BIC TALKS
Bangalore International Centre
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Bangalore International Centre (BIC) is a non profit, public institution which serves as an inclusive platform for informed conversations, arts and culture. BIC TALKS aims to be a regular bi-weekly podcast that will foster discussions, dialogue, ideas, cultural enterprise and more.
Available episodes
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May 12, 2022
172. Understanding a Generation
Vivaan Marwaha talks about his learning in the process of writing his book, What Millennials Want, in a conversation with writer, poet and executive director of India Foundation for the Arts, Arundhati Ghosh.
India is one of the youngest countries in the world and the generation of millennials make up for over 400 million people. This is the largest generation of people in the world. That means that the choices and trajectory of this generation have pivotal consequences on local, regional, and global politics and economics. So the important question is: What do Indian millennials want? What are their economic aspirations and their social views? Most importantly, what makes them tick?
In What Millennials Want, Vivan Marwaha documents the aspirations and anxieties of these young people scattered across more than 30,000 kilometers in 13 Indian states. Combining an expansive dataset along with personal anecdotes, he narrates an intimate biography of India’s millennials, investigating their attitudes towards sex, marriage, employment, religion, and politics.
This episode of BIC Talks is an extract from the live event that took place in late October 2021 in the BIC premises.
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Apr 5, 2022
171. If Gandhi Were an Economist (with Jaithirth Rao & Rajni Bakshi)
Author & Founder of Ahimsa Conversations Rajni Bakshi engages Author, Poet & Entrepreneur Jaithirth Rao in a conversation based on his book Economist Gandhi – the first book on Gandhi to claim that he was not against business and capitalists; providing insights into a hidden facet of Gandhi’s personality—his thoughts on economics and capitalism while throwing light on some of Gandhi’s views on religion, ethics, human nature, education and society, unveiling a Gandhi distinctive from all our previous readings of him.
This episode is adapted from a BIC Streams session from 15 October 2021.
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Apr 1, 2022
170. When Private is Public
What is data? And why is it important that citizen have a right to privacy over their data?
As it turns out, We are data.
Digital rights activist, journalist and founder of Medianama, Nikhil Pahwa in this conversation with financial journalist Mitali Mukherjee gives us a 101 on the concept of Data Privacy. Can one look at data from the perspective of it being a right and how is it connected to the freedom of expression.
While understanding how and how much data can possibly be collected about one person is in itself mind boggling, this episode gives us an insight into the three important aspects of data within the indian context - Privacy, Security and Governance.
With economic growth taking a central role and data being compared to oil as a national asset, Data protection rights and privacy is seen as an obstruction - therefore leaving us with the question - is privacy a fundamental right?
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Mar 18, 2022
169. South Africa, Cricket and Social Transformation
South Africa has imposed transformation targets (quotas) in sports for over a decade. These aim to correct the under-representation of people of colour due to historical discriminatory segregation during the apartheid era.
In light of the Black Lives Matter movemnet, several South African cricketers came forward with their stories of having suffered due to the institutionally racist nature of the game in South Africa. In July 2021, Cricket South Africa (CSA) appointed the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) Ombudsman to contribute to truth, healing, and reconciliation in the game of cricket.
The Ombudsman heard the affected cricketers and officials. It presented its Report in December 2021, concluding that CSA unfairly discriminated against players on the basis of race and recommended that a permanent ombudsman be appointed and funded to consider race and gender-based complaints and the question of reparations.
This discussion with cricket writer Firdose Moonda and Professor of Sociology, University of Johannesburg, Prof. Ashwin Desai, moderated by Chandan Gowda will throw light on the findings in the Report, the issues emerging from it, and the lessons for the cricketing world, the global sports community, and society at large.
This episode is an extract from a virtual BIC Streams session that took place on the 18th of February, 2022 in collaboration with the Sports Law & Policy Centre.
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Mar 10, 2022
168. An Uplifting Mosaic
At Tokyo 2020, the Indian women’s hockey team made history by reaching their maiden Olympic semifinals. There was heart break in the semi finals. However, irrespective of the result, these players had won the hearts of millions of followers in the country. The back stories of these gritty women make for compelling theatre – who they are, where they come from, how hockey has changed them – and, perhaps more importantly, how their success has changed the lives and the mindset of others back home. An expert panel of sports writers - Sharda Ugra, Manuja Veerappa and Nandini Kumar give us a peek into the journeys of the women who make up the Indian Hockey team.
This episode is an extract from a virtual panel discussion which took place on January 30, 2022.
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Mar 1, 2022
167. Public Reason versus Religious Authority
Examining the challenges posed by the present-day global order—-including political instability, the rise of authoritarianism, the epidemic of fake news and subversion of democracy through the weaponization of social media, the backlash against the rights of caste, ethnic, or racial minorities, and climate change—the dialogue in this episode between Author & Associate Professor of Communication, Santa Clara University Rohit Chopra and Writer & Journalist Salil Tripathi will address what the Gita may offer in helping us respond to such demands and where it may fall silent. How, for instance, might we reconcile the endorsement of patriarchy and a hierarchical caste order in the Gita with modern day notions of rights, justice, and dignity? The discussion also speaks to the urgent need for evaluating the Gita on the basis of a framework of public reason rather than of religious authority.
This episode is adapted from a BIC Streams session originally broadcast on 1st October, 2021
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Feb 27, 2022
166. Struck by Data
How do you see India?
Fuelled by a surge of migration to cities, the country's growth appears to be defined by urbanisation and by its growing, prosperous middle class. It is also defined by progressive and liberal young Indians, who vote beyond the constraints of identity, and paradoxically, by an unchecked population explosion and rising crimes against women. Is it, though?
In this conversation with Journalists Samar Halarnkar and Sudipto Mondal, about her book, Whole Numbers and Half Truths, data-journalism pioneer Rukmini S. draws on nearly two decades of on-ground reporting experience to piece together a picture that looks nothing like the one you might expect. As she interrogates how data works, and how the push and pull of social and political forces affect it, Rukmini creates a blueprint to understand the changes of the last few years and the ones to come—a toolkit for India.
This is a timely and wholly original intervention in the conversation on data, and with it, India. This conversation was part of the Bangalore Literature Festival, 2021 which took place in the Bangalore International Centre premises in December 2021.
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Feb 22, 2022
165. What's Shah Rukh Got to Do with It?
For more than a decade, from the villages of Uttar Pradesh to the night clubs of Delhi, Shrayana Bhattacharya followed the economic and personal lives of a diverse group of Indian women. Divided by class and community, these women are united in their quest for economic independence, love, fun and actor Shah Rukh Khan. The result is the dazzling book of non-fiction—Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence which tells an intimate history of how women, across classes, have experienced post liberalisation India through the lens of finance and fandom.
Historian Manu S Pillai and economist Janhavi Nilekani engage Shrayana in a conversation on key themes of her book: How far have Indian women travelled? How has liberalisation treated women in the economy and society? How are professional and love lives of women intertwined? And what’s Shah Rukh Khan got to do with it?
This episode is an extract from a live in-person event which took place at BIC on 12 November 2021
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Feb 18, 2022
164. Leadership Shastra
In his book Leadership Shastra, Pradeep Chakravarthy asks the question - What if history could be made to work for us in very real ways? And he answers it in a substantial research backed manner. He studies the lives of well-known historical figures like Shivaji, Babur, Ahilyabai Holkar, Sankaradeva and many others with a view to understanding their motivations, actions and legacies. The book examines how developing a comprehension of our past could be the key to understanding our own selves, our actions, motivations and of those around us.
In this episode of BIC Talks, in conversation with Srikrishna Ramamoorthy, Pradeep discusses the view of history as both useful and inspirational is unconventional: it is revealed here as a discipline that can be used for self-assessment and self-motivation.
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Feb 15, 2022
163. Acing the Odds
Former Doubles No.1, Sania Mirza became an instant sensation when she won the Wimbledon Championships girls’ doubles title at the age of sixteen. From 2003 until her retirement from the singles circuit in 2012, she was ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association as India’s top player, both in singles and doubles. A six-time Grand Slam champion, she notched up an incredible forty-one consecutive wins with her doubles partner, Martina Hingis, between August 2015 and February 2016.
In this candid conversation with the Tennis Editor of Times of India, Prajwal Hedge, Sania speaks of the making of career, her support system and what keeps her at the top of her game.
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Feb 11, 2022
162. Stories from the Margins of History
The Scrolls & Leaves podcast is a labour of love for Mary Rose and Gayathri as they meander through little known tales from history, science and cultures and look for alternative ways of knowing and contextualising our present.
Season 1 of Scrolls & Leaves titled Trade Winds came out in October 2021. It's set in the Indian Ocean world and the narrative over seven episodes weave interviews with historians and extensive archival research. It tells of epic histories from the developing world, through the eyes of the marginalised, ambitious Emperors, cunning corporations that colonised half the world, the treasure ship of an infamous sci-fi writer, and other tales.
The stand out element of this podcast is that is it binaural - you are treated to an immersive 3 dimensional listening experience which takes you to those far off shores in time. In this episode of BIC Talks, Srikrishna Ramamoorthy chats with Mary-Rose and Gayathri about their journey of creating this unique podcast.
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Feb 8, 2022
161. Stumbling onto Sustainable Farming
With an increasing number of urban, city dwellers finding their way back to agriculture, there’s a small but definite movement towards natural, organic, alternative methods of sustainable farming. While the stress has been on constant productivity to make economic sense, we are now becoming aware of how much damage the land, food culture and native knowledge systems have experienced. As they wait for policy to catch up, two people talk about what moved them to take an active interest in sustainability, preservation and conservation.
In this episode of BIC Talks ecological conservationist Priya Shanavas speaks with lawyer turned farmer and innovator, Aparna Rajagopal about lessons learnt while setting up her self-sustained off the grid model farm, Beejom and several projects housed within it, like preserving and growing traditional, heirloom and native varieties of crops, a seed bank and preserving endangered varieties of indigenous cattle.
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Feb 4, 2022
160. A Capital Budget
Historically the country’s annual budget exercise has been a major event and spectacle in the annual economic calendar. There was a time when the post budget analysis by people like Nani Palkiwala used to draw audiences in droves. Off late with the dropping of the railway budget, and the introduction of the GST, the annual budget is increasingly becoming just another important day in the announcements made by the government. This year there were expectations of a populist budget in view of upcoming state elections but that did not happen. We have a budget focused on growing capital investments and infrastructure.
To discuss this and more on this episode of BIC Talks we have Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director of Takshashila Institution where he teaches public policy, international relations, and public finance at Takshashila’s graduate and post-graduate programmes in conversation with Narayan Ramachandran, social entrepreneur, columnist and emerging market investor.
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Feb 1, 2022
159. The Impossible Indian
In this conversation with Vaibhav Vats, Dr. Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History at St.Anthony’s College, University of Oxford, provides a glimpse into the range and spectrum of his research and writing - touching on history of Indian diaspora and identity drawn from personal history, enquiring into Gandhi and decoding his continually evolving understanding of sacrifice, violence and non-violence through the lens of the Mahabharata, understanding the dynamics of personalities like Jinnah, Ambedkar and Nehru, while drawing parallels with the current dispensation and communal, political climes. The essence of non-violent protest endures due to their moral emphasis that overrides any political appeal which has ensured Gandhi stays put in our collective imagination.
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Jan 28, 2022
158. Empire History through Family Narratives
Centring the narrative around a lively, erudite and thoroughly enjoyable history of one family from Malwa in Central India which held substantial land and various administrative offices in the Mughal empire and negotiated over several generations with three regimes - the Mughals, the Marathas and the British, Dr Chatterjee assembles a living, breathing world through her book, Negotiating Mughal Law: A Family of Landlords across Three Indian Empires. It is a classic history from below, populated with real people and colourful individuals in both spectacular and everyday situations which tells a riveting story even as it opens up many important questions for scholars and students of Mughal history and historical scholarship more broadly.
In this episode of BIC Talks Dr. Prachi Deshpande talks to Dr. Nandini Chatterjee about the story of how she reconstructed a coherent archive to tell a micro-history of one family over such a long period of time and about it being a thought provoking me…
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Jan 25, 2022
157. The Multicultural War
On 28 May 1940, in the early days of the Second World War, Major Akbar Khan marched at the head of 299 soldiers along a beach in northern France. They were the only Indians in the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk.
What journey had brought these men to Europe? What became of them and their comrades captured by the Germans?
In this episode of BIC Talks, author and historian Ghee Bowman talks to writer and journalist Vaibhav Vats about his book, ‘The Indian Contingent: The Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of the Battle of Dunkirk’ while examining the larger British narrative and place in history, details his research and tells an important although obscure and astonishing story of the Indian contingent – the Muslim soldiers who fought in the pivotal Battle of Dunkirk – from their arrival in France on 26 December 1939 to their return to an India on the verge of Partition.
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Jan 21, 2022
156. All the Drama around K-Dramas
In recent times, with the proliferation of Over the Top Entertainment platforms and increased access to content from all over the world in various languages, If there’s has been a clear and visible front runner in popularity, fandoms, fan fiction and all round good old hysteria - it’s all things K!
South Korean Pop music, Korean Soap Operas, Live action and animated Films, food and Culture are taking over the imagination of a large swathe of the urban Indian population. While the spectrum of the influence of the South Korean Entertainment industry is wide, writer, podcaster and cultural critic Deepanjana Pal and author & journalist Nisha Susan give us an introduction to what is the innocuous gateway to an entire subculture - the phenomenon of the K - Drama.
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Jan 17, 2022
155. Theatre Now and Forever
In mid December, 2021, Dramaturg, Writer, Director & Cultural Critic Rustom Bharucha facilitated a week-long workshop for a cohort of 12 participants on Dramaturgy at Bangalore International Centre with inputs from several artists and practitioners, including philosopher and educator, Sundar Sarukkai.
We caught up with the two at the height of churning during the workshop for a tête-à-tête on what was most playing on their minds. In this revealing conversation, they mull over necessary qualities that characterise the concept of “Theatre”, the social context of ‘touch’ in the times of a pandemic; tactility, conversation and sociality. The conversation also seeks to problematise the romantic idea of theatre being democratic and the central idea of theatre being a safe space. Some questions explored are - Can theatre really be viewed as a model of civil society and does it truly allow the practitioner the agency to challenge social norms? What is its role in dissent and what i…
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Jan 14, 2022
154. Following Your Calling
This episode of BIC Talks features Srikrishna Ramamoorthy in conversation with founder and chairman of Marico, Harsh Mariwala. While there’s a small chance his name may not ring a bell, most of us would have encountered the iconic blue and white Parachute coconut oil bottle at some point in life - one of several FMCG brands from the Marico stable. Harsh has played a key role in converting a traditional commodities driven family business into a leading consumer products and services company.
His recent book, Harsh Realities: The Making of Marico, co-authored with global business advisor, Ram Charan, talks about two journeys - of Marico as a company and the personal one of Harsh while he learned, spotted opportunities and took risks in the building of the market entity. Having now stepped away from day to day operations, in this conversation Harsh talks about how he has to reimagine himself, while scripting new chapters in life and work; and his continuing quest to do more, be more an…
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Jan 11, 2022
153. Understanding the Altruistic Imagination
What does it mean to devote yourself wholly to helping others? In her book Strangers Drowning, Larissa MacFarquhar seeks out people living lives of extreme ethical commitment and tells their deeply intimate stories; their stubborn integrity and their compromises; their bravery and their recklessness; their joys and defeats and wrenching dilemmas.
In this provocative conversation writer Samanth Subramanian along with Larissa contemplates what it means to be human. In a world of strangers drowning in need, how much should we help, and how much can we help? Is it right to care for strangers even at the expense of those we are closest to? What exactly do we value most as human beings, and why?
This conversation was originally streamed as part of the The Bangalore Life Science Cluster and NCBS Archives’ Public Lecture series and has been adapted to this podcast.
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Jan 7, 2022
152. Talking Climate Change
Perhaps no other issue today is as confronting as our warming earth. What we need are thousands - millions - of everyday conversations about the climate to enlarge the ranks of the concerned, engage the disengaged and persuade the cautious of the need for action. While companies and governments are hugely responsible for the mess we’re in, can individuals effect real, significant, and lasting change to solve this problem.
Towards the end of October 2021, filmmaker and designer Jenny Pinto engaged authors and researchers Prof. Kimberly Nicholas and Dr. Rebecca Huntley on their work and their books on Climate Change and the shifting of the strategy on conversations around the impending climate emergency.
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Jan 4, 2022
151. The Taliban Factor
India has been one of the biggest contributors towards global efforts at reconstructing Afghanistan. Over the last two decades, India’s development partnership with Afghanistan has had four fundamental elements: a) humanitarian assistance; b) infrastructural projects; c) small and community-based development projects; and d) capacity-building programmes. (Source: Observer Research Foundation)
In this episode of BIC Talks recorded in November 2021, experts on India-Afghanistan relations, Suhasini Haidar, Shantie D’souza and Anand Arni give us a reading of the situation and analyse the implications of the recent developments with respect to India’s relations with the people of Afghanistan.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.
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Sep 24, 2021
150. Colonial Art and the Museum
Art historian, writer and educator Alice Procter embarks on everything that a historian in mainstream establishment shuns. She speaks about colonial loot, whiteness, historical trauma, myths of national identity besides excavating the colonial story of art in museums. Her unofficial and unauthorised Uncomfortable Art Tours initiative has been unpacking colonial narrative since 2017 across some of Britain’s leading museums.
Her book The Whole Picture: The Colonial Story of the Art in Our Museums & why We Need to Talk about it deftly unpacks many of the themes that guide her work and asks crucially ‘…who has the right to hold objects, and to tell their stories? Alice in this conversation with Pramod Kumar KG, art historian and co-founder of Eka Archiving Services deliberates on repatriation and restitution and the need to explore alternative histories of objects, people, and collections.
This episode of BIC Talks was originally a live BIC Streams session in collaboration with Ek…
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Sep 22, 2021
149. Balancing the Bench
The question of judicial diversity has long featured in global discourse, encompassing demographic characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background etc. as well as professional background.
Arguments in favour of prioritising judicial diversity emphasise that it provides decision-making power to previously disenfranchised sections of society, and that a diverse bench is an essential component of a fair and impartial judiciary. But in the Indian context, popular discourse on courts tends to exclusively focus on case delay, ignoring other systemic problems that are equally important for maintaining public confidence in the judiciary, and for ensuring that the courts function in a just and equitable manner.
While there are many dimensions to the diversity debate, this episode of BIC Talks focuses on gender diversity in the lower judiciary. Highlighting some of the outcomes from two research papers on this subject are lawyers and researchers Deepika Kin…
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Sep 15, 2021
148. Born a Muslim
Who are the Indian Muslims? Are they a monolithic community practising a faith alien to India? Or are they a diverse people, geographically rooted in the cultural ethos of the land? Is there an ‘Indian Islam’? In this episode of BIC Talks, author Ghazala Wahab in a conversation with historian Rajmohan Gandhi takes a clear-eyed look at every aspect of Islam in India today.
Weaving together personal memoir, history, reportage, scholarship, and interviews with a wide variety of people, Ghazala’s book Born a Muslim highlights how an apathetic and sometimes hostile government attitude and prejudice at all levels of society have contributed to Muslim vulnerability and insecurity.
This conversation is an extract from a BIC Streams event.
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Aug 31, 2021
147. Singing the Vachanas
Vachana Sahitya is a form of literature unique to the Sharanas of the 11th to 13th Century CE in Karnataka. Vachana means speech. The Sharanas chose to use everyday language of the time over the prevailing poetic structure and language to make it accessible to people of the streets as well as the learned connoisseurs. This sets it apart from the classical Sanskrit tradition of poetry. The Vachanas represent the deep philosophical journey the Vacharakaara or Sharana takes towards self awareness and divinity. A Sharana could be from any walk of life - a farmer, a sex worker, a cobbler, a cleaner- anyone who believed that one’s work and one's own conscience is the divine.
This movement rejected caste, class and gender bias and upheld the tradition of intellectual awareness. Recent studies reveal the expanse of Vachana Sahitya could be far more widespread than it was believed before, going beyond Kannada and Karnataka.
In this episode of BIC Talks Musician Sumitra Nitin, accompanied by…
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Aug 26, 2021
146. A Rude Life
History is famously unkind and there are few who witness a changing world and can set the record straight.
In this no-holds-barred conversation with lawyer Rahul Matthan, about his book, A Rude Life journalist Vir Sanghvi treats us to anecdotes, personalities and era altering events in his inimitable equanimous style. The conversation sprinkled with fascinating tidbits and a generous amount of chuckles features Vir’s personal impressions of and interactions with prime ministers, presidents, kingmakers, mafiosos among other characters and presents them in a most human and accessible light.
This conversation is an extract from a BIC Venue in-person event.
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Aug 24, 2021
145. Musically Speaking
When musicians of two proudly distinct though overlapping traditions encounter each other as two contemplative artists and thinking people of music, the conversation is no less than a refreshing jugalbandi of the highest order.
In this episode of BIC Talks, Ustad Zakir Hussain and TM Krishna meet and converse for the first time. In a freewheeling tête-à-tête leaving their performative selves aside and talk about their respective experiences that have shaped them as artists, their craft, artistry, the importance of listening and engagement with the world around them.
This conversation is adapted from a BIC Streams session presented by JSW, in collaboration with Literature Live.
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Aug 22, 2021
144. Evolution of Science and Innovation in India
In this episode of BIC Talks, historian of science Jahnavi Phalkey speaks with eminent scientist Raghunath Mashelkar about his journey in scientific-industrial research, his leadership style, the status of scientific-industrial research in India@75, and how might India think about bringing home a Nobel Prize in science after having waited for nearly a century!
This episode is adapted from a BIC Streams session presented by JSW as part of the Anil Dharker Literature Live! Independence Lecture.
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Aug 18, 2021
143. Following the Brahmaputra
The Brahmaputra born as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet transforms into the Dihang River in Arunachal Pradesh, and later morphs into Luit, Dilao in Assam, is a trans-boundary river flowing through Tibet, India, and Bangladesh - which contributes to the complexity of history, politics and lives in the region.
In this episode of BIC Talks, journalist Tora Agarwala is in conversation with author of the Braided River, Samrat Choudhury where they talk about the environmental, military and political issues the region faces through Samrat’s book which blends travel, memoir and history with the present.
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Aug 15, 2021
142. Constitutional Morality
“The diffusion of constitutional morality, not merely among the majority of any community but throughout the whole, is the indispensable condition of a government”.
The importance of constitutional morality for the effective functioning of Indian democracy was highlighted by Dr BR Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly Debates (Vol. 7, 4th November 1948). But what does constitutional morality mean? Who are its arbiters? And does constitutional morality exist in India today?
In this podcast, host Shruti Vishwanathan of the Equals Project talks to advocates and scholars Disha Wadekar, Anurag Bhaskar & Malavika Prasad as they discuss the elements of constitutional morality in India, and its importance for Indian society.
Visit the BIC website for show notes and links related to this podcast.
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Aug 11, 2021
141. Sing of Life
Rabindranth Tagore’s profound meditations on life, nature, grace and brokenness in the Gitanjali won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Alternately a poet and a philosopher, his words remain a part of our intellectual and artistic landscape long after his death 80 years ago.
This episode of BIC Talks features a conversation located in Priya Sarukkai Chabria’s contemplative and courageous collection, Sing of Life - Revisioning Tagore’s Gitanjali which chisels his prose poems into intense new poems. In the midst of a pandemic we are invited, through this book, to re-engage with Tagore’s prescient ideas on translation and his views on nature, death and suffering. The author, along with translator and writer Arshia Sattar, explore the ways in which this work of Tagore remains relevant to the 21st century even as he points backwards to the long and diverse tradition of spiritual poetry in the South Asian subcontinent.
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Aug 8, 2021
140. Medicine Women
Ever wondered why there so few scientific discoveries, breakthroughs and inventions are attributed to women? A historically occurring problem of erasure and prevention of female presence in major areas of discourse is ever present. It is no different when it comes to the history of medicine.
In this episode of BIC Talks Srikrishna Ramamoorthy speaks with author and journalist Kavitha Rao about her book, Lady Doctors - The Untold Stories of India's First Women in Medicine. It is a compelling yet poignant read that profiles six Indian women who defied odds and prevailing social norms of the late 19th and early 20th century to study medicine.
As Kavitha Rao puts it, they were all fighters and had plenty to fight. These inspiring women have mostly been forgotten today and Kavitha Rao’s book is a step towards changing that and re-establishing this female presence in our public discourse.
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Aug 4, 2021
139. The Right Honourable VS Srinivasa Sastri
A celebrated politician, scholar and diplomat in his lifetime, V.S. Srinivasa Sastri (1869-1946) is now a largely forgotten figure. Hailed as the ‘very voice of international conscience’, Sastri advocated for racial equality and securing the rights of Indians both at home and abroad. The book also illuminates the contradictions of being a ‘native diplomat’, of being treated as an equal on the world stage while lacking equality at home.
In this episode of BIC Talks, Vineet Thakur Assistant Professor, History & International Relations, Leiden University and author of India’s First Diplomat speaks to Ian Sanjay Patel, Fellow, Dept of Sociology, London School of Economic about India’s roving ambassador in the 1920s. Vineet speaks of Sastri’s most distinctive contribution to India that came through his diplomatic work. But going further, he argues that Sastri is also a key protagonist who shaped the contours of the ‘liberal’ international order.
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Jul 29, 2021
138. Vikram Sarabhai’s Legacy
Known as the Father of India's Space Programme, Vikram Sarabhai's interests included space and nuclear energy, architecture, industry and business, institution building, management development, art, music, and theatre. He was a scientist and entrepreneur, an educator, and a businessman. When he passed away unexpectedly at the young age of 52, he left behind a legacy few can match, having set up internationally reputed institutions and organisations that have made India proud and put us on the world map.
In this episode of BIC Talks, Dr. Padmanabh K Joshi, who heads the Vikram Sarabhai Archives at the Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad and author & publisher Divya Arora, discuss the towering personality of Dr.Sarabhai and share various anecdotes, from Dr.Joshi’s personal interaction with him as a young man and bits of information to piece together a wholly fuller image of the person. They have jointly authored the book, Vikram Sarabhai India's Space Pioneer- an illustrated b…
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Jul 25, 2021
137. Cemetery Labour During the Pandemic
As COVID-19 raged through Bangalore, the city’s crematoria and burial grounds were overwhelmed with the dead and their grieving kin. The hard labour of processing corpses as well as collective grief fell on Bangalore’s crematorium and cemetery workers. Overwhelmingly Dalit, city funerary workers are generationally condemned to labour under a social stigma that is designed to deprive them of dignity, regular wages, social security, advancement opportunities, and adequate housing.
In this episode of BIC Talks, anthropologist Shreyas Sreenath interviews researcher and activist Swathi Seshadri. Swathi recently co-authored a report released by the All India Central Council for Trade Unions (AICCTU) detailing labor conditions at Bangalore’s crematoria and cemeteries. They discuss the significance of funerary work in holding together the fabric of our social, psychic, and spiritual lives, both in times of stability and crisis. They also speak about the various ways in which caste preju…
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Jul 21, 2021
136. 'Begunah Qaidi' | Innocent Prisoners
On July 11, 2006 tragedy struck when a series of bombs went off along the Western line of the suburban train network in Mumbai killing and injuring commuters by the hundreds. In the investigations and arrests that followed, Abdul Wahid Shaikh was held as one of the twelve accused who were incarcerated for over 9 years as undertrials.
In this episode of BIC Talks, teacher, lawyer and activist Abdul Wahid Shaikh speaks to journalist Praveen Swami about his imprisonment and walks us through details of the immediate aftermath of the blasts, the decade that followed and his book Begunah Qaidi which has been translated into English recently as Innocent Prisoners. This episode is bi-lingual, in Hindustani and English.
Abdul Wahid Shaikh is a school teacher, lawyer and activist. He works with the Innocence Network providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted. His book Begunah Qaidi originally in Urd…
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Jul 16, 2021
135. Karunanidhi: A Life
Writer-politician Muthuvel Karunanidhi is amongst the most important political figures India has ever seen. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms and leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for over five decades. Still remembered for his fruitful career as a regional leader who helped in the formation of various coalition governments at Delhi, his contribution to Tamil history and culture has been invaluable.
This episode of BIC Talks is about the meticulously researched and deeply engrossing book, Karunanidhi: A Life that delves into the life and times of this unforgettable man. This conversation with author AS Panneerselvan and journalist Rohini Mohan explores how Karunanidhi became a sort of metaphor of modern Tamil Nadu, where language, empowerment, self-respect, art and literary forms and films coalesce to lend a unique vibrancy to politics.
AS Panneerselvan is the Readers’ Editor of The Hindu, an independent internal news ombudsman functioning with cle…
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Jul 13, 2021
134. Understanding the Indian Identity
Neha Sahgal, Associate Director, Pew Research Center walks us through the major new Pew Research Center survey of religion across India that has been subject to many analyses, opinion pieces and discussions in formal and informal settings. In this episode of BIC Talks, Impact Investor and co-founder of Bangalore Literature Festival, Srikrishna Ramamoorthy engages Neha in a conversation about what went into this gargantuan undertaking.
The study, which was based on nearly 30,000 face-to-face interviews of adults conducted in 17 languages between late 2019 and early 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), explores the role of religion in Indian public life. The study is part of a larger effort by Pew Research Center to understand religious change and its impact on societies around the world.
Neha was also part of a panel discussion on the BIC Streams platform where the study was engaged with on a wide spectrum of approaches. This discussion is available to view on the BIC Youtube channel…
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Jul 9, 2021
133. Jamaica’s Greatest Export (with Bob Santelli)
Bob Santelli, the Founding Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles and a noted blues and rock historian takes us on a journey of understanding the musical genre of Reggae that originated in Jamaica in the 1960s. Its popularity quickly spread around the world, in large part due to Bob Marley. In this episode of BIC Talks, Bob Santelli traces the roots of this genre, its musical characteristics, its key themes and messages including socio-political criticism, and its resonance around the world.
This episode is an extract from a BIC streams session that took place virtually on the 2nd of July, 2021 a day after international Reggae day was celebrated worldwide. This talk is part of the series on “music from around the world” in collaboration with the Indian Music Experience Museum.
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Jul 3, 2021
132. Festschrift for Ram Guha
Ramachandra Guha has been an astute and lucid guide to Indian history, with an ability to paint both the broad canvas as well fill in the minute details. Most people know him as a columnist – sometimes controversial, but always insightful and engaging. But there is another side to him, that of the scrupulous historian and scholarly path breaker – in the field of environmental history, the social history of Indian cricket, the history of the Indian republic, and in biographies of lesser-known figures like Verrier Elwin and very public figures like Gandhi.
This episode of BIC Talks is a series of extracts from a Festschrift in honour of Ramachandra Guha, originally presented as a BIC Streams session based on A Functioning Anarchy, a collection of essays by historians, social scientists, ecologists and journalists- edited by Nandini Sundar and Srinath Raghavan- in appreciation of the scholar in Guha.
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Jun 30, 2021
131. The Light of Asia
The Light of Asia is an epic poem by Sir Edwin Arnold that was first published in 1879. It is a narrative of the life and message of the Buddha. It quickly became a huge sensation and has continued to resonate powerfully across the world over the last century and a half. Weaving together literary, cultural, political and social history, author and parliamentarian Jairam Ramesh talks to author and independent consultant Radhika Chadha on how he managed to uncover and narrate the fascinating story of this deeply consequential and compelling poem that has shaped our thinking of an ancient sage and his teachings.
Ramesh brings into this unusual narrative the life of the multifaceted poet himself who, among other things, was steeped in Sanskrit literature. Sir Edwin Arnold’s The Song Celestial, an English rendering of the Bhagavad Gita, was one of Mahatma Gandhi’s abiding favourites. Sir Arnold was also in many ways the man who shaped Bodh Gaya as we know it today.
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Jun 26, 2021
130. The Essence of Sufism
In this episode of BIC Talks author Moin Mir and historian Rana Safvi discuss ‘The Lost Fragrance of Infinity’, a historical novel by Moin that glows with the essence of Sufism. In 1739, Qaraar Ali, a young craftsman from Delhi witnesses the destruction of his world as he has known it. His wondrous city where he found love, spirituality, the friendship of poets and philosophers becomes a desolate scorching hell. From the embers of his past, a journey begins; one which takes him into the depths of Sufi philosophy.
Traversing spectacular landscapes of a fading Mughal Empire, a turbulent Central Asia and Persia, a culturally retreating Ottoman Empire and declining Spanish influence, Qaraar Ali finds hope in the sacred geometry of the Sufis through which he attempts at rebuilding his life and rediscovering love. A deeply passionate love story imbued with spirituality, acceptance, compassion and redemption, The Lost Fragrance of Infinity gives a much-deserved voice to Sufism and its co…
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Jun 22, 2021
129. Gandhi & Broadcasting
‘Do I talk into this thing?’ These were the first words ever broadcast live, albeit inadvertently, by Mohandas Gandhi ahead of his speech to the USA. The year was 1931 and the location, London. Gandhi was in town as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress to attend the Second Round Table Conference. He was just weeks shy of his 62nd birthday. This episode adapted from a BIC Streams session with Chandrika Kaul in conversation with Jawhar Sircar focussed on Gandhi and radio, a subject that has been curiously neglected, both in studies of Gandhi and of broadcasting. Gandhi’s engagement with radio, the circumstances surrounding his broadcasts, and his interaction with broadcasters, were analysed to help situate the medium within the Mahatma’s media repertoire and evaluated its impact.
Dr Chandrika Kaul, is Reader in Modern History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, U.K.
Jawhar Sircar retired in 2012, after four decades in the IAS — as India’s longest s…
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Jun 19, 2021
128. Relevance of a Story Writer
Saadat Hasan Manto was born on 11 May, 1912 in Ludhiana. Bangalore International Centre and Bangalore Literature Festival marked the author and playwright’s birth month through a BIC Streams session with the Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University, Ayesha Jalal and writer, columnist and translator of Manto’s non-fiction work, Aakar Patel.
Drawing parallels to the times of partition characterised by turmoil and tragedy in which Manto - who has been described as a distressingly prophetic and daring writer - lived and wrote, this episode of BIC Talks speaks to the nuances of making sense of a maddening situation. Ayesha and Aakar in this free flowing exchange talk about politics, governance, literature, the will of the people and their sense of self being distilled in stories that have been told over ages.
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Jun 15, 2021
127. India’s Infrastructure Laws and its Practice
This conversation around understanding India’s investments in infrastructure links recent laws and practices relating to these projects, and provides an approach to these issues from a commercial and legal perspective.
Author of the book, Investing in India’s Infrastructure and Energy Sectors, Prashanth Sabeshan, in this conversation with urbanist and policy researcher Champaka Rajagopal covers a wide range of points within the vast umbrella of infrastructure, including specific and generic legal issues that arise in certain core sectors such as electricity and renewables, airports, ports, and oil and gas, and the challenges faced by investors, developers, financiers and procurers. This conversation as a glimpse into the deeply researched book provides a primer to those who have an interest in understanding some of the practical and current commercial/legal issues and trends and relevant Indian government policies in these sectors.
Prashanth Sabeshan has over 20 years of experien…
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Jun 11, 2021
126. K Balagopal: The Conscience of the Collective Self
This episode of BIC Talks remembers an individual who has been described as “the conscience of the collective self known as Andhra society”. Arvind Narrain in a conversation with Aishwarya Ravikumar provides a primer and an insight into the inner workings of a profound and rare mind of clarity and action, as we mark his birth anniversary on the 10th of June.
K Balagopal (1952-2009) was a trained Mathematician who became one of the country’s most important human rights activists. He was initially with the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee and then went on to found the Human Rights Forum. As an inspirational part of these human rights organisations he travelled the length and breadth of the land from Kashmir in the North to Orissa and the North East, Gujarat and of course his own home state, the then Andhra Pradesh, producing an astonishing series of Fact Finding Reports which documented and analysed human rights violations. He also wrote extensively in the Economic and Pol…
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Jun 8, 2021
125. The Spirit of Enquiry
The word Dissent in its various misinterpretations has been in use for a while; within the zeitgeist of uncertainty that we are now living in, the immediacy of an engaged artist, citizen, human being has become apparent and urgent.
This episode of BIC Talks with musician and author TM Krishna in conversation with activist and author Kavita Krishnan begins as a conversation based on Krishna’s newest book The Spirit of Enquiry: Notes on Dissent blossoms into a philosophical exchange on aesthetic, the practice and consumption of art, politics and socio political stances, that addresses crucial issues of caste, culture, class and gender with nuance and openness.
Thodur Madabusi Krishna is an author and one of the pre-eminent vocalists in the rigorous Karnatik tradition of India’s classical music.
Kavita Krishnan is activist and currently the Secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), a women’s group that is especially active among women workers, agricult…
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Jun 5, 2021
124. Remembering Vanraj Bhatia's Music
This episode of BIC talks is an extract from a BIC Streams session, where Zubin Balaporia and Shwetant Kumar take us on a journey celebrating Vanraj Bhatia's music and memory on what would have been his 94th birthday.
You could say Vanraj Bhatia’s music crosses boundaries the way people cross the street! He was trained in Indian classical music from his schooldays, and in western classical music in London and in Paris, where he was Nadia Boulanger’s only Indian student. Frequently working with the best musicians and the latest technology in India, Bhatia created music that was as impossible to pigeonhole as was his colourful personality. His 60-year career spanned multiple disciplines: cinema, television, documentaries, major theatre productions, spiritual music, advertising jingles (7000 of them!), western classical and also new age music. It is very likely that every person in India knows at least one piece of music by him – even if they’ve never heard of him! We take this o…
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Jun 1, 2021
123. The Coming of Age of Indian Science
How do you build a scientifically and technologically strong modern nation with limited means and resources? Indian scientists faced this challenge seven decades ago when the country became independent and confronted a world rapidly advancing in science and technology. In the years that followed, they battled poor funding and archaic regulations to build India's science infrastructure from scratch. Hari Pulakkat in his book, 'Space Life Matter' captures the story of the struggles and triumphs of these leaders of science and the institutions they founded.
In this episode of BIC Talks which was originally a BIC Streams session, Hari, in conversation with science historian Jahnavi Phalkey talks about key events that shaped Indian science after independence that he explores in his book. This includes the cosmic-ray experiments at the Kolar Gold Fields, the building of the world’s largest radio telescope, ISRO's space observatory, and how persistent scientist-engineers developed a chemic…
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May 26, 2021
122. Solving Period Poverty
We are well into the 21st century, and yet 50% of women and girls in developing countries, including India, cannot afford basic sanitary products to manage their periods, and rely on unhygienic practices such as old rags, sand and ash.
Together with limited knowledge and limited sanitary facilities, this leads to serious health risks, such as reproductive and urinary tract infections. It also prevents women and girls from participating in essential daily activities, such as going to school and going to work. It’s estimated that every year, 23 million girls in India drop out school upon reaching puberty.
We are here today for the occasion of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, to discuss how we can solve the challenge of period poverty to unlock gender equality, environmental sustainability and growth.
In this conversation you will hear from two women with expertise in the menstrual hygiene space Mariana Lopez and Ira Guha.
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May 23, 2021
121. Trade & Faith
Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, a distinct form of Islamic thought and practice developed among Muslim trading communities of the Indian Ocean. In this episode of BIC Talks, economic historian and author of Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast, Sebastian R Prange and art historian and researcher, Ayesha Matthan explore the argument presented in Sebastian’s book, that this 'Monsoon Islam' was shaped by merchants not sultans, forged by commercial imperatives rather than in battle, and defined by the reality of Muslims living within non-Muslim societies. Focusing on India's Malabar Coast, the much-fabled 'land of pepper', Prange speaks of how Monsoon Islam developed in response to concrete economic, socio-religious, and political challenges.
Sebastian R Prange is an economic historian who researches the development of Muslim trade networks in the medieval Indian Ocean world.
Ayesha Matthan is an art historian interested in photojournalistic practic…
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May 19, 2021
120. The Art of a Happy Exit
'So, what's your exit strategy?' The question often leaves most entrepreneurs stumped as running a business leaves little time to think about anything else.
While business owners recognise that they may have to exit their business at some point, few give enough thought to how they will sell it. And fewer prepare for it.
In this episode of BIC Talks, K Srikrishna, serial entrepreneur, business mentor and author of The Art of a Happy Exit is in conversation with Hema Hattangady, author, entrepreneur and business leader on how can an entrepreneur prepare for all that selling their business entails.
Hema, co-author of Liftoff: The Story of Conzerv has featured as the principal speaker on an earlier BIC Talks episode titled Succeeding in Business Ethically.
K. Srikrishna, Ph.D., is a serial entrepreneur, business mentor and former angel investor. He founded his first company Impulsesoft in 1999, which grew from a bootstrapped organisation of two people to a global leader in Bluetooth wi…
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May 15, 2021
119. Learning from Epidemics Past
The enduring persistence, resurgence and mutation of many epidemic diseases have made apparent the problematic nature of the ‘epidemic disease narrative’ in the 21st century. Through the lens of the history of polio vaccination and treatment from a seemingly peripheral, Eastern European perspective, Dora Vargha aims to shift our attention to question what, when, and for whom is an end of an epidemic ‘the end’, and what happens after.
This episode of BIC Talks is in association with Science Gallery Bengaluru and was originally part of their ongoing online exhibition season - Contagion, open until the 13th of June, 2021. Do visit bengaluru.sciencegallery.com for more talks and an exhibition experience of Contagion.
Dora Vargha is historian of medicine, science and technology at the University of Exeter, based jointly at the Department of History and the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health and is co-editor of Social History of Medicine journal. She has publis…
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May 11, 2021
118. The Premier In Our Lives
Memories of a city and its unique brand of life come from the people who make it memorable and places that work as pegs for those memories. One such person who created that space which so many Bangaloreans remember with unfaltering fondness and affection is Mr. Shanbhag, the gentle bibliophile who created a warm and welcoming space, synonymous with his personality in Premier Bookshop. Premier is remembered with great affection as a Bangalore institution by people of several generations. The impact that the bookshop and the person running it have had is reflected in the outpouring of grief and tribute across channels, from across the world when news of Mr.Shanbhag’s passing broke on 5th of May 2021. In this episode of BIC Talks a few Bangaloreans remember and pay tribute to TS Shanbhag.
Image credit- Raghav Shreyas
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May 8, 2021
117. The Experiments of a Young Gandhi
Gandhi’s autobiography is famous for the austerity of its narration, and its veracity. Less known are his autobiographical observations made, almost incidentally, in the course of his speeches and writings.
This episode of BIC Talks features Gopalkrishna Gandhi in conversation with scholar and author Sunil Khilnani about the latest book ‘Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: Restless as Mercury: My Life as a Young Man’ edited by Gopalkrishna Gandhi which seeks to complement The Story of my Experiments with Truth.
This book culls out, mainly from The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi some of those pertaining to his life as a young man. They tell the extraordinary story of the householder and lawyer, very fallible, vulnerable, but ready to self-correct and eager to learn from peers and those who he acknowledged as shapers of his life. This episode is an extract from an earlier BIC streams session.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi is Distinguished Professor of History and Politics at Ashoka University.…
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May 4, 2021
116. The First Battle of Indian Liberalism
This episode of BIC Talks with author and historian Tripurdaman Singh and lawyer Siddharth Raja contextualises and discusses the lead up to the first ever amendment to the Constitution of India in the year 1951, only a year after the Constitution was brought into effect, the subject of Tripurdaman's new book Sixteen Stormy Days - The Story of the First Amendment of the Constitution of India.
The conversation traces this momentous event and the various personalities and agendas, at odds with the original hopes and dreams of building a liberal democratic system at the heart of it. The controversial amendment termed an “obscenity by willful resolve” by some is a crucial moment characterised by some of the fiercest parliamentary debates and in the country’s political, judicial and constitutional history which set us on a path of ambiguity as a nation.
Tripurdaman Singh is a British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. Tripurdam…
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May 1, 2021
115. The Art of Mediation
In this episode renowned lawyer Sriram Panchu, pioneer of Mediation in India speaks with Kamala Naganand on the evolution of Mediation as a successful dispute resolution mechanism. We explore how mediation fosters mindfulness and healing with non judgemental justice; and the myriad applications of the process to public, private, domestic and international conflict resolution.
Sriram Panchu has been in the forefront of the mediation movement in India, and is an internationally recognised Indian mediator.
Kamala Naganand is the managing partner at Aarna Law. Her principal practice areas are corporate advisory, intellectual property law, insolvency and bankruptcy and private client practice.
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Apr 27, 2021
114. Life in the Sciences
Is India obsessed with IT & engineering studies and are we ignoring investment in pure science education? With the limited resources we have shouldn’t we be focused on finding answers to the immediate issues of today’s society or should we invest in pursuing long-term scientific breakthroughs as well as well? What are the big questions in Science that impact Indian society and what should be our priorities? What are the paths to innovation? Are patents necessary or will we be restricting access from beneficiaries?
A panel of leading minds debated these challenges- Nobel Laureate Professor Venkataraman ‘Venki’ ‘Ramakrishnan, Professor Jyotsna Dhawan, Professor S ‘Rams’ Ramaswamy and Professor Pankaj Chandra at a live event at Bangalore International Centre in collaboration with Ignite Life Sciences Foundation and Cytecare. This enthralling session is an opportunity to learn what these scientific experts have to say about these vexed questions, and is bound to offer meanin…
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Apr 24, 2021
113. The Black Panther Files 2
After five years of trying to spot the elusive black panther – Karia – of the Kabini forest, author and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani completes her story after finally sighting the black panther she was searching for. But where? And what happens next? Will the end of one quest mark the beginning of another?
In Part 2 of the talk ‘Romancing the Black Panther’ Rohini Nilekani completes her story about her quest for the black panther, and how it brings her deeper into the heart of Kabini. A forest that is home to much biodiversity – it is part man-made and part natural, teeming with wildlife beside the gleaming backwaters of the Kabini reservoir.
This paradise calls for eternal vigilance. The global pandemic has taught us just how interconnected we are to the wild world. What better time for us to reflect on how—and how quickly—we can renew our broken relationship with the natural world? Can we go into the forest with curiosity and humility, and can we emerge embracing it…
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Apr 20, 2021
112. Finding Common Ground
While stating that Hinduism is not a religion but a collection of practices associated with the space now called India, MK Raghavendra, critic, film scholar and writer, in this conversation with former diplomat Chiranjiv Singh examines what being a Hindu means and asks whether its practices are reconcilable with global modernity and compatible with justice and egalitarianism. He has recently authored a book 'The Hindu Nation: A Reconciliation with Modernity'.
The speakers discuss the various lenses through which Indian religions - especially Hinduism are perceived and experienced across the country and global academia. The conversation spans philosophical, political and social perspectives while presenting arguments that challenge current popular understanding of the Hindu Nation.
MK Raghavendra is a film, literary and cultural critic who writes on politics as well. He won the Swarna Kamal for Best Film Critic in 1997 and was awarded a Homi Bhabha Fellowship in 2000-2001 to study nar…
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Apr 15, 2021
111. Innovating Government
In this episode Vivek Wadhwa author, academic, entrepreneur explores the ideas in his book 'From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation' in a conversation with Dr. Srivatsa Krishna, IAS and Secretary CEO of Coffee Board of India.
Ray Kurzweil of Singularity University has predicted that for the first time in human history, we are entering the “Exponential Era”. We are going to experience 20,000 years of technological change in the next 100 years- from the birth of agriculture to the birth of the Internet, twice, in the next century. We are living in the times when flying taxis, autonomous vehicles, robots as personal valets, reusable rockets are all happening in front of our eyes, most of them ready for prime time.
For the first time there is not only Moore’s Law like acceleration in several technologies but also convergence among them. How will these impact governments? Can they remain immune to change or will this lead to mor…
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Apr 13, 2021
110. The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality
Rahul Rao, scholar and author of Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality, in conversation with writer Kavya Murthy talks about the inheritance that the former colonies are living with and how they have managed to warp and expand the imperialist biases and criminalisation of the Queer community.
Primarily examining three locations - India, Uganda and Britain - the relationship between the state and interaction with the international position, Culpability of colonial powers, current trans lives conditions in India and the responses of the UN and other international bodies, Out of Time ties together the aspects of Race, caste, class and human rights in the struggle for queer identity rights across centuries in the past and the future.
Rahul Rao has research interests in international relations theory, the international relations of South Asia, comparative political thought, and gender and sexuality.
Kavya Murthy is a writer, editor and content strategist for digital platform…
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Apr 10, 2021
109. India’s Violent Borderlands
Suchitra Vijayan, author of Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India, talks about what propelled her to travel 9,000 miles along India’s borderlands. In conversation with Vaibhav Vats, Vijayan recounts her reportage along India’s tenuous boundaries with Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and - most contentious of all – Pakistan. The conversation delves into the nature of borders, the peculiar origins of India’s demarcations and the fractured, founding history that underpins the Indian nation-state. Vijayan and Vats also muse on how the violence on the peripheries slowly permeates inwards, as raging conflicts over citizenship and identity - once an issue confined largely to the borderlands - have moved to the centre of the Indian body politic.
Suchitra Vijayan is an award-winning photographer, the founder and executive director of the Polis Project, a hybrid research and journalism organisation. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, GQ, The Boston Review, The…
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Apr 6, 2021
108. Lineages of the Present
Manu V Devadevan interviews HS Shivaprakash on the beginning of his life as a poet, his influences and his evolution - personal and literary - over half a century. The conversation traces the timeline of contemporary Kannada Literature in parallel with that of world literature through a personal lens. The speakers delve into what makes the experience of a poem or a play different from that of a novel.
Touching upon his childhood in Bangalore of the 60s to his life as a traveller, this session is a glimpse into the making of one of the most present and influential voices in Kannada literature. Apart from the physical and technical aspects of his existence as a poet, HS Shivaprakash also speaks of the personal, the political and the spiritual.
Poet and playwright HS Shivaprakash is considered one of the most influential voices in Kannada literature today. The recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, he has also received the highest awards in Karnataka…
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Apr 2, 2021
107. Memories of Libraries and Archives
In this spirited lecture, which was originally a LISA distinguished lecture delivered in March 2021, the historian Ramachandra Guha recalls some memorable experiences from a lifetime of working in libraries and archives in India and abroad. He introduces us to some great repositories of printed books, such as the National Library in Kolkata and the Sterling Memorial Museum Library of Yale University, and to some great repositories of unpublished archival material, such as the Manuscripts Division of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi. And he speaks also of the joyous days and months he has spent in the greatest library-cum-archive in the world, the British Library in London. The lecture was followed by a riveting Q & A session as well.
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Mar 29, 2021
106. The People’s Process
Bilal Zaidi, founder of the political tech start up, OurDemocracy.in, is in conversation with Sweta Daga, as he gets to the brass tacks of the electoral campaign system in India. This conversation evaluates the ongoing practices which are looked upon as tradition in our electoral democracy, its shortcomings, the opacity in the process and lack of accessibility to the citizenry. Bilal and Sweta talk of the future of political campaign finances with the advent of digital India and whether electoral reforms are in sight or not.
With anecdotal information and comparative analyses with electoral procedures of countries like the United State of America, this conversation presents a possibility and a gradual change of direction towards transparency and greater understanding of how Democracy works.
Bilal Zaidi is Founder and Executive Director of OurDemocracy.in. Prior to founding OurDemocracy, he was a Global campaigner with Avaaz.org (based in New York). He is also a former journalist wit…
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Mar 27, 2021
105. Talking US Politics
Edward Luce, one of the most highly regarded commentators on US politics, talks about the dynamics of US politics, and the impact of the newly elected US government on the world, especially on India.
This episode was originally streamed live on March 12th, 2021 as the annual Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Girish Karnad Memorial Lecture. One of the leading and most prestigious events on the calendar, the New India Foundation Annual Lecture has facilitated debate on important social issues, with talks featuring renowned scholars and thinkers.
Edward Luce is the US national editor and columnist at the Financial Times. Before that he was the FT’s Washington Bureau chief. Other roles have included South Asia bureau chief, Capital Markets editor, and Philippines Correspondent. He is the author of three highly acclaimed books, The Retreat of Western Liberalism (2017), Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent (2012), and In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India (2007)…
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Mar 24, 2021
104. Fish Have No Borders
Researcher Siddharth Chakravarty and anthropologist & researcher Vani Sreekanta exchange notes on their most recent visit to West Bengal post the lifting of the lockdown. They talk about complexities of food habits, food production, policies that govern the ecologically sensitive areas of the Mangroves, coastal mechanisation, gender politics and the politics of migrating fishing workers and labour.
This wide ranging conversation mulls over the role of the researcher and the engagement, intervention and impact on their subjects.
Siddharth Chakravarty is an independent researcher interested in the encounters between land-based policy-making and the biophysical properties of the oceans. He is interested in fish as they shape and are shaped by processes of territory-making, resource-sharing and trans-boundary migration.
Vani Sreekanta is an independent researcher interested in the complex enmeshment of human and more-than human systems. She also likes to think about the roles networks a…
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Mar 18, 2021
103. Vitality of Verse
The elemental relevance of poetry in lives and times such as ours is what binds this conversation with poet Ranjit Hoskote and Journalist Supriya Nair together. Ranjit's newest collection of poetry, Hunchprose is a response to and reflection of the many lives the poet possesses within him.
This conversation delves deep into inspirations, memories and experiences that affords us a glimpse into the life of the polymath and how life traces verse and vice versa.
Ranjit Hoskote is a poet, cultural theorist and curator. His seven collections of poetry include Vanishing Acts, Central Time and Jonahwhale. He is also the author of I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Ded, the editor of Dom Moraes: Selected Poems and a translator of the legendary Urdu poets Mir and Ghalib. Hoskote curated India's first-ever national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. He has received the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award, the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award and the S.H. Raza Literature Award. His poems have been trans…
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Mar 16, 2021
102. A Pivot to Podcasting
Pavan Srinath talks to Lekha Naidu about creating BIC Talks and releasing 100 episodes of the podcast since March 2020, when the pandemic lockdowns began in India.
On this episode Pavan takes the guest seat, as Bangalore International Centre’s Programme Manager Lekha Naidu talks to him about the joys, lessons and challenges of podcasting. They discuss how BIC pivoted to podcasting within a week of the first nation-wide lockdown, how they managed to record deep conversations almost entirely remotely, and what kept the show going. Pavan also shares a few of his favourite moments and episodes from the last year, and his thoughts on podcasting in general.
Pavan Srinath is a public policy researcher and podcaster, who also hosts The Pragati Podcast and the Thale-Harate Kannada Podcast. He’s accessible at @zeusisdead on Twitter and Instagram.
Lekha Naidu is Programme Manager at BIC, and will be taking over Pavan’s role as host and producer of BIC Talks from Episode 103.
Subscribe t…
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Mar 13, 2021
101. Scandal in the Time of Corona
In early March 2020 as the shadow of the pandemic loomed large and uncertainty - financial and otherwise was the order of the day, Yes Bank joined a long parade of banking and financial scandals arisen due to malpractice. Another one seemingly bitten the dust when the moratorium on Yes Bank was imposed by the RBI.
Journalist Furquan Moharkan had been following this story long before it broke and his research is now the basis for the book, The Banker who Crushed his Diamonds.
In conversation with Furquan is editor Shreya Punj, while taking us through what actually happened and how do we as citizens read the signs of an impending disaster.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.
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Mar 11, 2021
100. The Life and Art of MS Subbulakshmi
Author Keshav Desiraju and music enthusiast Vishnu Vasudev discuss Mr. Desiraju’s latest book Of Gifted Voice that looks at MS Subbulakshmi’s life and times, and the great musical tradition she belonged to and to which she brought so much, against the larger backdrop of developments in the world of Carnatic music.
MS Subbulakshmi’s life was one of extraordinary achievement. Although she was portrayed in many ways – as a musician who sought and achieved an all-India appeal; a philanthropist and supporter of noble causes; an icon of style; a woman of piety and devotion; and a friend and associate of the good and the great – she was first and foremost a classical vocalist of the highest rank, of unmatched gifts, who lives on in the musical history of India.
Though her story has often been told, we know little of the woman behind the image and the musician behind the public persona. Of Gifted Voice attempts, with warmth and keen-eyed perception, to understand the music, the his…
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Mar 5, 2021
99. Rediscovering Dadabhai Naoroji
Historians Dinyar Patel and Prashant Kidambi discuss the life and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, who Gandhi referred to as the ‘Father of the Nation’. Dinyar has authored the book, Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism (Harvard University Press, 2020).
They discuss Naoroji’s life and work as an Indian nationalist thinker, as a member of the British parliament, and as a leading intellectual whose legacy lives on even beyond India in various anti-colonial, nationalist and suffragette movements.
This episode of BIC Talks was originally streamed live on BIC Streams on February 13th, in association with the Bangalore Literature Festival.
Dinyar Patel is a historian of modern India, focusing on Indian nationalism, the city of Bombay/Mumbai, and the Parsi Zoroastrian community. He is currently Assistant Professor of History at the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai. Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism is his first book.
Prashant Kidambi is associate p…
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Mar 1, 2021
98. Glimpses of Kabul
Authors Taran Khan and Samhita Arni share personal experiences and stories from their time spent in Kabul, peeling away the many layers that make up the city and its rich and tumultuous history.
Taran N. Khan is a journalist based in Mumbai, and author of Shadow City: A Woman Kabul. Taran spent time working in Kabul between 2006 and 2013. She grew up in Aligarh and was educated in New Delhi and London. Shadow City, her first book, won the Tata Literature Live! First Non-Fiction Book Award for 2020. It has also been nominated for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2021.
Samhita Arni is the author of four books and retells mythological stories. Her most recent book is ‘The Prince’, and she lived and worked in Kabul in 2012 and 2013. Samhita was previously on BIC Talks to talk about Sex in Indian Epics and Literature (Episode #62) and on Pandemics in Prose (Episode #10).
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes,…
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Feb 25, 2021
97. Bengal Politics in Flux
Jawhar Sircar and Siddharth Raja discuss the political dynamics of West Bengal, in the run up to the state assembly elections of 2021. They discuss the political history of the state, the ethnic, caste and class lines along which politics has taken place over the 20th century, and what conflicts lie ahead for the state in the 2021 elections.
Jawhar Sircar is a public intellectual and a retired civil servant who writes and speaks often in the popular press. He served as the CEO of Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcasting agency between 2012 and 2016. Before that, he was Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India between 2008 and 2012. He writes regularly for the New Indian Express as well as several other publications.
Siddharth Raja is a lawyer based in Bangalore. He was previously on BIC Talks as a guest on Episode 34, to talk about the rich history of the Nandi Hills near Bangalore.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC webs…
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Feb 22, 2021
96. Fire-Proofing Our Cities
Fire safety engineer Sumit Khanna and Vasanthi Hariprakash talk about how each of us can play our role in reducing the risk of fire accidents as we lead our lives in cities. Both Sumit and Vasanthi are associated with the Beyond Carlton trust.
They discuss India’s fire safety codes and policies, discuss implementation challenges, and explore important questions about fire safety that every citizen can ask – about their homes, apartments, offices, malls, hotels and any places they visit.
Beyond Carlton is a citizen-led initiative that works to improve fire-safety awareness across India. It was started by Uday Vijayan, after he lost his young son in the preventable Carlton Towers fire tragedy that occurred on February 23, 2010.
Sumit Khanna is a trained fire protection engineer from the National Fire Service College, Nagpur. With over 12 years of experience in the fire protection industry, Sumit has worked with multiple companies in developing building codes, writing standards and…
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Feb 18, 2021
95. Dancing Women in Indian Cinema
Author and scholar Usha Iyer talks to dancer Poorna Swami about the rich history of women dancing in Hindi cinema. Usha and Poorna explore the agency and power dynamics that various Indian actors and dancers had over the decades, how dancing in cinema can be seen as a continuation of various dance traditions in India, and discuss the roles played by important women like Vyjayanthimala, Helen, Madhuri Dixit and Saroj Khan.
Usha Iyer is an assistant professor of film and media studies at Stanford University. She is the author of Dancing Women: Choreographing Corporeal Histories of Indian Cinema (Oxford University Press, 2020).
Usha’s research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of cinema, performance, and gender and sexuality studies, with a specific focus on film and performance histories, body cultures, and Global South cultural traffic along the vectors of race, gender, caste, and religion.
Poorna Swami is an independent writer, choreographer and dancer based in Bangal…
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Feb 16, 2021
94. Succeeding in Business Ethically
Author and business leader Hema Hattangady talks to editor Karthik Venkatesh and shares her personal and professional journey from when she took over as the CEO of a family-owned hardware electronics-based energy management company in 1996, and ethically grew the business manifold, and finally sold the business to a multi-national company in 2009. Along with Ashish Sen, Hema has recently written a book- Liftoff: The Story of Conzerv, which chronicles her experiences.
Karthik Venkatesh is a Senior Editor at Westland Books, and occasionally writes for the popular press on language, history and culture.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.
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Feb 11, 2021
93. Mass Media and Public Engagement
This podcast episode features a presentation by poet, cultural theorist, writer, translator and independent curator, Ranjit Hoskote, followed by a discussion with architect and writer, Prem Chandavarkar.
Ranjit Hoskote walks us through the engagement of an extraordinary set of people who used the mass media of their time to bring their passion, be it art, science or human endeavour to a larger audience. He draws attention to four television series that used the wide-reaching impact of the medium. By elaborating on each of the individual styles and political and philosophical positions of these four ‘popularisers’ whose ‘democratising projects’ attempted to build bridges between ‘expert cultures’ and ‘popular audiences’, Hoskote builds on what is in one sense, a journey of nostalgia through these series, in another, a personal journey, a tribute to a set of exposures that had excited him and influenced the range of his thinking as a young person, to investigate these…
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Feb 9, 2021
92. India's Nuclear Energy Journey
Padma Vibhushan & Atomic Energy Guru Dr MR Srinivasan and Science Historian Dr Jahnavi Phalkey discuss the rich story of India’s nuclear programme and its development over 70 years.
India’s first research reactor, Apsara, went critical in 1956 and today, there is a network of nuclear power generating reactors across the country, forming a critical part of India’s power grid. Srinivasan and Phalkey discuss India’s journey from the early days under Homi Bhabha, through the Geopolitics of the Cold War, Sanctions, the 2005 Indo-US nuclear deal, all the way through till today.
Dr MR Srinivasan is Former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and former Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, retiring in 1990 – and continue to contribute to nuclear energy policy in the country, including playing a key role in the Indo-US nuclear deal. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his services to the nation. He also received the first Homi Bhabha Gold Medal from the Indian Scienc…
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Feb 5, 2021
91. Towards Real Climate Action
Zaid Hassan and Sweta Daga discuss how systemic climate action is possible, and how significant climate change mitigation is possible by building thousands of teams to work on the challenge across the world. They discuss how the burden of climate action cannot be thrust onto individuals while the causes remain systemic, but argue for how cross-sectoral, local, action-oriented teams could lead the way.
Sweta Daga is a storyteller and facilitator who has told stories across platforms, from television and film to theatre. As a freelance journalist, she has worked in India focusing on climate justice with intersections in gender and equity. She has also facilitated workshops with changemakers across the world on systemic change.
Zaid Hassan is co-founder of Complexity University and 10 in 10. He has 20 years of experience tackling complex social challenges. He has worked all over the world. His experiences range from working in rural India on reducing acute child malnutrition to tackling…
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Feb 2, 2021
90. Budget 2021: Promise and Reality
Columnist and Emerging Markets investor Narayan Ramachandran returns to BIC Talks to talk to host Pavan Srinath about the Government of India budget, from a larger perspective rarely seen in print or TV. Jyotsna Jha from the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies also shares her views on how the social sector has fared in this year’s budget.
Listen in as the speakers explore the storytelling, the inferred ideology and the details of the 2021-22 Union Budget. They examine what has changed and what has stayed the same, and how the Union Government has chosen to react to the biggest social and economic crisis India has seen in decades.
Narayan Ramachandran is a columnist, emerging markets investor and polymath. Narayan writes a fortnightly column in Mint called A Visible Hand.
Jyotsna Jha is the Director of the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, a Bangalore-based think tank focused on policy research and advocacy. Jyotsna has a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)…
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Jan 28, 2021
89. Music and South Asia
Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao speaks to artists and scholars Ahmad Naser Sarmast, Neil Nongkynrih and Ravibandhu Vidyapathi about how a South Asian identity can be expressed through music.
This is a follow-up to Episode 86 of BIC Talks, and an edited version a live online event hosted by the South Asian Symphony Foundation. The foundation’s co-founder Ambassador Menon Rao spoke to five artistes from across South Asia, and three of them are featured on this episode. The full event can be accessed on the SASF YouTube channel.
Ahmad Naser Sarmast is an Afghan-Australian ethnomusicologist. He is the founder and director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.
Neil Nongkynrih is a concert pianist and founder, mentor, and conductor of Shillong Chamber Choir. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.
Ravibandhu Vidyapathy is a dancer, veteran choreographer and musician from Sri Lanka. An acclaimed classical Kandyan dancer, Kathakali actor-dancer, trained in Hindustani music, his wo…
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Jan 25, 2021
88. A Test Series for the Ages
India is yet to get over its giddy excitement with the recently completed cricket Test series that was truly one for the ages. After being written off by all experts post the Adelaide Test (where India recorded its lowest ever score of 36), India bounced back to win at Melbourne, draw at Sydney and pull off a miracle at the Gabba in Brisbane (where the last time a visiting team won was in 1988). To help us unpack what happened we have an Australian and Indian perspective from Gideon Haigh, senior cricket writer and Sharda Ugra, sports journalist.
Gideon Haigh is one of the great cricket observers and writers of our times. He is an independent journalist, in the trade for nearly four decades. He was born in London, went to school in Geelong, and now lives in Melbourne.
Sharda Ugra has spent more than three decades in sports journalism, working with Mumbai tabloid Mid-Day, national daily The Hindu, India Today magazine and ESPNcricinfo and ESPN India. During this time, she has written…
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Jan 21, 2021
87. Kesavananda Bharati and the Basic Structure Doctrine
Sudhir Krishnaswamy and Shruti Viswanathan unpack the enduring impact of the Indian Constitution’s Basic Structure doctrine on India’s socio-political and judicial landscape.
India’s Basic Structure doctrine arose from Supreme Court’s Kesavananda Bharati judgment from 1973. It came about by a wafer-thin judgment with a margin of 7-6, and placed restrictions on the power of the Parliament to amend the Indian Constitution. In effect, this affirmed that the Constitution, not Parliament, was supreme in India. Sudhir and Shruti explore how this case came before the Supreme Court, the broad principles of the doctrine, and its evolution since 1973. The discussion will focus not just on the legal interpretation of the doctrine but also its impact on India’s political history.
Professor Sudhir Krishnaswamy is the Vice-Chancellor of National Law School of India University, Bangalore. His research focus is on constitutional law and politics and the empirical analysis of the legal syst…
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Jan 18, 2021
86. South Asian Identity through Music
Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao speaks to musicians TM Krishna and Ali Sethi about how a South Asian identity can be expressed through music.
This episode of BIC Talks is an edited version of the first half of a live online event hosted by the South Asian Symphony Foundation. The foundation’s co-founder Ambassador Menon Rao spoke to five artistes from across South Asia. The full event can be accessed on the SASF YouTube channel.
As a brief aside, South Asian Symphony Orchestra's Nivanthi Karunaratne, will be representing SASO in the Hope & Harmony Ensemble, formed by Washington-based Classical Movements, for the U.S. Presidential inauguration on the 20th of January, 2021.
From the majestic Himalayan peaks to the waters of the Indian Ocean, South Asia boasts of diverse landscapes. So too are the inhabitants of this region with their rich cultural heritage, distinct musical traditions and exceptional linguistic diversity. Permeating all aspects of life, music acts as a conduit that co…
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Jan 15, 2021
85. Malik Ambar and African Origin Leaders in India
Historian Omar H Ali talks about African origin leaders and shapers of medieval India on Episode 85 of BIC Talks.
Africa and India have a rich history of interaction ranging several millennia, with African origin sailors, merchants, soldiers, scholars, musicians, and explorers finding home in India or contributing significantly to Indian history.
Perhaps the greatest among them was Malik Ambar, born in Abyssinia, arriving in India as a slave, and rising to power as the Prime Minister and de-facto ruler of the Ahmednagar Sultanate early in the 17th century.
Omar H. Ali is Dean of Lloyd International Honors College and Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He is an award-winning historian of the global African Diaspora and the author of several books, including on Malik Ambar and
This BIC Talks episode is an edited excerpt of Omar’s talk that was originally livecast on BIC Streams on December 11, 2020.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International…
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Jan 11, 2021
84. A Harsh Winter in Ladakh
Strategic affairs analyst, journalist, and former Indian Army officer Sushant Singh talks to host Pavan Srinath about the India-China conflict in Ladakh, eight months in.
Sushant shares what it takes for the Indian Army to deploy between 50 and 60,000 troops on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh and maintaining a winter deployment. He also discusses the challenges faced by soldiers living through the winter in altitudes going up to 18,000 feet, with blistering winds and little to no prior infrastructure. The conversation also includes an eye on the future, on how the India-China conflict could pan out in 2021 and what kind of strategic implications it could have for India.
Sushant Singh is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Previously, he was the Deputy Editor of The Indian Express, reporting on strategic affairs, national security and international affairs. He won the Ramnath Goenka Prize for Excellence in Journalism for 2017 and 2018. Prior to b…
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Jan 7, 2021
83. Women's Sexuality from Colonial to Modern India
Durba Mitra and Sreeparna Chattopadhyay discuss Durba’s book, “Indian Sex Life: Sexuality and the Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought.” They explore how British authorities and Indian intellectuals develop ideas about deviant female sexuality to control and organise society in colonial India. They also discuss the legal and societal implications of these ideas that continue to shape Indian society to this day.
Dr. Durba Mitra is Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and Carol K. Pforzheimer Assistant Professor at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. Mitra works at the intersection of feminist and queer studies. Her research and teaching focus on the history of sexuality, the history of science and epistemology, and gender and feminist thought in South Asia and the colonial and postcolonial world.
Dr. Sreeparna Chattopadhyay is an independent researcher currently based in Bangalore. She has an A.M. and Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology and t…
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Jan 5, 2021
82. Working with Kahn
In this episode, Architect Bijoy Ramachandran speaks to Prof. Rabindra Vasavada, a celebrated practitioner, conservationist, teacher and historian about his time at the IIM Ahmedabad site office (where he started his career) from 1969 to 1972 working with Louis Kahn the American architect, who was commissioned to design the campus, and Prof. Anant Raje, the local architect in-charge. This time working on the School (the Library, Faculty blocks and classrooms) had a profound impact on him.
From Prof. Vasavada's description of Kahn, three things are immediately striking about the way Kahn and his site office operated. First, the work seems to have been fundamentally informed by the feedback provided by the clients. Kahn seems to have been a careful and observant collaborator. This flies in the face of the romantic ideas of the architect as the sole author of the sublime idea and instead tells us of a much more open and shared way in which architecture could be produced. Second, the envi…
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Jan 1, 2021
81. Food and Faith
In this episode author Shoba Narayan discusses her new book- Food and Faith - A Pilgrim's Journey Through India with poet and scholar Mani Rao.
What is the role of religion in your life today? Do you commune with the divine through rituals? Or is it a comforting routine, going to church or temple once a week or month? Are these questions making you uncomfortable? Do you think religion is a private act to be done in the confines of one’s home, with family, and not something to declare publicly? These are the questions this book seeks to answer. Shoba Narayan travels across some of the most prominent places of worship in India and presents to her readers the mythologies, histories and contemporary relevance of these sites. This podcast is an edited extract from the session that was part of the Bangalore Literature Festival 2020.
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Dec 30, 2020
80. Romancing the Black Panther
The elusive Kariya or Saya, resident of the Nagarahole forests has become the stuff of folklore and legends, sending sighters into a tizzy. He even has his own film.
In this episode, author and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani recounts her journey looking for this big cat in the wild.
Romancing The Black Panther was part of the Bangalore Literature Festival 2020 and this episode is an edited extract from the session.
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Dec 25, 2020
79. Masala Lab
This podcast is based on a talk that author Krish Ashok gave at the Bangalore Literature Festival 2020 at the Bangalore International Centre.
Ever wondered why your grandmother threw a teabag into the pressure cooker while boiling chickpeas, or why she measured using the knuckle of her index finger? Why does a counter-intuitive pinch of salt make your kheer more intensely flavourful? What is the Maillard reaction and what does it have to do with fenugreek? What does your high-school chemistry knowledge, or what you remember of it, have to do with perfectly browning your onions?
Masala Lab by Krish Ashok is a science nerd’s exploration of Indian cooking with the ultimate aim of making the reader a better cook and turning the kitchen into a joyful, creative playground for culinary experimentation. Just like memorising an equation might have helped you pass an exam but not become a chemist, following a recipe without knowing its rationale can be a sub-optimal way of learning how to co…
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Dec 22, 2020
78. The Story of Suprabhatam
Author Venkatesh Parthasarathy talks to Karthik Venkatesh about his first book around the history of one of India's most loved prayer, Suprabhatam.
Prativadi Bhayankaram Anna, who composed this prayer in the fifteenth century, was a saint, a poet and an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. The poet’s devotion shines through, most unforgettably in M.S. Subbulakshmi's rendition, which rings through many south Indian homes in the mornings.
kausalyāsuprajā rāma pūrvā saṃdhyā pravartate/
uttiṣṭha naraśārdūla kartavyaṃ daivamāhnikam//
O Rama, son of fortunate Kaushalya, the eastern twilight (dawn) is breaking. Arise, O lion among men, the daily morning rituals need to be performed.
With these stirring lines begins the near-ubiquitous Hindu prayer, the Venkatesa Suprabhatam. An appeal to the lord to arise and save the world, the Venkatesa Suprabhatam is the first of four recitations that are sung together every morning in the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, where it w…
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Dec 17, 2020
77. Liveable Cities and Vibrant Commons
In this episode Sociologist Amita Baviskar discusses her book Uncivil City: Ecology, Equity and the Commons in Delhi.
Cities are now habitat for most of humanity. But do they have the ecological capacity to sustain lives worth living? Amita talks about the environmental politics in Delhi, looking at the role of ‘bourgeois environmentalists’ who claim to speak for nature and society. How well have these cities addressed the challenge of sustainability with social justice? How can we create liveable cities and vibrant commons?
This episode is an edited version of a live conversation on BIC Streams.
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Dec 16, 2020
76. Of Vajpayee and Advani
Political scientist, lawyer and journalist Vinay Sitapati speaks to entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal on his book Jugalbandi.
Narendra Modi has been a hundred years in the making. Vinay Sitapati’s Jugalbandi provides this backstory to his current dominance in Indian politics. It begins with the creation of Hindu nationalism as a response to British-induced elections in the 1920s, moves on to the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980, and ends with its first national government, from 1998 to 2004. And it follows this journey through the entangled lives of its founding jugalbandi: Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.
Over their six-decade-long relationship, Vajpayee and Advani worked as a team despite differences in personality and beliefs. What kept them together was fraternal love and professional synergy, of course, but also, above all, an ideology that stressed on unity. Their partnership explains what the BJP before Modi was, and why it won.
In supporting ro…
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Dec 10, 2020
75. India’s Endless Rural Crisis
Economist Narendar Pani talks to journalist Anusha Ravi Sood about rural India’s enduring economic and social crisis that does not seem to have an end in sight.
They discuss some of the root causes of the ongoing farmer protests, and go beyond them to explore the dynamics of farming, migration and urban jobs over the last few decades. They discuss challenges that have remained unaddressed, and have even become worse.
Dr Narendar Pani is a Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore. An economist by training, author of many books, he takes a multidisciplinary approach to issues of Indian political economy.
Anusha Ravi Sood is a journalist based in Bangalore, and currently Assistant Editor at The New Indian Express.
BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.
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