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Naatak Radio

Naatak Radio

Naatak Inc.

Do you love stories, plays, tales, and lovely music? क्या आपको क़िस्से, कहानियाँ, और मधुर संगीत सुनना पसंद है?
Naatak Radio is a podcast with stories, plays, songs, and more, produced by Naatak, America's Biggest Indian Theater Company based in the Bay Area, California.
Naatak Radio aims to bring back the memories of Hawa Mahal on Vividh Bharati. हर हफ़्ते एक नए episode के साथ, आपकी सुनहरी हवा महल की यादें ताज़ा कराने की ज़िम्मेदारी अब हमारी.
#Naatak #Stories #Plays #Theater #Hindi #Drama #क़िस्से #कहानी #कहानियाँ

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Top 10 Naatak Radio Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Naatak Radio episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Naatak Radio for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Naatak Radio episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

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This beautiful narrative written by Anju Mehta and performed by Priyanka Nimkar takes us through the emotional journey of leaving behind not just a house, but an entire life filled with memories.
When the protagonist’s family prepares for a new chapter, the heart lingers, tethered to the home they once knew.
This episode expresses the quiet strength we find in nature when everything else seems to be changing.

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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Aug 21, 2020 was Padma Shri Ismat Chughtai's 125th birth anniversary. One of India's most prominent authors, Ismat Chughtai has written countless stories, novels, and even films, but none more controversial at its release in 1942 and popular after than LIHAAF.
Written as a first person narrative, Lihaaf is a 'terrifying' memory of the narrator from her childhood. Lihaaf is a landmark portrayal of an insulated life of a neglected wife as seen from a little girl's eyes. Chughtai was inspired to write the story upon hearing of the rumored affair of a begum and her masseuse in Aligarh, the story chronicles the sexual awakening of Begum Jan following her unhappy marriage with a nawab.
The cleverly portrayed reference to homosexuality in the story got Chugthai summoned by the Lahore High Court to defend herself against the charges of "obscenity". She was exonerated but detested the media coverage of the whole incident, which in her view weighted heavily upon her subsequent work; "Lihaaf brought me so much notoriety that I got sick of life. It became the proverbial stick to beat me with and whatever I wrote afterwards got crushed under its weight."
According to her memoir, Chughtai made her peace with the whole fiasco, having met the woman who had inspired Begum Jan a few years after the publication of Lihaaf. She felt greatly rewarded when the begum told her that Lihaaf had "changed her life and it is because of her story now she was blessed with a child".
Narrator: Sareeka Malhotra
Editing and mixing by: Anitha Dixit
Some of the music composed by: Sandeep Khurana

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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Nearly 300-million (30 crore) people in India live at or below the poverty line and the 2020 pandemic is expected to throw many more in deep penury. This story, written by eminent story writer, Gnanpeeth (2009), Vyas Samman (2009), and Sahitya Akademi Award (2007) winner, Amarkant presents a tale of such a family. It presents the real life struggles of many and uses a narrative that is both poignant and heart-rending. Siddheshwari Devi distributes a very limited quantity of food amongst her retrenched husband and unemployed children so that nobody feels half-fed, but when nothing but half a roti is left for her, she cries silently. The ending of this story is extremely touching.
Narrated by: Savitha Samu and Vikas Dhurka
Presented by: Naatak
About the author:
Born in 1925 in Baliya, UP, Amarkant is at the top among the most prominent storytellers of India. The beauty of Amarkant's writing lies in its simplicity, which the critic Pranaya Krishna described as “the most difficult pursuit”. Amarkant goes deep into the sociology as well as the psychology of his characters without any cathartic drama and turns them into authentic representatives of our social margins. Amarkant is best known for his short stories although he also published six novels. He started writing in a period when the Nai Kahani (New Story) movement was heralding a big thematic and structural shift, and almost overshadowed the tradition of Premchand which used to be the mainstream fiction in Hindi. This movement focussed more on urban settings, individual characteristics, man-woman relationships, and so on, in place of people in villages and small towns. The scene was dominated by authors such as Mohan Rakesh, Kamaleshwar and Rajendra Yadav, aggressive advocates of the movement as a new metaphor for and of modern society.

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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In August, 1947, when the British finally left it after 300 years of subjugation, the Indian subcontinent was divided into two independent nations purely based on religion, India and Pakistan. This abrupt partition, and the hastily drawn borders, sometimes running across people's compounds, led to one of the greatest migrations in human history. Nearly 15 million people comprising of Muslims trekking to Pakistan from India and Hindus and Sikhs heading in the opposite direction were displaced overnight. Millions never made it. The railway link between the two countries was a key medium, and was also witness to horrors beyond human comprehension.
Bhisham Sahni, a prominent writer and playwright and winner of the Padma Bhushan for literature, was known for composing many passionate and powerful accounts of these times in his stories and novels. The most famous of them all: Tamas!
Not far behind is his short story Amritsar Aa Gaya Hai that we're presenting in this brand new episode. It is a brilliant portrayal of how people are dehumanized by mass frenzy to a level that they are reduced to either limp helplessness or unreasoning rage. It portrays how, with the crossing of man-made borders, human nature could itself mutate, with the victim becoming an aggressor and the aggressor a victim. Alongside Saadat Hassan Manto's Toba Tek Singh, Amritsar... merits a place of honor in the literature of India's troubled Partition.

This episode is released on 8/8/2020, which marks the 105th birthday of this great writer.
Narrator: Manish Sabu
Music and Background Sound Credit:
Various train sounds, other objects, and "Riots" by A. R. Rahman.

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
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This weeks marks the 31st death anniversary of Shri Amritlal Nagar, one of the most prominent Hindi writers, often called the true literary heir of Premchand. Gorakhdhandha, that literally translates to a labyrinth, is one of his most famous short stories. It is a tale of a lower middle class married guy named Satish. Satish has been looking for a job for the last two years and is now fighting for every last penny. Things don't look favorable for him, but he doesn't give up hope. Creative and imaginative, he comes up with several ideas to get himself and his family out of the lower middle class hardships.
Written in 1939 by the late Shri Amritlal Nagar, Gorakhdhandha is as much a commentary on the Indian middle class today, as it is a lesson in continuing your dreams of carving your own path.
Performed by Vikas Dhurka
Music: "Indian Flute Meditation Music", by Meditative Mind
About the author:
Amritlal Nagar (17 August 1916 – 23 February 1990) was one of the prominent Hindi writers of the twentieth century.

He started off as an author and journalist, but moved on to be an active writer in the Indian film industry for 7 years. He worked as a drama producer in All India Radio between December 1953 and May 1956. At this point he realized that a regular job would always be a hindrance to his literary life, so he devoted himself to freelance writing.

Amritlal Nagar created his own independent and unique identity as a littérateur and is counted as one of the most important and multi-faceted creative writers of Indian literature. Amritlal Nagar's real genius lay in the art of developing a range of characters in his stories and novels. Commenting on his distinctive ability to operationalize a story at many levels in complex and multi-dimensional ways.

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
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Presenting Anton Chekov's "THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL" in Marwari.
A marriage proposal leads to a hilarious quarrel about land and cattle.
Artists: Devu Heda, Sonal Kabra (Maloo), Prashant Maloo
Director: Manish Sabu
Translator: Prashant Bharati Maloo
Adaptation: Pratiksha Rao-Vaidya

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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Chief ki Daawat is one of the legendary writer Bhishm Sahni's most famous stories.
A humble Indian official invites his chief, an American, to his house for dinner. The low-ranked official believes that if his boss is impressed by his hospitality, he would surely grant him the long due promotion. The man and his wife turn the house upside down to make it spic and span for the party. But, according to them the man's elderly, illiterate, and unkempt mother is an eyesore. Will they be successful in hiding his mother from the party or will the two worlds clash?
Performed by Anpuam Dhyani
Music: Rimani, Sparks, Viverti, Libera from "1 Hour of the Most Beautiful Emotional Orchestral Music" by Mattia Cupelli

Bhisham Sahni (8 August 1915 – 11 July 2003) was an Indian writer, playwright in Hindi and an actor, most famous for his novel and television screenplay Tamas ("Darkness, Ignorance"), a powerful and passionate account of the Partition of India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for literature in 1998, and Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2002. He was the younger brother of the noted Hindi film actor, Balraj Sahni.

Support the show

Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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Naatak Radio - Art Ka Pul

Art Ka Pul

Naatak Radio

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10/19/24 • 13 min

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This beautiful narrative written by Fahim Azmi ji and performed by Priyanka Nimkar talks about a village separated due to certain events.
Listen to the full episode to know, will the distance create differences or will actually bring the people closer than ever.

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Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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Naatak Radio - Calculation by Malti Joshi
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11/23/24 • 10 min

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A light-hearted narrative written by Malti Joshi and performed by Priyanka Nimkar talks about a girl and her mother. The mother is in search of prospects for her daughter. The daughter is very choosy. But one day she meets someone special.
Listen to the full episode to know what happens after?

Support the show

Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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Shattered by the discovery that her husband is leaving her, a devoted housewife retaliates, gathering the pieces rather cleverly. Based on “Lamb to the Slaughter”, a short story by Roald Dahl, and adapted and directed by Mahesh Umasankar, Bali Ka Bakra was also presented by Naatak in Mela, 2016.
Voice Actors:
Savitha Samu, Anush Moorthy, Dilip Ratnam, Swagato Basumallick and Palak Joshi

Support the show

Subscribe to Naatak Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Jio Saavn or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen to our library of over 100 episodes on our website at naatak.org/naatakradio/
Love the show? Consider supporting the show here.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Naatak Radio have?

Naatak Radio currently has 115 episodes available.

What topics does Naatak Radio cover?

The podcast is about Fiction, Drama, Music and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Naatak Radio?

The episode title 'Babul Mora - Shatranj ke Khiladi' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Naatak Radio?

The average episode length on Naatak Radio is 15 minutes.

How often are episodes of Naatak Radio released?

Episodes of Naatak Radio are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Naatak Radio?

The first episode of Naatak Radio was released on Mar 28, 2020.

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