Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria

In January 2019, the city of Cremona in Italy went silent for 5 weeks, for a rather unique reason. But for that, we need to go back over 300 years, to follow the work of a man who created some of the most prized violins in human history - The Stradivarius, the most expensive one being sold for 20 Million dollars. In the third episode of Our Changing World: Stories of Climate Change, Utsav takes yo...

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, a wrestler from Kiribati celebrated his performance. But he had not won a medal. In the same year, another man from Kiribati filed a case against the New Zealand government at the UN Human rights council. What do these two men, from the tiny island nation of Kiribati have in common? In the second episode of Our Changing World: Stories of Climate Change, Utsav takes you to...

What happens when an action from 100 years ago has a profound, unimaginable impact today? How does a sea the size of Himachal Pradesh or the entirety of Croatia simply disappear? If this sounds like science fiction, this week, Utsav takes you to Karakalpakastan, an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan, which is a glimpse of the world ravaged by climate change. This kicks off a new series: Our Cha...

In 1840, a Scottish man, David Livingstone arrived in Africa at the age of 27, and went on to become the greatest explorers of the continent, discovering the Victoria falls in current day Zimbabwe. However, his naming of the Victoria falls was only a precursor to what the continent had to see in the coming century. This week, Utsav takes you on a rapid history of names in Africa, and helps you dec...

How often have you waited to take a trip, and it does not happen? For the last 5 years, Utsav had been wanting to see Gurudongmar lake in North Sikkim. Just before the pandemic hit, he made his second attempt - but was he successful. This week, tune in, as Utsav documents his struggle to reach a place where the water does not freeze even at -30 degrees, and along the way stumbles upon a legend lik...

And here we are! After sending 50 Postcards from Nowhere, this week, we take a break from our usual storytelling to have 3 adults (or are we) talk about travel. We have Ayushi and Rytasha from Agla Station Adulthood on the show! In this episode - Utsav talks about his foray into travel, the genesis of this podcast and why we travel! Tune in to recap the journey of PFN - 50 Postcards in and many mo...

Recently, neuropsychologists have uncovered a link between the chili pepper and risk-taking. But what does history tell us? And how does a plant native to South America find itself as the defining element of the cultural identity of Sichuan? This week, on the last episode of China Unseen, I bring to you the fascinating story of how China fell in love with the Chilli - a story of economics, two war...

What connects the Matt Damon film - The Martian, A restauranter in Beijing and a lady who signs peans to a vegetable? Turns out, its the potato. From the most humble of vegetables, comes the story of China's sweeping ambition to change the food practices of a country which has grown addicted to meat. From Yunnan in the Southwest, to Gansu in the Northwest, across North China and into the Northeast...

The enemy of marriage is time," she said, smiling. By the eighth year, the honeymoon period had long given way to "the salt and vinegar of daily life." "Even the tongue and teeth occasionally get in each other's way," Imagine saying this not to a marriage counselor, but to a man who goes by the title of 'Mistress Dispeller'. In the eighth episode of China Unseen, discover the unique phenomenon of...

Imagine going home over a holiday, but dreading the whole experience. All because your parents will ask about the lack of your love life i.e. your boyfriend/girlfriend. However, the young Chinese people have come up with an ingenious way of solving the problem. In the seventh episode of China Unseen, Utsav brings to you a foundational idea of Chinese society - Miànzi, and how that drives every sin...

China came out of the Cultural Revolution and rose to become an economic powerhouse. A starving country in the past today is not only self-sufficient with food, but also is a major exporter. However, the prosperity has come with its challenges. In the sixth episode of China Unseen, Utsav breaks down China's relationship with food, busting many myths along the way, and takes you to a unique restaur...

China has made tremendous progress in lifting the country out of poverty, The Communist Party takes pride in enabling this and boasts of how many choices the Chinese have today. However, it parallelly bans and actively prosecutes people from a religious order, which combines meditation and slow-motion exercises, very much in line with Taoist principles. In the fifth episode of China Unseen, Utsav...

In the late '60s and '70s, anticipating the devastation of a Cold War-nuclear fallout, Chairman Mao directed Chinese cities to construct apartments with bomb shelters capable of withstanding the blast of a nuclear bomb. In Beijing alone, roughly 10,000 bunkers were promptly constructed. But what has become of those bunkers today? In the fourth episode of China Unseen, Utsav takes you up close and...

Between 2011 - 13, China used up more cement to build cities than the United States used in the entire 20th century. The new cities became so prevalent that a moniker was assigned to them - Ghost cities because no one really lived there. But what happens to a ghost city many years later? In the third episode of China Unseen, Utsav takes you to a ghost city and tells you what he saw, that surprised...

In People's Park in central Shanghai, every Sunday afternoon, a congregation of old people shows up religiously, week after week. These are not people enjoying their retirement, they are on a mission. A mission which gives them anxiety, sours their relationship with their kids, and often remains unfulfilled. In continuation of the series China Unseen, this week Utsav takes you to this very park, w...

An absurd, deeply flawed notion left close to 600 million sparrows dead in China in the late 1950's. But it was only amongst the many missteps which came to define the People's Republic of China. In the new series - China Unseen, join Utsav as he draws upon his experiences of living in the country, and uncovers everyday life in the Middle Kingdom. An intimate look at contemporary China from within...

An iceberg, theoretical physics and an expressionist painting. What could these three unlikely bedfellows have in common, that too spread over two centuries? This week, join Utsav as he takes you to Havana, Buenos Aires and Paris, and brings to light how the gift of hindsight we have today is the curse of foresight from yesterday and how it teaches us a life principle which has stood the test of t...

In 1980, Rick Ridgeway, the first American to summit the K2, attempted to climb a high mountain in China. He failed. 19 years later, he returned with a young 20 year girl, but the purpose was changed. It was a pilgrimage of sorts. What eventually decided the fate of this pilgrimage was the same thing which saved Utsav and his partner from a potentially disastrous hike in Amalfi. This week, join Ut...

From the Indian mathematician Bhāskara II to the Italian inventor Da Vinci, this enigma confounded intellectuals for seven centuries. In a casual museum visit to Florence, he also understood a lesser fascinating enigma - the actual use of the divider! (yes, the one in your geometry box).This week, join Utsav as he uncovers a timeless driver of human excellence, and what an endless pursuit can teac...

What is a war doing in a travel podcast? And that too a war that has never ended? We don't really know when it began, but we know for sure it has never ended. It's so every day that we don't (or choose not to) see it. A realization that began in walk in Naples led me to coursing its history, and witnessing a global movement. This week, I take you to the war in 16th century Rome, modern day Chile a...

In late 2018, archaeologists working at the Pompeii site discovered Grafitti which recalibrated the events around the explosion of Mount Vesuvis. The graffiti itself was emblematic of an intensely Italian passion - Food. This week, traveling in time, Utsav connects the dots in the city of Naples, spanning the deadly LTTE, Ernest Hemingway, Italy's most prolific food export, and another unlikely fo...

On 20th May 1747, a doctor aboard HMS Salisbury did something that changed the course of Italian history. But all he did was give lemons and oranges to the sailors. What could that have to do with the Sicilian Mafia, and what lessons do they hold for us travellers? This week, Utsav takes you through the story of Citrus spread over two centuries, and tells you why Citrus is more than just food and...

In 1946, post the defeat of Germany in World War II, the psychoanalyst Carl Jung coined a word which turned into a national emotion. Travelling through Armenia and speaking to young and old alike took me back to Turkey. Specifically, Gezi Park in Taksim Square, Istanbul. But how are Germany, Turkey and Armenia connected? This week, Utsav takes you on a journey which made him feel the very emotion...

Tiblisi, the capital of Georgia is one of the few places in the world where the Sunni and Shia Muslims pray together in the same mosque. Armenia is a country with the highest per capita chess grandmasters in the world. But how are these two facts connected? This week, walk with Utsav and understand why entangling ourselves in the places we go to is a great way to travel, and why walking is an act...

There is a room on the 2nd Floor of the Palazzo Vecchio, the civic palace of Florence. The room, known as Sala delle Carte Geografiche, fits the entire world. The artifacts in this room belong to the 16th century, and yet they reveal our world today in myraid ways. This week, Utsav talks about the eccentricities of map making and mankind's love affair with maps. Join him to discover a part of your...