Maharani Talks

Did you know that about 50% of all Indian women take a break within three years of starting work. And 80% of them cannot find a way back to work. That's an alarming drain of women talent in the workforce right? It's exactly this issue that I have a chat with Neha Bagaria, who started JobsForHer with the sole aim of getting women, especially mothers, to realise their potential. According to the Uni...

It's been about two weeks since India rolled out its Covid vaccination drive against the ongoing pandemic. While the current priority is to provide these vaccines to health professionals and other front line workers, many regular folk are either awaiting to take the shot or would like to delay it.   And the questions over the administering of Covaxin vaccine (by Bharath Biotech) to the general pub...

When we want to catch up on news, there are countless sources at our disposal. But what about those who're visually impaired? India is home to over 20% of the world's blind population, yet other than the radio, there are no newspapers or magazines that can inform them about current affairs.   It's this troubling thought that made Upasana Makati launch White Print, India's first lifestyle magazine...

Meet Ram Devineni, the creator of India's first female superhero - Priya's Shakti. When Ram published the first comic book in 2014 at the Mumbai Comic Con, he didn't expect his protagonist - a gangrape survivor, who overcomes her fear and stigma, to become such a viral hit, not just in India but globally as well.   The poignant image of Priya riding bravely on her tiger and friend, Saahas ended up...

Shazia Iqbal was one of the lead production designers of Emmy nominated and India's first original Netflix series, Sacred Games and Emmy nominated mini-series Lust Stories. Sacred Games is also the only Indian series to feature in The New York Times list of 'The 30 Best International TV Shows of the Decade.'⠀ Her powerful short movie, "Bebaak' that discusses religious and patriarchal preoccupation...

Shaili Chopra was a prime time anchor and a well known business journalist who had interviewed eminent people such as Warren Buffet, Indra Nooyi, Christine Lagarde among many others. She had also covered the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Shaili quit at the peak of her career and decided to launch a women-only platform when she witnessed conversations concerning women are considered niche. A...

This episode is the second part of my conversation with digital marketing expert Jag Sharma, where we sit down and talk about all things social media. If you have come here directly, I'd suggest that you check out the first part as this episode is a continuation of the earlier one. To recount from the first part, some of the topics we talk about are measuring social media success, rise of bot acco...

We no longer log off social media like in the early days. It's available literally at our fingertips. And that's exactly how the social media companies would want it. But to what end? How is it changing us in ways we don't notice? Where is it headed? In this two part series, these are some of the points I discuss with Jag Sharma. Jag Sharma has over a decade of experience driving social media camp...

One in three women are sexually harassed over the course of their lifetime. That's an alarming statistic but yet, violence against women no longer brings out a reaction in us unless it's a rarest of rare case like the brutal rape and death of Jyoti Singh in 2012. This led Dr. Shruti to set up Sayfty in 2013, an organisation that educates and equips women to fight against violence through workshops...

"I hope when people see my art, they are able to get some sense of our connection to the world - seeing the planet and skies anew. To just look up and change their perspectives. That would be wonderful." - Rohini Devasher, artist. When I came across Rohini's work, I was intrigued how she used her art form to explore our natural world - how science, fiction and speculation can transform our constru...

We see hunger all around us yet we're immune to it. This is where a cause like The Plated Project has stepped in by raising our interest with its beautiful plates and an interesting tagline, 'Buy a plate. Fill a plate.' For Chitresh Sinha, its founder and director of Chlorophyll Innovation Lab, the aim is also to start conversations around charity. The Plated Project which has so far sponsored 4.8...

Gunjan Menon was so passionate about telling the story of the diminishing numbers of the red panda that she trekked 12,000 feet in Nepal. The short documentary film, The Firefox Guardian, soon caught the attention of the world and went on to win numerous awards and nominations across several countries, including a student BAFTA nomination. She also donned many hats for a conservation series, "On t...

For someone born with spina bifida, a condition where the spine is not completely developed, and hence was paralysed from the waist down, Niranjan Mukundan is now training to compete in the Tokyo Paralympics as a para swimmer. At the 2015 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports World Junior Games, he won a medal for all 10 events he competed in and became the Junior World Champion. Niranjan al...

If you haven't seen P.C.Ramakrishna on stage, the chances are you would've heard his voice. An eminent theatre and voice artist in India, he completes 51 years in theatre and is a member of the oldest theatre group in the country, The Madras Players. The group itself celebrates 65 years in theatre this year and during this lifespan has given a huge boost to India's English theatre scene and encour...

Parth Upadhyaya fulfilled his nine year long dream of successfully scaling Mt. Everest summit (8848m) on May 23, 2019. As a professional mountaineer, who has climbed many high peaks including Stok Kangri (over 6000m), he often deals with the gargantuan task of raising funds for mountaineering that is sometimes not considered nor supported as a sport but the wins are celebrated. Parth is currently...

"My best design is still to come. A successful design needn't always be your best design." - Mukul Goyal. The versatile designer has created many acclaimed designs in home decor, furniture, art, jewellery, installations and sculpture. Though he is often known for his lean men series of home decor, Goyal enjoys experimenting whether through different materials or mediums. For instance, his installa...

Maalavika Manoj, or Mali, as her stage name goes, is one of the prominent indie musicians in the country. Her new single, Absolute, released this August from her debut album, Caution to the Wind, has crossed 60,000 views on YouTube, and tweeted about by A.R.Rahman. She was one among the three Indian artistes chosen this year by Spotify for their Emerging Artists Program, Radar. Some of her songs o...

A discussion between Piyush Ghosh with his friends and co-founders, Tuhin Sen and Tannison Matthhews, in a park in Bhopal has led to India's first positive stories only newspaper in print. The Optimist Citizen has since grown to over 250 members and more than 1000 subscribers in about 25 cities, with digital reach in other countries as well. While Piyush's focus right now is not for it to become t...

Swetha Subbiah was among the first few certified women trainers in Bangalore and now in over a decade long career, she has made a name for herself in the fitness world by becoming among the few Nike-certified instructors. She also now trains professional athletes such as Rohan Bopanna and players of Karnataka's football association. As she continues to take forward her fitness consultancy firm, Sw...

Ayaz Basrai is one half of the duo behind The Busride Design Studio, an architectural and design studio. The other half being his brother, Zameer Basrai. Spaces such as The Bombay Canteen, Bhane, Smoke House Deli, Toit Brewery, Social, Café Zoe, The Taj Mahal Tea House and Le15 Café are a few of their designs. Ayaz doesn't like to slot their work under tags and thus limit their design capabilities...

"I want to bring back love and heart in business - that you can have emotions and can cry, and still run a heartful, purposeful and successful business. I don't want to build a billion dollar business. I want to build a business that makes an impact." -Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory. It's no secret that Shradha has weathered many obstacles to get to the place she is at now. Hailing fro...

When Rhea Mazumdar Singhal set up Ecoware, India's first sustainable packaging solutions company, she was gearing up for a big task. She brought Ecoware as a market disruptor offering natural products for both individuals and companies to help reduce their eco footprint. Eleven years on, she wants more industries to turn to sustainability options. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar by the In...

Sharath Kamal Achanta won the Oman Open in March this year despite playing under anxiety and his family concerns as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to spread. This win at 37 shows his longevity in Table Tennis is no mean feat. He was already 20 years old when he played at the national level, considered usually to be a late start. But he has since gone on to become the first Indian table tenn...

Ashwin Thiyagarajan is a really chilled out and fun guy to talk to. Earlier this year, he made headlines when his ensemble was seen on the Oscars red carpet. The flirty sherwani with feminine pleats was sported by Oscar-nominated Indian-American director Sami Khan. Over the years when I've come across Ashwin's designs, I found them simple but elegant, understated yet fun. So I decided to catch up...

Nikhil Taneja's list of achievements is many - he has been with Hindustan Times, MTV India, Yash Raj Films and is now the co-founder of Yuvaa, a purpose driven youth media, and serves as a member of Global Advisory Board of Goalkeepers of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But what struck me the most was his warm demeanour and his genuine interest in everyone's story. He wanted to know about my op...