Technology and associated fields. A philanthropist and thinker, Ashwani has been the driving force for many social and academic ventures.
Ashwani (based at Ahmedabad) is our Idea Coordinator.

Maj Gen Anuj Mathur, VSM
About Him

An alumnus of the NDA, Anuj was commissioned into 10th Battalion of The J&K Rifles Regiment. He is a graduate of DSSC and has done his MSc (Strategic Sciences) from University of Madras and LLB Academic from MLS University with top honours. He has commanded an Area and a Sub-Area as a General Officer.
He is a motivational speaker and is also actively involved in spreading awareness concerning National Security through variety of means. He is the President of Mathur Sabha, Jaipur, a more than 80 years old organisation undertaking community development and social welfare activities, President of ABPSSP, Rajasthan, Vice President FANS, Rajasthan and an honorary CEO of a group of companies and Firms in Jaipur.
Anuj (based at Jaipur) is our Veterans affairs coordinator.

Capt (Dr) Probal Kumar Ghosh
About Him

Probal is an Alumnus of the NDA and is a former SEAS Fellow. He has had the rare privilege to be the Lead Co Chair and India Representative to two consecutive CSCAP International Study Groups wherein he along with delegates from nearly 23 countries prepared two Memorandums that were forwarded to ARF Summit meetings for discussion. Probal has been a Senior Researcher in many strategic think tanks including the Observer Research Foundation, CAPS and the NMF (which he helped in establishing). He has been a Research Fellow at the IDSA and was the prestigious Kothari Fellow at the USI.
A Navy veteran and a former Guest Professor at the Stockholm University (CPAS) he has written extensively on his subjects of specialization and is a sought-after speaker/ presenter at seminars and by institutions around the globe. He is also a frequent strategic commentator on National and International TV channels.
Probal (based at Delhi) is our Research and Advocacy coordinator. He is presently on a sabbatical.

Ms Shakunthala Bhandarkar
About Her

A Veer Naari and wife of our dear departed friend Lt Col Ajit Bhandarkar, SC, Shakunthala is an accomplished Educator, Academic Consultant and Counsellor in Bangalore. She has taken up the mantle for alleviating the issues faced by Veer Naaris and has done yeoman service in this field. She has also authored a book on her decorated soldier husband.
Shakunthala (based at Bangalore) is the Veer Naari coordinator for Metamorphes.

Ms Priti Prakash
About Her

A journalist of 20 years, Priti writes and reports on Foreign Affairs, and is a Political Commentator and Travel Blogger. With experience of both print and electronic media, she is Editor FacenFacts news, digital media.
Priti (based at Delhi)is our voice; the Media coordinator at Metamorphes.

Col (Dr) Ram Athavale
About Him

Ram has been an alumnus of the NDA, Army War College and the DSSC. He has three decades of outstanding service and had commanded an Armoured Regiment in operations. A specialist in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) security and risk mitigation, he has been a Key Advisor on CBRN matters to the MHA and MoD. He has also been a Key CBRN Expert with the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence for Eastern and Central Africa region.
Passionate about raising awareness and understanding of CBRN threats and risk mitigation matters, Ram has authored a pioneering book on CBRN Incident Management in India titled “Toxic Portents”. A prolific writer and speaker at international and domestic seminars and symposiums on CBRN matters, Ram is a Visiting Faculty at University of Rome, Italy for the Master CBRN course and at a few select Indian universities too. Get more of him at https://www.chebiran.com.
Ram (based at Pune) is our Outreach, Research and Publication coordinator.

Lt Col Nishant Kaura
About Him

Alumnus of NDA, Nishant has served in the Infantry, First Gurkhas for approx 26 years. He has served at Siachen and other border operational areas. Battle Casualties Management at Army HQ during Kargil earned him the COAS Commendation. He was Project in charge of construction of the prestigious Army Marksmanship Unit at Infantry School which included Olympic standard shooting ranges for our Amy Shooting Team.
As a Veteran he has worked in construction of National highways, power plants and renewable energy plants, specifically Solar. He has deep interest in cutting edge IT development and has worked with Airtel, Accenture and HP amongst others for Software development and Training. Currently he enjoys creating web based application projects for his clients.
Nishant (based at Delhi/Dehradun)is our IT and Web Services Coordinator.

Capt Sudhir Prabhu
About Him

Sudhir is also an alumnus of NDA & served very few years in the 3rd Madras. An accident however curtailed his career in the Army & he got into his family business in the MSME Sector. Having bagged the prestigious UDYOG PATRA Award and the KLN Award for sustained growth, his company has now been recognized by INDIA 5000 MSME AWARD for the year 2020 for Quality and Excellence.
Sudhir (based at Bangalore) is our Technical and Business Management Coordinator.

Col Ramesh Menon
About Him

Ramesh, an alumnus of the NDA, has a rich experience of over 22 years as an Infantry officer. He has also worked in senior positions in the IT and real estate Industry. His interests include blogging and creative writing.
Ramesh (based at Bangalore) is our Business Development Coordinator.s.