I See India

Episode 10 | Biomimicry, Life at the Centre, and Being a Responsible Species ft. Prashant Dhawan

A very Happy New Year 2025 to all our viewers / listeners! Episode 10 of the I See India Podcast is our first this year, and for it we are joined by Prashant Dhawan, co-founder of Biomimicry India - an educational and consulting firm promoting 'Nature integrated thinking and living'. Prashant takes us through his journey so far - first as a student at SPA, then voluntarily taking up assignments that led him to deeply study human settlements and tribals at Ladakh and Odisha, then pondering over existential and philosophical questions that had him arrive at the saddening reality that most of our policy decisions are human-centric and that 'sustainability' is a misnomer if it does not sustain or include all forms of life. We enjoyed immensely this conversation with Prashant on understanding Biomimicry (or "the conscious emulation of nature's genius", a term coined and first defined by Janine Benyus).

I See India Ep 9 | Top-down versus Bottom-up Change and Rethinking Indian Education ft. Kumar Subham

For Episode 9 of the I See India podcast, we are joined by Kumar Subham, Founding Director, Sewa Fellowship, at Sewa International - a global non-profit organisation providing humanitarian services, disaster relief, education, and healthcare. Transitioning from policy-making (creating top-down change) to now working actively with underprivileged and under-represented communities across the country (bottom-up change), Subham has been long driven by a fierce desire to do social good. He talks about his earliest sources of inspiration, his journey towards creating visible impact across communities and levels, the importance of mentors who have guided him along the path, and the model of education young ones entering the school system need to be able to thrive in the times to come. Enjoy the insightful conversation.

I See India Ep 8 | Designing your Life and Flourishing in Uncertainty ft. Navyug Mohnot

The Designing Your Life methodology, born at Stanford’s Design Lab by the duo of Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, and made popular by the book of the same name, has been making waves and awakening people globally the past many years. And now, it is here in India - thanks to Navyug Mohnot, our guest today and Stanford certified Designing Your Life coach. He is someone who’s had a hugely successful career as an entrepreneur, leading QAI – a global workforce development and consulting firm – and Q-Glue, a Design and Innovation consulting venture. And now, he’s on a mission to help people live more informed, purpose-driven, fuller lives through bringing Stanford’s DYL to India – corporates, institutions like IIM Lucknow, IIT Jodhpur, Ashoka University, among others; and has even recently piloted it across schools for high school students, empowering them to make sound decisions for their future. Here’s welcoming Navyug Mohnot to the I See India podcast today. More details of DYL workshops conducted by Navyug can be found on: Website - https://yourlife.design/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/designing.yourlife/

I See India Podcast Ep 7 | Connecting with roots, a University for impact, and future of education ft. Shobhit Mathur

Shobhit Mathur grew up in Hyderabad, academically brilliant - having picked up degrees from the some most well-respected institutions, namely IIT Bombay, University of Washington, and the Indian School of Business. But a burning desire to do social good and make an impact at the grassroots level in India led him to take a series of unconventional, bold decisions. In today's chat, Shobhit walks us through the world of social entrepreneurship, his trigger points along his journey to make a positive impact on the world around him, and why he felt the need to start Rishihood University to initiate sustainable change at scale. He also reflects on the state of formal education in the times to come, wherein he opines that the role of Universities and educators will increasingly become that of life coaching and mentorship, rather than purely passing on subject matter expertise which is only becoming more easily accessible by the day. Enjoy the conversation.

I See India Podcast Ep 6 | Entry Paths for Creatives and Journeys ft. Screenwriter Sajal Kumar

Our guest, for today, Sajal Kumar, is a screenwriter, poet, filmmaker, teacher and accomplished entertainment professional. He did his engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, and MBA from IIM Kozhikode, before making the switch to the big bad world of Bollywood and the Mumbai entertainment industry - setting him off on a journey during which he's written two Filmfare nominated short films, some hugely popular digital content, and developed a bunch of stuff for various productions and platforms. In this episode, we hear his story of how he made the transition, ask him for tips for those looking to break out of the mould and into the creative world, and ask him for his recommendations on books he'd recommend for the youth to expand their imagination as well as start thinking about honing and perfecting their craft early. Enjoy the conversation.