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“There's nothing dead about the Indian classics. It's not a revival of anything. It's not a museum piece. I think our classical tradition is alive through the stories our parents and grandparents told us…[and through popular culture]…..but with few exceptions, we don't know about the classics from our neighboring state, right? I always hope that the girl in Chandigarh can read a Mangal Kavya from Bengal, a boy in Patna can read a Telugu classic. Someone sitting in your old hometown, Pune can read Bulleh Shah.”

🎙️ In this episode (100!) of The Indian Edit, join me with writer, scholar, and Editorial Director of Harvard University Press, Sharmila Sen. We explore Sharmila’s personal journey from growing up in Bengal to immigrating to the United States as a child, her reflections on race, belonging, and visibility, and her work stewarding the linguistically ambitious literary project: The Murty Classical Library of India.

Shownotes for Episide 100:

Growing Up Between Worlds

Sharmila’s childhood in Calcutta (Kolkata) and her move to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1982

Assimilation, accent, and the desire to “disappear” as a young immigrant

Learning Americanness through television, language, and cultural mimicry

Race, Privilege, and Visibility

Coming to understand race in the U.S. as an immigrant from India

The contrast between being part of a dominant group in India and a racial minority in America

The persistent “foreignness” assigned to Asian Americans

Passing, names, and the refusal to erase one’s identity

Language as Identity

Bengali as a lived, literary, and emotional language

Experiences living and working in Pakistan and Bangladesh

Learning Urdu (including Nastaliq script) and Punjabi

The cultural and political significance of language in South Asia

The Murty Classical Library of India

Founded in 2010 with support from Rohan Murty

Inspired by Harvard’s Loeb Classical Library (Greek & Latin classics)

Publishes bilingual editions (original text + English translation)

Covers 2,500 years of writing across 19 South Asian languages

Aims to make Indian classics accessible to scholars, general readers, and future generations

Ten Indian Classics (10th Anniversary Anthology)

Curated selections from the Murty Classical Library

Spans 2,500 years and 9 languages

Includes:

Poems of the early Buddhist nuns (Therīgāthā)

Tulsidas’s Ramayana

Sufi poetry by Bulleh Shah

Guru Nanak’s hymns

Persian chronicles of Emperor Akbar

Urdu, Tamil, Sanskrit, Punjabi, and more

Explores the idea of classics as living traditions, not museum artifacts

Why Indian Classics Still Matter

Classics as “background noise” that continues to shape culture

Stories and verses that live on through oral tradition, popular culture, and daily life

Reading across regions and languages as an act of cultural connection and nation-building

📚 Books & Resources Mentioned

Not Quite Not White – Sharmila Sen (memoir)

The Murty Classical Library of India (Harvard University Press)

Ten Indian Classics – Edited by Sharmila Sen

Amar Chitra Katha

The Ramayana and Mahabharata (regional retellings)

🔗 Find all books and resources at theindianedit.com

📢 Stay Connected

If you enjoyed this episode:

Share it with a friend

Follow the podcast on Instagram @theindianeditpodcast

Visit theindianedit.com for full show notes and links

🎙️ The Indian Edit: Mini Edit with Sonali Dev – “There’s Something About Mira”

Welcome back to The Indian Edit! In this special mini edit, award-winning romance author Sonali Dev returns to the podcast to discuss her newest novel, There's Something About Mira (Feb 2025). We dive into the inspirations behind the book, themes of identity, love, and community, and the layered characters that travel from Naperville to New York to Darjeeling and beyond.

📚 In This Episode:

The origin of There's Something About Mira and how a New York Times article inspired the plot

Exploring “Brown Town,” community expectations, and finding emotional safety

The story within the story: a powerful queer love story in 1980s India

What draws readers to wealthy romantic leads and how Sonali rethinks that trope

Creative energy management and the joys and pitfalls of newsletters & social media

Travel tips and favorite cities: Mumbai, Darjeeling, Chicago

Sonali’s recent reads and book recommendations

📘 Books & Media Mentioned:

There's Something About Meera by Sonali Dev → Buy on Bookshop / Amazon

The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev → Read more

Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen homage in Sonali’s series)

All We Imagine As Light (film about Mumbai life) → IMDb

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese → Amazon

People of Means by Nancy Johnson

🎧 More with Sonali:

Visit: https://sonalidev.com

Instagram: @sonali.dev

Newsletter: Sign up on her website for The Three R’s: a recipe, a recommendation, and a really bad joke!

YouTube archive of Lit with Love: Lit with Love on YouTube

📍 Cities We Discussed:

Mumbai – a city of grit, warmth, and humor

Darjeeling – majestic Himalayas and spiritual beauty

Chicago – architecture, lakefront, theater, and cozy big-city charm

✨ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, rate, and share! Catch Sonali’s previous appearance on The Indian Edit in Episode 57.

Hear our latest chat now on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

Why does American history still exclude so many? My latest guest Mae Ngai is Lung Professor of Asian American Studies and History at Columbia University and has written award-winning books on immigration and the Chinese diaspora sharing stories of immigrants during the Gold Rush and other pivotal historical events. Before becoming a historian, Mae was a labor union organizer and educator in New York City where she met another influential documenter of Asian America: photographer Corky Lee who sadly passed away from Covid-19 in early 2021. Mae has edited a brand new book “Corky Lee’s Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice” which collects the activist photographer’s iconic images into a beautiful and moving book.

Join me as Professor Ngai gives us a glimpse into Asian American history and Corky’s important contribution, and please share the episode with a friend who might enjoy this chat!

SHOWNOTES for Ep. 93:

Buy the new book: “Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice”

Professor Ngai’s other books: The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes, Chinese Migration, and Global Politics, The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America

The NYT on Corky Lee

Other books we discussed on the show:

Orphan Bachelors: A Memoir by Fae Myenne Ng

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Wondering where to start with learning more about black and brown solidarity? Or how to write about a difficult experience? Reading author and educator Nina Sharma’s wonderful debut “The Way You Make Me Feel: Love in Black and Brown” is a great first step. So grateful to Nina for her honest and elegant writing and for this amazing chat! Nina shares her sometimes rocky road to owning her writer identity, her struggle to write about her mental health challenges, and the profound connection she felt when she met her husband who is African-American and a fellow writer.

BONUS: So much great advice on writing for everyone out there! Listen now on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

SHOWNOTES for Ep. 92:

Connect with Nina through her websiteand Twitter/X

Buy her book “The Way You Make Me Feel: Love in Black and Brown”

Books and other stuff we discussed on the show:

Margo Jefferson’s Negroland and Constructing a Nervous System

Big Blue Marble Bookshop in Philadelphia

Asian American Writer’s Workshop

The Question of Palestine by Edward Said

Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley

They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us by Prachi Gupta

Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives by Amelia Possanza

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

What happens to families AFTER they’ve survived a traumatic historical event? Veera Hiranandani set out to explore this question in her sequel to the beloved Newbery-honor winning middle-grade novel ‘The Night Diary’. ‘Amil and the After’ now finds Nisha and Amil navigating a new life in Mumbai following their family’s migration from Sindh during the Partition of India in 1947. Join me as Veera chats about her new book, and listen and rate us on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a star rating wherever you listen! And if you’d like to hear Veera’s whole journey leading up to ‘The Night Diary’, please check out Ep. 34!

SHOWNOTES FOR Mini-Edit 3:

Connect with Veera through her website and Instagram

Buy her books here, including Amil and the After

Other books we discussed on the show:

The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi

Lion of The Sky by Ritu Hemnani

The Moon from Dehradun: A Story of Partition by Shirin Shamsi

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ever wondered whether you should take that step to turning your hobby into a business? New York based Simran Khiantani (also goes by Namrata) shares her journey from Bombay to New York via the Canary Islands! Inspired by her MIL’s amazing sauces and her friends’ insistence that she start selling them, Simran recently launched her condiment brand after years of research and development. Try them now from Amazon and join our chat as Simran takes us behind the scenes of launching her business and some ideas for dinner tonight!

Listen and rate us on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this, please leave a star rating wherever you listen!

SHOWNOTES FOR Ep. 91:

Try Simran’s AMAZING sauces through her website and Amazon

Wondering what to cook for dinner tonight? Follow her on Instagram for some lovely recipes!

More recipes with SimranCooks sauces here

Dominique Ansel’s lovely banana bread recipe that is my household staple now!

Books we discussed on the show:

Cooking Up a Business: Lessons from Food Lovers Who Turned Their Passion into a Career -- and How You Can, Too

Zaytinya by Jose Andres

Flavors of the Sun: The Sahadi's Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients

Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen: A Peranakan Family's Food Memories of Singapore by Sharon Wee

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Exploring her husband’s Goan and Portuguese heritage led writer Christine Chitnis to create a beautiful celebration of the visual culture of Portugal: “Patterns of Portugal”. Having successfully completed a similar project in 2020 with “Patterns of India”, Christine was inspired to share her view of the beauty of this small nation at the edge of Europe.

Join me in this mini-Edit where Christine takes us behind the scenes of putting together this stunning lifestyle book, including some of her favorite moments and travel tips!

Listen and rate us on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Christine’s first appearance where we chat about “Patterns of India” was on Ep. 31 and if you enjoyed this, please do tell a friend!

SHOWNOTES FOR MINI-EDIT 2:

Experience Christine’s work through her website and her beautiful instagram account

Buy Patterns of Portugal here or on Amazon

Patterns of India book and our pandemic chat on episode 31!

East Coasting

Christine’s exclusive Patterns of Portugal box with Portugalia Market brings to life the pages of the book through carefully selected artisanal products

Take an IRL trip to Portugal with Christine - sign up here

Books we discussed on the show:

A History of Burning by Janika Oza

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Notes on an Execution: An Edgar Award Winner Danya Kukafka

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

“You know, as Asian Americans, we often don't know our history. I myself have lived in the US more than 50 years, and yet a lot of people still think that you’ve recently come from India. This is not just about MIT, it's actually an important part of the history of South Asians in America.” - Ranu Boppana

A physician and former President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology South Asian Alumni Association, Ranu Boppana began to learn about the history of South Asians at MIT (which began in 1880!) and the history of MIT’s role in developing technological education in the newly independent India and Pakistan. She teamed up with History Professor Sana Aiyar and, along with MIT-India Program Manager Nureen Das, they conceived of an exhibit showcasing this shared history. Driven by their own curiosity and their commitment to sharing their discoveries with current and former MIT students, the team has created a wonderful digital resource for us all.

I learned so much about the history of South Asians in the US, including many surprising connections with the Indian Independence movement. Join me in this fascinating journey back in time with Ranu and Sana and please take a second to rate the podcast on iTunes so we can spread the word about their amazing work!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 90:

Experience the “South Asia and The Institute” digital exhibition via the website including some wonderful videos

Follow Sana’s work here including her books

Read more about Ranu here

Other Books we discussed on the show:

Ross Bassett’s The Technological Indian

The Other One Percent: Indians in America by Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur and Nirvikar Singh

Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America by South Asian Digital Archive

The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India by Ajantha Subramanian

The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike

Booker Shortlisted Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Roman Stories

Kamila Shamie’s Best of Friends

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ever wondered how an author takes a flash of inspiration and weaves a story from it? My guest Sheela Chari shares how she came to write her many wonderful children’s books, including the moment in college (as an economics major) that changed her life. Sheela now teaches writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts while creating new stories of her own, and she graciously breaks down the process behind writing and publishing each of her books.

Hear Sheela now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening or share the podcast with a friend!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 89:

Read more about Sheela’s work at her website and connect with her on Instagram

Sheela’s books:

Vanished

Finding Mighty

Karthik Delivers

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

Super Puzzletastic Mysteries: Short Stories for Young Sleuths from Mystery Writers of America

Other books we discussed:

Elizabeth Acevedo’s books including With the fire on high, Family Lore and The Poet X

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Sumaira Ahmed is a force! Upon being diagnosed with a rare neuroimmune condition (Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder/ NMOSD, whose symptoms can include vision loss, paralysis, and weakness), Sumaira couldn’t find the community she needed, so she went right ahead and launched a foundation (two months later!) to create that support for herself and patients around the world. The Sumaira Foundation has since advocated for patients, funded disease research, increased NMO awareness globally and truly been a game changer in the field. Hear how this young dancer and Bollywood aspirant (who was crowned the first Miss Bangladesh-USA) turned into a fearless non-profit leader and champion for patients suffering from this rare disease.

Join me with the wonderful Sumaira - now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 88:

Read more about Sumaira’s work at The Sumaira Foundation and connect with her and The Sumaira Foundation on Instagram

Infinite Vision: How Aravind Became the World's Greatest Business Case for Compassion

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

My guest Chandana Singh is a lawyer, founder of ‘Advocacy for Dyslexia’, and of The Office of Learning Support at India’s leading liberal arts university Ashoka University. Join me in this chat as Chandana dives into what makes life challenging as a neurodiovergent learner and what we can do as parents, friends, and community members to both support these children and adults and also learn from them!

Listen in as Chandana shares what led her to doing this important work in Mumbai and all over India! Hear our chat now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 87:

Read more about Chandana’s work featured in The Times of India

Neurodivergence

Aamir Khan’s film Taare Zameen Par

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ever wonder what makes people take that leap and pivot into a second or even a third act? My Boston-based guest moved from a successful career in consulting to non-profit leadership, and now to landscape design! So inspiring to hear how this dynamic and passionate Bangladeshi-American has jumped into new fields and established her own business. I’m particularly partial to this topic as a plant and garden design nerd myself, and I hope you’ll take away some inspiration to plan your own garden for next spring, or even your own career pivot!

Listen in as Shoma shares tips on successfully switching into a new career, and also ideas for making your outdoor space more sustainable and wildlife-friendly! Hear our chat now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 86:

Read more about Shoma’s work on her website and follow her on instagram

Doug Tallamy’s books and Homegrown National Park website

BBC Gardener’s World (available via Britbox in the US)

Books we discussed:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

The Garden Tourist: 120 Destination Gardens and Nurseries in the Northeast

Kitchen Garden Revival: A Modern Guide to Creating a Stylish, Small-Scale, Low-Maintenance, Edible Garden

Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram ! Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

🎙️ New Episode Out Now!

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Manisha Bharti, CEO of Pratham USA, to explore what it takes to lead one of India’s largest education nonprofits.

From her journey through Harvard to her work in HIV response and international development, Manisha shares powerful insights on:

✨ Nonprofit leadership & global impact
🌍 Philanthropy in the Indian diaspora
📚 How Pratham empowers youth through education & skilling
🤝 The importance of partnerships and scaling what works
🔍 Her favorite tool for self-awareness: the Enneagram

🎧 Plus:

Breaking into public health & international development

Using private sector strategy to drive nonprofit success

Advice for young professionals seeking purpose-driven careers

Listen now on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

Ever wonder how museums go shopping for art? What does a curator see when they look at a picture? What makes something special enough to spend a fortune on? Join me in this first mini-sode featuring Laura Weinstein, Ananda Coomaraswamy Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as she gives us a ‘behind the scenes’ look at two recent acquisitions for the museum’s collection. We chat about Indian art under the British, William Dalrymple, and adorable squirrels!

Hear our chat now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

P.S. Laura was previously my guest on Ep. 18, so do catch her whole story there if you missed it, and let me know what you think of this shorter format focused on a single topic @theindianeditpodcast on instagram!

SHOWNOTES FOR MINI-EDIT 1:

Hear Laura’s story on Episode 18 of the podcast here

Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company

Empire Podcast on iTunes

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas, Aman Moroney, and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ready to re-evaluate what success looks like for YOU? To move toward a values-based career and life? My latest guest Rimi Chakraborty helps leaders create just that for themselves and their employees. Rimi shares how she took lessons from her MBA, her yoga studies, and her start-up jobs to overcome a difficult childhood and create new entrepreneurial ventures for herself (in the beautiful Azores!).

Listen in as Rimi shares some tips on how to approach the busy Fall season and what it’s like to live and work on a lush, volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic! Hear our chat now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 85:

Read more about Rimi’s work and her books on her website

The Balanced Tree exercise Rimi mentioned on the show

Check out her book “Beyond Resilience to Rootsilience”

Stay at Minuvida Lodge

Follow Rimi on instagram

Books we discussed:

Preparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual Wisdom from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

I don't want to go look back at the end of my life and say “I wish I'd done this”!

But how does she do it!? We all wonder about people with full-time, demanding careers who manage to keep their creative flame burning. My latest guest Dr. Harini Nagendra is a Professor of Sustainability and now a best-selling mystery writer. Join me as Harini shares how she first ‘had a visitation’ from Kaveri, the heroine of her historical mystery series, and how she juggles her work in climate change with writing ‘The Bangalore Detectives Club’!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 84:

Read more about Harini and her books on her website

Grab the latest in the series ‘Murder Under a Red Moon’ here and pre-order A Nest of Vipers Book 3 here

Cities and Canopies here (entertaining and engaging look at Bangalore’s trees - highly recommend, also on audio!)

Follow Harini on instagram

Books and other resources we discussed:

Sisters in Crime

Sujata Massey’s books (hear Sujata on Ep. 60 of the podcast here)

Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver series

Catriona McPherson’s books

Rhys Bowen’s books

Gigi Pandian’s locked room mysteries

Robin Hobb’s fantasy novels - fun post on where to start reading them here

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Innovating in an old industry that’s dominated by men, my latest guest Portfolio Manager Sweta Singh shares how her curiosity and sense of adventure led her to join the founding team of a new investment management firm based in (and inspired by!) Sante Fe, New Mexico. Sweta and I chat about the big picture of working in finance, especially as a woman, pros and cons of remote work, and how not projecting too much into the future can lead to some incredible opportunities! As always, we chat books at the end of the show, her secret to keeping it all together as a busy working mom, and more on Santa Fe if you’re considering a visit!

Listen now below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 83:

Read more about Sweta and her firm City Different on their website

Books we discussed:

Darkness by Bharati Mukherjee

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

“If there's something you really love, you need to make time for it. I think that was the first step for me, deciding that I wanted to do something for myself, for no other purpose other than I just wanted to make myself happy, to do something creative for me.”

An absolute delight hearing the super-charged doctor and writer Rajani LaRocca talk about her love of literature and medicine! Join us as Rajani talks about growing up in Kentucky, attending medical school, and publishing so many books in so little time!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 82:

Read more about Rajani and her books on her website including the Newbury Honor Award winner Red, White and Whole

Follow Rajani on instagram

Other Books we discussed:

Ouch!: All About Cuts and Other Hurts

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

My supercharged guest Kaamna Bhojwani helps people explore and express their sexuality by connecting more deeply with their inner selves. Are you ready for a shake-up of your relationship with your body (and hopefully your partner too)? Tune in to this chat where we explore South Asian attitudes toward sex, how to speak to your kids about it, and so much more!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 81:

Learn more and support Kaamna’s work on her website

Follow Kaamna on instagram and YouTube

Books we discussed:

The Ethical Slut, Third Edition: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love (Revised)

Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

“What we needed was somebody who was willing to fail, somebody who was willing to experiment, and somebody who wasn't afraid to build the plane and fly it at the same time.”

My latest guest Megha Desai brought her sense of adventure and decades of experience in the corporate world to her family’s foundation when she took the helm. She’s since propelled The Desai Foundation to new heights and heads the public foundation from New York where she’s based.

What does leadership in the non-profit world look like? What is The Desai Foundation doing to tackle period poverty? Hear from my inspiring guest who left her successful career in advertising to make a difference in people’s lives through dozens of high impact programs in India and the US.

Listen now below or on www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 80:

Learn more and support Megha’s work at The Desai Foundation website

Follow Megha on instagram

Pledge your period

Books we discussed:

8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go by Jay Shetty

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, then living in London, Singapore and now India, my guest Bharti Lalwani believes her outsider status is key to ‘speaking truth to power’ - the job of an art critic. Now experimenting in art criticism through perfumery, Bharti brought Mughal and Rajput paintings to life through a study of their gardens, flowers, and scents with her collaborator Nicolas Roth. Join me in this (long but) fascinating chat with a young independent art critic, writer, perfumer, and artist as she criss-crosses the globe, and the art and academic worlds!

Listen now here or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 79:

Explore the exhibition on the Bagh-e-Hind website

Connect with Bharti at Litrahb Perfumery on the website and on Instagram

Opening Night: A fantastic Zoom through the exhibit and a wonderful discussion hosted by the curators

Books we discussed:

Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class by Catherine Liu

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

So many of us think “Why hasn’t someone created this already?” yet so few go ahead and create it ourselves. My latest guest Jyoti Rajan Gopal is an educator who began writing picture books when she found frustratingly little diverse choices for her kindergarten class. Jyoti taps into her international upbringing and deep experience with young children to create these gems. Having published two beautiful books with loads more in the pipeline, Jyoti shares her publishing journey, starting modeling late in her career and lots more on this fun chat. A must listen, especially for writers and those with young kids in their lives!

Listen below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 78:

Find Jyoti on her website, on instagram and twitter

American Desi

My Paati’s Saris

Jyoti’s forthcoming books

Other Books we discussed:

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School by Carla Shalaby

The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us about the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik

Kindergarten: A Teacher, Her Students, and a Year of Learning by Julie Diamond

Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community by Alfie Kohn a progressive educator

White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America by Khyati Joshi (“about the ways that Christianity permeates the American Constitution, American laws, American way of life”)

Take Joy: A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft by Jane Yolen (a writing book Jyoti loves)

The Important Thing about Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett (“a fabulously written picture book about the author Margaret Wise Brown”)

The President Sang Amazing Grace by Zoe Mulford

Other Favorites:

Indian Raga Channel on YouTube

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Growing up in Morocco, then studying in England, France and Spain have all shaped artist, writer, and illustrator Karishma Chugani Nankani in countless ways. Among the many stories she has shared is one of her widespread Sindhi clan which she tells through her art and her books. Karishma also guides others in connecting with their own stories and artistic expression through workshops in person and online. Join me in hearing how she works in different media and on different projects which all tie back to her childhood love of books.

Listen here or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 77:

Find Karishma at her website, on instagram and her classes on Domestika

L’Ecole de Papier

Karishma’s course on the artistic process and sketchbooks

PODCASTS we discussed:

Listen to children’s media producer and Karishma’s cousin Sandhya’s episode here

Empire podcast with Anita Anand and William Dalrymple

BOOKS we discussed:

Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales

Artist Lynda Barry and her books

Leila Slimani’s In the Country of Others

Leila Lalami’s The Moor’s Account

Heirs to the Past by Driss Chraibi

Fatima Mernissi’s work and legacy

The Game of Forgetting

Arundhati Roy

Ben Okri

Hanif Kureishi

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Rivers have been on my mind recently with some recent buzzy arrivals on their power (from Elif Shafak to non-fiction Robert Macfarlane). Join me with author Suma Subramaniam and illustrator Tara Anand to discuss their beautiful picture book My Name Is Long As a River. Inspired by Suma’s own heritage, the story celebrates the deep connections between names, family history, and cultural identity. Together, Suma and Tara share how rivers, poetry, and personal memory shaped this tribute to the power of knowing where we come from.

Listen now on iTunes,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

Rivers have been on my mind recently with some recent buzzy arrivals on their power (from Elif Shafak to non-fiction Robert Macfarlane). Join me with author Suma Subramaniam and illustrator Tara Anand to discuss their beautiful picture book My Name Is Long As a River. Inspired by Suma’s own heritage, the story celebrates the deep connections between names, family history, and cultural identity. Together, Suma and Tara share how rivers, poetry, and personal memory shaped this tribute to the power of knowing where we come from.

Listen now on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

Suma Subramaniam

Tara Anand, photographed by Brittany Oxley

SHOWNOTES for Ep. 98:

Connect with Suma through her website

And with Tara Anand here

Books and other stuff we discussed on the show:

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books

Tishani Doshi’s poetry collection A God at the Door

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Amar Chitra Katha comics

Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan

Support the show via Patreon!

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram!

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Soumya Saksham, Sudipta Biswas and the team at The Media Tribe for audio-post production!

Such a delight to meet someone who continues to pursue a wide range of interests while specializing enough to be a University Professor! Usha Raman is Professor of Communication at the University of Hyderabad, Vice President of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, Editor of ‘Teacher Plus’ magazine, writer for ‘The Hindu’, and a core team member of the Hyderabad Literary Festival. Phew!

Usha shares her journalistic journey, her adventures in reading, writing, teaching and podcasting here on Episode 76. Her fantastic tips on what to listen to and read right now are not to be missed!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 76:

Find Usha at her website, on instagram, her substack and Twitter: @usharaman

Usha’s Podcast Reading for our times and magazine Teacher Plus

The Hyderabad Literary Festival in late January

PODCAST TIPS:

How to Fail with Elizabeth Day - Usha recommends the Stanley Tucci and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie episodes

Empire podcast with Anita Anand and William Dalrymple

Amit Varma’s podcast The Seen and The Unseen: episode on with Urvashi Butalia is here

883 to Infinity (podcast by a Bombay and Karachi based duo)

BOOKS we discussed:

Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry books

Harini Nagendra’s books including the Bangalore Detectives Club

Siddhartha Mukherjee’s books

Agatha Christie’s And Then There were None audiobook read by Dan Stevens

Nora Ephron’s Heartburn read by Meryl Streep

Beloved read by Toni Morrisson

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett read by Tom Hanks

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ready to cosy up your house this Fall? Boston-based interior designer Vani Sayeed joined me to share her love of art, textiles and design in this landmark Episode 75! Hear how Vani followed her doctor husband from India to the midwest, then San Francisco and finally to Boston, and managed to break into a notoriously closed industry in all these places as both an employee and independent designer. How did this JJ School of Arts trained designer keep going despite being an outsider? What’s the secret to creating layered, welcoming rooms? And the best places to eat and shop in Hyderabad?

Listen below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 75:

Find Vani and her studio on instagram and her website

BOOKS:

Haute Bohemians by Miguel Flores-Vianna

John Kerry's memoir on audio Every Day is Extra

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Perfect Bath by Barbara Sallick

A Sense of Place: Houses on Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod by Mark A. Hutker and Marc Kristal

Homer’s Odyssey on Audio

Wonderland by designer Summer Thornton

Social History of an Indian Caste: The Kayasths of Hyderabad by Karen Isaksen Leonard

HYDERABAD TIPS:

Designer Anand Kabra

Hand block prints by Sharmila Taneja on Facebook

Zardozi specialist Deena Azam on instagram

Falaknuma Palace

Golconda Fort

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Having lived across 3 continents (moving from Malawi to the UK and finally to New Zealand) and having had multiple fascinating careers, it’s no surprise my latest guest does not take NO for an answer! Join me in this chat with inspiring mother of two Ashia Ismail-Singer who has taken her passion for food and ‘can-do’ attitude to publishing TWO (traditionally published!) cookbooks while working full-time as a nurse, and now a real estate agent!

Listen below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 74:

Find Ashia on her beautiful website and instagram

BOOKS:

Ashia’s Table on Amazon.com

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

One of my all time favorite books by NZ author Keri Hulme The Bone People

Together: Memorable Meals Made Easy [American Measurements] by Jamie Oliver

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

“Pan-gender to me means any gender expression that exists right now, I identify with in some way. So there are days where I feel more masculine, I feel more feminine, I feel non-binary. It depends on where I'm at internally. I don't like to limit myself to one gender. So pan-gender feels the most accurate.” — Sushma Saha

Energetic and inspiring, my latest guest Sushma Saha is one you don’t want to miss! Sushma shares coming out stories, acting drama, and what it was like playing a founding father in Roundabout Theatre’s new production of ‘1776’ opening now on Broadway!

Listen now below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 73:

Find Sushma on instagram

Buy tickets for 1776 on Broadway here

Read a terrific write-up of the play in the New York Times here

BOOKS:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

1776 by David McCullough

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

“If some teachers can create magic in the classroom, then why not all?”

Anju Saigal founded the non-profit CEQUE (pron. Seekhey) to upskill teachers in underprivileged communities in India after working in the education space for decades. Trained at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and in field work through Pratham (one of India’s largest education focused non-profits), Anju shares how observing classroom teaching in action led her to create a non-profit focused on supporting and training teachers to improve the quality of education. Join us as India celebrates 75 years of independence to hear about the challenges and opportunities facing its youngest learners!

Listen now below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 72:

Find Anju at CEQUE’s website and on instagram

Learn more about Pratham

BOOKS:

Castaway Mountain: Love and Loss Among the Wastepickers of Mumbai by Saumya Roy

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

“I was behind the desk, but my heart was really in the garden. So I tried to work as little as possible so that I could spend every free moment tending my garden.”

Curious about gardening and growing your own food in small spaces? Or how someone published THREE books in three years!!? Join me as Gardenerd founder and debut novelist Christy Wilhelmi shares how she pivoted from a desk job to following her passion for gardening and writing. Christy spills the dirt on composting, growing your own food, and how she wrote her book’s love interest with Dev Patel in mind on this latest episode!

Listen here or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 71:

Find Christy at her website and on instagram

Get yourself a copy of her new novel Garden Variety here

Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden: Planting and Tending Small Fruit Trees and Berries in Gardens and Containers

Gardening for Geeks

Visit the Gardenerd Test Garden through Healing Gardens

BOOKS and SEEDS:

Black Flora: Profiles of Inspiring Black Flower Farmers + Florists by Teresa Speight

Now is the Time for Trees by Dan Lambe of the Arbor Day Foundation

Christy’s cucumber seed pick: Poona kheera!

Her current fave heirloom tomato varieties: Jaune Flamme and Azoychka

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Boston-based author Sena Desai Gopal is a long-time journalist and first-time novelist. She’s set her debut novel ‘The 86th Village’ in her ancestral village in Karnataka which has been devastated by flooding caused by the Upper Krishna dam project. Hundreds of villages have already been completely submerged, and Sena’s beloved hometown is next. She's taken her skills as a science and travel journalist to the world of fiction in creating what Criminal Element calls one of the “Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers of 2022”.

Join me as Sena and I chat about her idyllic childhood in the village where her novel is set, what large mega-dams often mean for marginalized local communities, and her journalism work on beef exports from India, kebabs in Turkey and much more! Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 70:

Find Sena at her website and on instagram

Get yourself a copy of The 86th Village on Bookshop.org and on Amazon.com

Hear more about dams from the BBC or the hilarious and sharp Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness on “Are Dams Cute… Or Not So Cute? with Professor Heather Randell” on the Getting Curious podcast

Sena’s recipes from Peru

BOOKS and MORE:

Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Immigrant Daughter: Stories You Never Told Me by Catherine Kapphahn

“A witty, gentle, original and very modern quest for the magical (not the mythical) in Britain’s landscape, which both made me laugh and moved me.” - Robert Macfarlane

I was delighted to have this chance to speak with writer Jini Reddy about her yearning to connect with the landscape of Britain, her adopted homeland, which resulted in her delightful and thought-provoking book ‘Wanderland’. Jini’s been writing on travel, nature, and spirituality for many years and shares her journey from a snow-loving childhood in Canada to Mother Teresa’s home in Calcutta to her writing and exploring life in UK.

Join me as Jini shares how a strange encounter alone at the top of a mountain in France led her down the journey of ‘Wanderland’, how she approaches solo travel, and how diverse voices are (finally) re-shaping the travel writing genre! Listen now on your favorite podcast app or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 69:

Find Jini at her website and on instagram

Wanderland: Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize and Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award

Wild Times: Extraordinary Experiences Connecting with Nature in Britain

BOOKS and MORE:

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noe Alvarez

If you enjoy podcasts to do with gardens and the natural world, don’t miss Cultivating Place.

My chat with Jennifer Jewell on the Cultivating Place podcast:

Cultivating Place: The Indian Edit, with Nitasha Manchanda

An absolute delight to speak with a young Nepali entrepreneur working on TWO start-ups! Join me in this chat with Ishu Dhakras, co-founder of lifestyle brand Ne Nepal and marketing manager of restaurant group Burma Burma! Ishu grew up in Nepal, was educated in the US, and is now based between Bombay and Kathmandu. Loved hearing how she tried many start-up ideas before landing on the winning one with jewellery and home goods handmade in Nepal. Hear how she and co-founder Tulja Kedia wanted to offer Nepali customers a handmade alternative to the glut of cheap products made in China, while creating fair employment for Nepali ceramic and metal working artisans.

Listen here or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 68:

Find Ishu at the Ne Nepal website and on instagram

Try restaurants Burma Burma or order from their pantry

BOOKS and MORE:

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortsensen

Pregnant King by Devdutt Pattanaik

The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis by Amitav Ghosh

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh

My chat with Jennifer Jewell on the Cultivating Place podcast:

Cultivating Place: The Indian Edit, with Nitasha Manchanda

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ever wanted to gather your family’s recipes to celebrate and pass on your unique home culture? My latest guest Sri Bodanapu took a lengthy Word doc and turned it into a beautiful, glossy, bound cookbook for her own family and has now started a company to help you do the same! Founder of Heirloom Project Co., Sri shares her journey into motherhood, nutrition consulting, and now entrepreneurship on this latest episode. Hear how she helps people turn a nostalgic longing for childhood and place into a tangible family heirloom.

Listen below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 67:

Find Sri at the Heirloom Project website and on instagram

Sri’s podcast Big Little Choices

BOOKS and MORE:

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Another long overdue episode with a FANTASTIC guest! Philly-based lawyer-turned-writer Farah Naz Rishi has written YA, sci-fi, romance, and a heartbreaking memoir ‘Sorry for the Inconvenience’. Pop in your airpods, grab a hot drink, go for a walk, listen how you please, but don’t miss how this Pakistani-American Muslim writer became a TikTok sensation, how she wrote the book that ‘broke Mindy Kaling’s heart’, and of course her favorite books and hometown Philadephia hang outs!

Listen now on iTunes,Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

SHOWNOTES for Ep. 97:

Connect with Farah through her website and Instagram

Buy Sorry for the Inconvenience and Farah’s other books here

Books and other stuff we discussed on the show:

Robin Hobb’s books

R.F. Kuang’s books

Ursula LeGuin’s writing schedule

Philly’s fab restaurant Mawn (I tried it based on Farah’s tip and it is AMAZING, but now apparently hard to get a table!)

Free Library of Philadelphia

Harriet’s Bookshop in Fishtown

Support the show via Patreon!

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram!

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Soumya Saksham, Sudipta Biswas and the team at The Media Tribe for audio-post production!

From Bharatnatyam in India to modern dance at the Guggenheim, my latest guest embodies both range and depth in her movement practice, insights which she now shares with young people in her role as an educator. Choreographer, performer, and founder of Thresh Performing Arts Collaborative, Preeti Vasudevan joins me in this chat about dance, identity, and story telling which will inspire you to move (even if you’re as ungraceful as I am).

Listen now below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 66:

Learn more about Preeti and Thresh at https://www.threshdance.org/

Connect with them on Instagram

BOOKS and MORE:

Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata by Karthika Nair

Two books of essays on dance I really enjoyed:

Through the Eyes of a Dancer: Selected Writings by Wendy Perron

Dance in America: A Reader's Anthology: A Library of America Special Publication by Mindy Aloff & Robert Gottlieb including an interesting essay by Susan Sontag

Two kids books about dance:

A graphic novel my daughter and I loved: To Dance by Siena Cherson Siegel & Mark Siegel

On my list to read: A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Sustainability is on all our minds these days, but sometimes it’s hard to sift through the noise and the greenwashing to make choices that are truly earth-friendly. Shila Wattamwar helps me navigate this important topic by sharing both financial and lifestyle advice based on her expertise in sustainable investing and as founder of the Sustainable Me platform. Hear how this pre-med student veered into finance and then sustainability on this new episode, and join Shila’s February Challenge for this month (or year)!

Grab a drink of your choice (sustainable wine!?) and listen now on your favorite podcast app, or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 65:

Find Shila at Sustainable Me! website and on instagram

Shila’s investment work at Morningstar

BOOKS and MORE:

Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Green Giants: How Smart Companies Turn Sustainability Into Billion-Dollar Businesses

Delicious by Ruth Reichl

Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

A great honor to bring you my latest guest author, musician, educator and environmentalist Leela Gour Broome who shares her love of the natural world with children through her books and teaching. Currently based on her farm outside Pune, she brings her deep knowledge of life on the tea plantations of South India to her books Flute in the Forest and The Anaishola Chronicle. Check out all four of her books for kids set in an Indian context, and hear her fascinating story of growing up with an Indian father and Dutch mother as an Army kid all over India. We discuss the urgent need for kids to spend time in and to know the nature that surrounds them, the importance of books that reflect kids’ own culture and so much more!

Brew yourself a cup of chai and join me on this trip to the tea plantations via your favorite podcast app, or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 64:

Connect with Leela on instagram and twitter

Find her books here or other online stores

BOOKS and MORE:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Happy 2022! To kick off this New Year, I’m delighted to bring you someone who has energized the online sari world with her style and substance! Amanpreet Birgisson joins me in this chat and shares her journey from her childhood in a Sikh family in Ranchi to designing homes in Washington D.C. where she lives with her Icelandic husband and two sons. Her thoughtful and beautifully styled posts on Instagram sharing her passion for saris inspire me every day and have struck a chord with an equally passionate group of sari sisters around the world!

Grab a champagne or chai and listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 63:

Connect with Aman at the. saree.scene on instagram

Check out her sari edit at the AB Studio Annex

BOOKS and MORE:

Saris: Tradition and Beyond by Rta Kapur Chishti and Martand Singh

Hegel's  Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics

The Analysis of Beauty by William Hogarth

The Seven Lamps of Architecture by John Ruskin

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton

The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Give kids the gift of an adventurous palate this holiday season! My New York based guest Sarah Thomas has followed her passions from the worlds of Renaissance literature to food and wine and now children’s picture books as founder of a new company Kalamata’s Kitchen. I love her commitment to sharing her knowledge and passion with kids and their grown-ups!

Join me as we talk all things food, wine and books, and don’t miss Sarah’s fabulous champagne recommendations for your upcoming holiday celebrations! Listen now here or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 62:

Connect with Sarah and Kalamata’s Kitchen on their website and instagram

Buy the book on their website or here!

Don’t miss the fantastic Taste Bud Travel Guide

Le Bernardin New York

CHAMPAGNE CHAT:

Pierre Peters

Chartogne-Taillet

Larmandier-Bernier

Dhondt-Grellet

BOOKS and MORE:

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The much slimmer new novel Piranesi also by Susanna Clarke

Dune by Frank Herbert

I cook in color : bright flavors from my kitchen and around the world by Asha Gomez and Martha Hall Foose

Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Ever wondered what really goes into a bottle of fine fragrance? Join me down the rabbit hole of niche perfumery with perfume creator, entrepreneur, architect and author Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan. Now based in Paris and Goa, Jahnvi trained with master perfumers in France before launching her own line, available at Good Earth stores in India, and online, including bespoke orders. Learn about the world of scent and its incredible connection to our emotions and memories from this charming and poetic guide!

Listen here now or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 61:

Connect with Jahnvi and The Perfume Library on instagram

Try The Perfume Library’s - Aphtoori Absolue

A wonderful article in Travel & Leisure magazine about Jasmine by Shoba Narayan featuring Jahnvi

Sacha’s Shop in Goa

PERFUME CHAT:

Parfum d’Empire Musk Tonkin

Parfums de Nicolai

Sisley fragrances

Chanel

One of my favorites: Serge Lutens’ Feminite du Bois

Comme des Garcons Incense Series Kyoto & Avignon

Dune by Christian Dior

BOOKS and MORE:

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Smell by Radhika Jha

Perfumes: The A-Z guide by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez

The Nose by Gogol

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Grab a cup of chai, a glass of champagne, or go for a walk and hear how my new favorite book series starring Perveen Mistry, lawyer and sleuth extraordinaire, was created! Author of this historical mystery series which includes The Widows of Malabar Hill, The Satapur Moonstone, and The Bombay Prince, Sujata Massey tells me her own story of journalism, Japan and more on the latest episode of the podcast!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 60:

Sujata Massey’s website and instagram

Go buy Perveen Mistry and Sujata’s other books at Bookshop.org

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

BOOKS and MORE:

Soniah Kamal’s Unmarriageable

Harini Nagendra’s upcoming mystery set in Bengaluru The Bangalore Detectives Club and her previous Cities and Canopies

Nev Marsh’s Murder in Old Bombay: A Mystery

Rohinton Mistry’s work

Amitav Ghosh’s books

Pico Iyer’s Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far-East

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram !

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

How does someone with an Economics degree turn a love of stories into a career? Tune in to hear Bombay-based Tara, the founder of Bound India, share her journey from book-loving kid to publishing entrepreneur and podcaster. You maybe surprised by her favorite format and time of day for reading, and stay tuned until the end for reviews to find your next amazing read!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 59:

Listen to Books & Beyond on iTunes

Bound India website & instagram

Connect with Tara via her instagram

Young Blood: Ten Terrifying College Tales by Chandrima Das (edited by Bound)

The Girls in Green by Tanushree Poddar (edited by Bound)

BOOKS and MORE:

Mountain Tales: Love and Loss in the Municipality of Castaway Belongings by Saumya Roy. Different title in the US: Castaway Mountain: Love and Loss Among the Wastepickers of Mumbai

Paper Moon by Rehana Munir

Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation by Tara Kaushal

Early Indians : The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From by Tony Joseph

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Indian historical non-fiction by Manu Pillai

S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard

Stephen Fry’s Mythos

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk The Danger of a Single Story

Maya Shankar’s A Slight Change of Plans podcast

Business Wars podcast

The Habit Coach podcast

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Happy October! The podcast is back! Join me and my delightful new guest in a journey to the Great North - Shayan Pandole is a food & beverage industry veteran who found herself leaving New York and moving to Iceland to join her husband’s family restaurant in the remote Westfjords. The Soho House and Ritz Carlton seem a world apart from the fish restaurant in a medieval timber tavern where I met Shayan while traveling in Iceland this summer. Take a trip with us to experience this beautiful country and different way of life!

Listen now below or at www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 58:

Visit Tjöruhúsið in the beautiful town of Ísafjörður

Connect with the restaurant on Facebook

Connect with Shayan via her instagram

BOOKS and MORE:

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Haruki Murakami’s books on Bookshop.org

Kazuo Ishiguro’s books on Bookshop.org

Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was: A Novel by Sjón

Heida: A Shepherd at the Edge of the World by Steinunn Siguroardottir

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

I had so much fun speaking with author Sonali Dev, creator of Bollywood-style love stories with a multicultural cast of characters you will definitely root for! I love her Bay Area based, Jane Austen inspired series based on the Raje family - the latest of which just released and is a great end of summer read!

Join me in hearing how this architect turned into a full-time author, how being too chatty got her everywhere in life and what’s next for her and the fabulous Rajes! Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 57:

Connect with Sonali via her website and instagram

Sonali’s books on Bookshop.org and Amazon.com

Jane Austen - because it’s time for a re-read!

JANE AUSTEN SCREEN ADAPTATIONS WE DISCUSSED:

Pride & Prejudice (Colin Firth edition) and the Keira Knightley one

Persuasion (1995)

Ang Lee’s Sense & Sensibility with interesting commentary on how Emma Thompson’s screenplay updated the men in the best possible way in The Atlantic

BOOKS and MORE:

Write my name across the sky by Barbara O’Neal

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Join me in hearing how this architect turned into a full-time author, how being too chatty got her everywhere in life and what’s next for her and the fabulous Rajes! Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or iTunes and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

And we are back! After a very long delay (you can read why here on the newsletter), I’m delighted to bring you this overdue episode with Dr. Seema Yasmin. Ignore my most awkward intro ever to hear how this brilliant Emmy-award winning journalist, author, medical doctor and professor managed to overcome a challenging childhood and Islamophobia in a small town in England to publishing multiple books and teaching at Stanford by following her passions and pivoting when it felt right! The conversation feels very timely given Seema’s efforts to battle Scientific misinformation, promote reproductive rights and queer and Muslim representation in children’s books.

Listen now on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you enjoyed this, PLEASE SHARE THE EPISODE WITH A FRIEND!

SHOWNOTES for Ep. 96:

Connect with Seema through her website and Instagram

Buy Unbecoming and The ABCs of Queer History and all of Seema’s books here

Other books and other tips we discussed on the show:

The Who and the What: A Play (I love Seema’s reading challenge ‘A play a day’)

Disgraced and other Ayad Akhtar plays

Shefali Luthra’s Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America

Support the show via Patreon!

Questions? Comments? Get in touch @theindianeditpodcast on Instagram!

Want to talk gardens? Follow me @readyourgarden

Special thanks to Sudipta Biswas and the team at The Media Tribe for audio-post production!

As I travel around the sheep-dotted fjords of Iceland, I’m reminded of the stunning landscape of a part of the world that my latest guest has made her home. Looking to work with a textile community, Catherine Allie moved from Germany to Ladakh in the High Himalayas, sandwiched between Tibet and Kashmir. Together with her Ladakhi husband and his nomadic family, she founded textile collective WE ARE KAL. Weaving yak and lamb wool into beautiful, naturally dyed home textiles and clothing, Catherine and her community have created a sustainable business directly linked with the landscape of the places they work in. Bear with our spotty internet connection for the first couple of minutes, and definitely stay tuned until the end to get a glimpse of Catherine’s life in remote Ladakh!

A huge shout out to listener Sarah Dunn for connecting me with Catherine! Please do check out Sarah’s own textile work which draws inspiration from Catherine in the shownotes below at Rani & Reine.

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 56:

Connect with Catherine via We are Kal’s website and instagram

The gorgeous videos of the collective’s work are here

My generous listener Sarah Dunn’s Rani and Reine

BOOKS and MORE:

Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World by Helena Norberg-Hodge

The Secret Life of Plants: A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Georgia-based human rights attorney and newly minted Picture book author Shelly Anand joined me for this wonderful chat about body positivity and championing immigrant rights. Her new book Laxmi’s Mooch is out now and another one is due next year!

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 55:

Connect with Shelly via her website and instagram

Connect with MA ANAND SHELLY on Twitter here

Laxmi’s Mooch on Bookshop.org

BOOKS and MORE:

Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date

Talia Hibbert’s Brown sisters romance novels

Mariame Kaba’s We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice

Bobs’ Burgers

Shrill on Hulu

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

From her childhood in a small town to leading an internationally known brand, Anavila Misra has grown her fashion design label while remaining grounded in both innovation and tradition. Anavila reinvented the sari by using linen, while maintaining a strong connection with the artisan craft clusters who create her beautiful clothing. Join me as she shares how she brought together all her experiences in handloom, menswear, and her love of nature in launching “Anavila” in 2011.

Listen now on your favorite podcast app, or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 54:

See Anavila’s collection on the brand’s website and instagram

Artisans where Anavila launched her collection

BOOKS and MORE:

Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead

Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family by Mitch Albom

The legendary Swati Snacks, Mumbai

Sequel Mumbai, organic, gluten-free cafe

Ram & Shyam Chaat in Khar, Mumbai

L’Usine Cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Pizza 4P’s in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The Truffle Michelin-starred restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

Teaching mindfulness in the US as a South Asian immigrant, my latest guest Zeenat Potia is working to make meditation instruction more inclusive and sustainable. She shares her journey from Bombay to the US, her own experiences with meditation and so many MANY wonderful and wise suggestions for us beginners. We discuss the reasons why people meditate, how to deal with some of the challenges we all face when we do try, and lots of books and resources to keep us motivated. I found this conversation so helpful, and Zeenat’s energy so inspiring - I hope you do too!

Join the chat below, on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of these inspiring women can be heard all over the world!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 53:

Connect with Zeenat on her website (where you can sign up to her newseltter) and instagram

Cambridge Insight Meditation Center where Zeenat teaches (and which has many virtual options if you’re not local!)

Ruth King “Nothing is permanent, perfect or personal.”

BOOKS and MORE:

Island of the blue dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal

Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind by Judson Brewer

Ezra Klein interviews Dr. Brewer on his podcast - transcript here

Children’s Books by William Steig

Homegoing and Transcendant Kingdom by Yaa Gyaasi

Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town by Barbara Demick

Follow us on Instagram for more on our guests and everything we mentioned in this episode!

Special thanks to Varun Dhabe and the team @ Boon Castle / Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!