Indicast - All Podcasts

An MBA is the "in thing" in India among the "eager minds of tomorrow". We are not complaining. We hold that degree too. What we are against is the unprofessional methods of conditioning these eager minds to pick one B School from the other by publishing half baked survey reports based on perceptions and sheer lack of homework.

Hope. It's a funny word, isn't it? it's valium for some and marinjuna for others. It's dope. It's contagious. It spreads. It's an inspiration. Mumbai is on it... because it doesn't have a choice... because it can't afford a nervous breakdown. Mumbai is hurt. It is seething. We hope it is not immune. We hope some day we all will start asking questions. We hope that we, mumbaikars stop taking ourselves for granted and not just "Move on".

When it comes to supply chain, only God can beat em. But, we couldn't interview God. So, we spoke to the second in command, Mr. Raghunath Medghe, the President of the Dabbawala Association, Mumbai.

Following is an excerpt from an article from the Forbes Magazine:

Mumbai's "tiffinwallahs" have achieved a level of service to which Western businesses can only aspire. "Efficient organization" is not the first thought that comes to mind in India, but when the profit motive is given free rein, anything is possible. To appreciate Indian efficiency at its best, watch the tiffinwallahs at work.

We are back after a long time. Blame it on my laptop which completed its 5th Anniversary and I had to gift it with a new Hard Disk and adorn it with a few accessories. Yeah, it was a costly affair, but, what the heck? We are back! Thank you for all the comments and the patience!

"I am a cheerleader, I am a promoter, I am a salesman, I am a debt collector, and there are other aspects I still have to discover," Annan has said in describing his job. Will Shashi Tharoor join the select few from across the globe to head the most important post in the United Nations? We, at Indicast root for him.

Also, Bollywood doesnt stop amazing us especially when its an item girl. When Rakhee did it to a girl, it's a kiss. When Mika does it to Rakhi, it's blasphemy! We try to get our minds to decipher this anamoly.

I love it when when we talk on topic as diverse as the ones we covered today. Also to spice it up a bit check out this Rakhi Sawant interview on YouTube. I love the reason she gives for being an item girl. "Mujhe Gaana Pasand hain na".

Today, I walked past waiting patients to the quadrangle at the heart of AIIMS, where striking doctors prepare to go hungry for another night. There were candles all around, remnants of a quiet vigil from an hour ago. Little groups of students huddled everywhere, some on benches, others stretched out on red carpets in the centre of the ground. Around them, strung up everywhere, are banners. There's a joke painted on one. It's about Manmohan Singh telling George W Bush of a plan to send Indians to the moon next year. "How many," asks Bush. "100," Singh replies. "25 OBCs, 20 SCs, 15 STs, 5 handicapped, 5 sports personnel, 2 Kashmiri migrants, 8 politicians, 18 generals and, if possible, 2 astronauts." Another poster read: "I am leaving for the US. I was disowned by my own country." This is what it has come to?

One fine morning, the 19 year old Harvard sophomore, Kaavya Vishwanathan wrote a book, got rich, got famous, and then, got caught. While she seems to have been only "inspired" by one of her favourite authors and that the similarities between her book, 'How Opal Mehta Got kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life' and Sophie Kinsella's 'Can You Keep a Secret' were only coincidental, we at indicast discuss the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism. The NGO that we researched about this week is by the name of Apne Aap, an NGO which has taken up the daring initiative to end sex-trafficking in India.

With the summer season at its peak, this May, has been an eventful one for the shining brand called 'India'. In the past couple of years, India has appeared in more publications and magazines across the world than it has in the past 8-10 years put together! Was India built in a day? We discuss India and its tryst with fame in this episode.

The summer has always been hot but this time around adding fuel to the fire is the daily load shedding ritual for about 3 hours. I have heard stories where 8 hour load shedding has become a norm. So we decided to take that topic up and present our views on it. I tried hard but couldnt help giving out a few numbers. Abhishek has the honour of hosting the show this time. You will also hear dogs barking in the background for about 2 mins, those are my two dobermans. I tried but couldnt clear the barking from the original recording.

Has the Indian judicial system become like a cricket umpire where a few bad decision are part of the game? Killers are being let go and then rearrested, rape sentences are being handed out like the christmas cake. And to top it, the quota system is back. We are for merit based selection but at the same time the under previleged have to be helped out. Abhishek presents a solution. What do you say?

For this episode we have picked up two topics concerning women but one of them remains a big issue while the other one is a "fabricated" issue by the traditional media. The sentencing in the Marine drive rape case caught our eye and Abhishek went on a number hunt to get a few facts while I took a look into the Indian Penal Code and its definition of rape. The other topic we cover was about the goof-ups at the lakme India Fashion week. In fact, we were in two minds while talking about it since the traditional media and the politician hyped it up so much but we had to tell them to shut up, let go and move on!!