Spotlight with Sandhya

We sat down with Geetha Panda — a global business leader with 30 years of experience transforming organizations across IT, shipping, biotech, banking, pharma, and now the startup world.  In this episode of Leadership Decoded on Spotlight with Sandhya, Geetha shares: → The leadership skill no one talks about  → What it's like to be the first—and often only—woman in the room  → How to negotiate sala...

Kicking off a series on leadership with Sandhya Mendonca, transformation strategist Paddy Rao shares his leadership journey, the essence of transformation without a fixed playbook, and how self-awareness and courage drive success. In this insightful interview, discover counterintuitive principles, managing failure, and the deep connection between ancient wisdom and modern leadership. Watch the vid...

#SpotlightWithSandhya #kathymcleish #sandhyamendonca What happens when a media entrepreneur, former crime reporter meets a war correspondent? This Raintree Media Original goes beyond the byline into the realities of women in media. Sandhya Mendonca (Founder, Raintree Media, Bangalore) hosts Kathy McLeish (Women in Media Australia, Brisbane) for an India–Australia dialogue unpacking: Newsroom haras...

In this episode, Sandhya Mendonca, Founder & Chief Editor of Raintree Media talks to Arundhati Raja, co-founder of Jagriti Theatre, about theatre, freedom & relevance in today’s world. Tell us in the comments or at mail@raintreemedia.com - what’s the most powerful play you’ve ever seen — and why did it stay with you? Don’t forget to Subscribe, Like & Share to support more conversations on art, cul...

World-famous musician and sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath, i n this multilingual interview with Sandhya Mendonca , reflects on music, the greatness of Chandrashekhara Kambara’s writing and Rahman’s music, and other experiences of a rich and varied life. He captivates both as a musician and a person, with a blend of audacity and humility. Deeply influenced by his guru Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and...

Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy is the lead actor and debutant director of the delightful coming-of-age film ‘Aachar and Company’. Set in the 60s back when Bangalore was still a small town, it's about siblings growing up in Bangalore, tackling patriarchy and gender roles. This little Kannada film has taken everybody by surprise with the kind of impact that it had when it was released this July. It had a...

“Profits are important, but it's also important to be driven by morals and ethics”, Vinita Bali says.  Known for her skills in building brands and leading companies in five continents including Coca-Cola, Cadbury's and Britannia. In this episode of the podcast, she talks to Sandhya Mendonca about why and how to build healthy companies. She emphasises character and work ethics over expediency – tra...

Indians are over the moon with the success of its lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-3 in August 2023. The joy and pride are greater as ISRO sprang up unfazed from the failure of the previous mission. The first country to land a craft on the moon’s South Pole and doing it at a fraction of the cost that advanced countries would have spent is just one of many in a string of steady successes notch...

His family was torn from its home in Sindh by the partition of India, and a few years later, they were thrown out of their adoptive homeland in Kenya. Ram Gidoomal CBE, a British Asian refugee who went from riches to rags and back to riches, shares his life-changing decision after visiting the Dharavi slum in Mumbai. He shifted his focus from business to improve the lives of those at the bottom of...

Visionary airline entrepreneur Capt GR Gopinath's order of 30 planes turned the fortunes around for the French aeroplane manufacturer ATR in 2004. Capt Gopi recalls the heady days when he also ordered 60 Airbus planes. In light of mega orders for planes by Indigo for 500 planes and Air India for 470 planes, we asked him about the growth of the airline sector in India. "The airline sector hasn't gr...

He made aviation history by starting India’s first low-cost airline and yet lost it all. Call it a bad decision, call it circumstances. In the first of a 2 part interview, Capt. GR Gopinath reflects on his past failures in the airline business and his nemesis, Vijay Mallya. He shares insights on resilience, enthusiasm and optimism in life. “Persistence and curiosity are more important than talent”...

Solomon Diniz presents the spirit of Goa in a bottle. The fourth generation of a liquor distillery wants to celebrate his heritage that’s intrinsically linked to feni. Diniz talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the rise of Adinco Distilleries from a village tavern into a company that makes over two dozen spirit variants. Diniz spearheads innovation in manufacturing and branding. After adding new gins a...

World-renowned mathematician Dr Sujatha Ramdorai talks about her work in algebraic number theory and the vital need for learning maths.  She recalls her early years when the love for maths sparked within her and her wish to enable every child to understand and appreciate maths.  Ramdorai tells Sandhya Mendonca in this podcast that “the basics of teaching have to improve”. She talks about her effor...

Best-selling author and columnist, the inimitable Shobhaa De talks about her relationship with food, life, journalism and writing about people. She discussed interesting anecdotes that feature in her memoir that she wrote to mark her 75th birthday ‘Insatiable – My Hunger for Life’. In this podcast, De tells Sandhya Mendonca that there’s "life is too short for regrets". Her advice to younger people...

This episode is partly an oral history of Bangalore. A 90-year-old 7th generation Bangalorean talks about life in Bangalore, the interesting people he’s met and his diverse interests in politics, business, fast cars and horses. He belongs to the community of Kutchi Memons who migrated from Gujarat four hundred years ago.   Dr Hajee Sattar Sait built the first modern shopping mall, Safina Plaza and...

The Tree of Life of this master artist is 82 years old. It’s a life lived in art and has been shaped by a variety of experiences and insights gleaned from introspection and inspiration.   SG Vasudev, the eminent artist, tells Sandhya Mendonca about how the interplay of various forms of art has helped form and define his art. He talks about creating institutions that nurture arts and crafts. His ar...

Bengaluru is in a Catch-22 situation. It attracts and welcomes the world while the density of the population adds to its woeful lack of adequate public infrastructure. Naresh Narasimhan, leading architect and urban planner. He tells Sandhya Mendonca why he loves the city and why he works hard on many fronts to make it liveable and preserve its historical heritage. Karnataka state's approachable po...

Brijesh Kalappa, Supreme Court lawyer and former national spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, joined the Aam Aadmi Party and is contesting in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections. He talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the deep pockets needed to get a party ticket in other parties. He says, “I’m taking a stand against corruption”. He’s committed to improving the lives of ordinary Ind...

Theatre director Arjun Sajnani is known for staging spectacular theatrical productions. On the heels of his latest production of Girish Karnad's historical play "Crossing to Talikota', he talks to Sandhya Mendonca about his approach to direction, his bond with Girish Karnad, and what has inspired him to bring Indian stories to English theatre. A perfectionist to the core, he says, "I don't let peo...

This podcast in the month of March focuses on a successful business leader who celebrates femininity. Sandhya Mendonca talks to Blossom Kochhar about her experience in building a business and what it means to be truly beautiful. Blossom is one of the OGs of the beauty and personal care business in India, valued at 27 bn dollars in 2023. The founder of the Aroma Magic brand is a pioneer of aromathe...

The boulevards of Bangalore, its streets and parks come alive on weekends to catchy beats and rhythmic words. They are in a burst of languages that range from Kannada, English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and dialects like  Dakhni as  rappers and hip-hop artists come together at ciphers. In this podcast, Sandhya Mendonca talks to three rappers Smokey the Ghost – the senior most among them, Agahi Raahi an...

Civilisation has flourished or perished alongside water bodies. The Kaveri is a life-giving river in the south and for over a couple of centuries, it has also led to bloodshed in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Peace has prevailed for the last few years but might not last if permanent solutions are not found. In this episode, Sandhya Mendonca, who reported the riots over the sharing of the Kaveri waters...

In this podcast, Sandhya Mendonca talks to jazz musician Rajeev Raja about his journey melding music and advertising. A handful of musicians hold the ability to cast a magical spell that brings back audiences time and again. Rajeev Raja, the flautist and frontman of the eponymous Rajeev Raja Combine, is one of them. Raja has evolved a genre that’s ‘Ethno Jazz’ or ‘World Jazz’. Inspired by the form...

Raintree Media presents 'Spotlight with Sandhya'. This podcast features author, journalist and cultural evangelist Sandhya Mendonca in one-to-one conversations with brilliant people that get to the heart of who they are, why they do what they do and how it impacts the world. This show features guests from diverse sectors: art, technology, wellness, business, politics and everything in between. If...

HI, I'm back with Season 3 and for Episode1, I travelled to the city of palaces, Mysuru, to meet my old friend, the maverick theatre personality and activist Prasanna. He's getting ready to stage an unusual version of the Ramayana, and the play which has been in rehearsal for three months is opening on May 5. Prasanna talks about what has led him back to theatre after eschewing it to set up women'...