Why did an economics graduate switch from working at a private equity fund to journalism? How is privatisation of education panning out in India? Who are the different players in Bangalore's water crisis?

Mutasim and I discuss his experience so far as a business journalist, and the insights he has gained in the process. He talks candidly about the factors that drove him to take up this profession.

Host: Purvi Rajpuria

Guest: Mutasim Khan

Mutasim's byline at the Ken.

Mutasim's Linkedin.

Email me: [email protected]

My Instagram, YouTube, and Substack.

How does one describe the art of street photography, and why is an artist drawn to it in the first place? How does street photography help you discover a city? And what is its relationship with the digital revolution?

We answer these questions and more in this episode of the Documenting Culture podcast.

Guest: Soumyendra Saha

Host: Purvi Rajpuria

Photographers mentioned:

Henri Cartier Bresson

Richard Kalvar

Robert Frank

Diane Arbus

Elliott Erwitt

Flickr groups:

Gauntlet

Small Grower’s Street Association

Hardcore Street Photography (better known as HCSP on Flickr)

121clicks (wesbite here)

Street Fight

Street and Repeat

Street Photography Now Project

Other online communities:

Artphotofeature.com (Magazine here)

Worldsp.co

Soumyendra da's Instagram and website.

Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Substack.

Email me at: [email protected]

What does it mean to inhabit a place that has now been swept away by the river? What does this do the psyche of a person, and how does one make sense of such an experience?

How does an artist, with a loaded past, navigate the art school setup, and emerge from it with a clear sense of where they want to go? What, ultimately, is the purpose of an arts practice, and why is an artist compelled to follow it?

I unpack these questions and more with visual artist Pallov Saikia.

Host: Purvi Rajpuria

Guest: Pallov Saikia

Follow Pallov's work ⁠here⁠.

Find me on ⁠Instagram,⁠ ⁠Youtube,⁠ and ⁠Substack⁠.

Email me with questions, comments and suggestions at [email protected]

00:00 Intro02:20 River erosion in Rahmoria 09:21 Artistic and cultural influences growing up15:30 Art college years In Guwahati18:27 Colonial syllabus in art college24:04 Teaching art in Arunachal Pradesh29:14 Master’s degree years31:08 Pressure to produce work32:32 Financial pressures33:06 Interview stories from Rahmoria38:01 Process of practice39:00 Going beyond documentation42:56 Collective imagination of his community45:43 Why he practices art48:34 Outro

Documentary photographer and filmmaker Arko Datto talks about his practice and process of developing various bodies of photographic works. One of his most extensive projects, titled 'Shunyo Raja,' documents the ecological crisis unfolding in the Bengal Delta.

The conversation covers questions of memory, ecology, surveillance, nationalism, and the world of images at large.

Host: Purvi Rajpuria

Guest: Arko Datto

Follow Arko's work here and here.

Find me on Instagram, Youtube, and Substack.

Email me with questions, comments and suggestions at [email protected]

My guest this episode is Anant Gupta, a political correspondent at Scroll.in. We discuss his reporting process for covering the 2025 Bihar elections, and the many factors shaping the election results. This includes the in-fighting between the Congress and the RJD, BJP's role in Bihar politics, voter sentiments toward Nitish Kumar, and the opposition's failed attempts at presenting a coherent election campaign.

Host: Purvi Rajpuria

Guest: Anant Gupta

Read Anant's reporting here.

Email me with thoughts, suggestions and feedback: [email protected]

Shownotes:

Books:

• Ruled or Misruled by Santosh Singh
• The Brothers Bihari by Sankarshan Thakur
• Community Warriors by Ashwani Kumar

YouTube Channels:

• Followup Bihar
• The Jantana

Journalists:

• Amarnath Tewary of The Hindu
• Santosh Singh of The Indian Express

Follow my work here.

0:00 Intro

2:53 How different social classes depend on the government

7:04 The reporting process

9:35 Voter sentiments in North-West Bihar

13:08 Research before going on field

16:20 Relationship between Nepal protests and Bihar elections

17:40 Friendly fights between the RJD and Congress

20:25 Other constituencies covered

22:53 Core reason for RJD & Congress in-fighting

26:02 Congress' social base in Bihar

29:15 Success of the BJP-JD(U) coalition

31:05 Religion & communalism in Bihar

35:45 Muslim vote in Bihar

38:10 Slow communalism & religiosity in Bihar

38:55 BJP's role in Bihar

44:00 Vikaas vs caste binary

45:50 Why Nitish has a bad rep in liberal circles

50:15 2020 vs 2025 state elections

51:45 Why the opposition campaign failed

55:15 How social media distorts our understanding

57:45 Outro