This is officially my last interview on air. I realised that over 7 and a half years of my career.. I have not introduced you to what my wife does(professionally)! So here we are.. Couldn't be a more fitting way to end a 7 & a half year career in Radio. Crazily enough, she was once a listener who called in. The only listener I ever broke my one rule(to never date a listener) for! Well, proud to say that she's my wife now!
I hope you enjoy listening to it!
Harsha Tej is on a ission is to plant 1 Lakh trees in the next one year. They've tried up with an NGO to raise companies CSR funds but we are doing a public fund raise to be involve communities to make them stake holders. Their aim is to not only plant trees, but also sustain them for the next couple of years. They have permission from the government to be planting this in their land. The objective is to create a green pocket which will create an biodiversity hotspot for flora and fauna. These mini forests will absorb a lot of pollutants and give back a lot of oxygen. If you want to join him on this mission more details can be found on his Instagram by clicking here.
Spoke to Anupama Vedachala and here are are some things I learnt:
Bonsai- Is a Japnese art of growing a tree in a tray. It includes careful selection of plant, pruning, training and growing a tree in a pot which resembles a tree in natural condition.
Which plant- Any perennial plant can be choosen with woody stem and branches. Trees, shrubs, seedlings, cuttings etc can be a selected as starting materials.
Pot- Selection of pot is very important, it should always be shallow and match the style of the tree which is grown.
Culture- Unlike many belive bonsai trees are not starved. A very systematic fertigation and irrigation practices jas to be maintained depending on the selected plant to grow a healthy bonsai.
Buying a bonsai- Always buy from a reputed seller, ask the seller the name of the tree, how to take care and follow the advices carefully as bonsai plants are grown in small trays or pots any kind of sudden changes can have a direct effect on the plant's growth.
Once mastered- Once a person becomes a bonsai grower it's a wonderful experience as one can journey with a plant from a small plant to a complete tree in a miniature size.
Indo-American Hybrid Seeds was established by Dr. Manmohan Attavar at Bangalore, India in 1965. IAHS is a private limited Indian company managed by technocrats. Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (IAHS) is a pioneer and an innovative Indian seed company.
IAHS is at present engaged in the Research and Development ( R & D), production and marketing of hybrid seeds of Vegetables, Field crops, Oil seeds, Flower seeds, and Ornamental and landscape plants. IAHS also undertakes turn key execution of greenhouse and net house construction. Since its inception, the company has made remarkable progress in many spheres of commercial Horticulture & Agriculture.
IAHS has a wide range of products in vegetable crops like Tomato, Hot pepper, Capsicum, Bhendi (Okra), Brinjal (Eggplant), Bittergourd, Bottlegourd, Radish and others, Field crops such as Cotton, Rice and Maize, Oil seed crops (Sunflower) and Flower seeds. The hybrids are characterized by their quality and high degree of tolerance to insect pests and diseases resulting in better quality crop and higher yields.
Spoke with Rashmi Attavar, Joint Managing Director & Dr. Madhusudhan, Manager - Technical at IAHS. Here is how conversation went!
“Just Another Day” is a modern neo-realist film that draws attention to in-arguably one of the most raging topics of modern times - depression, abuse and the perception of separated/divorced women in society.
Through the happenings of a single day, the story traces the life of a 40-something newly separated woman, Anjali Katekar, as she navigates another 24 hours of her life in the busy city of Mumbai. Her interactions with her colleague at work and a middle-aged lawyer at a cheap restaurant highlight the indifference of a typical patriarchal society to her mental and physical health coupled with their general lack of empathy and understanding. Societal indifference is sometimes one of the biggest reasons for the under-reporting of domestic abuse crimes.
Through Anjali, we can live the agony of hundreds of middle-aged women facing stigma for mistakes that are not even their own.
This film was done in a very independent way under limited resources and has been very successful and well received (especially in the USA & Canada) winning around 10 awards in around 30 film festivals after premiering in New York at the New York Asian Film Festival, last year.
Other festivals include Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Tasveer Film Festival, SAFFA, Jaipur International Film Festival, Oscars & BAFTA Qualifying festivals like RIFF, et al.
It was the only film from India at the New York Asian Film Festival in 2021.
The film was also showcased in the heritage Babylon Theatre in Berlin as per of Indo-German Film Week, powered by the Indian Embassy of Berlin.
Closer home, the film is in the pre-selection of the China Short Film Festival, the only government-recognized Short film festival in China.
At home, the film is in the lineup of the prestigious Jaipur International Film Festival, Goa Short Film Festival, and Ayodhya Film Festival, while winning two awards in Chennai and Pondicherry.
The film was also felicitated by the arts division of Kuthaya Dumlipinar University, Turkey on November 25th, 2021, on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The film was also specially screened by the prestigious Indiana University, USA.
Prataya & Anshulika stopped by the studios! Was a fun chat that I hope you will enjoy!
Corporate executive Suvigya Bansal and her entrepreneur husband would scour Bengaluru in search of an authentic Delhi-style chole bhature. When they found none, she decided to quit her job and set up a small eatery that would endeavour to dish out the flavours of their favourite chola bhatura from Delhi. And so seasoned cooks were hired from Delhi, a complex 58-spice masala developed to ensure authenticity of taste, the right size of chickpea sourced to convey the flavour of the spices, et al. Barely had this enterprise found its feet early last year when covid struck!
Thanks for swinging by and chatting, Suvigya!
In 2010, documentary filmmaker Nitin Pamnani and microbiologist Jia Pamnani decided to move back to Gwalior, their hometown, from Delhi.
Wanting to engage in something that promotes sustainability, they began iTokri in 2012. Starting with an investment of Rs 20 lakh, the online store, which sells handcrafted fabrics, jewellery, paintings and other artworks, today works with over 10,000 artisan families across India. Even while clocking revenue of close to Rs 27 crore, the duo remain bootstrapped and have not looked to raise capital yet.
Today, iTokiri’s employee strength is at 130, all of whom work out of Gwalior.
The moment you receive a parcel packaged in an old newspaper along with a handwritten note thanking you for your purchase, you know for sure it’s from iTokri. The go-to online store for Indian handlooms and handicrafts, iTokri always believes in the personal touch, whether with their customers or with their artisans. And that is one of the reasons for their resounding success.
The other reason is that it stocks everything handmade from every corner of the country. From papier mache up north in Kashmir and Ajrakh of Kutch from the west to Bengal Kantha from the east and Coimbatore’s handspun cotton down south—you name it and iTokri has it. You no longer have to travel to these places to procure the local handicrafts, because the e-commerce store sources all this directly from the artisans and bring it right to your doorstep. All the while sitting in Gwalior, its home base.
Ellie Goulding unveils ‘Easy Lover’ - a stunning slice of pop perfection that heralds a triumphant and long-awaited return - the first release since Ellie’s chart topping 2020 studio album ‘Brightest Blue’. The track, written and produced in collaboration with the legendary Greg Kurstin and Julia Michaels, sees Ellie’s unmistakable vocals paired with pulsating bass, punchy synths, epic key changes and contagious melodies - the perfect combination for a summer pop banger. The new single also features rap royalty Big Sean who adds his signature flow in contrast to Ellie’s breath-taking harmonies. Big Sean is one of the biggest names in rap is known for hits such as ‘I Don’t Fuck With You’ and ‘Dance (Ass) ft Nicki Minaj’ as well as working with the likes of Justin Bieber, 2Chainz, Halsey and Calvin Harris.
Alongside the single, Ellie has released the epic music video for ‘Easy Lover’, which sees her take on an otherworldly creature that takes the form of humans. The haunting visual is a confident and exciting accompaniment to the single and was directed by Sophia Ray (Years & Years, Raye, Mabel) with movement direction from Remi Black and creative direction from Nathan Klein who also styled the video.
Speaking about the track Ellie states, “I wrote Easy lover in LA with Julia Michaels after conversations about the age old tale of being infatuated by someone cool and beautiful knowing that they will never quite feel the same. It’s about going back to the same dangerous person to feel alive when you know they have hurt people again and again before you. Having the legendary Greg Kurstin produce any song of mine is always a dream come true. He always understands the assignment!”
Stay tuned for more news from Ellie Goulding in the coming months.
Laxmi started out with this endeavor of launching MomPower360 during the pandemic because many mothers like her reached out to her wanting a solution to their problems. Mothers by default juggle many responsibilities and fulfill many roles in a domestic system, having seen a lack for well equipped support groups for moms, Laxmi decided to finally do something about it.
The objective for her was to support and empower mothers like herself and build meaningful networks and relationships that will channel towards solving problems and providing corrective solutions to over burdened mothers.
It was seen to be pertinent by Laxmi to take this concept of Mompower360 countrywide that will be a definitive guide to all mothers in terms of parenting, self care, fitness, nutrition, mental health and many other aspects.
Being a mom herself she has an understanding of this having gone through it herself at a grassroots level and her perspective added with the opinions of other mom’s helps empower this initiative furthermore.
With this initiative her goal is to build mom communities and create a safe space for moms to connect with each other to build a sisterhood of motherhood circle, whether one is a homemaker mom, working mom, an enterprising mom or a single mom. Mompower360 will be hosting online and offline events, workshops, talks to inspire mom achievers and mom entrepreneurs to propel and pave the way for moms to think beyond the horizon. It will also provide a networking platform to entrepreneurs, influencers, content creators to learn and grow from each other's experiences by sharing their journeys with one another.
Besides being a full time mom and entrepreneur Laxmi loves reading, gardening and decorating spaces. She loves planning meals for her kids and spending time with them at home cosying up with a book or a movie.
Lakshmi also runs a charitable project called The Joy Box which redirects surplus from the community to NGOs and those in need. With Mompower360, she aims at uplifting moms to be their best versions with support of experts and other inspirational moms because she believes a happy home begins with a happy mom.
The idea for CosMix began when Vibha Harish was diagnosed with PCOD. She began researching the market for solutions for the disease, and the weight gain, the acne and everything that came with it. Unfortunately, everywhere she turned, all she saw was toxic messaging and inadequate marketing. Since she was already looking after herself through natural, plant-based, she felt it was only fair to share these with the rest of the world without the toxic language and preying on people’s – especially women’s – insecurities. This led to the birth of Cosmix. Cosmix has been growing steadily at a rate of 30% each month. Cosmix is a thoughtfully put-together range of products that take care of your internal as well as external nourishment. They not only nourish your body but also encourage you to embrace a holistic approach towards health
Vibha and Soorya are the co-founders of the company and are married. Vibha’s parents are the owners of Itsy Bitsy Craft Store here in Bangalore.The company has been mentioned in Vogue, Grazia and Forbes.
Had a chat with Vibha & Soorya! What fun!
Water hyacinth is one of the most successful colonizers in the plant kingdom. It was distributed as a takeaway gift at a cotton exhibition held in the New Orleans state of the United States in the 18th century.
Soon, it made its way into the state of West Bengal as an ornamental plant. Today it is known as the “Terror of Bengal” and the “blue devil”. The water hyacinth adds colour and freshness to squalid muddy village ponds. But its beauty is only surface deep. With one plant capable of duplicating itself every nine days, it is a parasite which clogs waterways and chokes village ponds.
However, on the occasion of the 50th World Environment Day that was on Sunday, the volunteers of Hulimavu Kere Taranga, a non-profit, decided to give this plant a good name, and sent Hulimavu Lake’s hyacinth to be converted into handmade paper and other eco-friendly products at Bluecat Paper, manufacturers of tree-free paper in Peenya Industrial Area.
The Green Oak initiative is a community mental health community mental health centre that provides psychiatric and psychological services that are easily accessible and affordable to its local community.
Along with providing individual and group therapies for individuals dealing with mental health related issues, our other not for profit initiatives cater to community at large, and they are as follows:
1. A free and confidential helpline providing psychological support exclusively for healthcare workers.
2. Samartha- A low fee mental health clinic for underprivileged communities.
3. Cogworks- A cognitive enrichment groups for seniors with dementia.
4. Khila- Rehabilitation groups for people recovering from severe mental illness.
5. COVID rehabilitation services: for people who suffered post COVID psychological, cognitive and physical symptoms.
6. Through the Looking Glass (book club) and the Oblique Angle film club- community events to facilitate conversations about mental health in popular media.
Shilpa Nagaraj was on the show to talk about all the above and more. She is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist.
She has been trained in range of evidence-based psychological interventions including Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Cognitive behavioural Therapy, Mentalization Based Treatment and Mindfulness based treatment approaches. Largely driven by curiosity and gratitude, she absolutely enjoys reading books and playing with her furry pals. She’s committed to individual care and working towards inclusion and in providing mental health care of highest standards.
City-based actor Akhil Iyer whose latest movie, Hit, released on Friday, speaks about his role in the movie and his dream of making it big in Bollywood!
Way before Akhil Iyer even knew the meaning of acting, he was sure of one thing - he wanted to become an actor. "I was a big fan of Akshay Kumar, I wanted to grow up and be Akhil Kumar. I had even named myself after him," recalls the Bengaluru-based actor. Close to three decades later, he is finally living his dream.
While talking about his recent film, HIT: The First Case, the actor says, "We shot the film towards the end of last year. There were a lot of delays because of COVID, but it has finally happened. In the movie, Rajkummar Rao and I are cops, who work for a group called the 'Homicide Intervention Team', and we are investigating a missing person's report."
Akhil was also my senior in school and stopped by the show to have a chat!
Bengaluru-based Vineeth Vincent wears many hats — that of a beatboxer, musician, emcee, voice artiste and an entrepreneur. "Colour" is a song about the burdens and judgments we carry towards ourselves and others. This is the first track from the Album - "Growing Up and Then Some" by Vineeth Vincent.
He swung by to chat about the track and the song is now live across the country on the entire 94.3 Radio One International Network!
Hosachiguru was founded with a two fold goal- one, to give back to the environment by growing trees instead of buildings and structures, two, to help individuals grow their own crops, trees and enjoy the benefits of having farmland. Anyone who owns a Hosachiguru farm can remotely monitor their farms through an app with real-time activity updates and alerts, Hosachiguru uses real time real-time IoT sensors that monitor weather, soil moisture, soil temperature, rainfall and humidity.
Crowded cities, polluted air and noisy streets. Given a chance, how many of us would like to get away from the hustle of city life? In the middle of our busy schedules, many of us dream of having that perfect weekend getaway, a farmhouse in the lap of nature, a chance to grow your own food, and experience open blue skies.
Bengaluru based Hosachiguru gives city folks a chance to live a life closer to nature. An agriculture startup, Hosachiguru gives you a chance to own farmland, grow your own trees/crops and spend your weekends at your farm. All this without the hassle of day to day management of the farm. Founded by Srinath Setty, Ashok J and Sriram Chitlur Hosachiguru offers cherry picked farmlands to customers, develops and manages the land and helps them earn income on the produce.
Hosachiguru was founded with a two fold goal- one, to give back to the environment by growing trees instead of buildings/structures, two, to help individuals easily own, manage and reap the benefits of farmland. The idea behind Hosachiguru is to create farmlands that are environmentally and economically sustainable. Hosachiguru picks farmlands based on important parameters such as clear land titles, soil, water availability and connectivity. Once the owner invests in the farmland, Hosachiguru will grow and maintain trees and crops of the land owner’s choice. The owners are free to choose fruits, vegetables and timber trees of their choice. Land owners can earn passive income by selling the produce and are also free to partake in farming activities in the farmland. They can build their own weekend homes in 10% of their farmland.
Owning a Hosachiguru farmland offers an opportunity for land owners to be in sync with nature, enjoy the outdoor life and indulge in community activities. Each Hosachiguru farmland has a farmhouse/guest house for weekend getaways with family and friends. From reading pods to cycling tracks, bonfire to camping, Hosachiguru farmlands offer a lifestyle close to nature.
Buyers can choose from ¼ acre, ½ acre and 1 acre plots. The company has created employment opportunities for 500+ local farmers and helped mitigate rural migration. In addition to the social impact, Hosachiguru is creating a positive environmental impact through its agroforestry model. They are actively involved in converting dry land into arable sustainable lands. Their sustainable and natural farming practices help improve soil health and improve flora and fauna around the farmland.
Co-Founder & Managing Director of Hosachiguru, Sriram Chitlur, dropped by! What a fun bit of conversation!
Indo-American Hybrid Seeds was established by Dr. Manmohan Attavar at Bangalore, India in 1965. IAHS is a private limited Indian company managed by technocrats. Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (IAHS) is a pioneer and an innovative Indian seed company.
IAHS is at present engaged in the Research and Development ( R & D), production and marketing of hybrid seeds of Vegetables, Field crops, Oil seeds, Flower seeds, and Ornamental and landscape plants. IAHS also undertakes turn key execution of greenhouse and net house construction. Since its inception, the company has made remarkable progress in many spheres of commercial Horticulture & Agriculture.
IAHS has a wide range of products in vegetable crops like Tomato, Hot pepper, Capsicum, Bhendi (Okra), Brinjal (Eggplant), Bittergourd, Bottlegourd, Radish and others, Field crops such as Cotton, Rice and Maize, Oil seed crops (Sunflower) and Flower seeds. The hybrids are characterized by their quality and high degree of tolerance to insect pests and diseases resulting in better quality crop and higher yields.
Achievements:
● IAHS is the first company to launch Hybrid seeds of Vegetables in India(1973)
● IAHS is also the first company to undertake commercial seeds production in Greenhouses
● IAHS has repeatedly won the APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Development Authority) Export Award
● IAHS is one of the first companies in the country to establish a State-of-Art Commercial Tissue Culture Laboratory
● IAHS has developed protocols for more than 80 different species in Agro-Forestry, Plantation & Ornamental crops
● IAHS is the first company in the private sector in Asia and the seventh in the world to get accreditation from the International Seed Testing Association, Switzerland (ISTA) to issue "Orange" and "Blue" certificates for the export of seeds.
Santosh Attavar (Chairman and Managing Director) & Rashmi Attavar (Joint Managing Director) joined me to chat on the show! Absolute pleasure having them both!
Dr. Mahesh Sankaran – winner of the Infosys Prize 2021 in the Life Sciences category, who is currently a Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore.
Dr. Sankaran’s area of expertise too is in the community and ecosystems ecology where in his lab looks at interactions and feedbacks between climate, biogeochemistry, fires and herbivory influence of ecosystems. He also studies and deals with the projected changes in climate such as increasing variability of rainfall, frequency of droughts, increasing aridity in the tropics, and rising CO2 and their impact on the ecosystem function, stability and services.
Infosys Science Foundation has been encouraging and promoting research culture to help foster a more collaborative environment, by giving researchers the chance to share their experiences and their successes. The Foundation’s annual award – Infosys Prize, aims to honor, inspire, and build a culture of science and research amongst young researchers and students. The recognize the outstanding achievements of researchers and scientists across six categories: Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.
Srikanth Kidambi is an Indian badminton player, who currently attends the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. In 2021, Kidambi emerged as the first-ever Indian to win a silver medal and enter the World Championships final in the men's singles.
In April 2018, he was ranked as world number 1 at the BWF ranking. In the same year, Kidambi was conferred with the Arjuna award in 2015 and the Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest civilian honour.
He recently captained the Indian team to the legendary Thomas Cup Victory!
Chatted with him with regards to the launch of GPBL and much more!
What a panel this morning!
- Soma Katiyar is Executive Creative Director at BBC Media Action
- Vasu Dixit is a singer, composer and musician
- Vani Murthy is an environmentalist who is passionate about composting and urban farming
- Shraddha Jain, popularly knowns as AiyyoShraddha, is an actor and comic
Everyday thousands of tons of waste is produced in our city. The waste produced ends up in the landfill, if not treated and recycled, making it a problem. Thousands of waste-pickers go about their daily task of collecting OUR WASTE to earn a meagre income. Not only are they cleaning our neighborhood, they are also saving our environment, health and money. The campaign is set up to reform the image of our waste-pickers into #Invaluables, without whom our city could not function as it is. BBC Media Action will be working on bringing in behavioral change in society towards the #Invaluables by
-Revealing the “Happy Number”, the amount of waste recycled by the #Invaluables
-Educating people about the 3 categories of #Invaluables and their contribution to society at large
-The economic value the #Invaluables add to everyone’s life
-The citizens need to respect and recognize the contribution of the waste pickers and aid them to help improve the lives of the waste pickers as well as contribute for the cause of environmental sustainability.
The happy number comes across as a glaring revelation to the people of Bengaluru and how privileged they are to have a hardworking community of waste pickers who have a direct impact on the well-being of the city.
It also points to the stark reality of the difficult lives of the waste pickers and how the society is oblivious of their invaluable contribution, valued to be about X crores in monetary terms. BBC Media Action and its partners are on a mission to spread awareness among the citizens of Bengaluru about the contributions of the community of waste pickers and to bring about an attitudinal change towards the community among the masses.