Jaipur Bytes

How do we understand culture? Does it stem from civilisational history or is it an evolving way of life? How do we reinterpret and regenerate its roots? In a pandemic ridden, constantly transforming world, how does innovation and creativity manifest in society, and how can they be promoted despite the difficulties of our times? Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is the President at the Indian...

Celebrated American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic and political activist Noam Chomsky’s book  Who Rules the World?  questions the United States and its exercise of power throughout conflict areas in a post 9/11 world. Critically analysing claims of freedom and human rights, Chomsky in his celebrated style investigates the era of modern day imperial...

Jeremy Seal in conversation with Max Rodenbeck. A gripping and multi-layered political narrative, Jeremy Seal’s  A Coup in Turkey: A Tale of Democracy, Despotism and Vengeance in a Divided Land  unravels the events leading up to the coup that removed the traditionalist Prime Minister Adnan Menderes of Turkey in 1960. Through eye witness accounts, Seal lays bare the striking parallels bet...

Randeep Guleria, Chandrakant Lahariya and Gagandeep Kang in conversation with Maya Mirchandani. Will India win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? When can we expect a safe and effective vaccine?  How should we respond to this 'new normal' as an individual and as a community? What is the way forward? Offering insights on how India continues to fight the pandemic,  Till We Win &...

To mark Pandit Ravi Shankar’s birth centenary, Oliver Craske has penned a comprehensive biography of the sitar maestro. Ravi Shankar excelled in Indian classical music and played a leading role in its post-independence revival within India, before becoming its pioneering global ambassador. A childhood immersed in dance and music with his older brother Uday Shankar, and the rigorous discipline of l...

The Himalayan forests determine the well-being of India’s Northern Plains. Scholar, traveller, and activist Shekhar Pathak’s important book T he Chipko Movement: A People’s  History  has been rendered in English by translator and publisher Manisha Chaudhry. It tells the story of how local communities in Kumaon and Garhwal, especially the women, resisted forest felling by loggers. Re...

Anish Kapoor has succeeded in transforming the cool, conceptual, and minimal approach to sculpture by adding lyricism, metaphor, and the heat of the primordial. Objects spill out from their own parameters, yet they also stand serenely as in meditative focus as if for ritual. Typically, the sculptures appear abstract, with Kapoor's intention to promote self-reflection made most obvious when using m...

Scholar and author Daniel Simpson’s recent book  The Truth of Yoga  takes us on a journey through the origins, development and concept of Yoga. Cutting through myth and misinformation, the text provides a comprehensive overview of this age-old discipline which is celebrated worldwide for its mental, physical and spiritual benefits. Simpson teaches courses on yoga philosophy at the Oxford...

With the growing friction between China and the world, exacerbated in the wake of the pandemic, the need to understand the political legacy of Mao is urgent and growing. In  Maoism: A Global History , eminent British scholar, author and translator Julia Lovell takes on the ambitious and challenging task of covering the sweeping and turbulent history of Maoism in one accessible text, bringing...

The concept of Dharma is unique to Indian philosophy and difficult to translate as it implies different things in different contexts. Hindu narratives are ambiguous and avoid prescriptive moralities. The Dharma and duties of different individuals face conflicts of ethical and human dimensions. Distinguished economist, writer, scholar and translator Bibek Debroy speaks of these dilemmas and the eth...

Acclaimed author and historian Vincent Brown's groundbreaking geopolitical thriller  Tacky′s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War  takes on the Atlantic slave trade with a subversive and powerful reconstruction of the history of insurgency, rebellion, victory and defeat. With a keen emphasis on the seminal uprising that upended the dominant imperial rule of the British Atlantic wor...

Academic and paleontologist Steve Brusatte’s book  The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World  is a stunning narrative covering more than 200 million years. Showcasing a new and complete history of these magnificent creatures it draws from cutting-edge science dramatically bringing to life their lost world and enigmatic origins. Academic and writer Lisa Randall's b...

Patrick Radden Keefe has always had a way with his words, powerfully laying out stories that illuminate a much larger picture. An award-winning staff writer for  The New Yorker , Radden Keefe’s recent literary escapes include an eight-part podcast called  Wind of Change,  which investigates the strange confluence of espionage and pop music during the Cold War. His other recent work...

What does it mean to be Indian? Politician and celebrated author Shashi Tharoor's latest book,  The Battle Of Belonging: On Nationalism, Patriotism, And What It Means To Be Indian , evaluates the historical and current political trends impacting the “idea of India.” Tharoor explores these changing interpretations of nationalism, patriotism, citizenship and belonging as well as the nature and...

Purushottam Agrawal in conversation with Kavita Sharma. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

His Eminence Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche in conversation with Puneeta Roy. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Michael Williams, John Varghese, Margaret Alva and Paul Swarup in conversation with Deepak Mukarji. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Joshua Pollock in conversation Rishabh C. Kothar. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Rana Safvi in conversation with Manimugdha S. Sharma. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Madan Gopal Singh and Navtej Sarna in conversation interspersed with music. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Pavan K. Varma in conversation with Malashri Lal. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Pavan K. Varma and Philip A. Lutgendorf in conversation with Harish Trivedi. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Pavan K. Varma and Pushpesh Pant in conversation. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Pavan K. Varma and Pragya Tiwari in conversation. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.

Pavan K. Varma and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in conversation. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.