Kanak Mani Dixit, 66, is a writer and journalist as well as a civil rights and democracy activist. He is a campaigner for open urban spaces, and is also active in the conservation of built heritage. Dixit helped revive Nepal’s only public bus company and is involved in applying the concept of public transportation to the Valley. A long-time trekker, Dixit also writes on travel related themes. He heads the main archives of the Nepali language, the Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya. He is also active in developing of Southasian regionalism. Having suffered from a fall while trekking in 2001, Dixit helped start the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre. Believing the power of non-fiction film, he started and heads the Film South Asia Festival of Documentaries. Dixit is also a translator, an author of political commentaries, and a popular author of books for children. Dixit has received the Prince Claus Award of the Netherlands. His writings are archived at www.kanakmanidixit.com.