Even though we talk about caste through the lens of politics, reportage, and even personalities, the intersection of caste and law is often overlooked. Even though it is the law that has been used again and again as the main weapon in the fight for social equality.

In this episode, Sandip Roy talks to journalist Manoj Mitta, who in his latest book 'Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India' examines the resilience and violence of the Hindu caste system through the legal lens, and ends up uncovering the controversies and decisions that have shaped the fight against caste.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this special Pride Month episode, Sandip interviews Hoshang Merchant, a poet and writer who has never been shy about discussing love, sex, and religion. Born in 1947, Merchant has led a life that has taken him across the globe, from Mumbai to Los Angeles, and from Heidelberg to Jerusalem. In 1999, he edited the pioneering anthology of gay writing from South Asia titled ‘Yaaraan.’ Additionally, he has authored multiple books, including the autobiographical fiction under the title ‘The Man Who Would Be Queen.’

In this candid conversation, Merchant talks about his experiences of growing up gay, reinventing love at 75, his thoughts on the same sex marriage debate, and more.

This episode contains the use of explicit language and adult themes. Listener discretion is advised.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Patriarchy seems like an entrenched fact today, and many argue that it is the 'natural' order of things. But is it? What do we really know about its roots? How did male domination spread across different societies and cultures? And what can science, history and archaeology tell us about it? These are the questions that science writer Angela Saini explores in her latest book, The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule.

In this episode, she joins Sandip Roy to talk about what she found out while looking to answer these questions, and the role we play in keeping Patricharial structures alive.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

From taking on the Khalistan movement in Canada, and surviving an assassination attempt, to discussing multiculturalism (and why it is a double edged sword) and caste in Sikhism, in this episode Sandip Roy speak to Ujjal Dosanjh, the former Premier of British Columbia and federal minister — the first person of Indian origin to lead a government in the west.

In this conversation, Dosanjh speaks about meeting the Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, how Canada became a haven for Khalistanis, and his novel, The Past is Never Dead, that tells the story of a rural Punjabi family in search of a better life, and the ‘stranglehold of caste over Sikh immigrants in Britain.’

Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Utsa Sarmin
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this episode, host Sandip Roy interviews bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni about her latest novel ‘Independence’, which tells the story of three sisters who are separated after the Partition of Bengal. They discuss her approach to storytelling, why women are the central focus of her work, her beginnings as a writer, and her belief that (for the most part) there are no villains in the world.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this episode, Sandip Roy speaks to Dalit poet and publisher Yogesh Maitreya and discusses his memoir Water in a Broken Pot, the experiences that led him to becoming a writer, and why he places his hope on the power of literature.

Maitreya also speaks candidly about his beginnings, the alienation that Dalits often feel in academic spaces, and the pervasive nature of caste in Indian society and how it affects us all.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Abhishek Kumar

In her book, Lies Our Mothers Told Us, writer and journalist Nilanjana Bhowmick talks about how middle-class homes can be a laboratory for patriarchy, and the burden that women have to bear in India. In this episode, she joins Sandip Roy to talk about what inspired her to write the book, fighting patriarchy at home, the lack of women in public spaces, a possible solution to break the cycle of caregiving burden, and much more.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Writer and journalist Nilanjana Roy's new novel, Black River, is a police procedural set in a dusty little town in Northern India that revolves around the horrendous murder of an eight year old girl. In this episode, she joins Sandip Roy to talk about writing the book, why she likes killing in print, her adventures in reading, her advice for budding writers, and why Delhi is kinder than you think.

(Episode image credit: Gauri Gill)

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

What is the actual state of elephants in India? How many of them are currently in captivity, and what are the reasons for that? And what challenges do conservationists face in trying to help them? After the recent Oscar win of The Elephant Whisperers, Vivek Menon and Alok Hisarwala Gupta join Sandip Roy to answer these questions, and talk about the extent to which a documentary like this helps the conservation cause.

Vivek Menon is the Founder Trustee & Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India. Alok Hisarwala Gupta is a lawyer and founder of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

The literary world may know him as the author of books like The Death of Vishnu, and The Age of Shiva, but Manil Suri is also a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. And in his latest book, The Big Bang of Numbers, he writes about creating the universe in seven days using only maths. In this episode, he joins Sandip Roy to talk about the book, how maths helped save his life, why it is hard to teach it, and the time he danced to 'Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja'.

Also, listen till the end for an audio postcard about the 150th anniversary of Calcutta's trams.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed bby Abhishek Kumar


(Manil Suri's photograph by José Villarrubia)