Note: This episode is in Hinglish. The episode opens with Tejas talking about what creativity means to him. We talk about how his interest in music began and how he went about making it a professional pursuit. Tejas shares his take on having an agent and how he initiated his signature Qawali venture Mehfil-E-Sufi. He also talks about his relationship with social media and what going viral was like. We later chat about his favourite artists and influences. The episode ends with excerpts from two pieces written and narrated by Tejas.

P.S. - No episode next week on account of Navratri! Talk to y'all on 20th Oct! :)

Tejas is an independent singer, songwriter and composer primarily in Hindi. He has produced songs like Jaana Zaroori Tha, Pyaar, Intezaar and Qurbat to name a few. Tejas is classically trained and has also been a teacher at the Shankar Mahadevan Academy. He is also the founder of Mehfil-E-Sufi. You can find him on Instagram @tejasgambhirofficial and @mehfilesufi.

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: Gurbani, KK, Emraan Hashmi, The Corona Song, Shankar Mahadevan Academy, Velvet Vibes, Papon, On Stage Talents, Arbaaz Khan, AR Rahman, Spotify, Coke Studio, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rohail Hyatt, Sajjad Ali, Arjit Singh, Suits, Designated Survivor, rahat Indori, Krishn Bihari Noor, Mark Manson, Enid Blyton, Secret Seven, Diljit Dosanjh, On Stage Talent

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

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The episode opens with Krish talking about what creativity means to him. We chat about how he started writing and illustrating. Krish talks about his time in Delhi as a journalist, a student in Singapore and his life in Beijing as an artist. We talk about his deep interest in music and how that’s influenced him. Later, he talks about Chaoyang Trap a quirky publication on socio-political and cultural themes in China. We also share book recommendations and discuss Krish’s favourite artists. The episode ends with an excerpt from a piece written and narrated by Krish.

Krish Raghav is a comic book artist based in Amsterdam. He was part of Chaoyang Trap, an experimental newsletter about everyday life on the Chinese internet. Krish's writing and illustrations have appeared in TANK Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Real Life, Topic, and Al-Jazeera. He’s working on his debut full-length comic book, a history of the Beijing underground music scene titled Open All the Buddha Boxes. You can find him @krishraghav on X (Twitter), @beijingbrown on IG. Website: krishcat.com

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: Tasha’s Comic, The Beetles, Bjork, Nucleya, Lifafa, Peter Cat Recording Co., Disco Puppet, Sanitary Panels, The Vigil Idiot, Bakarmax, Singapore Art Museum, Fifty Two, Substack, Real Life Magazine, Chaoyang Trap, Illayaraja, The Mountain Goats, Awaara, The Song Explorers, Interesting Times, The Observatory, Cortex, McDowell Fellowship, Yaddo Fellowship, Krish Ashok, Masala Lab, Al-Jazeera, The New York Times, Michael DeForge, Familiar Face, Appupen, Yan Cong, Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida, Shehan Karunatilaka, The Saint Of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrashekara, Our Share Of Night, Mariana Enríquez, Benjamín Labatut, The Maniac, When We Cease To Understand The World, Taking The Horse To Eat Jalebis, A Night Of Knowing Nothing, Payal Kapadia, Enter The Clones Of Bruce, Ghost Maps,

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

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The episode opens with Rabia talking about what creativity means to her. We talk about her earliest memories of being creative and how her school and family played a role in building her creative interests. We delve into her process as a writer and talk about voice and being vulnerable. Rabia also shares her thoughts on social media and how studying writing has helped her hone her skills. Later, we exchange book recommendations. The episode ends with a piece written and narrated by Rabia.

Rabia Kapoor is a writer from Mumbai. She is primarily interested in the quiet intimacy and tenderness of female relationships with their surroundings, with each other, and with themselves. Through her work she is looking for the generous potential of the world. Instagram/twitter: @rabiaaunty

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: Prithvi Theatre, Sampoorna Chatterjee, King’s College, Open Sky, Kommune, Rudyard Kipling, Rupi Kaur, Patricia Lockwood, Priestdaddy, Yellowface, Blue Sisters, Book-Tok, Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us, Sally Rooney, Intermezzo, conversations With Friends, Dolly Alderton, Good Material, Ghosts, Bunny, Mona Awad, The Pisces, Melissa Broder, When Harry Met Sally, Nora Ephron, Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson, David Sedaris, Arrangements In Blue, Amy Key, After Sun, Hit The Road, Fleabag, Finding Nemo, Billie Eilish, Butter, Asako Yuzuki, Minor Detail, Adania Shibli, Hurricane Season, Fernanda Melchor, Still Born, Guadalupe Nettel, Fitzcarraldo Editions, Sheila Heti

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

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Season 4 opener out on 22nd September!

Check our Instagram @theclosetwriterchronicles for a fun campaign on highlighting emerging creators.

#OwnYourStory

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

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Produced By White Hot

It's our season finale and I'm talking to Shrenik Rao! The episode opens with Shrenik talking about what writing and creativity means to him. He shares his early childhood memory of coming up with an evening edition newspaper and how that sparked his interest in journalism. We delve into his journey with entrepreneurship in the media space and his experience as a documentary filmmaker. We talk about how he revived The Madras Courier and his editorial process. Later, we chat about his upcoming book and some of his favourite writers. The episode ends with an article written & narrated by Shrenik.

Shrenik Rao is the Editor-In-Chief of The Madras Courier, a 236-year-old new brand which he has revived to a digital format. He is also the founder of 7MB, a digital media company and a documentary filmmaker! He has produced documentaries for the History Channel. Shrenik is a fellow at the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2016) and an alumnus of the London School of Economics.

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. 'The Moody Marshmallow' is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: World This Week by Pranoy Roy, The Hindu, India Today, London School Of Economics, The Elephant Whisperers, BBC, CNN, Sky News, Pranoy Roy, N Ram, NDTV, Doordarshan, The Hindu, Malayala Manorama, The new York Times, The Washington Post, Richard Johnston, Swarajya, The Caravan, The Scroll, Om Shanti Om, The New Yorker, The Financial Times, Vice Media, Scoop Whoop, Dalai Lama, Salman Rushdie, Arundathi Roy, J.K. Rowling, Kushwant Singh, The Billion Dollar Spy, Arvind Adiga, The White Tiger, Little Women. Beef,Brahmins & Broken Men, B.R. Ambedkar

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Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

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Produced By White Hot

The episode opens with Shalini talking about what creativity and storytelling means to her. We delve into how she chose medicine as a career with a specialisation in respiratory pathology. Shalini talks about her experience during the corona pandemic and how it started her writing journey. We talk about books, burnout and if you need to be a reader to write. The episode ends with Shalini reading an excerpt from her book.

Shalini is a pulmonary pathologist and writer. During the day, she’s managing her lab or working on complex biopsy reports. As a writer, she has published articles on Women’s Web, E-She Magazine, and The Himalayan Writing Retreat. She has also published a book called ‘Stars From The Borderless Sea’.

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. 'The Moody Marshmallow' is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: The Final Diagnosis, Haley, Harry Potter, Morning Pages, Julia Cameron, Atul Gawnde, When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi, Shoe Dog, The Swaddle, Respectfully Disagree, Story Jam, Munshi Premchand, The Seen And The Unseen, Amit Verma, Humans Of New York, Lady Hardinge College

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Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot

The episode opens with Eshan talking about what creativity and storytelling means to him. We chat about how his interest in history started and how he decided to pursue it as a career. He talks about how he got the idea for Karwaan Heritage, how he started it and what the evolution has been like. We also talk about a book he published when he was 17! Later, we delve into his writing journey and discuss one of his articles in relation to Karwaan's work culture. He shares resources for those interested in learning more about history. The episode ends with a poem narrated by Eshan.

Eshan Sharma is a writer, heritage activist and a TEDx speaker. He is the founder of one of India's leading history collectives, Karwaan: The Heritage Exploration Initiaitve. He likes to call himself a historian in training. A graduate in History from Delhi University, he is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Modern Indian History from MSU, Baroda. He is interested in films, history and everything that falls between the two. Eshan is currently working on a book project on the New Wave in Indian Cinema. You can find him on Instagram @iameshansharma_

Mentions: KL Saigal, Noor Jahaan, Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Vikramjit Singh Rooprai, Delhi Heritage: Top 10 Baolis, Sohail Hashmi, Chinmay Tumbe, The Age Of Pandemics, Manimugdha Sharma, StreamYard, Romila Thapar, Voices Of Dissent, Lady Doctors, The Day I Became A Runner, Sohini Chattopadhyay, The Last Heroes, P.Sainath, Anand Ranganathan, Sadaf Hussain, Ratna Pathak Shah, Ithihasology, Anirudh Kanisetty, The People Of The Indus, Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari, Amar Chitra Katha, R.G. Collingwood, Naseerudin Shah, Nikhil Taneja, Animal, Kabir Singh, Pushpaa, Court, Garam Hawaa, Schindler’s List, All Quiet On The Western Front, Daak Vaak, Studio Ghibli, Death Note, John Green’s Crash Course On History, Shaasn, Mughal-E-Azam, Shyam Benegal, Spiderman, Trolley Times

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Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

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Produced By White Hot

The episode opens with Salini talking about what writing means to her. We delve into how she decided to pursue engineering, her work life and her decision to switch to a writing career. We talk about books and writer with a focus on Malayalam literature. Salini talks about her experience with self-publishing and things to keep in mind while working on a book. The episode ends with Salini narrating an excerpt from her book, 'Lost Edges'.

Salini Vineeth is a fiction and freelance writer based in Bangalore. She worked for ten years as an engineer before turning to full-time writing in December 2018. Since then, she has published five books – Lost Edges (novel), Magic Square (novella), Everyday People (a short story collection), and travel guides for Hampi and Badami. She won the Orange Flower Award for Humour in 2023. Her short story collection Everyday People was the finalist in the Amazon Pen2Publish contest 2019. She won the eShe short story contests in 2019 and 2020. Her stories have appeared in magazines like Out of Print, The Bangalore Review, Borderless Journal, Cafe Dissensus, Kitaab International, Funny Peals, and The Bombay Review. You can find her on Instagram @salini_vineeth

Mentions: Mathrubhumi Weekly, Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Kamala Das, M T Vasudev Nair, Madhavi Kutty, Dil Chahta Hai, Blogspot, Tiny Tales, Write Plus Jobs, Red River Press, Andaleeb Wajid, Blossoms, Atta Galatta, With Love, Madras, Valli by Sheila Tomy, JCB Prize, Hangwoman by KR Meera, Sherlock Holmes, Aurthur Conan Doyle, The Good Wife, Kudhravattum Papu, CBI Diary Kurup, Mindhunter, David Fincher

Vote for The Closet Writer Chronicles under the Arts & Entertainment category for the Podmaster's Awards! Voting link: https://survey.zohopublic.in/zs/fgBG1i

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot

The episode opens with Pragadish talking about what storytelling and creativity means to him. He shares how he decided to pursue a career in marketing and the steps he took to find a position that aligns with his values and interests. We chat about books, movies, poems and stories that we enjoy. Later, Pragadish opens up about his experience of coming out as queer and his relationship with identity. We also talk about his TikTok fame and how he navigates social media. The episode ends with poems written and narrated by Pragadish.

Pragadish Kalaivanan is a queer Indian marketer and poet. After graduating with a B .Tech in Computer Science, he moved to the US to study and pursue a career in marketing. He started his marketing career in content writing before moving into a more SEO and lead generation-oriented role. He has been featured on NBC, NPR, Yahoo News and Daily Dot. His work is influenced by his experiences of growing up in a sheltered, conformative society and is a dance of finding the balance between loving the culture that raised you and becoming the person you are truly meant to be. He has given a talk at 'A World Without Borders', a digital summit. You can find him on Instagram: @pragadishk and Tiktok: @pragadishkalaivan

Mentions: Drizzly, Google Fibre, TikTok, BeReal, Lapse, Padma Laxmi, Curtain by Helen Spalding, BookTok, Colleen Hoover, Bindery, Publisher’s Weekly, Animorphs, Hunted, PC Castewell, Twilight, Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, The Once And Future King, TH White, One Piece, Only Murders In The Building, The Boys, The Powerpuff Girls, Mulan, The Devil Wears Prada, Drishyam, Helen, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, Poetry Foundation

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Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot

The episode opens with Sadaf talking about what creativity and storytelling means to him. We talk about how his interest in food was sparked and trace his journey from starting a pop-up cafe, being on MasterChef India, and going on to carve a career in food! Sadaf shares some fun anecdotes along the conversation. We chat about stories, writing, his latest book for children 'The Carrot Soup', and his upcoming projects. Sadaf also talks about how making mistakes can help you grow and misconceptions people have about his job. The episode ends with an excerpt from the book 'Forgotten Foods' written and narrated by Sadaf.

Sadaf Hussain is a chef, writer and food history enthusiast. He has written two food books to date, and has two more lined up to be released next year, including illustrated books and a book on spices. He also worked on a study of Rampur cuisine with the University of Sheffield, UK. He is a TedX speaker and is a host of the award winning Indian food podcast, Naan Curry. You can find him on Instagram @sadaf_hussain and X (Twitter) @hussainsadaf1

Mentions: Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal, Daawat, Pushpesh Pant, Manjeet Gill, Jiks Karla, Tarun Sibal, Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar, Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre, Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Padma Laxmi, Ogilvy, Chota Bheem, Bohri Kitchen, Take Home Chef, Curtis Stone, Adam Smith, Desi Delicacies, Forgotten Foods, Dastan-E-Dastarkhwaan, University Of Sheffield, Durjoy Datta, Chacha Chowdhary, Archie, Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha, Doga, Pinky, Super Commando Dhruv, Vikram Doctor, Bombay Canteen, Dexter’s Labaratory, Dexter, Peaky Blinders, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Game Of Thrones, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Chetan Bhagat, William Wordsworth, Ali Sethi, Lupin, Kohrra

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Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - [email protected]

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot