Bohemian Pursuits

Varun Thakkar is an Indian professional sailor that represents India at international sailing events in the 49er class of the boat category. He has won a bronze medal in the 2018 Asian Games which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Varun qualified for his debut in sailing at the Olympic Games 2020 after achieving first place in the 2021 Mussanah Open. He represented Team India at the Skiff – 49er Event in Sailing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Listen to us sail through a conversation with Varun where we talk about his journey from competing with his friends to competing at the Olympics. We discuss how he left his piers behind and the lega-sea he's creating for himself. We got the opportunity to understand more about sailing, to see the ocean as his playground, and how important it is to save our oceans.

Aditi Sreevathsa is a curator of culture by passion. She loves life behind the scenes. From there she carefully crafts what the audience as well as the artist experience. On this episode she highlights the challenges that artists face, how to get past them, monetise your talent and effectively reach your target audience. She now helps budding artists and creatives make the most of the potential while also running her own studio where she teaches aerial silk and practices movement art.

Partha Varanashi @coach_partha is an aquatic Educator, swim center developer and, a high Performance swim coach at @VaranashiSwimmingAcademy, a Molecular Biologist and an Organic Farm Director of @VaranashiOrganicFarms and Founder of @surflifesavingindia and @putturaqaticclub. As a swim instructor he is responsible for manufacturing peak performance individuals at his farm. We hear, his thoughts on sustainable farming and how it could help reverse the damage to ecosystems, how to introduce yourself or a child to a sport, he explains, "to fall in love with water first, understand how your body moves in it".

Hailing from a family of agricultural scientists in Puttur, he moved to Australia in 2007 for a Masters’ degree in molecular biology. He worked on the barley genome, trying to thicken the stem so that crops — which would otherwise have fallen over in heavy wind — would stay upright and thus be gathered by combine harvesters. As a microbiologist he not only understands the less subtle phenomenon's in nature but also has a deep appreciation for them. Partha's interest always lay in swimming and farming, he leased a pool in Puttur, coaching children from local schools. Now, he runs an eco-friendly resort, where guests are encouraged to swim, dive, and kayak.

On this this episode we talk about his inspiring journey from a molecular biologist to one of the best swim coaches in the country.

Vaishnavi Biyani is a serial entrepreneur based out of Bangalore. She's the owner of Con Amore (@conamoreblr) and specialises in making artisinal pasta.

Vaishnavi's story perfectly captures the journey of someone that has chosen to take the road less travelled. Very early on, she gave up her safety net to follow her #BohemianPursuits

On this episode we talk about the unique challenges of being a chef and an entrepreneur, starting out as a nobody and building a brand, and the importance of being resilient.

You can find her wide variety of pasta and delicious sauces on Instagram.

Priyanka Muniappa, co-owner of the brand 'Grandma would Approve' is at the edge of the sustainable fashion movement. Her brand was recently featured at the Berlin Fashion Week. Backed by a passion to 'Be art', she talked to us about her love for old clothes, sustainable design and the cyclical nature of fashion. Priyanka has a great energy about her and shared a lot of information about the textile industry. It was very interesting to get a sneak peak behind the creative process of someone blindly passionate about what she does.

Vishwakiran Nambi is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, film-maker and, director of LOKA studio for Movement Practices. He has numerous accolades both to his name and his approach to dance. Vishwa has been a part of the Indian dance scene for nearly 2 decades and started before youtube existed. Talking to him lifted the veil in front of contemporary dance in India and introduced us to the challenges associated with being a performer. He started LOKA as a response to the lack of institutional support for performers. It serves as a space to induct people into movement. Like all of us, Vishwas experiences constantly change the person he is but his constant pursuit has been to create dance that everyday people can resonate with.

This was a personal episode. Our objective was to decipher what it meant to be a DJ; where it lead to had a more primal appeal. Deepesh Sharma didn't initially start out as a music producer, it was something that was shown to him when the time was right. He believes that the universe gives, when the universe decides. Through the episode he mentions that he has been blessed with help from the people around him. His rise in the music industry has been fuelled by his ability to adapt, his passion to move a crowd, and his kosher honey. You've heard his music, but this episode is about the person behind the music.

Friedi Kühne holds multiple world records on the slackline, highline and trickline. Infact, he's even got a move named after him. But the world records and the fame don't matter. On this episode, we talk to Friedi about the meteoric rise that slacklining has seen, his journey with the sport and his plans for the future. He gave us a peak behind why he slacklines and what the line holds for a beginner. Friedi is a school teacher 4 days a week and an adrenaline junkie outside of it. For somebody that spends so much time in the air, he was a very down to earth dude and talking to him came naturally.

Bruce Dunn (@bruceisdunn) is a professional tattoo and mural artist based out of Bangalore. He co-founded Murukoo studio, a multi-art studio that will custom paint ANYTHING!

On this episode, Bruce busts some myths about tattoos, talks about the right way to get a tattoo, using nature as inspiration, and tattoos as a way of self expression.

Mixed in with some humor, Bruce helped us see the world through the eyes of a tattoo counsellor, a fisherman and, an optimist. We left the conversation with a more nuanced understanding of tattoo culture.

Episode 7 is special to podcasters. It's the first milestone. If we've gotten here, it means we're not messing around. Expect more and expect better from us. Most importantly, thank you for being here.

PS. Look out for a surprise challenge on this episode!

Karan Machado, Bangalore's most loved voice, hosts the weekday prime time show 'Good Morning Bangalore' on 94.3 Radio One. He loves the mic so much that in his free time he hosts a podcast 'Off air with Kay' where he talks about everything he's not allowed to say on radio. Karan's roots come from being improv an improv artist. In this episode, we go through his journey as somebody who loves the limelight, the mindset that you need to become successful behind a mic and the experiences that moulded him. He came off as an extremely well motivated, well grounded dude with an unreal sense of humour.