INDIA'S FIRST ORIGAMI MARATHON

Hitomi Ashta founded the Origami Oritai in 2009. She and her team has created a niche for Oritai in the origami world and has taken it to great heights in a short span of 10 years. Hitomi lived in India for 20 years and now lives in Japan. She does origami as meditation – to talk to herself. She says she greatly misses the annual Oritai Exhibition at The Japan Foundation in New Delhi.

Shoko Ayogi is from Japan. She is a creator of many simple and cute designs. She is very familiar on the world origami platform. She was one of the ambassadors at the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship between Japan and India in 2012 and has taught origami in various cities across India.

Sonniya Katyal, a student of 12th standard and a budding origami enthusiast, is from India. She has been pursuing origami as part of her education for the last 10 years. For her origami is a form of expression as well as recreation which helps her unwind from her studies. She has been a part of Oritai since 2013.

Linda Martina also known as Linda Lookman, is from Indonesia. She is the founder of the Indonesian origami club since 2007. She has been organizing and managing origami events in Indonesia. She has created simple and intermediate level designs of flowers, butterflies, masks etc., She collaborates with several origami experts while designing origami.

Sabera Akbary is from India. She was introduced to origami in 2010 and has since then actively taught origami to all age groups including children with special needs in Mumbai for 3 year and a workshop for sight impaired kids in Udaipur. She has special interest in miniature origami. She is a part of Oritai since 2011.

Aurèle Duda is President of the French folding association (MFPP), He studied musicology and worked on origami as a language. As an artist and technician, he loves to share and help artists and others, using origami contemporary technique. His creations range from installations to performances to more traditional folds.

Kalyani Voleti is from India. She uses Origami to teach academic concepts; as well as a therapeutic tool. She has exhibited her origami skills at the Japan Foundation in New Delhi and at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. Her ongoing Origami Tribute to Mahatma Gandhi has virtually travelled around the world. She is a part of Oritai since 2015.

Sumedha Verma, a software developer, is from India. As a child she learned origami from her mother. Around 2009, she started folding seriously. She enjoys folding everything origami. She helps origami artists and learners technically and folding wise. She has been a part of Oritai since 2015.

Jolette Flapper is from the Netherlands. She introduced herself to origami30 years ago. She has become virtually very active with her origami group- Origami Groep Eindhoven- in recent times, thanks to the covid pandemic, meeting so many people virtually and folding with them through these testing times. She believes Covid has made the Origami World a lot smaller.

Namai Chandra is a teenage Origami enthusiast from India. He has his own YouTube channel and Facebook page that go by the name of @origamitimewithNamai. He hosts tutorials on personal and international online platforms. He considers Origami as a stress buster and never loses the spirit of having fun with folds. He has been a part of Oritai since 2015.

Henrry Nicolas Delgado Avendaño popularly known as "OrigamistaNico '' is from Bolivia. He has been a Master Instructor in the discipline of Origami for 28 years. He has played a key role in forming many origami organisations and events in Bolivia. He is a creator, teacher and author of many things related

to origami.

Rupsa Chattopadhyay is an origami artist from India. She was introduced to origami at a very young age. She is pursuing her masters in design and hoping to incorporate origami in to her work. She has experimented folding with different materials- other than paper- like leather, metal, textile etc., She has been a part of Oritai since 2018.