315. Tracing Origins

Karthik Venkatesh, in his book, 10 Indian Languages and How They Came to Be, traces the long and varied journeys of ten languages through time, examining the cultural shifts and political and social influences that have shaped them. He provides a glimpse of their literature, tracks the growth of their scripts and identifies landmark moments that have preserved and reinvented these ten Indian languages. Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan, in his book, The Origin Story of India's States, gives us an account of the genesis of India's states, presenting the incredible origin stories of each of India's twenty-eight states and eight union territories, spanning from Independence until today. The authors come together in this session to delve into the historical, cultural, and political dimensions of both subjects, to compare and contrast their development and to share with us their process in putting together books that are accessible and of historical import. In this episode of BIC Talks, Author & Executive Editor of Penguin Random House India - Karthik Venkatesh is in conversation with the Writer, Actor & Director - Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in May 2024. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favorite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible and Amazon Music.