BIC TALKS

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 ab...

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 autho...

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 "...

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 th...

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 peculia...

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 no...

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 Universi...

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 tal...

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, th...

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...

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...

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...

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 h...

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 portr...

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 le...

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 L...

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 ci...

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 citize...

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, Madh...

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...

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 au...

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...

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...

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 i...

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 fr...