My last ever link on radio.. bitter sweet. How else can I define it? It has been an absolute crazy ride.

I will forever remember 26.09.2022. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry on air.. but I didn't realise how that last link would hit me. It's not saying bye to the team so much.. its the listeners. They've allowed me to be part of their morning every single day! The pure, unfiltered love is what I'm grateful for!

You will hear RJ Prithvi come in in this live link. He's been the person who saw me start my career in radio.. only fitting that he is the last one there to see me through it.

Thank you for the music, Radio One. See you on the other side.

This is officially my last interview on air. I realised that over 7 and a half years of my career.. I have not introduced you to what my wife does(professionally)! So here we are.. Couldn't be a more fitting way to end a 7 & a half year career in Radio. Crazily enough, she was once a listener who called in. The only listener I ever broke my one rule(to never date a listener) for! Well, proud to say that she's my wife now!

I hope you enjoy listening to it!

Harsha Tej is on a ission is to plant 1 Lakh trees in the next one year. They've tried up with an NGO to raise companies CSR funds but we are doing a public fund raise to be involve communities to make them stake holders. Their aim is to not only plant trees, but also sustain them for the next couple of years. They have permission from the government to be planting this in their land. The objective is to create a green pocket which will create an biodiversity hotspot for flora and fauna. These mini forests will absorb a lot of pollutants and give back a lot of oxygen. If you want to join him on this mission more details can be found on his Instagram by clicking here.

Spoke to Anupama Vedachala and here are are some things I learnt:

Bonsai- Is a Japnese art of growing a tree in a tray. It includes careful selection of plant, pruning, training and growing a tree in a pot which resembles a tree in natural condition.

Which plant- Any perennial plant can be choosen with woody stem and branches. Trees, shrubs, seedlings, cuttings etc can be a selected as starting materials.

Pot- Selection of pot is very important, it should always be shallow and match the style of the tree which is grown.

Culture- Unlike many belive bonsai trees are not starved. A very systematic fertigation and irrigation practices jas to be maintained depending on the selected plant to grow a healthy bonsai.

Buying a bonsai- Always buy from a reputed seller, ask the seller the name of the tree, how to take care and follow the advices carefully as bonsai plants are grown in small trays or pots any kind of sudden changes can have a direct effect on the plant's growth.

Once mastered- Once a person becomes a bonsai grower it's a wonderful experience as one can journey with a plant from a small plant to a complete tree in a miniature size.

Indo-American Hybrid Seeds was established by Dr. Manmohan Attavar at Bangalore, India in 1965. IAHS is a private limited Indian company managed by technocrats. Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (IAHS) is a pioneer and an innovative Indian seed company.

IAHS is at present engaged in the Research and Development ( R & D), production and marketing of hybrid seeds of Vegetables, Field crops, Oil seeds, Flower seeds, and Ornamental and landscape plants. IAHS also undertakes turn key execution of greenhouse and net house construction. Since its inception, the company has made remarkable progress in many spheres of commercial Horticulture & Agriculture.

IAHS has a wide range of products in vegetable crops like Tomato, Hot pepper, Capsicum, Bhendi (Okra), Brinjal (Eggplant), Bittergourd, Bottlegourd, Radish and others, Field crops such as Cotton, Rice and Maize, Oil seed crops (Sunflower) and Flower seeds. The hybrids are characterized by their quality and high degree of tolerance to insect pests and diseases resulting in better quality crop and higher yields.

Spoke with Rashmi Attavar, Joint Managing Director & Dr. Madhusudhan, Manager - Technical at IAHS. Here is how conversation went!

“Just Another Day” is a modern neo-realist film that draws attention to in-arguably one of the most raging topics of modern times - depression, abuse and the perception of separated/divorced women in society.

This film was done in a very independent way under limited resources and has been very successful and well received (especially in the USA & Canada) winning around 10 awards in around 30 film festivals after premiering in New York at the New York Asian Film Festival, last year.

Other festivals include Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Tasveer Film Festival, SAFFA, Jaipur International Film Festival, Oscars & BAFTA Qualifying festivals like RIFF, et al.

It was the only film from India at the New York Asian Film Festival in 2021.

The film was also showcased in the heritage Babylon Theatre in Berlin as per of Indo-German Film Week, powered by the Indian Embassy of Berlin.

Closer home, the film is in the pre-selection of the China Short Film Festival, the only government-recognized Short film festival in China.

At home, the film is in the lineup of the prestigious Jaipur International Film Festival, Goa Short Film Festival, and Ayodhya Film Festival, while winning two awards in Chennai and Pondicherry.

The film was also felicitated by the arts division of Kuthaya Dumlipinar University, Turkey on November 25th, 2021, on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The film was also specially screened by the prestigious Indiana University, USA.

Prataya & Anshulika stopped by the studios! Was a fun chat that I hope you will enjoy!

Corporate executive Suvigya Bansal and her entrepreneur husband would scour Bengaluru in search of an authentic Delhi-style chole bhature. When they found none, she decided to quit her job and set up a small eatery that would endeavour to dish out the flavours of their favourite chola bhatura from Delhi. And so seasoned cooks were hired from Delhi, a complex 58-spice masala developed to ensure authenticity of taste, the right size of chickpea sourced to convey the flavour of the spices, et al. Barely had this enterprise found its feet early last year when covid struck! 

Thanks for swinging by and chatting, Suvigya!

In 2010, documentary filmmaker Nitin Pamnani and microbiologist Jia Pamnani decided to move back to Gwalior, their hometown, from Delhi. 

Wanting to engage in something that promotes sustainability, they began iTokri in 2012. Starting with an investment of Rs 20 lakh, the online store, which sells handcrafted fabrics, jewellery, paintings and other artworks, today works with over 10,000 artisan families across India. Even while clocking revenue of close to Rs 27 crore, the duo remain bootstrapped and have not looked to raise capital yet.

Today, iTokiri’s employee strength is at 130, all of whom work out of Gwalior.

The moment you receive a parcel packaged in an old newspaper along with a handwritten note thanking you for your purchase, you know for sure it’s from iTokri. The go-to online store for Indian handlooms and handicrafts, iTokri always believes in the personal touch, whether with their customers or with their artisans. And that is one of the reasons for their resounding success.

The other reason is that it stocks everything handmade from every corner of the country. From papier mache up north in Kashmir and Ajrakh of Kutch from the west to Bengal Kantha from the east and Coimbatore’s handspun cotton down south—you name it and iTokri has it. You no longer have to travel to these places to procure the local handicrafts, because the e-commerce store sources all this directly from the artisans and bring it right to your doorstep. All the while sitting in Gwalior, its home base.

Ellie Goulding unveils ‘Easy Lover’ - a stunning slice of pop perfection that heralds a triumphant and long-awaited return - the first release since Ellie’s chart topping 2020 studio album ‘Brightest Blue’. The track, written and produced in collaboration with the legendary Greg Kurstin and Julia Michaels, sees Ellie’s unmistakable vocals paired with pulsating bass, punchy synths, epic key changes and contagious melodies - the perfect combination for a summer pop banger. The new single also features rap royalty Big Sean who adds his signature flow in contrast to Ellie’s breath-taking harmonies. Big Sean is one of the biggest names in rap is known for hits such as ‘I Don’t Fuck With You’ and ‘Dance (Ass) ft Nicki Minaj’ as well as working with the likes of Justin Bieber, 2Chainz, Halsey and Calvin Harris.

Alongside the single, Ellie has released the epic music video for ‘Easy Lover’, which sees her take on an otherworldly creature that takes the form of humans. The haunting visual is a confident and exciting accompaniment to the single and was directed by Sophia Ray (Years & Years, Raye, Mabel) with movement direction from Remi Black and creative direction from Nathan Klein who also styled the video.

Speaking about the track Ellie states, “I wrote Easy lover in LA with Julia Michaels after conversations about the age old tale of being infatuated by someone cool and beautiful knowing that they will never quite feel the same. It’s about going back to the same dangerous person to feel alive when you know they have hurt people again and again before you. Having the legendary Greg Kurstin produce any song of mine is always a dream come true. He always understands the assignment!”

Stay tuned for more news from Ellie Goulding in the coming months.