The Literary City
Explocity Podcasts
EXPLOCITY PODCASTS presents THE LITERARY CITY With Ramjee Chandran. This literary podcast is devoted to books and authors. It features interviews with a stellar line up of authors, both world famous and also authors who are being discovered—the only criterion being the quality of the prose. Topics are generally literary and include history, biographies, literature and literary fiction. The Literary City podcasts celebrates authors, poets, playwrights, grammar police, literary lounge lizards...and, oh yes, a cunning linguist or ten.
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Top 10 The Literary City Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Literary City episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Literary City 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 The Literary City episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
The Insatiable Feminism Of The Fabulous Shobhaa De
The Literary City
04/11/23 • 39 min
That was my guest today, the incomparable Shobhaa De.
Shobhaa is one of the most famous writers in India and her reputation has travelled everywhere, but it behooves me to talk about the realpolitik of Shobhaa De’s literature.
Let me tell you why Shobhaa De is so significant to English writing in India. Not only was her great success as an author inspiring, but to my mind, the most significant thing I can say about Shobhaa is that she kicked down the doors for generations of women writers who followed her.
Uniquely, she gave women a voice. At the risk of reduction, I’ll venture that her novels explore the lives and loves of Indian women who embrace their sensuality without apology.
Despite, simply living their lives is often a patriarchy-fostered challenge, her protagonists are never sad victims. They follow their dreams rather than fit into society's expectations. At the fount of their sentience, they will not be marginalised.
I imagine that such a narrative is even possible only because Shobhaa’s prose is an honest prose, without artifice.
And funny. But the lightness she brings to this prose often belies the dark realities that she is addressing. While most literature of this genre tends to be disconsolate... even self-pitying— the humour I speak of, in Shobhaa’s narratives, is a testament to her skill as a writer.
For this reason, I am sure, her writing has been the subject of almost one hundred academic dissertations—of researchers and scholars in universities around the world—studying feminist literature—and I imagine this number is only growing.
Recently, Shobhaa launched her latest book titled “Insatiable”, and it is a memoir filled with anecdotes and personal experiences—told interestingly from the perspective of food. Artfully, Shobhaa De crafts a narrative using food as the conduit for descriptions of events in her life that happened around it.
In literature, eating and not-eating are always symbolic, and food always means something other than mere food. Food is a fun metaphor in literature. Ernest Hemingway used it as did Shobhaa’s favourites, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald.
And now, here she is, joining me from her home in Bombay to talk about her life and literature.
ABOUT SHOBHAA DE
Shobhaa Dé, voted by Reader's Digest as one of 'India's Most Trusted People' and by Daily News and Analysis as one of the '50 Most Powerful Women in India', is a bestselling author and a popular social commentator. Her works, both fiction and non-fiction, have been featured in comparative literature courses at universities in India and abroad. Her writing has been translated into many languages including Hindi, Marathi, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish, among others. Shobhaa lives in Mumbai with her family.
Buy Insatiable: https://amzn.to/3KKJ2mZ
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the origin of the phrase, "SHIT HIT THE FAN".
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
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1 Listener
07/18/23 • 35 min
A few weeks ago, I was reading LitHub, one of the many literary magazines I enjoy greatly, and I found an essay that caught my immediate fancy. It is titled, “Literature in the Bardo: Tenzin Dickie on the Past, Present, and Future of the Tibetan Essay”.
Not only was I captivated by her prose but importantly, it opened a window to the world of Tibetan literature.
Growing up in India, Tibet exists by default, if nothing else. We know a smattering of things about that country and its culture. There’s the Dalai Lama, there are the Tibetan settlements in Dharamsala in the north and Bylakuppe, south of Bangalore and we know that the Tibetans come here to run away from the Chinese occupation of their country. Inevitably there’s someone who tells us to go to that Tibetan doctor—and that their system of medicine is the best.
Things like this make us believe we know Tibet more than we really do. Gives us a sense of familiarity but not any knowledge. You don’t think much about it—other than maybe feeling happy to have been a shelter for someone in need, especially when that someone is the Dalai Lama—but the LitHub piece set me running down a delightful rabbit hole.
My guest today is the author of that essay, Tenzin Dickie and you heard her reading an extract from it. I would describe Tenzin as an exceptionally gifted writer. Her latest book is titled The Penguin Book Of Modern Tibetan Essays and the stories in it present a wonderful window into the Tibetan soul—these stories are both touching and strong and you begin to appreciate not just the mind of the minority but also the mind of a minority in exile, possibly forever.
Tenzin edited this book and with this and whatever I read about her in my research, I’ll venture that she is the new custodian of the Tibetan tale.
I have spent the last week happily immersed in Tibetan literature and I have a ton of questions for her. And so here she is, joining me from her home in Boston.
ABOUT TENZIN DICKIE
Tenzin Dickie is the editor of the English language anthologies of modern Tibetan fiction and nonfiction: Old Demons, New Deities: Twenty One Short Stories from Tibet & The Penguin Book of Modern Tibetan Essays. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia Universities, she also studied at the Tibetan Children's Village School in Dharamsala, India.
Buy The Penguin Book Of Modern Tibetan Essays here: https://amzn.to/3NVcEOW
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the etymology of "PROVERB"
CONTACT US
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John Zubrzycki And The Shortest History Of India
The Literary City
09/20/22 • 39 min
History was never considered to be a subject that would lead to gainful employment and I dare say, rewarding matrimony. Maybe that’s why we have paid little respect to it in India.
Maybe that’s why our records are shoddy. Most museums and public places of history are disrespectfully maintained—and shabby when compared to those in other countries.
Through the ages, the lasting history of India has been principally discovered and recorded by travellers from overseas—from Megasthenes in 300BC to Al Masudi in 950 to Thomas Roe in 1615 and then so many other illustrious people during and since.
And now, there is a sudden interest in Indian history.
Of the number of books that publishers send me to consider for this podcast, a great many are about Indian history—in one form or another.
This interest in Indian history I guess was kicked off by recent western historians—and the trend is carried forward by so many wonderful Indian historians and writers—each compelling, entertaining and insightful.
Well, it’s all good. It’s a great time to be discovering ourselves—and maybe this will cause our public spaces to improve. And I pray, curated by historians and and other men and women of science and not politicians.
My guest today, is John Zubrzycki. He is the author of several great books on Indian history. His most recent book is titled The Shortest History Of India. He artfully presents thousands of years of the history of India in a little over 250 pages.
His earlier book, Jadoowallahs, Jugglers and Jinns is an amazing history of the little known but truly fantastic contribution of India to the world of magic, to such a degree that western magicians believed they needed to dress up as Indian mystics to be credible to western audiences.
So much to ask him. So let’s get right to it. Here he is joining me now from his home in Australia.
ABOUT JOHN ZUBRZYCKI
John Zubrzycki is an Australian author who has been studying Indian history for more than forty years. He has worked in India as a diplomat and foreign correspondent, taught Indian studies and written extensively on Indian society, culture and politics. He is the author of four books. He majored in South Asian history and Hindi at the Australian National University and has a PhD in Indian history from the University of New South Wales. John was the deputy foreign editor at The Australian before becoming a full-time writer.
Buy The Shortest History Of India (Picador): https://amzn.to/3RO2hwW
Buy Jadoowallahs, Jugglers And Jinns (Picador): https://amzn.to/3RXJoYv
Listen to a reading of William Jones's poem, Caissa: https://archive.org/details/AGameOfChess
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the words "magic" and "hocus-pocus".
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
Reach us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
Or here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theliterarycity
Or here: https://www.instagram.com/explocityblr/
Intro music Uppbeat: License code: IGNVWYJMASEXOUZK
TJS George And The Inevitability Of The Absurd
The Literary City
10/25/22 • 35 min
There is a point late in the lives of the very accomplished, when they unscrew the caps of their pens and write a compelling memoir of their lives.
But how does a self-effacing journalist write an autobiography? By not writing one. Not in the stock sense, anyway.
My guest today is journalist TJS George. He is 94 years old. His life as a working journalist began when he was 19. That was in 1947—in the months following India’s Independence. And ever since, George has had a ringside seat to India—and to every twist in its tale.
Journalists always have the best stories. After years of working their profession as a “little pitcher with big ears”—fly on the wall, if you prefer—they wait impatiently to fill the ears of the world with anecdotes.
But instead of all that, George’s latest book, “The Dismantling Of India”, is the closest we have got to an autobiography—unless, of course, he decides to up and write a classic memoir.
I read this book as a narrative history of India to be harvested from the biographical portraits of 35 Indians. They include people from art, entertainment, politics, science, business, crime and cause—profiles—at times in contrast; sometimes in concert.
But the word “dismantling” in the title of the book amounts to disappointment, because from the day he joined as a rookie reporter, the newly-born India has been on a downward trajectory, aging poorly—day after year after decade.
Biographies bring people to life, as a tapestry of the stories of their lives. An autobiography is supposed to do the same thing—a personal narrative gives an author licence—to a point of view, an explanation, or even an excuse. George has no use for excuses and his writing leaves no wiggle room for explanation.
The reason I equate this book to an autobiography is because it seemed to me that he was expressing his own life story through the aggregate of the lives of those he has profiled.
TJS George’s writing is not misplaced modesty. It seems to come from a conviction that he is—first and last—a journalist and thus, the story should come first, second and last. And any trace of the writer’s presence be excised—except by good example, to every journalist.
ABOUT TJS GEORGE
He has worked as a journalist and editor across India and Southeast Asia. He is co-founder before of Asiaweek in Hong Kong. Returning to India, he has worked with the Indian Express as Editor and as a columnist. He has written 20 books, including biographies of Krishna Menon, Lee Kuan Yew, Nargis and MS Subbulakshmi. He is a recipient of the 2011 Padma Bhushan and numerous other awards. He lives in Bangalore.
Buy The Dismantling Of India: https://amzn.to/3zaug2x
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the interesting origins of the word, "SCOUNDREL."
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
Reach us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
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On The Journey To Ithaca With David Davidar
The Literary City
10/11/22 • 39 min
What and when was the first English language novel?
There are some contenders for this honour, but the most plausible for me would be Pamela by Samuel Richardson—first published in 1740 and several times since. Widely accepted as the first English novel, it is a racy, saucy, sexually-orientated story—and , of course, for that reason it was the world’s first bestseller.
In 1832, the first book covers started to happen. In America and Britain, these books, with designed covers, sold for a penny. They were largely the retelling of gothic horror stories. For that reason these books came to called Penny Dreadful.
A significant moment in the history of publishing was the advent of the American brothers Albert and Charles Boni, who started a mail-order publishing company. The pioneering efforts of Albert Boni resulted in the creation of the major publishing company , Random House—so called because they decided that their choice of published literature would be random by nature.
Their success was followed in 1935 by Penguin—a hugely successful British publisher that printed clearly branded books that appealed to everyone. And mention of Penguin brings me to my guest today, David Davidar—the best known name in Indian publishing
David was hired by Penguin in 1985. First as an editor and then very quickly as Publisher, David took Penguin places—from publishing six books in 1987 to 150 titles annually.
By the time he moved to Penguin Canada in 2004, David had published a stable of thoroughbreds—here’s a sample—Shashi Tharoor, Vikram Seth, Ruskin Bond, Romila Thapar, Salman Rushdie and William Dalrymple.
One of my earlier guests on this show, author Pavan Varma made singular mention of having been first published by David.
David Davidar is, at once, a publisher, an editor, a novelist of three wonderful books. He runs Aleph Book Company—a top-shelf publishing house, in partnership with Rupa Publications, and continues to battle alongside the gods of academe with weapons of mass typography.
Those in the business will not need me to say anything. For those who are readers of books, who might not be familiar with the publishing industry, you can easily attribute a large part of your proud book collection to one man. And I feel privileged to be able to introduce him to you today.
ABOUT DAVID DAVIDAR
David Davidar is an Indian novelist and publisher. He is the author of three published novels, The House of Blue Mangoes, The Solitude of Emperors, and Ithaca. In parallel to his writing career, Davidar has been a publisher for over a quarter-century. David Davidar has been around books all his life.
Buy A Case Of Indian Marvels: https://amzn.to/3VhkEMO
Listen to Constantine Cavafy's poem, "ITHACA", the inspiration for David's book by the same name, recited by Sean Connery : https://youtu.be/i8is5ZE4_CU
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss "#"—which is the "hash" or "pound" symbol.
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Reach us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
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Cover photo: Rachna Singh
In The Freedom Struggle On A Train To Tanjore With Devika Rangachari
The Literary City
09/27/22 • 39 min
The great author Gustav Flaubert once said, “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe."
I am not buying that entirely. I believe that the art of writing is to make others believe what you want them to believe.
And by that, I don’t mean only storytelling. I mean all writing. Direct and compelling prose can raise even the most academic and arcane subjects to literature.
Sometimes academicians couch their findings in thick and opaque prose—sometimes because they don’t know how to express themselves in a more comprehensible manner. You know, in simple sentences without using jargon as crutches.
Sometimes because they think they won’t be taken seriously if they expressed themselves in a less formal style.
And some of them are great writers and storytellers. So they go looking for an outlet for their creativity and happily some find it.
My guest today is author and historian, Devika Rangachari. Clearly, she found her muse. She is both versatile and prolific. Her writing has spanned everything from a post-doctoral thesis on 10th century women rulers of Orissa to children’s books.
Reading her is a delight. Her latest book is titled Train To Tanjore and is the absorbing account of a young schoolboy who battles small-town orthodoxy in the time of World War II.
Devika captures the period and the honest sentiment that RK Narayan once did in Swami And Friends. She does this with her unique literary sparkle.
As you can tell, I enjoyed reading this book. Equally I enjoyed reading some of her academic writing. And today, I am delighted to be able to share her with you. So here she is joining me from her home in Doha, Qatar.
ABOUT DEVIKA RANGACHARI
Dr. Devika Rangachari is an award-winning writer whose book, Queen of Ice was on the White Raven list, won the Neev Young Adult Book Award, was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar. Her other books include The Train to Tanjore, Queen of Fire (Parag Honour List 2022), Queen of Earth (Parag Honour List 2021; shortlisted for the Neev YA and the JK Women AutHer awards), 10 Indian Monarchs Whose Amazing Stories You May Not Know, Tales of Love and Adventure, Swami Vivekananda—A Man with a Vision, Harsha Vardhana, The Merry Mischief of Gopal Bhand, The Wit of Tenali Raman and Growing Up (IBBY Honour List 2002). She also received a prestigious national fellowship of the ministry of culture in India to research aspects of gender and historical fiction in Indian children’s literature.
Buy Train To Tanjore (Penguin Random House): https://amzn.to/3dy8Gh1
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the word "QUEEN".
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
Reach us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
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Winner of The Booker Prize 2022 Shehan Karunatilaka
The Literary City
11/01/22 • 47 min
There is an old saying, “Dead men tell no tales”.
But how wonderful and useful it would be if we could follow a conversation into the afterlife? And what more wonderful than if you wrote about it and then won the Booker Prize for your efforts? Is this the stuff from which dreams are made?
Clearly true if you consider my guest today, Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of the The Booker Prize 2022.
In Shehan’s novel, The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida, the main protagonist is dead but the character is alive. The novel—set in a terrible patch of Sri Lankan history between 1983 and 1990—is the story of a photojournalist who dies. In the afterlife, he finds himself in the "In-between"—a state between "Down There" which is life on earth and "The Light"—and where that is, is revealed at the end of the book.
The protagonist is confronted by—of all things—a bureaucracy in the afterlife and he is told he has a week, or seven moons, to find out how he died if he wanted to make it to The Light.
The novel touches the reader in many ways. Not the least to wonder what happens if we were indeed to find bureaucracy in the afterlife. Even the disappointment that visits us upon such a proposition is not rational. Yet...
Shehan uses the second person as a literary device. Literary fiction written in the second-person is rare. This style is unusual because the narrator tells the story to the reader using the personal pronoun "you." The perspective suggests that the reader is the protagonist.
Shehan Karunatilaka’s prose is compelling...gripping, even. The turns of phrase and word come together like play dough in what seems to be an absently crafted sculpture.
Intelligent prose is never without its humour and Shehan’s prose has a river of funny as its undercurrent.
He defines a queue in Sri Lanka as “...an amorphous curve with multiple entry points.” (Clearly, a south Asian malaise.)
"The afterlife is a tax office and everyone wants a rebate."
"You drift among the broken people with blood on their breath."
All this and you are still on Page 10.
But humour is peppered through the entire narrative and some of it is recognisable to typical snarky South Indian humour. This on page 135: ”...frilly shirt tailored by a blind man”.
In the context though, the humour is a noir humour that characterises places in the world that are in strife—such as Ireland, parts of the Middle East and Shehan’s home country, Sri Lanka.
I really cannot wait to ask him about all this.
At the time of this recording, Shehan has just won the Booker Prize, a little over a week ago. I know that the entire world’s media waits to talk to him and so, I am particularly happy that he chose to spend this time with me.
ABOUT SHEHAN KARUNATILAKA
Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan writer whose first book, Chinaman, won the Commonwealth Book Prize, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and the Gratiaen Prize, and was shortlisted for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is his second book, it won the Booker Prize 2022.
Buy The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida: https://amzn.to/3gUhnDw
WHAT'S THAT WORD?!
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the interesting origins of the phrase, "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES"
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
Reach us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
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Finding The Bebop With Jazz Writer Scott Yanow
The Literary City
05/31/22 • 31 min
My guest today is Scott Yanow—one of the best known and most prolific jazz reviewers.
Writing about jazz is special, because of the dynamic and fluid nature of the music. There is a basic melody in jazz...but only to begin with. The musicians, in their solos, interpret that melody and its underlying harmonic structure.
And always, and without exception, that interpretation is different every time a jazz soloist plays.
Here’s an analogy for jazz beginners.
Classical music, for instance, is like a play. The lines are written for the actors, who must use their skill to bring out the drama in the lines. But it’s always the same lines, the same words.
Jazz is like scintillating conversation. You don’t say the same thing twice—for the sake of your friends I hope you don’t. And how interesting you are depends on how much you know, and how well you say it.
So, you see what I mean when I say that writing jazz reviews merits its own skill.
Speaking of skill, Scott Yanow has authored 12 books, written over 20,000 recording reviews and over 900 liner notes. (Liner notes are those descriptive passages that accompany an album.)
He has also written artist biographies and press releases for record labels, public relations firms and individual artists. And most easily accessible, he has written hundreds of summaries for jazzonthetube.com.
Scott doesn’t tire easily. And simply listening to him describe a typical day is enough to make most of us pine for a vacation.
As I said earlier, it’s all about how much you know and how well you say it. Scott Yanow knows a lot and says it in an unpretentious, direct and honest writing style.
And now he joins us from his home near Los Angeles.
ABOUT SCOTT YANOW
Scott Yanow was born in New York and grew up near Los Angeles. He became the jazz editor for Record Review, a now-legendary music magazine. Yanow has written for Jazz Times , Cadence , Coda , The Mississippi Rag , Jazz Forum , Jazz News , The Jazz Report , Planet Jazz , Jazz Now , Jazz Improv and other significant jazz magazines. He contributors to seven magazines: Downbeat, Jazziz, the NYC Jazz Record, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, Jazz Artistry Now, the Jazz Rag and Syncopated Times.
Yanow has written 12 books on jazz: The Jazz Singers, The Great Jazz Guitarists, Jazz On Film Duke Ellington, Swing, Bebop, Afro-Cuban Jazz, Classic Jazz,Trumpet Kings, Jazz: A Regional Exploration, the massive Jazz On Record 1917-76 and most recently Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist (My Jazz Memoirs).
Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist: https://amzn.to/3PLnx5S
WHAT'S THAT WORD?! - JAZZ
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in the segment "What's That Word?", where they discuss the origins of "jazz" and tell jazz jokes.
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
Reach us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
Shrabani Basu On Why Queen Victoria Loved Abdul Karim And How Conan Doyle Saved A Parsee Lawyer
The Literary City
05/24/22 • 32 min
A few years ago, I went to a movie theatre in New York City’s Chelsea, a theatre that screens indie films, to watch this new movie, Victoria & Abdul. It is a story of how Abdul Karim, a servant to Victoria, who was then Queen of England, came to be her closest confidant. A touching tale.
After the movie, in the foyer, I overheard one woman asking her friend in a most puzzled tone, “Is that what the museum in London is called? Victoria and...Abdul?!” “No dear,” her friend replied and set her straight on the correct name, "it’s Victoria and Albert Museum, dear."
The title of the movie is based on the book of the same name by my guest today, author, journalist and most definitely, historian, Shrabani Basu.
Shrabani has the almost uncanny ability to find a story where others did not and spend years researching it. Such as the story about a Parsee lawyer in pre-WW1 England, George Edalji, who was accused of murdering horses.
Now, who among us has not lived in 221B Baker Street—the residence of Sherlock Holmes? In our hearts and minds. We know that Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes and wrote those magnificent mysteries. But there were two occasions when Conan Doyle could actually play Sherlock Holmes; that of Oscar Slater who was convicted of bludgeoning an 82-year-old woman. Doyle saw inconsistencies in the case and paid for most of the costs for Slater's successful appeal, 20 years later.
The other famous case was that of George Edalji. Conan Doyle got involved and despite the efforts of the local constabulary, had him exonerated...importantly, in public and historical opinion.
Shrabani Basu’s book, The Mystery Of The Parsee Lawyer, is a cannot-put-down thriller more so because it is a real life Sherlock Holmes thriller.
Back to the lovebirds, Victoria and Abdul and putting aside my pretenses of not being interested in muck rake and scuttlebutt, I want to know how close Victoria was to Abdul. How close really?
To that end, let’s ask the author, Shrabani Basu.
ABOUT SHRABANI BASU
Shrabani Basu is an author and a journalist. She was born in Kolkata and grew up in Dhaka, Kathmandu and Delhi. Her books include Victoria & Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant, now a major motion picture, Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan and For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front, 1914-18. In 2010, she set up the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust and campaigned for a memorial for the Second World War heroine, which was unveiled by Princess Anne in London in November 2012.
The Mystery Of The Parsee Lawyer: https://amzn.to/3PDcJ9J
Victoria And Abdul: https://amzn.to/3GcByoN
WHAT'S THAT WORD?! - PANJANDRUM
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in the segment "What's That Word?", where they discuss the the word "Panjandrum".
WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?
If you have a word, expression or phrase you would like to know more about, we would love to have you join us live on the show. You can reach out to us by mail: [email protected] or simply, [email protected].
Or, you can visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bangaloreliterarysociety.
Or you can go to our Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/explocityblr/.
If your word or phrase is selected, we will call you.
Join our Facebook group, Bangalore Literary Society. It does not matter if you are not in Bangalore. This group is for anyone interested in language and words.
The Fabulous Rajas—Last Shakespeareans Of Bangalore
The Literary City
04/05/22 • 39 min
In old Bangalore, when you drove past the airport on the largely deserted road towards the suburb of Whitefield, was a farm, with trees and chickens and stuff that farms have.
It was owned by a couple whose voices were instantly recognizable as the principal voices of the English language stage in Bangalore—Arundhati and Jagdish Raja. Their farm was called Jagriti.
Today, the road is far from deserted and in the place of the farm, stands a theatre. A beautiful auditorium, in what should be described as a centre for all things cultural and literary.
The theatre retains the name of the old farm, Jagriti, but if there are any chickens there, I dare say, they aren’t running free on the range.
I call Arundhati and Jagdish Raja the Last Shakespeareans of Bangalore.
But now, who is a Shakespearean? Some people ask.
I mean who among us doesn’t know what ‘Platonic’ and ‘Aristotelian’ and ‘Einsteinean’ mean, but what's Shakespearean?
To me, anyone who has read a few plays of Shakespeare, has acted in a play even in school, bristles at the mention of Francis Bacon, and never finds the need to refer to him as the Bard of Avon, is a Shakespearean.
One wag described being Shakespearean as, "A modern sonnet with three quatrains and a punchy couplet."
Well, replace "punchy couplet" with "punchy couple" and it makes me proud to be able to present on my show, Bangalore’s last Shakespeareans.
ABOUT THE RAJAS
Arundhati Raja
Arundhati Raja, co-founded the Artistes’ Repertory Theatre in 1982. The company and its productions are now an integral part of Bangalore’s cultural history. While directing and acting, she also taught French, Biology and Drama for several years and considers her life as a teacher to be instrumental to her deep desire to encourage and support new talent. Arundhati Raja has now directed over 30 productions and continues to perform, teach and motivate a new generation of theatre makers.
Jagdish Raja
Jagdish was Principal of Pan Communications in London, England with clients in the UK, USA and Europe before returning to India with Arundhati, his wife, in 1972. He was an advertising consultant to companies and agencies and Advisor Communications at ActionAid.
Jagdish is a Graduate Member of the Communications Advertising & Marketing Society (M.CAM) London and an Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL). He is Founder Trustee of The ART Foundation, a registered Charitable Trust, which administers JAGRITI.
TO CONTRIBUTE TO OR GET IN TOUCH WITH JAGRITI
Start at their website jagrititheatre.com. Questions: [email protected]. Social: Facebook and Instagram — [@jagrititheatre].
WHAT'S THAT WORD?! - "AMATEUR".
Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in the segment "What's That Word?", where they discuss the origins of the word, "amateur" and a limerick on love.
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Literary City have?
The Literary City currently has 76 episodes available.
What topics does The Literary City cover?
The podcast is about Literature, Society & Culture, Publishing, History, Podcasts, Books, Arts, Politics and Creative Writing.
What is the most popular episode on The Literary City?
The episode title 'The Insatiable Feminism Of The Fabulous Shobhaa De' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Literary City?
The average episode length on The Literary City is 38 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Literary City released?
Episodes of The Literary City are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of The Literary City?
The first episode of The Literary City was released on Dec 8, 2021.
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