Books and Beyond with Bound

Find out how to write a gripping novel as a journalist which makes the readers question the institution of marriage! Mansi Choksi takes Tara and Michelle through her journey of writing her book “The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India”, a book not just about love and stakes of love, but is also a reflection of the rural and modern divide. How to write a thrilling investigative nonficti...

Find out what goes on behind writing a Booker prize winning book which discusses politics and death in a humorous light! Shehan Karunatilaka talks with Tara and Michelle about his experience of writing the Booker prize winning book “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida”, which at first struggled to find a publisher. How to write a book in second person narrative? Why should you never be afraid of a lo...

Find out what goes behind writing a gender defying book on dating! Aniruddha Mahale takes Tara and Michelle through his dating and writing journey as a part of the LGBTQ+ community as they talk about his first book “GET OUT: The Gay Man’s Guide to Coming Out and Going Out”. How to write a straight girl friendly, gay dating guide? Did he face any backlash for the book? Did he go out on dates solely...

Find out to what extent an author can go in the name of a story, and is it all worth it? Let’s take off season 5 with Tara and Michelle by diving into thrilling adventures and life changing experiences authors have put themselves through in order to write a book.  Some books have jaw dropping stories, and some have even more, if not as much, shocking backstories to them. Do writers go out there to...

Tara is on the scene at Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2022 as the official podcast partner!  She speaks to Arjun Gaind. He is one of India’s leading comic book writers and graphic novelists. He has many critically acclaimed best-sellers under his name like ‘Empire Of Blood’ and ‘Reincarnation Man’. His latest book, ‘The Anatomy Of Loss’ has been published by Bloomsbury and is a novel se...

Tara is on the scene at Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2022 as the official podcast partner! She speaks to veteran journalist and author Sudha Menon on her latest book ‘Recipes For Life’ and the plethora of stories that surround food and culture.  Sudha Menon is an author, journalist, writing coach and motivational speaker. She has been a journalist for over 20 years with The Independent...

Tara is on the scene at Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2022 as the official podcast partner! She speaks to Hannah Lalhlanpuii about her latest book ‘When Blackbirds Fly’ and the history of the north-eastern state of Mizoram.  Hannah Lalhlanpuii is a short story writer, poet and a PhD research scholar from Mizoram. Her debut novel, When Blackbirds Fly, published in 2022, talks about the t...

Tara is on the scene at Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2022 as the official podcast partner! She speaks to Sundeep Waslekar, a thought leader on global conflict resolution, about the future of nuclear warfare and importance of universal peace.  Sundeep Waslekar is the President of Strategic Foresight Group, an international think tank on global future and conflict resolution. He has also...

Tara is on the scene at Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2022 as the official podcast partner! She speaks to the prolific writer and poet Jerry Pinto about memories, writing and his love for the city of Mumbai.  Jerry Pinto is a poet, novelist, short story writer, translator and journalist based out of Mumbai. He is the recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2016 for his deb...

Find out where they stand on this long pertaining question about the correlation between winning literary prizes and getting more visibility and sales! Tara and Michelle talk about the literary prizes that they follow religiously and whether these prizes affect the books they end up reading. What kind of books generally get selected for these prizes? How can a writer send their books for these pri...

Discover the fascinating world of advertising as she takes us through a nostalgia-filled ride! Tara and Michelle chat with Ritu Singh on what makes her book “A History of Indian Advertising in Ten-and-a-Half Chapters” such an insightful and entertaining read. What went behind writing some of India’s most memorable ads? What were the ads that left an impression on Tara and Michelle while growing up...

Find out how she compiled 45 personalised essays by prominent writers, animal welfare activists and individuals with unique voices.   Tara chats with Hemali Sodhi on what makes her book “The Book of Dog” such a wholesome and emotional read. Hemali Sodhi talks about how being a dog parent transformed her into looking at the world differently and motivated her to produce this anthology. How did she...

Find out how she writes about the famous detective writer helping an Indian Parsee man who was wrongfully convicted of murder.  Tara and Michelle chat with Shrabani Basu on how she attempts to give a complete perspective to the George Edalji case in her latest book “The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer”. Shrabani Basu talks about how an auction of a series of letters exchanged between Sir Arthur Conan...

Find out what makes Kerala unique as a travel destination AND a state.  Tara and Michelle chat with Anjana Menon about how she uses humour to talk about the larger problems of Kerala in her latest book "Onam in a Nightie: Stories from a Kerala Quarantine". How did she manage to find humour in the mundane, especially during the lockdown? Why does Tara think it’s different from a conventio...

Find out how she dissects the desires and realities of young women in India through 'Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh' Tara has a new co-host for this episode: Aishwarya Javalgekar, the producer of this podcast and the Head of Content and Podcasts at Bound. Tara loves economics. Aishwarya loves Shah Rukh Khan. These 2 minds come together to dive into the crux of her research and writing pro...

Find out where they stand on this ongoing debate that has haunted bookworms and storytellers for years! Tara and Michelle name their most and least favourite adaptations and dive into their preferred genres and formats. Michelle thinks literary fiction can definitely lead to fantastic adaptations! Tara likes to lose herself in historical stories. What makes an adaptation good or bad? How do storie...

Find out how he dives into the lives and minds of writers through his hyper-real books. Tara and Michelle chat with Amitava about his latest books ‘A Blue Book’ and ‘A Time Outside This Time’. Amitava shares how one book became the material for another. Michelle loves that his characters are mostly writers (and migrants).  How did writing help him survive the pandemic? How much of his writing is b...

Find out how she covers and critiques films from different eras in her book.   Anupama Chopra of Film Companion takes Tara and Michelle through the sets of some of the biggest blockbusters in film history as they chat about her latest book ‘A Place In My Heart’. How did she get into films? How is she able to review films without biases? What tips and techniques can writers learn from cinema? Tune...

Find out the secrets behind researching and writing prehistoric narratives.  Tony shares why he decided to write this book and where he found pre-historic sources during his research. Tara is a huge prehistory buff! Michelle loves how he combines history with genetics, and other fields like archaeology, linguistics, and philology. What era would Tony like to  go to? What does migration have to do...

Find out how she walked through Kabul for 8 years for her part-memoir and part-travel guide.  Taran shares how she picked the angle of being a flaneur - someone who explores a place on foot - for her book, Shadow City. And how she navigated the streets as an Indian woman. Tara loves women's travel accounts! Michelle loves how the book covers interesting details about Persian culture, music an...

Find out why we love stories of serial killers and con artists. Check out the video version on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/UyQiH-Ota6I Tara and Michelle finally meet in person to dissect why villains and antagonists have grown in popularity across fiction, nonfiction, books, movies and podcasts. Michelle wants to understand the motivations of serial killers. Tara is inspired by con men and women! Wh...

Find out how she reimagines the urban legends from India’s college campuses in her short story collection.  Chandrima tells Tara and Michelle why she loves the genre of horror and how she is influenced by folklore and Stephen King. She shares her journey from self-publishing to being commissioned to write a horror short story collection. What makes a good horror story? How did she research and unp...

Find out how she covers contemporary Pakistan in her debut short story collection.  Mira shares why she is fascinated by identity and how regular people live their lives in Pakistan. Tara and Michelle love how she moved from one character to another with finesse. Michelle’s favourite character is Marianne, the American diplomat who lives a secret life in Pakistan. Did Mira write 30 drafts to get t...

Find out how he decodes Indian cooking habits and recipes with food science.  Krish shares how he spoke to different people from food scientists to grandmothers for his book, Masala Lab. He busts the most popular myths around food and nutrition. What is the science behind our oldest food recipes? Why are pressure cookers scary? Do we really need to avoid microwaves? Is healthy eating a lie? Tune i...

Find out how she turns herself into a 5 year old to write children's books.  Sudha Murty talks about her writing journey and why she has opened so many libraries throughout India. Why is it important for children to develop a reading habit? Have her grandchildren inspired her books? Will she go digital? Catch Tara and Michelle relive their childhoods and get lots of tips on writing for childr...