Storytalking with Lakshya

In episode #40, Lakshya talks to Amyth Banerjee from Mumbai, India, who is currently working as an AI Evangelist. Amyth tells Lakshya about his interests and fascinations with technology and science growing up, how he tried and quit engineering, why he got into digital storytelling via marketing and filmmaking, how he discovered his mission of re-imagining a better tomorrow, the ‘demystifying theory’ that defines his career, and how he became an evangelist for artificial intelligence.

In episode #39 of Storytalking, Lakshya speaks with George Simons, an American in France, an intercultural expert, and the creator of ‘Diversophy’ - which aims to help people and organizations work with others from different backgrounds and cultures via games and workshops. George tells Lakshya about how history, culture, religion are just stories, and how a story is like a vehicle, it can be used for both good or evil. George is a teacher and a master-storyteller with over 5 decades of experience, so there is something to learn for everyone in this episode! Check out George’s games at www.diversophy.com.

In episode #38 of Storytalking, Lakshya chats with Amar S, aka Comedy Wala Amar, a stand up comedian from Gurgaon, India. Amar tells Lakshya about his upbringing and education and ‘corporate life’, how he found stand up comedy, what it was like to get on stage for the first time, how he writes his material, the books he’s writing, and how he’s found own happiness in making people laugh. Check out Amar’s work at amarvani.in

In episode #37 of Storytalking, Lakshya does a #solo talk about one of his most favorite things ever: interactive storytelling in video games. Things you'll hear him talk about: his first ever experience with immersive storytelling back in 2000 with Metal Gear Solid on the Sony Playstation, his lifelong obsession with Playstations, his favorite game series (Grand Theft Auto, God of War, Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption), decision-making in interactive games and consequences, the new game ‘Detroit: Become Human' that he's playing, and why and how he wrote his own interactive story called 'She v/s Him' (which you can play on the Playground!).

In episode #36 of Storytalking, Lakshya speaks with Francis Laleman, who Lakshya describes as ‘the agent of and for curiosity’. Francis is a university of knowledge, and he shares several stories about his life and career. From growing up in Belgium and studying Indian culture and languages, to moving to India and becoming a teacher and trainer, how he got into instructional design and the agile movement, how he learned a lot by just walking behind curious children, and why he considers himself to be less of an educator and more of a potter.

In episode #35 of Storytalking, Lakshya speaks with Iska Mayu, one of our very own featured storytellers! Iska talks to Lakshya about her childhood, what it was like to grow up in two different cultures, how she got into writing, why she writes about her personal life and experiences, and where she finds inspiration. You can find Iska’s audio story called ‘I’m Still Alive’ on Listen, her Guide is called ‘Giving Your Thoughts Justice’, and you can also read her story ‘To Miss You more’ in the Spring 2018 issue of The Storyteller.

In episode #34 of Storytalking, Lakshya talks to Narendra Goidani, motivational-speaker-extraordinaire, and founder of ‘Life School’, ‘Keep Moving Movement’, ‘WOW Parenting’. Naren shares inspiring stories about his life, how he translated his energy and positivity to become an agent for creativity, how he puts together KMM sessions across 60 cities which trains 25,000 students per year, and how he uses storytelling to teach problem solving.

In episode #33 of Storytalking, Lakshya speaks with Abhimanyu Bhardwaj, who just completed his masters degree in Strategic Design from Politecnico Di Milano, and is now working at Ernst & Young in Milan. He talks about how he started his career with Mathematics, how he was drawn to creative and design thinking, how companies can leverage creativity, why he’s inspired by real people like Warren Buffett and fictional people like Don Draper, and what he’s learned about himself along the way.

In episode of #32 of Storytalking, Lakshya talks to Darwin Leonard Prakash, a 24 year old opera singer / performer/ music prodigy. Darwin shares stories of singing in his church choir as a kid, how he got ‘discovered’ by his future singing teacher, what it was like to train and audition for the Royal Academy Of Music in London, his love for opera singing, and how he deals with stress, uncertainty, and ambition.

In episode #31 of Storytalking, Lakshya chats with Anirban Bhattacharya, Founder of The Painted Sky (art-based corporate training initiatives) as well as Founder of UBQT Design Thinking School. They talk about how art and creativity can be used to solve real-world problems and improve business practices, how art-based methodologies can help people introspect and discover new things about themselves, how creativity is at the center of all innovation in any industry, and how the future belongs to people with empathy and emotional intelligence.