Ep. 9: Art, Code, and Sanskrit with Vikram Chandra
In our latest episode, Ayushi Mona and bestselling author of such works as Sacred Games and Red Earth and Pouring Rain, Vikram Chandra, discuss his non-fiction debut, Mirrored Mind: My Life in Letters and Code. The podcast expounds on the connections between the worlds of art and technology. Is elegance the domain only of writers […]
Ep. 8: Courtesans in the Indian Imagination with Ruth Vanita
In this eighth episode of India Booked, Ayushi Mona speaks to the stalwart academic and writer Ruth Vanita. They chat about her journey writing about the courtesans of India (in Dancing with the Nation: Courtesans in Bombay Cinema and Memory of Light), what inspired her to write about the courtesan culture, how Victorian morality changed […]
Ep. 7: Home and away with Sayantani Dasgupta
Essayist, short-story writer, and author of ‘House of Nails‘, and ‘Fire Girl’, Sayantani Dasgupta speaks to Ayushi Mona about her childhood experiences – from being an avid-reader to enjoying the dynamics of Delhi, from getting emotional to evolving as a person who places everything in contexts, from what moved her about Delhi to books that […]
In Conversation with: Paul Melo e Castro
Paul Melo e Castro is a British scholar and academic, known for his work on editing and translating, particularly Indo-Portuguese literature. His area of work is Lusophone literature, film and visual culture. Monsoon, by Vimala Devi, translated by Paul Melo e Castro: Through these stories, written with a mix of poignant nostalgia and sharp criticism, Vimala Devi recreates […]
Ep. 5: India’s Highway Economy with Rajat Ubhaykar
In Truck De India!, journalist Rajat Ubhaykar embarks on a 10,000 km-long, 100% unplanned trip, hitchhiking with truckers all across India. On the way, he makes unexpected friendships; listens to highway ghost stories; discovers the near-fatal consequences of overloading trucks; documents the fascinating tradition of truck art in Punjab; travels alongside nomadic shepherds in Kashmir; […]
Ep. 4: Bad Money with Vivek Kaul
Bad Money, Vivek Kaul’s latest works, is an important title for the way he discloses the history of the Indian Economy and Banking system, and discusses why it is important to be aware of where your money goes. In this episode of India Booked, Ayushi Mona discusses with him what constitutes bad money, what the […]
Ep. 3: Invisible Man with Nandini Krishnan
Invisible Man, the seminal work (controversies and shortcomings included) talking about the Indian transmasculine network, is an important work for bringing the community’s voice to the fore. In this episode of India Booked, Ayushi Mona speaks to author Nandini Krishnan on how the book came to be, what the interview process looked like, how India’s […]
The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra B. Divakaruni
This is how the blurb of The Forest of Enchantments (written by Chitra B. Divakaruni, published by HarperCollins) goes: “It is a brilliant retelling of the Ramayana…a powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour…” As blurbs go, this is among the most exaggerated I have seen in a while. Banerjee’s retelling of the Ramayana, […]
Ep. 2: Food and Faith with Varud Gupta
In the second episode of India Booked, travel through a Christian village in Meghalaya, meet the Kolkata-based Jewish community and feast on the 56-course feast at Jagannath as India Booked talks to Varud Gupta, author of the cookbook-cum-travelouge Bhagwaan Ke Pakwaan. Listen to discover what he has to share on the connections between faith and […]
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Pashmina is the story of an expat teenager living in the US, who finds a way to connect with her roots back in India, and reconcile with her mother’s past.
