QnA with our Kashmiri tour guide Javed bhai

The dos and don’ts of being a lover girl, with Siya Rao

Welcome or welcome back my gorgeous listeners 💗 Tune in because it’s the only way you’ll learn SO MUCH about Siya Rao, unless you’re in her inner circle. Despite being a serial introvert and chronic under-sharer, she decided to take the hit for me and spoke her heart out. It was so wholesome to hear my childhood best friend talk about grown up stuff when we were literally the epitome of embarrassing teenagers growing up (we got fake married on Valentine’s Day in the 7th grade 💀)

QnA with our Kashmiri tour guide Javed bhai

Walyu Mahra, gorgeous listeners! Meet Javed Bhat, our tour guide in Kashmir who drove us through the khoobsoorat wadiya of this beautiful state. He's a man of few words, but speaks from his heart. I hope you enjoy this impromptu conversation!

“Women Talking” unapologetically, with Pretti Singh

Pretti, being an experienced and successful professional in the film industry, had me fooled when I thought that the majority of her episode was going to be about filmmaking and Bollywood. To my pleasant surprise, it’s quite the opposite of that. I’d describe this episode as looking at the realities of India through the lens of a proud “fauji kid” who grew up in the protected and almost utopian cantonment zones all around the country. Pretti spent her childhood and adolescence in 11 different schools in 11 states throughout the country, where she lived in the truly secular environment of the army cantonments that greatly influenced her identity and beliefs. While she believes her background as an “army brat” to be one of her greatest strengths, she also reflects on the culture shock of moving to Mumbai, working in the film industry, and starting from the bottom. However, this added all the plot to her life, with 2 of her films getting shelved, having to spend the night in her broker’s office, failed relationships, and every other experience that seemed disastrous at the moment but ultimately brought her closer to understanding herself better. For everyone who knows Pretti professionally or personally: tune in because I’m sure you will learn something new about her. For those who don’t know her: it’s my pleasure to introduce you to this headstrong, intellectual, and empathetic feminist. Our conversation was about family, career, the societal pressure to get married, money, giving back, and spirituality. Stay tuned until the very end for movie/show recommendations, one of which inspired the title of this episode.

Why men love sports, with Noel

"I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it." ~Kobe Bryant In this week’s episode, Noel solves one of the greatest mysteries of the world: why are men so emotionally attached to sports… and how some men are more loyal to their sports teams than they are to their girlfriends (his words not mine 🫢) On a more serious note, in our conversation we talk about volunteering, finding our life’s purpose, being a good leader, and many such topics that make Noel much more than just a sports fanatic.

Manglori Mohini’s life in Mumbai

Namaste khoobsurat listeners 🙏🏼 It’s a pleasure to introduce you to Mohini Rao, aka Amamma/Amma (grandmother), and her simple yet beautifully intricate life. Mohini was born and raised in Manglore, a place she still cherishes most in the world. Soon after graduating 10th grade, she was married off to Shantaram and moved to Mumbai. Since then, she has been a dedicated homemaker and lovingly raised not only her own children but several others in Mumbai, through her babysitting gig. I am so grateful to hear her perspectives on god, marriage, friendships, grief, and life as a whole. Trying new things with this episode. This is the first time I have a guest who’s not in their 20s, and they won’t be the last. I’m also excited to start diversifying in terms of language. Since Hindi is the common language we speak (she speaks 5 herself), this podcast is almost entirely in Hindi. Language barriers work both ways😌…