The xMonks Drive

In this video, Gaurav Arora talks to Miraj Ahmed Khan, a famous Indian Olympic shooter. Did you know that Miraj used to be a cricket player? He even played with big stars like Virender Sehwag! But one day, he decided to pick up a gun instead of a bat. He became the first Indian ever to qualify for the Skeet Shooting event in the Olympics. In this podcast, you will learn: How Miraj moved from crick...

What does it REALLY take to survive in Indian stand-up comedy when 10 years of relentless work doesn’t guarantee millions of views? In this explosive and deeply unfiltered episode of The xMonks Drive, host Gaurav Arora sits down with stand-up comic Gourav Mahna (Chai Matthi Tales). Gourav opens up about the untold reality of the creator economy: why comedians are secretly the most insecure artists...

Is a corporate career actually worth it or does business ownership build wealth faster? In this episode, senior CXO Vinod Tahiliani breaks down the real math behind a corporate salary vs business income, what a realistic CXO salary looks like after 30 years, and why saving and investing strategy matters more than the number on your payslip. We get into how much to actually save at different income...

Comedian Jeeveshu Ahluwalia gets brutally honest about money, fame, and why he "loves being a victim", plus an untold story about Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir Kapoor, and his first-ever film set. In this episode of xMonks Drive, host Gaurav Arora sits down with stand-up comedian and actor Jeeveshu Ahluwalia for a conversation that goes far beyond the usual "journey" interview. Jeeveshu b...

In this exclusive episode of our entrepreneurship podcast, we explore raw, unfiltered startup founder stories with none other than Sanjeev Bikhchandani (often celebrated as the father of Indian startups). Join host Gaurav Arora on The xMonks Drive as we unpack how Sanjeev pioneered the digital wave with Info Edge—building platforms like Naukri.com, Jeevansathi, 99acres, and Shiksha.com—while backi...

From the NEET Exam Paper Leak and student protests at Jantar Mantar to the coaching factory culture and the reality behind the resignation of hundreds of scientists from ISRO, we discussed it all with Ex-ISRO Scientist and Educator Manish Purohit. India's education system is under immense pressure, and students are paying the price. In this conversation, Manish Purohit (Nimbus Education | BIT...

In this hard-hitting podcast episode with host Gaurav Arora, veteran Doordarshan news anchor and the iconic voice of Delhi Metro, Shammi Narang, breaks his silence on India's changing media landscape and rising youth discontent. From analyzing the recent NEET paper leak protests at Jantar Mantar and the emergence of movements like CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) to questioning government accounta...

In this video, Akash Gupta, the co-founder of Zypp Electric, shares the real story and daily lives of delivery riders across India. Every single day, thousands of delivery partners from platforms like Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zomato work hard to bring food and groceries right to our doorstep. But behind every quick delivery is a story of intense hard work, daily struggles, and a deep dedication...

Is the Indian corporate growth engine lacking a critical execution strategy? In this deep, unfiltered conversation on the Gaurav Arora Podcast, we sit down with global corporate leader and author Satish Rao to uncover the hidden realities of scaling from humble beginnings to navigating elite multinational boardrooms. From growing up in a classic Mumbai chawl environment with limited access to mode...

In this shocking episode of the Gaurav Arora Podcast, we sit down with Baldev Puri, the founder of AMX Detectives, to uncover the hidden, dark secrets of rich families, politicians, and the hidden underbelly of society. Moving far past standard marital disputes, this discussion exposes the real-life dark secret of Bollywood circles and high-society networks operating in major metros. Baldev Puri b...

What does real success look like? Bollywood actor Bijay J Anand rejected 22 Bollywood film offers at the peak of his career to pursue Kundalini Yoga and spirituality — and in this conversation with Gaurav Arora on the xMonks Drive Podcast, he explains exactly why, and what he found on the other side. Bijay J Anand is one of India's most extraordinary voices on spirituality, wellness, and cons...

Gajraj Rao — the actor who waited 25 years for Bollywood to notice him — sits down with Gaurav Arora on xMonks Drive for his most honest interview yet. Best known for his National Award and Filmfare Award-winning role as Jeetendra Kaushik in Badhaai Ho, Gajraj Rao opens up about his journey from a railway colony in Rajasthan to Delhi theatre to becoming one of Hindi cinema's most loved charac...

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, xMonks Drive sits down with one of India's most extraordinary minds — Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh Kumar, Sanyasi Bhargava Ph. D. — Professor of Happiness & Wellbeing, Kundalini Yogi, Tantric Master, Applied Psychologist and S*xologist with over 22 years of experience across India and Europe. In this conversation, Gaurav Arora and Prof. Rajesh Kumar explor...

Why are young Indians dying of cardiac arrest? Why are fit, healthy people in their 30s and 40s suddenly collapsing at the gym, at weddings, on stage, in their sleep — with no warning? In this episode of xMonks Drive, host Gaurav Arora sits down with Dr. Avinash Verma, Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing at BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, for one of the most important co...

In this episode of xMonks Drive, host Gaurav Arora sits down with Kaamya Karthikeyan — India's youngest female Everester, world record holder, and one of the most extraordinary young athletes in the world — for a rare long-form conversation about what it really takes to push past the limits of human endurance, again and again, from the time she was seven years old. Kaamya Karthikeyan became t...

Alankrita Shrivastava — the writer, director, and creator behind Lipstick Under My Burkha, Bombay Begums, and Made in Heaven — sits down with Gaurav Arora on xMonks Drive for one of her most in-depth conversations ever. Alankrita Shrivastava is one of India's most fearless and acclaimed filmmakers. Her debut film Lipstick Under My Burkha was banned by the CBFC censor board before fighting its...

AI is already replacing jobs. Most people are completely unprepared. In this episode, Gaurav Arora sits down with Prashant Puri — Founder and CEO of AdLift, one of India's leading digital marketing and AI agencies — for the most important career conversation of 2026. Prashant has run SEO, digital marketing, and AI strategy for PayPal, HP, Myntra, and some of the world's biggest brands. H...

Nobody actually knows what they're doing. Not your boss. Not your parents. Not the most successful person in your office. This is not a self-help video. This is the science of why you are the way you are. Dr. Siddharth Warrier, neurologist, author, and one of India's most important voices on the science of the brain, joins Gaurav Arora on xMonks Drive for a conversation that will change...

What if 45% of India's entire economy is black money? The ED has filed nearly 6,000 money laundering cases in 10 years and secured just 15 convictions. Digital arrest scams have stolen over ₹120 crore from ordinary Indians. And elections may be the single largest consumer of black money in this country. In this episode of xMonks Drive, Gaurav Arora sits down with Abhishek Bali — CEO & Co-...

What if your dream car wasn't as far away as you thought? In this episode, Gaurav Arora sits down with Hardeep Singh Brar, CEO of BMW India and the man who built Kia India from scratch into one of the fastest growing car brands in the country, for a conversation that goes far beyond cars. From being part of the team that bet ₹1 billion on Kia before a single car was sold, to now leading the m...

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of bullying and child loss. Please watch with care. 🤍 This content is for awareness & support only. Arvey was 17 years old. Before he died, he left a note that said: "The school has ki**ed me, Mamma." His mother, Aarti Malhotra, read those words and made a decision. She would not be silent. Not for one day. In this episode, Aarti...

What really happened in the Aryan Khan drug case? What does India's legal system get wrong about the Aarushi Talwar murder? And what was it like defending MJ Akbar during the height of the MeToo movement in India? Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra, one of India's most respected lawyers with over four decades at the bar, sits down with Gaurav Arora for a rare, unfiltered conversation about Ind...

A ceasefire was announced. Iran fired missiles at Tel Aviv two hours later. A retired Major General called every bit of this. In this episode, host Gaurav Arora sits down with Major General Neeraj Bali (Retired), one of India's most respected strategic and military minds, for a deeply informed breakdown of the Israel-US war on Iran: what caused it, what's really driving it, and where it&...

India's top neurologist Dr. Neha Pandita sits down with Gaurav Arora on xMonks Drive, and she has something to say about Deepinder Goyal's Temple device. When the founder of Zomato started wearing a brain-monitoring device on his temple to track blood flow and slow ageing, the internet had opinions. But what does an actual movement disorder specialist think? Dr. Pandita's reaction w...

What happens when a Malayali content creator marries into a Punjabi family, builds a following of 1.4 million across languages, shaves her head in Cambodia, and still can't say nahi nahi nahi properly? Satshya Tharien — journalist, strategist, 2x TEDx speaker and one of India's most distinctive voices online — sits down with executive coach Gaurav Arora for one of the most honest, funny...