In this episode, Sandhya Mendonca, Founder & Chief Editor of Raintree Media talks to Arundhati Raja, co-founder of Jagriti Theatre, about theatre, freedom & relevance in today’s world.

Tell us in the comments or at [email protected] - what’s the most powerful play you’ve ever seen — and why did it stay with you?

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Read more: The Female Gaze – The Sunday Guardian

https://sundayguardianlive.com/feature/a-1930s-spanish-story-tracks-womens-timeless-quest-for-freedom-137936/

This episode is part of Raintree Media Originals, bringing you conversations that spotlight leaders, artists, and changemakers who are shaping culture and ideas today.

#spotlightwithsandhya #RaintreeMedia #RaintreeMediaOriginals #ArundhatiRaja #JagritiTheatre #IndianTheatre #WomenInArts #PerformingArts #TheatreDirector #BengaluruCulture #ArtAndFreedom #StageStories

World-famous musician and sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath, in this multilingual interview with Sandhya Mendonca, reflects on music, the greatness of Chandrashekhara Kambara’s writing and Rahman’s music, and other experiences of a rich and varied life. He captivates both as a musician and a person, with a blend of audacity and humility. Deeply influenced by his guru Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravishankar, Pandit Taranath has greatly impacted music, literature, theatre, and cinema. He is a ‘Renaissance’ person who excels in everything he does - as a performing artist, a guru, a music composer, a professor, a writer, a literary critic, and a translator. At 92 years of age, he continues to practice music daily and to teach students at his home in Mysuru and online.

Watch the video of this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf5EOb4OpGA

This episode is supported by The Windflower Resorts & Spa

Filmed & Edited by Vishwas Krishna

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Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy is the lead actor and debutant director of the delightful coming-of-age film ‘Aachar and Company’. Set in the 60s back when Bangalore was still a small town, it's about siblings growing up in Bangalore, tackling patriarchy and gender roles. This little Kannada film has taken everybody by surprise with the kind of impact that it had when it was released this July. It had a good run in theatres before streaming on Amazon Prime.

Sindhu talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the gentle humour she uses to approach issues of women claiming their agency by going out to work, the subtle nuances within families, and her fascination with nostalgia.

Watch the Video of this interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RaintreeMedia1/podcasts

Recorded at The Hub

Edited by Capital Studio

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“Profits are important, but it's also important to be driven by morals and ethics”, Vinita Bali says. 

Known for her skills in building brands and leading companies in five continents including Coca-Cola, Cadbury's and Britannia. In this episode of the podcast, she talks to Sandhya Mendonca about why and how to build healthy companies. She emphasises character and work ethics over expediency – traits that make her a sought-after Independent Board member by global companies.

Bali is also deeply involved in efforts to increase nutrition levels in India and in promoting the arts. She also talks about the pervasive gender gap in the corporate world and why men need to actively work to bridge it.

"We need more Dangal Dads", she says.

Watch the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RaintreeMedia1/podcasts

Recorded at The Hub

Edited by Capital Studio

To be featured on this show write to us at [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/raintreemedia or https://www.instagram.com/raintreemedia/

Indians are over the moon with the success of its lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-3 in August 2023. The joy and pride are greater as ISRO sprang up unfazed from the failure of the previous mission. The first country to land a craft on the moon’s South Pole and doing it at a fraction of the cost that advanced countries would have spent is just one of many in a string of steady successes notched up by the Indian Space Research Organisation. Gita Aravamudan, journalist and co-author of a book on ISRO talks about India’s spectacular journey to outer space and the building of this unique organisation.

“ISRO is a truly nationalist organisation. The people who work here wanted to work in India and not work abroad”, she says.

#isro #chandrayaan-3 #indianmoonmission #space #nasa #sarabhai #kalam #danaravamudan #gitaaravamudan #spotlightwithsandhya

#sandhyamendonca

Edited by Capital Studio

To be featured on this show write to us at [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/raintreemedia or https://www.instagram.com/raintreemedia/

You can watch this podcast as a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUusJ0LtVOM

His family was torn from its home in Sindh by the partition of India, and a few years later, they were thrown out of their adoptive homeland in Kenya. Ram Gidoomal CBE, a British Asian refugee who went from riches to rags and back to riches, shares his life-changing decision after visiting the Dharavi slum in Mumbai.

He shifted his focus from business to improve the lives of those at the bottom of society. Ram's experience in India led him and his wife to give up their luxurious lifestyle and use their finances to help people in poverty. They raised £5 million over seven years with the help of 50,000 teenagers across Britain. Ram, a successful businessman and entrepreneur, shares his experiences of interacting with different cultures and using business skills to make a positive impact. He emphasizes raising awareness, building bridges between communities, and taking action to bring about positive change.

Ram Gidoomal discusses the importance of building trust and relationships in achieving goals, both personally and professionally. For Ram, writing books is another avenue for addressing social issues such as gender discrimination within the Asian community. He narrates his life choices in his memoir ‘My Silk Road’. He tells Sandhya Mendonca, “It’s an account of how we walk our chosen path, finding peace, compassion, and belonging along the way.”

Watch the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RaintreeMedia1/podcasts

Edited by Capital Studio. To be featured on this show write to us at [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/raintreemedia or https://www.instagram.com/raintreemedia/

Visionary airline entrepreneur Capt GR Gopinath's order of 30 planes turned the fortunes around for the French aeroplane manufacturer ATR in 2004. Capt Gopi recalls the heady days when he also ordered 60 Airbus planes. In light of mega orders for planes by Indigo for 500 planes and Air India for 470 planes, we asked him about the growth of the airline sector in India. "The airline sector hasn't grown commensurate with other industries and less than 4% of the Indian population is traveling by air", he says. He goes on to tell Sandhya Mendonca about the policies that hinder the growth and says that setting up more airports in big cities and the creation of hubs that would drive more international traffic to Indian airports will save the Indian airline industry. He talks passionately about the value of entrepreneurship which leads to the question - Does he plan to revive his own plans to fly? - Hear the podcast to find out!

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Recorded at The Hub Bangalore

Edited by Capital Studio

He made aviation history by starting India’s first low-cost airline and yet lost it all. Call it a bad decision, call it circumstances. In the first of a 2 part interview, Capt. GR Gopinath reflects on his past failures in the airline business and his nemesis, Vijay Mallya. He shares insights on resilience, enthusiasm and optimism in life. “Persistence and curiosity are more important than talent”, he tells Sandhya Mendonca. “Rising each time you fall is the art of life and the art of business.”

He talks about the lessons he’s gleaned in farming and politics, his passion for music and his current avatar as a columnist who writes on a wide range of issues. He rues the misinterpretation of Hinduism and condemns religious fundamentalism of all hues.

Recorded at The Hub Bangalore

Edited by Capital Studio

Solomon Diniz presents the spirit of Goa in a bottle. The fourth generation of a liquor distillery wants to celebrate his heritage that’s intrinsically linked to feni. Diniz talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the rise of Adinco Distilleries from a village tavern into a company that makes over two dozen spirit variants. Diniz spearheads innovation in manufacturing and branding. After adding new gins and liquor chocolates he’s created India’s first charred whisky. In a further innovation, he’s used charred coconut shells, making it perhaps the first-ever whiskey of its kind. “The Indian consumer has evolved and we should take care in maintaining quality and always notching it up and making it better and better”, he says in this episode of the podcast.

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Recorded at The Hub Bangalore

Edited by Capital Studio

World-renowned mathematician Dr Sujatha Ramdorai talks about her work in algebraic number theory and the vital need for learning maths.  She recalls her early years when the love for maths sparked within her and her wish to enable every child to understand and appreciate maths.

 Ramdorai tells Sandhya Mendonca in this podcast that “the basics of teaching have to improve”. She talks about her efforts to engage with teachers and empower them with the teaching tools.

Sujatha Ramdorai was the first Indian to win the prestigious International Centre for Theoretical Physics

 ICTP Ramanujan Prize, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, the highest honour in scientific fields by the Indian Government. 2020 Krieger–Nelson Prize by the Canadian Mathematical Society for exceptional contributions to mathematics research. She was recently conferred with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India for 2023.

To be featured on this show write to us at [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/raintreemedia or https://www.instagram.com/raintreemedia/

Edited by Capital Studio