The idea of the old and the new has always had an interesting relationship with the city of Delhi; the name 'Delhi' has been shifting from site to site. I'd say the Qutub Minar and ... Read more
The idea of the old and the new has always had an interesting relationship with the city of Delhi; the name 'Delhi' has been shifting from site to site. I'd say the Qutub Minar and the Meherauli Archeological Park are the most important sites. If you look at the Qutub Minar complex you can understand a lot about the evolution of architecture and culture in Delhi, and also about Indian history and the historical underpinnings of what we call our composite culture" - Swapna Liddle, author, 14 Historic Walks of Delhi, talks to Manjula Narayan on this week's Books & Authors podcast about the new and updated edition of her very popular book, the history of Delhi's many cities, Metcalfe's bizarre holiday home, Nizamuddin Auliya's pronouncements, the jugaad in the false arches of the Qutub Minar, and about successfully bridging the gap between serious academic history and the general public. Read more
For women of a certain class, there was a tremendous romance attached to Indian swamis and gurus. That's perhaps because gurus of that time presented themselves as an antidote to t ... Read more
For women of a certain class, there was a tremendous romance attached to Indian swamis and gurus. That's perhaps because gurus of that time presented themselves as an antidote to the very stiff, rigid idea of manhood that prevailed in Victorian and Edwardian society. What could be more romantic than this figure talking about liberation and enlightenment experiences? For these people it was as if Jesus was walking on the earth again. That had an attraction to women who were educated but were not able to pursue careers and do the things that women take for granted today. Yoga is probably the longest lasting legacy of what happened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Minds in the West were considerably broadened by the sense of spiritual enquiry and that was a tremendous benefit to people." - Mick Brown, author, The Nirvana Express talks to Manjula Narayan about Indian gurus and the West's search for enlightenment Read more
Ever since my release, I've been thinking of what can be done to improve the situation in prisons. One of the byproducts of people like us going to jail is that we get a glimpse in ... Read more
Ever since my release, I've been thinking of what can be done to improve the situation in prisons. One of the byproducts of people like us going to jail is that we get a glimpse into the world behind bars. If we are able to do even a little bit to help that, this book would be very much worth it" - Sudha Bharadwaj, author, 'From Phansi Yard; My Year With the Women of Yerawada' talks to Manjula Narayan about the need to improve the quality and accountability of legal aid, to make psychological counselling available in prisons, the collectivising of housework, keeping her sense of humour alive in trying times, the tragic consequences of girls being brought up to make relationships the centre of their lives, the police habit of holding female family members hostage for the crimes of absconding gangsters, how her book could serve as a manual to improve Indian jails, and much more. Read more
"What we assume is gut instinct when it comes to the cooking of our mothers and grandmothers is actually hours and hours of practice. They didn't have much choice, they had to cook ... Read more
"What we assume is gut instinct when it comes to the cooking of our mothers and grandmothers is actually hours and hours of practice. They didn't have much choice, they had to cook. So, just by dint of spending 10,000 hours on something, you become good at it. Really, someone who develops a recipe is a scientist and someone who cooks at home and makes delicious food is a chemical engineer" - Krish Ashok, author, 'Masala Lab; The Science of Indian Cooking' talks to Manjula Narayan about everything from the influence of flavour memories and the wisdom of Ratatouille to electronic pressure cookers, instant food and how his strategic laziness as a software engineer helped him write this book. Read more
"There is so much diversity in one plate of a chaat dish and there is so much diversity from one end of the country to the other. In a plate of chaat, there are differences in text ... Read more
"There is so much diversity in one plate of a chaat dish and there is so much diversity from one end of the country to the other. In a plate of chaat, there are differences in texture, temperature, colour, spices and condiments. Chaat, for me, is an ideal representation of what Indian food stands for" - Sonal Ved, author, 'India Local; Classic Street Food Recipes' talks to Manjula Narayan about everything from pani puri, ragda patties and lal aloo Wai Wai to jinni dosa, phaley, kathi rolls and other fantastic street foods from across the nation and her own amazing street-inspired recipes too Read more
"Stone carving is really one of the great accomplishments of India's architecture. The jali is part of that larger rock cutting and carving tradition. It has a special place becaus ... Read more
"Stone carving is really one of the great accomplishments of India's architecture. The jali is part of that larger rock cutting and carving tradition. It has a special place because it wasn't just a decorative feature. It filtered light onto the most sacred spots around the graves and shrines of saints and created a kind of metaphorical language which involved the interaction of light and shadow in the creation of spaces and in the experience of space for the people who visit these shrines. The jali, for me, also becomes a kind of key to the way the mind thinks in India -- not always directly approaching things but through layers, filters and frameworks that exist" - Navina Najat Haider, author, 'Jali; Lattice of Divine Light in Mughal Architecture' talks to Manjula Narayan about palaces, Sufi shrines, contemporary jalis, the traditional craftsmen whose skills continue to be passed down through generations, and more Read more
"Incense was the original perfume. There was the belief that if you burnt it, the smoke was able to transcend the barrier between the worlds. Things like sandalwood may have remain ... Read more
"Incense was the original perfume. There was the belief that if you burnt it, the smoke was able to transcend the barrier between the worlds. Things like sandalwood may have remained in the realm of worship but once the kings and the nobles began smearing it on their bodies, it became popular with everybody. Technically, you can have your incense smell of anything just like you can have your perfume smell of anything but the connotations remain and they are very strong" - Divrina Dhingra, author, The Perfume Project talks to Manjula Narayan about the wonderful fragrances of sandalwood and vetiver, rose, jasmine and saffron, how towns like Kannauj and Madurai continue to be important centres of the creation and trade in specific perfumes, the complexities of Kashmiri saffron, the skilled craftsmen at the centre of it all, the impact of climate change and changing land use, and the personal associations that make individuals prefer specific scents Read more
"There's an upsurge of interest in natural history at every level and that's a positive sign. The diversity of work by these biologists is a reflection of that interest. There are ... Read more
"There's an upsurge of interest in natural history at every level and that's a positive sign. The diversity of work by these biologists is a reflection of that interest. There are people working at various levels to bring about change and conserve species. I wanted to write about women who had substantially impacted landscapes and ecosystems, who had changed the direction of conservation outcomes. That was the framework within which this book was planned. I also wanted to focus on the journeys of these women and not just the outcomes, which is why the long form essay was the perfect form in which to do this book" - Anita Mani, editor, Women in the Wild; Stories of India's Most Brilliant Women Wildlife Biologists talks to Manjula Narayan on The Books & Authors podcast. Read more
We need to recognise that the rural has always been a fluid place and it continues to be a fluid place. At the same time, in the case of India, it is not dying, it is not even shri ... Read more
We need to recognise that the rural has always been a fluid place and it continues to be a fluid place. At the same time, in the case of India, it is not dying, it is not even shrinking. The absolute size of the rural is also expanding. We think in linear terms. We think that there is a process of urbanisation and that there's an inevitability of urbanisation. What happened during the pandemic will have interesting spatial consequences. The manner in which New Media has integrated all kinds of settlements, there is a tendency for smaller level settlements to persist for much longer. There might even be a reverse trend. We are now living in a new tech age which might produce new kinds of settlement patterns" - Surinder S Jodhka, author, The Indian Village; Rural Lives in the 21st Century, talks to Manjula Narayan about how the idea of the Indian village as a never changing space was a colonial one, the great changes happening in the country's villages, patterns of migration, and the persistence, even expansion, of the rural in contemporary India. Read more
"The structure of religious division may keep changing; the structure of political oppression may keep changing; the details may keep changing, but the Reality that Kabir evokes be ... Read more
"The structure of religious division may keep changing; the structure of political oppression may keep changing; the details may keep changing, but the Reality that Kabir evokes beyond this is timeless. So, his words are also timeless. Social activists use Kabir for their own agenda. They say Kabir is about Hindu-Muslim unity. That's not really true. He is lambasting both Hindus and Muslims. All he says is there is only 1 truth and there is only one reality and what is the point of these useless and stupid arguments and fights? In that way, he is unifying, but he isn't interested in social brotherhood or harmony. He talks about something much higher than that. So, everyone uses Kabir for their own agenda. And that is OK" - Vipul Rikhi, author, 'Drunk on Love; The Life, Vision and Songs of Kabir' talks to Manjula Narayan on this week's Books & Authors podcast. Read more
