Of Buddies , Books and Bachpan..

And its a wrap-up ! Season 5 gets concluded today. Over the last few weeks, our buddies from different parts of the globe joined us and read out a variety of genres- stories, satires, memoirs, poetry, humour... We are indebted to them and to our listeners for staying with us through five seasons. In the concluding episode, we will be regaled by the Master storyteller Shri. Sarat Chandra Chattopadh...

Wish everyone a wonderful Ganeshotsav. What a great day to read something new with friends! Today we are joined by Dr Vaishali Lehri Shrivastava who will regale us with another gem penned by our favourite Hindi satirist Shri Harishankar Parsaiji. She will read "Pehla Safed Baal" and we are sure that many of us will recall going through the same turmoil as Parsaiji, who in his unique style has give...

Greetings on Hindi Diwas to all our listeners and to celebrate the occasion…It's yesterday once more!! Down the memory lane we travel today with Dr N.S.Vishwanath or ' Storyteller Vish' as he calls himself, with a heartfully curated selection of poetry from those precious childhood days. Just as we loved listening to them, hope you too enjoy the beautifully stitched up collage of poetry penned by...

And we are back with a dear buddy from our school days in our 13th episode of Season 5. Shefali Tripathi Mehta will read from the heart rending " Daar se bichhudi" penned by the grand dame of Hindi Nayi Kahani movement Smt Krishna Sobtij. The story of young Pasho will touch your hearts as it did ours. Here's to more of Nayi kahanis in coming seasons. Do listen..

Taking a little break from the buddies series, in our 12th episode of Season 5, we celebrate India's remarkable feat of Chandrayan -3 landing by reading the famous fantasy-satire "Inspector Matadeen Chand Par" penned by Hindi Vyang Purodha Shri Harishankar Parsaiji. He wrote this piece in 1970 and in 2023, the fantasy part turned real! His satirical observations on civic society and systems unfort...

As we are nearing the conclusion of season 5, in the 11th episode today, our buddy Ashok will take us into nostalgia lane once again by presenting "Tum kab jaaoge atithi" penned by the master satirist or "Vyangshri" Sharad Joshi. This satire also inspired a well known movie "Atithi tum kab jaaoge". We are sure that most of us will relate to some of the experiences shared today by Sharadji and Asho...

Today, In the 10th episode of Season 5, our friend Atul will narrate the beautiful story of Bhagwan Neminath and Rajul. It will be the first of hopefully more such narrations when the story is not read out from a book, just as in our childhood when Nani-dadi used to tell us stories about legends and heroes. Do listen..

Today, In the 9th episode of Season 5, we will revisit Sushri Mahadevi Vermaji's 'Mera Parivar' as our friend Sharbani presents the poignant pages penned by Mahadevi ji on the gentle 'Sona Hirni'. The evocative penmanship, her sincerity, sensitivity shine so brilliantly through the language. Sona is sure to win your heart. Do listen..

Today, In the 8th episode of Season 5, our friend Shri Alok Gupta has brought to life 'Budhi Kaki', one of the most favourite stories from our childhood days penned by the 'Kahani Samrat' Munshi Premchandji. And what a wonderful coincidence that we are listening to this heartrending story on 31st July which is Premchandji 's birth anniversary! Do listen..

100 today! What a wonderful literary exploration this has been for us. We enjoyed timeless books, epic poems, masterful satires, classic stories and so much more, all made possible by our listener buddies. We celebrate this special day with a topping of humour penned by masters of humour Kaka Hathrasiji, Hullad Moradabadiji and Ashok Chakradharji presented by another dear buddy Dipti Kanungo Jana....

Our special 99th episode aptly celebrates India's one of the greatest writers ever, Shri Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and his inspirational work "Shakti aur Kshama" narrated by our dear buddy Lakshmi. The powerful dialogue between Bhishma who is on his deathbed and Yudhishthir who is devastated at the outcome of 'Mahabharat' is as relevant today as it was in those times. Do listen..

In today's episode of our special "Buddies' season, our buddy Sudha will take us on an intoxicating and evocative journey of the 'Halawaad' era and will treat us to the era's best known work 'Madhushala' penned by the much-celebrated Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchanji. Leave aside the daily grind and take a dip in Madhushala. Do listen...

In the fourth episode of our Season 5, we are joined by Dr Nandini Ramanujam who will read ‘Namak ka Daroga, one of our school-time favourites, penned by India’s master storyteller Munshi Premchand. Let us listen to it and truly understand what the author has tried to convey through this story. Do listen..

Today, we are joined by Ashish Singhai, our college buddy, who despite being seven seas away now in distant United States has kept the flame burning for MP and Hindi in his heart. He will be reading a chapter from the historical masterpiece 'Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu'penned by Acharya Chatursen Shastriji. The passage is set in Shravasti in 6th century BC and is an extremely interesting commentary on...

We are 2 today! And on this special day, we are joined by Anjali Sakhuja, our childhood buddy who has chosen to share a story which is a favourite for most of us. The story she reads out today is the masterpiece short story 'Kabuliwala' penned by Kabiguru Rabindra Nath Thakur. Do listen and enjoy...

Welcome to a very special season 5. In this season, many of our buddies will join us and share their thoughts with all of us as they read out their chosen Hindi pieces. Today we will listen to our friend Arvind Shukla, who has chosen to read an extremely relevant and thought provoking piece titled 'Ek Antheen Pradarshani' penned by our favourite satirist Shri Sharad Joshi. Do listen amd enjoy...

And today we wrap up the season with one of the finest Urdu ‘Afsana’ or short stories ever written- “Anandi”, an Afsana penned by Ghulam Abbas Saheb, one of the greatest Urdu story tellers of the golden era of Urdu literature. Anandi inspired Shyam Benegal ji to make the much awarded movie ‘Mandi’. The masterful Urdu, the vivid description of the locale as well as the characters, the supreme ease...

Today we conclude Gaura Pant 'Shivaniji's poignant memoirs "Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani". As always reading her beautifully penned life experiences shared by her with refreshing candour and plainspeak have given us a lot to think about. She minces no words about the hypocrisies, the prejudices and injustice seen so commonly in the society but not really spoken about or addressed firmly, especiall...

Do listen to the sixth part of “Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani”- memoirs penned by Shivaniji, who continues to be one of the most popular Hindi writers. She shares her encounters with people from all walks of life, who despite their challenging circumstances embraced their challenges. In this part, she shares with us her takeaways, wisdom and perspectives from the rich tapestry of everyday life and...

In Part 5 of Gaura Pant 'Shivaniji's' memoirs "Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani", we will relive some beautiful years spent by her in Bangalore with her family. The fragrance of bonds formed by her family with friends in Karnataka is vividly brought out by her in in her signature style. And as always she softly touches upon human vulnerabilities, betrayals and friendship which ring true even today. We...

Let us continue the roller coaster ride of Shivani’s memoirs - Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani . In this episode the author shares some happy and some heart breaking memories in her unique style of narration . Do listen …

Let us listen to the third part of Padmashri awardee and ever popular Gaura Pant 'Shivaniji's' memoirs "Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani" where she, in her signature style, vividly brings to life, Lucknow and Almora of yesteryears. There is a sweet surprise also in this episode which we hope that you will enjoy. Do listen....

In Part 2 of "Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani", her autobiography written by Gaura Pant 'Shivani' ji , we will enjoy her charming memories of her childhood days spent in Almora of yester years. Through her reminiscences we will also learn about the rich culture of Kumaon. Do listen....

"Sunahu Taat Yah Akath Kahani", her autobiography written by the immensely popular 'Shivani' is our next book which we begin today. In Part 1 we read today, she takes us to her childhood days spent in Almora, a town in Kumaon region ( now part of Uttarakhand) in the Himalayas. Her charmingly presented reminiscences bring back many memories of our childhood also. Do listen....

This second part of our Holi special coincides with Rang Panchami , which marks the grand conclusion of Holi ,the festival of colours . In this episode we bring for you a bouquet of poems that cover the entire spectrum of colours of our life ! A jogira style fun filled poem written by Shri Ashok Chakradhar ji , a little gem from one of the pillars of Chhayavad ,Shri. Suryakant Tripathi Nirala ji a...