Building a utopian community, the optimism and the bitter internal battles that were fought, the triumphs, great personal tragedies and philosophical struggles of the pioneers... @ ... Read more
Building a utopian community, the optimism and the bitter internal battles that were fought, the triumphs, great personal tragedies and philosophical struggles of the pioneers... @akashkapur talks to @utterflea about 'Better to have Gone; Love Death and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville Read more
Why Ratan Tata and Nusli Wadia fell out, Cyrus Mistry's connection to Mughal-e-Azam, Bhikaiji Cama and other fiery Parsi women, intermarriage, orthodoxy, and dwindling numbers - Co ... Read more
Why Ratan Tata and Nusli Wadia fell out, Cyrus Mistry's connection to Mughal-e-Azam, Bhikaiji Cama and other fiery Parsi women, intermarriage, orthodoxy, and dwindling numbers - Coomi Kapoor, author of The Tatas, Freddie Mercury & Other Bawas; An Intimate History of the Parsis talks to @utterflea about all that on this week's Books & Authors podcast. Read more
"There's been a shocking lack of academic curiosity or scholarly evaluation of Savarkar," says @vikramsampath, author of 'Savarkar; A Contested Legacy', the second part of his two- ... Read more
"There's been a shocking lack of academic curiosity or scholarly evaluation of Savarkar," says @vikramsampath, author of 'Savarkar; A Contested Legacy', the second part of his two-volume biography of the father of Hindutva. On this week's Books&Authors podcast, he talks to @utterflea about the dialogue between Ambedkar and Savarkar and the surprising similarity of their views, about the contribution of violent revolutionary activity during the freedom struggle, and the still unacknowledged anti-Brahmin pogrom in Maharashtra following the assassination of Gandhi. Read more
"Ladoo-loving Ganesh in India has transformed into mooli-loving Binayaka in Tokyo!" @pallaviaiyar, author of Orienting; An Indian in Japan, talks to @utterflea about Japanese versi ... Read more
"Ladoo-loving Ganesh in India has transformed into mooli-loving Binayaka in Tokyo!" @pallaviaiyar, author of Orienting; An Indian in Japan, talks to @utterflea about Japanese versions of Hindu deities, the society's surprising lack of tech saviness, its obsession with fantastic toilets, its unacknowledged caste system, and it's surprisingly empowered women on this week's Books & Authors podcast Read more
From the terracotta toys of the Harappans to Shiva as Nataraj, from the pages of the Gwalior Quran to Jain scrolls and the divine body of the Buddha, Vidya Dehejia, author of India ... Read more
From the terracotta toys of the Harappans to Shiva as Nataraj, from the pages of the Gwalior Quran to Jain scrolls and the divine body of the Buddha, Vidya Dehejia, author of India; A Story Through 100 Objects talks to @utterflea about the things that have created the multicultural medley that is India. Read more
In her life that spanned 102 years, everyone's favourite feisty grandmother, Zohra Segal worked on stage, in film, and on television, and was successful abroad when few Indian acto ... Read more
In her life that spanned 102 years, everyone's favourite feisty grandmother, Zohra Segal worked on stage, in film, and on television, and was successful abroad when few Indian actors were. Ritu Menon, author of Zohra! A Biography in Four Acts talks to @utterflea about Segal's difficult life, her epic perseverance, and her great spirit. Read more
Why man gets wrinkles, why the cat buries its poop, why a doll is worshipped in a village called Kakching... L Somi Roy's 'And That Is Why; Manipuri Myths Retold' is full of wonder ... Read more
Why man gets wrinkles, why the cat buries its poop, why a doll is worshipped in a village called Kakching... L Somi Roy's 'And That Is Why; Manipuri Myths Retold' is full of wonderful tales. On this week's Book & Authors podcast, @somiroy talks to @utterflea about collecting the myths, Manipur's distinct culture, it's pre-Hindu legends, and its wonderful ponies and passion for polo, among other things. Read more
"The Chinese have so much power that they don't think they need to accommodate India or tolerate any behaviour by India that they don't like," says Kanti Bajpai, author of India Ve ... Read more
"The Chinese have so much power that they don't think they need to accommodate India or tolerate any behaviour by India that they don't like," says Kanti Bajpai, author of India Versus China : Why They Are Not Friends, in conversation with @utterflea on this week's Books & Authors podcast. Read more
"Everest teaches you the value of time. The consequences of missing a timeline on the mountain could be death," says Aditya Gupta. The author of 7 Lessons from Everest talks to @ut ... Read more
"Everest teaches you the value of time. The consequences of missing a timeline on the mountain could be death," says Aditya Gupta. The author of 7 Lessons from Everest talks to @utterflea on the Books & Authors podcast about the stunning images he shot during his climb and the lessons he gleaned from the experience Read more
Jallianwala Bagh, the excesses of colonialism, the millions of soldiers from India and Africa who fought in the two World Wars, and the institutionalized racism of the British Emp ... Read more
Jallianwala Bagh, the excesses of colonialism, the millions of soldiers from India and Africa who fought in the two World Wars, and the institutionalized racism of the British Empire find no place in British school curricula. As a result, many believe the Empire was an honourable endeavour. Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland, talks to @utterflea about this bizarre phenomenon Read more
