Biography
Dhruva Balram is a London-based Indian-Canadian writer, editor and creative producer.
Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Dhruva spent his adolescence in Toronto, Canada. Since 2012, he has lived in Sydney, Australia; Zanzibar, Tanzania; various parts of India, including Mumbai and New Delhi; before settling down in London.
Dhruva is a published writer whose work has appeared in various online and print outlets, including The Guardian, NPR, Huck, Dazed & Confused, Mixmag, Crack Magazine, NME, Vice, The Juggernaut and other notable publications. Previously, Dhruva has also been the editor of The Wild City and EachOther. Dhruva has also written liner notes for a variety of releases.
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Dhruva co-founded Chalo, whose first project was a 28-track compilation. It was listed as one of The Guardian's Top 10 Albums of 2020. Six months later, Dhruva co-founded Dialled In, where he works part-time as the managing director.
The company hosts an annual cultural festival in Walthamstow, London, with a mission to build long-term, self-sustainable spaces to ensure that South Asian creativity isn't pigeonholed. Since its inception in 2021, Dialled In has hosted three one-day festivals, programmed a classical concert at the Union Chapel, a stage at Printworks, a V&A late and the inaugural Boiler Room Pakistan, as well as produced an artistic residency in Nepal which brought together South Asian creatives from around the world.
Dhruva is also a creative consultant in music, covering artist strategy, creative direction, media training, cultural curation and biographies.
He is also a broadcaster and panellist, appearing in panels at the V&A, for the Arts Council England and has appeared previously on BBC and Sky News.
writing or consultancy enquiries: hello@dhruvabalram.com
anything dialled in related: dhruva@dialled-in.com