India A Story in the Making with Loveena Tandon

A left-arm spinner with a classical high-arm action, Murali Kartik is the only cricketer to have played both the IPL and the Stanford T20’s inaugural season, and one of the few Indians to carve a successful career in English county cricket with Middlesex, Somerset, and Surrey. He famously spun India to victory against Australia in 2004 with a match-winning seven- wicket haul and has since gone on...

What does it mean to be British and Indian?  It was fascinating to talk to Prisha Tapre—a teenager who not only sat for her GCSEs but also swam the English Channel, becoming the youngest British-Indian girl to achieve this feat. In this segment, High Five India segment from the episode, First British-Indian Teen to Swim the English Channel, we step away from her swim to talk about her India connec...

On 15th August 2025, India turns 79 years old — a young nation in the scheme of national independence, yet part of a civilization that spans thousands of years, with deep cultural and civilizational confidence. Today’s India projects the stance of a “New India”, ambitious and forward-looking, aiming to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047 — a developed India — but not without challenges. How is the worl...

On 15th August 2025, India turns 79 years old — a young nation in the scheme of national independence, yet part of a civilization that spans thousands of years, with deep cultural and civilizational confidence. Today’s India projects the stance of a “New India”, ambitious and forward-looking, aiming to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047 — a developed India — but not without challenges. How is the worl...

High Five India | South Asian Heritage Month Special It’s South Asian Heritage Month — running from 18 July to 17 August — a time to celebrate, commemorate, and reflect on the rich tapestry of South Asian histories and identities. First established in the UK in 2020, the dates mark two defining moments: 18 July, when the Indian Independence Act received royal assent, and 17 August, when the Radcli...

“It would have been lovely for him to be here,” says Rizwan Rafi, the first grandson of Mohammad Rafi, his eyes brimming with emotion. On 31st July 1980, the skies opened up. It rained as if the heavens themselves mourned the voice of a nation. Rafi Sahab—India’s golden voice—was gone. Little Rizwan, just a boy then, was nearly lost in the sea of thousands who came, drenched but undeterred, to say...

India – The Opportunity ! On India: A Story in the Making Now that the India–UK Free Trade Agreement is signed and sealed, it’s more important than ever to understand what it really means to do business with — and invest in — India. We often hear: “It’s a £6 billion benefit FTA.” But what does that mean for the 1.4 billion people in India, the 67 million in the UK, and the wider global economy? In...

High Five India | It’s Fun. It’s Personal. It’s Powerful. A lighthearted yet thoughtful segment from Episode 37 of "India: A Story in the Making Multipolar World: Can India Lead Without Picking Sides?" This High Five India segment explores how global thinkers connect with India — not just as a nation, but as an idea. Featuring: Giles Trendle – Former Managing Director, Al Jazeera English; Co-found...

🇮🇳⚖️ UK Barristers Can Now Work in India — But What Does It Really Mean?  In a historic first, UK lawyers can now "fly in, fly out" to work on non-litigation matters like international arbitration and UK legal advice — right from India.  🎙️ At the Bridge India – Ideas for India Conference, Barbara Mills KC, Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales, breaks it down.  💡 Questions we explore:   ...

Is America working? Is Trump working? Is the West losing its grip? And what role can a rising India play in a fractured world order and a fast-evolving multipolar world? While the Iran conflict may seem to have de-escalated, it exposed major geopolitical shifts that are still unfolding. Power is fragmenting, alliances are shifting, and a new global reality is taking shape. The post-Cold War world...

The India–UK Free Trade Agreement may have been sealed over chocolate ice cream during a stroll in Hyde Park between India’s Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal and the UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds but bringing it into action won’t be a walk in the park.   In the episode- ‘Unlocking the IndoUK FTA: Why SBI in the UK Matters ‘of India: A Story in t...

In the UK, 1 in 6 young people struggle with mental health — and academic pressure is a major driver. As 11+, GCSEs and A-Levels take over, students are often told to drop sports and “focus.” But evidence says otherwise. A 2021 Journal of School Health study found that teens who stay physically active during exams perform better, stress less, and feel more emotionally balanced. Still, many young a...

A Hungarian soul finds home in India. Adam Baktai’s journey from Budapest to becoming a Vedic Pandit bridges cultures, devotion, and ancient wisdom. This is the special High Five India segment with Adam. To explore his full fascinating journey, watch the full episode “How a Hungarian Man Became a Vedic Pandit” on India: A Story in the Making available on YouTube (Loveena Tandon Productions) and al...

A Hungarian soul finds home in India. Adam Baktai’s journey from Budapest to becoming a Vedic Pandit bridges cultures, devotion, and ancient wisdom. This is the special High Five India segment with Adam. To explore his full fascinating journey, watch the full episode “How a Hungarian Man Became a Vedic Pandit” on India: A Story in the Making available on YouTube (Loveena Tandon Productions) and al...

Why does a British CEO find inspiration in India’s traffic, chaos, and jugaad? Richard Hawkes, CEO of the British Asian Trust, answers in this #HighFiveIndia—your rapid gateway into the full episode “How Does a British CEO See India’s Story?” on #IndiaAStoryintheMaking. From leadership hacks to breaking into the social sector, this quick-fire segment delivers sharp insights and golden takeaways fo...

This is High Five India special, five question segment from our latest episode: The Story of a Hungarian Yogini, from India: A Story in the Making. It’s the extraordinary journey of a multiple award-winning ballerina, film director, and teacher—but even more, it’s a story of identity, faith, and transformation of Henriett Tunyogi.  How did a young girl, once cheering the very tanks that tore her f...

Sometimes, the path we set out on isn’t the one we walk. Sometimes, destiny knocks and changes everything. In this episode of India: A Story in the Making, we bring you the journeys of two incredible women in entertainment—Naila Mughal, a powerhouse casting director, and Tanvi Shah, the first Indian woman to win a Grammy. Neither of them planned for the careers that made them successful. Tanvi was...

I do intermittent fasting, but fasting has always been part of my culture. A stroll after dinner? Just something we did at home, never questioning why. Now, modern science tells us these habits help regulate blood sugar and improve health. But Ayurveda knew it all along—thousands of years before wellness trends made it cool. While 1.3 million Indian students head abroad for education, Adam Baktai...

This International Women’s Day, as the world rallies behind the call to “Accelerate Action,” I find myself pausing to ask: Accelerate… from where? To what? And with whom? I turn the mirror on myself — reflecting on the life that shaped me, the lessons that carried me through, and what I owe the two people watching me most closely: my daughter and my son. What has the world taught me about being a...

We often know people by their awards, their achievements, their ambition. But do we ever truly know their struggles, their longings, the quiet voids they carry? Henriett Tunyogi, an award-winning Hungarian ballerina and acclaimed filmmaker, was honoured with Hungary’s highest cultural recognition. Yet behind the applause, something always felt missing. Born into a royal lineage she knew nothing ab...

Seeing India Through New Eyes They say you can’t truly appreciate something when you’re too close to it—sometimes, the clearest perspective comes from the outside. India: A Story in the Making has given me that fresh lens, making me look at India—and its spiritual depth—not just as someone born into it, but through the eyes of those who found their way to it. Why Would Someone Leave Everything Beh...

On this Valentine’s Day, I want to ask—what really is love?  It’s always amazed me that some of the most enduring stories of love are tales of unrequited love. Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnu, Shirin-Farhad, Tristan and Isolde—no matter which part of the world you look at, the theme is the same: love that remains incomplete yet eternal. Standing in the divine Krishna Valley in Somogyvámos, Hungary, I fou...

“The only decision we should make about India from the UK is not to make decisions about India from the UK,” said Richard Hawkes, CEO of the British Asian Trust, when he stepped into the role. In this episode of India: A Story in the Making, we uncover how a British leader who once knew nothing about India has grown to deeply love the country—to the extent that he finds inspiration in its chaos, e...

 High Five India is a rapid-fire segment of India: A Story in the Making that gives you a sneak peek into the full episode. In this special High Five, Hamish Morjaria—businessman turned author—shares his incredible journey from facing 200 rejections to capturing Bollywood's interest in his debut novel, The Curse of Mujiris. This first book in his historical fiction trilogy, published by Pan Macmil...

Are there traditions around New Year that might speak more deeply to the planet? Across cultures, time has always been more than numbers on a calendar. From the Islamic Hijri to India’s Vikram Samvat, calendars were crafted to harmonize human life with nature, seasons, and spirituality. But in our rush to modernity, have we lost that vital connection? What if New Year wasn’t just about flipping a...