Author, Editor & Creative Specialist
The journalist in me kicks into action with the interviews I do. I have built this portfolio of interviews consisting of authors, filmmakers, performing artistes, publishers and social activists, both well-known and up and coming, carefully over time. With each one of them, I have felt as delighted as a child who has won for herself a delicious cotton candy! These interviews have been tremendous learning experiences, throwing the doors open to the many, many things that go on in this world and that keep the world going. These interactions are my pride and I will cherish them as some of the best things that have happened to me in my journey as a writer.
Music. How often we run to it like a child does to his mother! For many of us, music fills the creepy void that sometimes gobbles up our insides. And to be able to create that music, which more often than not, remains a soothing balm, is indeed a God-sent gift. Agam is one effort in this direction. My interview with Swaminathan Seetharaman, Agam’s band manager, as part of a special cover feature that I did for the first anniversary issue of my magazine, Spark. …
Dr. Michael Petraglia is a Senior Research Fellow and the Co-Director of Centre for Asian Archaeology, Art & Culture, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford. He is also a Senior Research Fellow, Linacre College (Oxford) and a member of the Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Michael Petraglia talks on what it means to be an archaeologist, his work in India and also shares his opinion about the archaeological and cultural heritage of India. …
Radhika Menon is the Managing Editor of Tulika Publishers, an independent children’s publishing house based in Chennai. Tulika has produced over 200 titles, for the age group 0-16 years. They include picture books, bilingual books and folktales, contemporary fiction and non-fiction, and much more. Tulika publishes in English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, and Bangla. She opens up on the inception of Tulika Publishers, the books they publish, the challenges they face, future plans of Tulika and her thoughts on the Indian children’s publishing industry. …
Raksha Bharadia is the co-author of many titles in the Indian Chicken Soup Series including Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul, Teenage Soul and Romantic Soul. She has also authored ‘Me: A Handbook for Life’ and ‘Roots and Wings: A Handbook for Parents’ both published by Rupa. Raksha has also contributed many articles for Times of India, Femina and Gurlz. In an interview to me, she talks about her book on parenting, ‘Roots and Wings’ and some important aspects of childhood and parenting in today’s world. …
Kalpana Sharma is an independent journalist and columnist whose columns appear regularly in The Hindu’s Sunday Magazine, on The Hoot and Infochange India. Her columns are about developmental issues, women, the media and the environment, among others. Kalpana Sharma is also the author of ‘Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s largest slum’ published by Penguin in 2000. In this interview, she gets talking about the Indian society’s attitude towards girl children and social issues such as female foeticide. Excerpts. …
Sidin Vadukut is the author of ‘Dork : The Incredible Adventures of Robert Einstein Varghese’ published by Penguin in 2010. ‘Dork’ is Sidin’s debut novel and presents a humourous account of life in the management consulting industry. Sidin did his engineering from NIT, Trichy and MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. He is now managing editor with Livemint and writes the weekly column Cubiclenama. In a peppy interview, Sidin talks about himself, his writing and book, humour and much more. …
Suchitra Karthik Kumar is a playback singer who has some of the best foot-tapping Tamil numbers of recent years to her credit. Suchitra is also a popular Radio Jockey and anchors a three-hour morning show on Hello FM 106.4 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Apart from singing and RJ-ing, she does dubbing as well. In a quick chat, she talks about what fun means to her and what she enjoys doing! …
S. Sowmya is a popular and widely travelled Carnatic vocalist. She is a disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan as well as Smt. T. Muktha, of the legendary Brinda-Muktha duo. Sowmya is a double postgraduate (Master’s in Chemistry as well as Indian Music) and was a top-ranked scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the University of Madras. She discontinued her doctoral research program at IIT to concentrate on her music. S.Sowmya, talks about the qualities she expects in her students, what she has learnt from her revered Gurus and many more interesting aspects concerning music. Catch the conversation here. …
Geeta Ramanujam, a recipient of the Ashoka Fellowship, Washington, USA, is the Founder Trustee and Executive Director of Kathalaya Trust, a centre established with the intention of reviving the ancient art of storytelling and using it in schools as a cultural tool in education. Kathalaya does storytelling sessions and workshops for schools as well as empowerment programmes for teachers. Kathalaya’s Academy of Storytelling, which is affiliated to International Storytelling Centre, Jonesborough, Tennessee, USA, has two centers in India: one each in Bangalore and Chennai, and offers short-term and long-term certificate courses in storytelling. In this interview, she talks about how she began using stories as a teaching aid and why stories are very relevant in education and de-stressing. …
Sathya Saran was, till recently, the creator and editor of ME, a monthly magazine from DNA. Earlier, Sathya was the editor of the popular women’s magazine, Femina, and was also on the Board of governors of the NIFT. She is currently Adjutant Professor at NIFT, Mumbai, where she teaches Fashion Journalism. She has authored a book of short stories, ‘Night Train and other Stories’ as well as a biography, ’10 years with Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi’s Journey’. Her latest book, ‘From Me to You’, which is a selection of her writings over the years, has been published by Westland. Sathya Saran talks about the people she has met and the lessons that she has learnt from life over the years. …
