Radio Azim Premji University

Love in Kannada has never stayed in one place. It has moved between poetry and song, slipped into everyday speech, lingered in silence, and sometimes arrived through cinema in ways no one quite expected. In this Valentine’s Day special of Noorakke Nooru Karnataka, Kannada Premakavya explores how love has been imagined and reimagined in Kannada culture — with Mungaaru Male standing as one of the mo...

9 गाने, 9 भाषाएँ, एक हिंदुस्तान हम अक्सर “एकता में विविधता” की बात एक नारे की तरह करते हैं — लेकिन कैसा होगा अगर हम उसे सुन सकें तो! संविधानि पिटारा के इस रीपब्लिक डे स्पेशल एपिसोड में हम लाए हैं हिंदुस्तान की नई गीतमाला — गानों के ज़रिए भारत की उन भाषाओं और संस्कृतियों की यात्रा जो आमतौर पर हमारे प्लेलिस्ट्स तक नहीं पहुंच पाती हैं, लेकिन हमेशा से हमारे देश के दिल में बसती हैं। इन गानों में ज़मीन क...

In this Sankranti special of Noorakke Nooru Karnataka, we’re joined by Skandyyman, one of the earliest podcasters in Kannada, and Sowjanya, who began her career in radio before moving into podcasting. These are voices you’ve probably heard before, voices that feel familiar, even if you’ve never seen the faces. They talk about podcasting as a medium — how the names have changed but the format hasn’...

What does the next era of sports look like — and what role will sports media play in shaping it? In this epilogue episode of Game Play Sport, our Indian sports podcast, the three hosts look back at Season 1 — revisiting their favourite episodes, most memorable guests, and the conversations that stayed with them long after recording. The discussion reflects on: The next era of sports and how Indian...

೨೦೦೦ ಇಸವಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಅನಿಶ್ಚಿತತೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬಂದಿತು - Y2K ಭಯ, ಹೊಸ ಮಹತ್ವಾಕಾಂಕ್ಷೆಗಳು, ಹೊಸ ಆತಂಕಗಳು. ಮುಂದಿನ 25 ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕವು ಬದಲಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ತನ್ನದೇ ಆದ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕೆಂದು ಕಲಿತಿತು. ನೂರಕ್ಕೆ ನೂರು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಈ ಸಂಚಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವರ್ಷ ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರ 2000–2025ರ ನಡುವೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿದಿರುವ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ನೆನಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಡಾ. ರಾಜ್‌ಕುಮಾರ್ ಅಪಹರಣದಿಂದ ವಿಜಯ್ ಮಲ್ಯ ಅವರ ಉಗಮ ಮತ್ತು ಪತನದವರೆಗೆ, ರಾಯಲ್ ಚಾಲೆಂಜರ್ಸ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಅಭ...

What makes doctors begin their careers in rural India—and keep going for three decades? Dr. John and Mercy John reveal why they stayed—and how their work transformed healthcare in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha. In this episode of The Health Worker, host Ram G. Vallath from the Azim Premji Foundation brings you the story of Dr. John “Johnny” Oommen (MD, CMC Vellore) and Mercy John, who chose to serve the...

Is India chasing the right dream when it comes to sports — or have we lost our way? In this explosive finale of Game Play Sport on Radio Azim Premji University, our 3 sports hosts Rahul De, Arvind Bharathi B N & Kailash Kaushik take on ten outspoken students in a high-stakes, Jubilee-style Surrounded debate. From malls replacing playgrounds to Esports players being called athletes, this episod...

India competes across the world — at the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and countless individual tournaments — with delegations far smaller than its population and talent pool suggest. The real issue isn’t performance. It’s the harsh, uneven journey that pushes most young athletes out long before they enter any official system. In this episode of Game Play Sport, we follow the story of...

India is home to over half a billion gamers — from PUBG to Valorant, from mobile cricket to FIFA — yet still struggles to find its footing in the global esports arena. In this episode of Game Play Sport, Aravind, Kailash, and Rahul sit down with Ram Seshadri, producer and avid gamer, and Sudhen Wahengbam,esports commentator, to explore why India’s massive gaming population hasn’t translated into w...

What if that catchy Bollywood song you grew up humming wasn’t Bollywood at all? In this episode of Unboxed, Amit Basole is joined by Sharmadip Basu and Kalyani K from Azim Premji University to uncover the incredible story of Chutney Music — a genre born from migration, memory, and musical remixing. It begins in 1980s Bengal, where a young Sharmadip first hears Kaise Bani Phulouri Bina Chutney Kais...

Dream11’s fall has reignited a major debate in India’s gaming world — is it skill or gambling? With the new Online Gaming Bill 2025, the government is redrawing boundaries around real money gaming, raising crucial questions for players, companies, and policymakers alike. In this episode of Game Play Sport by Radio Azim Premji University, we explore: What the Online Gaming Bill 2025 really means Wh...

Are We Killing the Joy of Play? Are we pushing kids too hard, too soon? In this episode of Game Play Sport, Arvind, Kailash and Rahul talk with Chelston Pinto about why India’s sports education system needs more unstructured play and age-appropriate training and how Indian kids are burning out and what needs to be done to fix it. Discover how the National Education Policy puts sports at the heart...

From Brute Force to AI Models: How Chess Learned to Play Smarter In 1997, the chess world shook when Garry Kasparov lost to IBM’s Deep Blue — a brute-force machine built to calculate millions of moves per second. Fast forward to today, and AI has moved beyond raw calculation to self-learning models like AlphaZero that teach themselves strategy. In this episode of Game Play Sport, guest Kedar Kulka...

ಈ ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ 15 ರಂದು, ದೇಶಾದ್ಯಂತ ತ್ರಿವರ್ಣ ಧ್ವಜ ಹಾರಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ, ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿಯ ಬೆಂಗೇರಿಯನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ ಏಕೆಂದರೆ, ಅದು ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಯಾಣವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸುವುದು ಇಲ್ಲಿಯೇ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಖಾದಿ ಗ್ರಾಮೋದ್ಯೋಗ ಸಂಯುಕ್ತ ಸಂಘದ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಧ್ವಜವನ್ನು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಕೈಯಿಂದ ನೂಲುತ್ತಾರೆ, ನೇಯುತ್ತಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಹೊಲಿಯುತ್ತಾರೆ ಹಾಗು ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಹೋರಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಿಸಿದ ಕರಕುಶಲತೆಯನ್ನು ಜೀವಂತವಾಗಿರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಪಾಲಿಯೆಸ್ಟರ್ ಧ್ವಜಗಳಿಗೆ ಅನುಮತಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ನಂತರ,...

In this episode of Game Play Sport, we dive into the evolving story of India’s sports pay gap—how the difference in salaries and prize money between male and female athletes is finally starting to close. From the BCCI’s landmark equal pay announcements for women cricketers to the growing visibility of female athletes in badminton, wrestling, and football, we break down why this shift matters for g...

In this episode of Game Play Sport, we dive into how OTT platforms have changed the way Indians experience sports — shifting the focus from just scores and stats to drama, storylines, and spectacle. Sports Are the New Reality TV — And OTT Made It Happen. From behind-the-scenes docuseries to slow-motion replays and cinematic narratives, sport today feels more like a show than ever before. We explor...

In this episode of Noorakke Nooru Karnataka, we sit down with veteran Kannada actor Sundar Raj to explore the cultural legacy of Ravindra Kalakshetra — Bengaluru’s iconic theatre auditorium, only on Radio Azim Premji University. Like many of his generation, Sundar Raj’s journey into cinema began here, under the stage lights of Kalakshetra. For him and countless others, this wasn’t just a venue — i...

In this episode of That’s the Thing, Jimmy, Kavya, and Atharva slide into the wide, unyielding backseat of an Ambassador—the car that defined Indian power, politics, and pothole strategy for over five decades. It was a diesel beast. A monocoque marvel. And a boot space that no hatchback today can touch. Modelled after the British Morris Oxford, the Ambassador became the official ride for every bab...

In this episode of Game Play Sport, Rahul De, Kailash Kaushik, and Arvind Bharathi BN dive into fan anger in sports and the emotional core of Indian sports fandom. From Angry Rant Man’s YouTube meltdowns to the infamous 1996 Eden Gardens riot, our relationship with sport often crosses the line from passion to rage. In order to unpack this, we speak with Ryan Thomas Philips, a computational neurosc...

In this bonus episode of Game Play Sport, we take a closer look at gym culture—who it was built for, and how it has changed. Our conversation with Shwetambari Shetty, founder of My Third Space, traces how fitness spaces that once felt intimidating and exclusionary—especially for women—have slowly evolved into more welcoming environments. She reflects on how strength training was long seen as “not...

In this episode of Game Play Sport, we explore how India’s gym culture has shifted—from basement weight rooms and bodybuilding ideals to wellness-focused routines and group classes. Shwetambari Shetty, founder of Third Space, joins the conversation to reflect on why gyms have felt intimidating for many, and how fitness trends are shaping access, comfort, and community today. Watch this incredibly...

Pustakadinda Pardega| ಪುಸ್ತಕದಿಂದ ಪರದೆಗೆ by Radio Azim Premji University

Ghazal| That's The Thing| Radio Azim Premji University by Radio Azim Premji University

Game Play Sport| Episode 1| Game Play Sport with Rahul, Arvind, and Kailash by Radio Azim Premji University

You’ve rolled the dice, dodged snakes, and climbed ladders — but did you know Snakes and Ladders began as a lesson in morality? This episode traces the game’s roots to 13th-century Maharashtra, where Sant Jnaneshwar designed Moksha Patam to teach virtues and warn against vices. Each square held a symbolic meaning — generosity, faith, and humility led you upward, while pride and drunkenness pulled...