Episode 20: Periyar: The Life and Times of an Iconoclast: In conversation with A. R. Venkatachalapathy and Karthick Ram Manoharan
Why is Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, who passed away over half a century ago, still a controversial yet unavoidable and crucial figure in Tamil Nadu? While this year marks 100 years of the Self-Respect Movement, initiated by Periyar, he was also labelled anti-national, anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin, and anti-Dalit, generating extreme hate and accusations. Who was Periyar?…
Episode 19: The Unexpected Force of Non-violence: In conversation with Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee
Gandhi’s method of non-violence faced significant challenges after Jinnah’s declaration of Direct Action Day, continuing until the partition and beyond. The miracle of non-violence seemed to fade, leaving peace as a fleeting hope. To counter the violence, Gandhi walked through areas devastated by violence- Noakhali, Bihar, Calcutta, and Delhi in the last fifteen months of…
Before Mamdani, there was Meherally
There is much traffic on internet about Zohran Mamdani, newly elected mayor of New York City, who describes himself as a democratic socialist and won in the city that was the capital of capitalism. One observer went on to ask if his win was a referendum on capitalism. While this is too early to answer,…
Episode 18: The Dravidian Pathway: How the DMK Redefined Power and Identity in South India- In Conversation with Vignesh Rajahmani
How did a transformative socio-cultural movement become an electorally successful political force? To answer this question, we have with us Vignesh Rajahmani. In his book, ‘The Dravidian Pathway’, he illustrates how the Dravidian movement transformed into an electorally viable political party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). We also explore the ideas of the Dravidian-Tamil ethos,…
No Objections to Laughing: A Little Bit of Wit- Part One
Originally written by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana in Telugu ★ Two brothers were arguing over their inheritance. Unable to agree, they went to the village headman for a ruling. “We will abide by whatever you decide”, they said. The headman listened to their entire dispute and said, “The elder brother will have the responsibility of dividing…
Episode 17: Anti-Colonialism, Anarchism, and M.P.T. Acharya- In Conversation with Ole Birk Laursen
In 1908, an Indian revolutionary from Madras arrived in Marseille, France, and later travelled to Paris, London, Lisbon, New York, Berlin, and Russia with two main objectives: to unveil the brutality of British colonialism and to reject the idea of the universalisation of the nation-state. He made significant contributions to our understanding of resistance to…
Episode 16: Writing, Translating, Publishing: In Conversation with Purnima Tammireddy
Purnima Tammireddy is a writer, translator, publisher, and full-time software engineer. For nearly two decades, she has contributed to Telugu literature through short stories, book reviews, and articles on technology, as well as by translating fiction and non-fiction from Hindustani, English, and Kannada into Telugu. She recently translated Volga’s ‘On the Banks of the Pampa’ from…
Episode 15: India, Pakistan, Burma and Beyond: A History of Partitions- In Conversation with Sam Dalrymple
As recently as 1928, a vast region spanning twelve of today’s Asian countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait—were bound together as a single entity known as the Indian Empire, or simply the Raj. In less than 50 years after 1928, this Indian empire was shattered by five…
Episode 14: The Art of Translation- In conversation with N Kalyan Raman
In this episode, I am joined by N. Kalyan Raman, a celebrated translator of modern and contemporary Tamil fiction and poetry into English. Our conversation will explore his journey as a translator, the Tamil literary milieu, the process of text selection, the power and significance of translation, the dynamic between author and translator, the challenges…
No objections to laughing: Doctor and Patient
Originally written by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana in Telugu ★ The patient got irritated. “Doctor, these pills aren’t doing anything. My fever is not budging. Someone told me sweating helps; can’t you just give me something to make me sweat?” “Hmmm! That’s easy. Come sit here. I will make the bill and give you”, said the…
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