Books and Authors

Battling severe OCD, walking away from his father's business to strike out on his own in LA, and dealing positively with trolls, @sidmallya, author of 'If I'm Honest; A Memoir of My Mental Health Journey' talks to @utterflea about all that on this week's Books & Authors podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cyborg India, the persistence and flexibility of caste, lynching as a form of messaging that marries social media spectacle and communal hatred, cognitive capitalism, and the idea of cosiety - @ranganaut author of 'Who Are We? An Enquiry into the Indian Mind...' talks to @utterflea on this week's Books & Authors podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zainuddin, Ram Das, Vishnupersaud and Rungiah were just some of the brilliant artists who worked with the surgeon-botanists of the East India Company to create exquisite scientifically accurate paintings of Indian flora. Martyn Rix, author of 'Indian Botanical Art; An Illustrated History' talks to @utterflea about this productive collaboration between East and West. Learn more about your ad choice...

Pre-modern Indian attitudes to animals, what the Mahabharata says about cruelty to bulls, factory farming and vegetarianism, and Mahadevi Varma's stories about animals and their relationships with each other in 'My Family'... Ruth Vanita, who has translated the book talks about all that to @utterflea on this week's Books & Authors podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Nazi atrocities against Indians in Germany, Subhash Chandra Bose's unfruitful meeting with Hitler, and the strange amnesia that has led to Mien Kampf being a bestseller in India, @VaibhavP21, author of 'Hitler And India' talks to @utterflea on this week's Books & Authors podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shapeshifters, women who turn into tigers, drowned worlds, a son-in-law perplexed by his shadow... 'The Owl Delivered The Good News All Night Long' is a collection of fantastic folktales from across India. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai who edited the volume talks to @utterflea about the themes and structures of folk lore and the ways in which these tales help you to understand the world. Learn more abou...

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

"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 contributi...

"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 Le...

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 th...

"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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about y...

The emotional nature of the Chinese, the Western media's biases while reporting on the Tiananmen Square incident (May-June 1989), and the hypocrisy of western governments who used human rights as a pressure point while continuing to reap the great benefits of trade with China in the golden quarter-century that followed... former diplomat @VGokhale59, author of Tiananmen Square; The Making of a Pro...

The emotional nature of the Chinese, the Western media's biases while reporting on the Tiananmen Square incident (May-June 1989), and the hypocrisy of western governments who used human rights as a pressure point while continuing to reap the great benefits of trade with China in the golden quarter-century that followed... former diplomat @VGokhale59, author of Tiananmen Square; The Making of a Pro...

Begum Akhtar's magical voice and musical genius, the respect she commanded, and her journey from Akhtarbai Faizabadi to Begum Akhtar, the feminism that made her the first female ustad to initiate disciples with a formal thread tying ceremony, her sense of humour, and great style...Yatindra Mishra editor of Akhtari; The Life and Music of Begum Akhtar talks to @utterflea about all that on this week'...

Begum Akhtar's magical voice and musical genius, the respect she commanded, and her journey from Akhtarbai Faizabadi to Begum Akhtar, the feminism that made her the first female ustad to initiate disciples with a formal thread tying ceremony, her sense of humour, and great style...Yatindra Mishra editor of Akhtari; The Life and Music of Begum Akhtar talks to @utterflea about all that on this week'...

How Indian Jews observe kosher laws, the delicious gongura chicken of the Bene Ephriam of Andhra Pradesh and the steamed fish dishes of the Bnei Menashe of Manipur and Mizoram, emigration to Israel, and the great demand for Bombay Duck among the Bene Israel community there - Esther David, author of Bene Appetit; The Cuisine of Indian Jews talks about all that to @utterflea on this week's Books & A...

How Indian Jews observe kosher laws, the delicious gongura chicken of the Bene Ephriam of Andhra Pradesh and the steamed fish dishes of the Bnei Menashe of Manipur and Mizoram, emigration to Israel, and the great demand for Bombay Duck among the Bene Israel community there - Esther David, author of Bene Appetit; The Cuisine of Indian Jews talks about all that to @utterflea on this week's Books & A...

In The Braided River, Samrat Choudhury combines travel writing, environmental reportage, political and historical analysis, and memoir as he follows the course of the mighty Brahmaputra. Samrat Choudhury, author of The Braided River; A Journey Along the Brahmaputra talks to Manjula Narayan about all that in this week's Books & Authors podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

In The Braided River, Samrat Choudhury combines travel writing, environmental reportage, political and historical analysis, and memoir as he follows the course of the mighty Brahmaputra. Samrat Choudhury, author of The Braided River; A Journey Along the Brahmaputra talks to Manjula Narayan about all that in this week's Books & Authors podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Rajinikanth's life as a porter and a bus conductor before he became a superstar, the subaltern fans who made him an icon in Tamil cinema, his close friendships, how his status threatened chief minister Jayalalithaa, and his decision to stay away from politics, Vaasanthi, author of Rajinikanth; A Life talks to Manjula Narayan about all that in this week's Books & Authors podcast. Learn more about y...