The Indicast Show

The theme remains the same. For centuries, countries have gone to war in the name of politics or religion. Innocent people have died. They continue to die. The latest on the list is Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was shot down from 33,000 feet in Eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board. In the Arab world, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria marches ahead with barbaric ferocity. Israel and Palestine have rekindled their old rivalry. In other news, India's new government presents its first Union budget and Brazil hosts one of the most entertaining World Cups of all time.

Now that Narendra Modi and his ministers have taken oath, India will hope for some action. While the cabinet may not hit the ground running, Modi has asked all his lieutenants to submit a 100 day plan of action for each of their ministries. The venerable Ambassador car calls it a day. Madhav Mantri, Indias oldest test cricketer dies. Two Indian Americans make history in the annual Scripps national spelling bee competition. We end with the weighty issue concerning a young Irish messo Soprano in London. And thank you all for sending in all the fascinating soundscapes as well as pictures of the area around you when you were listening to us. A picture gallery of each of your images will be up on the website shortly.

The Modi melodrama continues and it need not necessarily be a bad thing. A few months from now, he will be judged on different parameters. For now, his speeches are drawing applauses and tears. At about this time, last month, miles away in another continent, Iraq, too, conducted what was a mostly peaceful national elections. Hats off to people who came out to vote in a country where walking on the street, on some days, is as dangerous as straddling the India Pakistan border. As the Eurpoean Union bans mangoes, we get to have a little more of them at cheaper rates in India. Gulzar wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award and Russi Mody, the great manager from the Tata family dies.

In arguably the biggest day in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party, after spending a decade in opposition, has swept into power. The margin of victory is so huge that it has reduced Congress to a negligible force in the parliament. Most of India has welcomed the long awaited change. And yet a sizable chunk, views his appointment with scepticism, and some, even with fear. They, rightly, point to the 2001 Gujarat riots that happened when he was the states chief minister. In this episode, we spoke to a few construction workers, a rickshaw wala, a shopkeeper and a businessman and asked their opinion on Indias new political order. After playing second fiddle for years, the BJP and Modi deserve all the adulation that comes their way. But after the celebrations get over and when the boozy supporters go home, Modi will have to, at once, saddle up and take charge of a country that deserves better from its leaders. We wish him well.

While the general elections in India was marred by violence at two venues, Afghanistan conducted a peaceful elections earlier in April. Capital punishment in Egypt reached new heights when one of its courts condemned more than six hundred people to death penalty. A new earthlike plant has been discovered, but it is still many light years away. Rajeev Suri will head the new Nokia. Chinese schools feel the pressure of Olympic babies and Shakespeare turned 450 late last month.

The death toll of this podcast runs in hundreds. An avalanche has killed sixteen Sherpas on Mount Everest. Russia continues to flex its muscles to scare tiny Ukraine as the West and the EU watch on. In South Korea a ferry capsizes killing more than 300 onboard. The country also faces a suicide epidemic. In Syria, four French journalists have been freed after ten months of captivity. And RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Once in five years India breaks its own record of successfully conducting the worlds biggest general elections. In this one we doff our topis to Indias election commission. In related news, two new books on Congress give us a glimpse of what Dr Manmohan Singh went through in his two terms. We talk a bit about where he will go from now. Aditya narrates a list of interesting candidates that the elections have thrown up including the usual suspects like Mr. LK Adwani, who will contest yet again at 86. We round it off with some superstitions that our politicians like to obey and how, after relentless efforts, India is finally polio free.

The case of the missing plane gets mysterious by the day. Twenty six countries including India are involved in search operations. Subrata Roy, owner of Sahara Parivar pulls off a multi-crore scam which lands him in jail. The general election voting season kicks off soon and IPL, which is scheduled around the elections will be played in two countries. Before signing off, Aditya regales us with updates on his two month old kid.

Arvind Kejriwals life in the fast lane came to an abrupt end when he resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Friday. Another star who stole the show a few weeks back was Rahul Gandhi. His impeccably eventful performance on his first big TV interview baffled one and all. In sports, we have the Sochi Olympics, IPL auctions, England cricket woes and Indias tours New Zealand. And oh Aditya is now a brand new daddy. Hurray!

In sports, everyone loves a good contest. And when Magnus Carlsen, the 22 year old Norwegian prodigy beat Vishy Anand, chess entered a new era. In this podcast we talk about how these giants of the game prepare to get there. Another prodigy, Prithvi Shaw smashed 546 in the 2013 Harris Shield tournament. This week also marks the 50th anniversary of Indias first rocket launch from Thumba, a small hamlet in south India. And of course, some Ashes updates right at the end.

Statisticians love to debate about whether Sachin Tendulkar is indeed the best batsmen that the game has ever seen. Perhaps not. He ranks 29th according to one analysis. But Sachin has captured the imaginations of world cricket like no other player. In India he is revered for his performances on and off the field. As he calls curtains on a glorious career, we look back at his exploits with the bat including the stroke filled 74 at the Wankhede. We were there. At the stadium. And it was a joy to watch him regain some of his lost touch.

In this podcast, we talk about Manna Dey, one of the greatest singers known to us. In sports, Ajit Agarkar retires. Aditya talks about his experience of watching Sachin get out in the 90s at the Wankhede stadium as he prepares to play his last two Tests. In Australia, tree leaves can offer clues for spotting gold deposits and why voting cannot us any good, says an MP.

With Telangana fast tracked into another state, we found an excuse to talk a bit about the history of Indias princely states and how the country was formed as an amalgamation of more than 500 mini states ruled by princes. In cricket, India whitewashes Zimbabwe while the IPL runs into further mess.

The week started off with the shocking news of kids in Bihar dying from eating food that was cooked in utensils previously used for storing insecticides. The mid day meal program from across India has mixed reviews, but this episode highlights how, when it comes to even the bare essentials, we are way off. In other news, Britains royal baby tumbled forth, the great Arun Bose of Bose speakers passes away and Indian Badminton league makes a debut.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since we recorded a podcast last time. Uttarakhand remains buried, telegram is dead, Murray has won the Wimbledon, Modi is slammed for wishing happy Ramadan to a few of his Muslim friends and a bloke from Rajasthan gets himself a hall ticket with Barack Obama's picture on it.

One of the most versatile actors of his time, Pran was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke award earlier this month. India makes progress to get its polio erradication certificate from the WHO. A single man cultivates an entire forest in Assam. His name is Jadav Peyang. And the most expensive dog fetches close to a million pounds in UK.

With Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Jadeja, Dhoni all getting their personal bests, all seems well with Indian cricket. For now. Sanjay Dutt has been ordered to serve his time in prison. A new pope gets appointed and Bill Gates floats a 100,000 USD grant for anyone who can come up with a next generation condom. Also, tell us what you think of our new website.

In this episode we talk about the Hyderabad blasts, the successful launch of a PSLV by ISRO and Fauja Singh, the 101 year old running his last marathon.

Sorry about the radio silence. In this long coming episode and the first one of 2013, we talk about the Maha Kumbh mela, changing rape laws and the perpetual peace talks that continue with our friendly neighbour inspite of the cross border firings and the most recent brutal killing of Jawans on the front.

A spate of rape cases show up on the radar as media mercifully covers the most recent gang rape of a 23 year old woman in Delhi. All politicians including the home minister and the prime minster make a mockery of themselves by reading out prepared statements or making careless remarks on television. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi gets elected for third time in a row. In sports, Sachin Tendulkar retires from One Day Internationals. And DARPA comes up with a magic foam to help army men in rescue operations.

Pandit Ravi Shankar passes away. The great man was a bundle of energy and had performed on stage with his daughter in the US at the ripe age of 94. Text messaging turns 20. Saudi Arabia adds SMS tracking of wives to its increasingly long list of injustice towards women. At a village in Bihar, a local committee has banned women from carrying mobile phones. The Panchayat believes that this will lead to fewer elopements.

This week, the Lok Sabha gives a green signal for allowing FDI in retail. Bihar pulls off an amazing track record of growth by beating Maharashtra and Gujarat. In sports, Ricky Ponting retires and Freddie Flintoff takes to boxing. Sachin finally gets a fifty after his worst slump in two decades. The Kabbadi world cup is being played in Punjab. And a weed wacking robot from two Stanford trained engineers trawls lettuce fields, identifies weeds and kills them using a concentrated dose of fertilisers.

Four years after the grisly event, Ajmal Kasab was hanged at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. In international news, Israel pummels Gaza for eight straight days. More than 140 Palestinians were killed before a cease fire came into effect. Somewhere on this planet, a few people still believe that the world will come to an end this December and hope to seek refuge near a hill in France. The French authorities, fearing commotion have blocked entry to the venue. And a bunch of folks at Carnegie Mellon Robotics institute have devised a way for us to drive safely during a thunderstorm. Their smart headlights illuminate the road and not the rain drops.

The man had a mafia like control over the city so much that he had it change its name because he did not like it. In this podcast we talk a bit about Bal Thackerays beginnings, his quirks, agendas and of course his legendary oratorical skills. In other political news, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to lead the Congress poll campaign in the upcoming 2014 general elections. In some happy news, a bunch of doctors from University of Michigan claim to have devised a pacemaker which can be powered by the motion of heart beats.

The greatest spectacle on the American soil comes to an end and Barack Obama wins it for the second time. But we are more interested in George Bush Jr accidentally voting for Obama. Back home, Arvind Kejriwal tops the popularity charts on all news channels and newspapers. Vijay Mallya sells off a majority stake in his spirit business in the hope to rescue his airline company. And Happy Diwali to everyone.

In this episode we talk about the alleged sweetheart deal bewtween haryana government, DLF and Shri Robert Vadra. Many knew about it but only Arvind Kejriwal decided to talk about it. The other topcis include the NSE crash, Nobel prize winners and a couple of listener emails.

It takes time. Justice. In India. The verdict for 2002 Gujarat riots is out. 32 people have been sentenced to life. Similarly, supreme court upholds Kasabs death sentence, but apparently he can appeal yet again. In other news, our prime minister makes it to the cover pages of many a newspaper. Washington post and the Wall Street Journal have called him names and the Congress demands an apology from these publications. At the Paralympics, Girisha Nagarajegowda wins us a silver medal in long jump. Another 15 year old Brit smashes the world record in swimming. In cricket, India beat New Zealand 2 0.

Lance Armstrong, fed up with the allegations that have hounded him for more than a decade, decided not to contest the doping charges. He has been stripped of his seven Tour-de-France titles. We talk about him and another legend who passed away in the previous week, Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Closer home in India, the prime minister Dr Singh has been hammered with a zillion questions from BJP, the opposition party. In reply, he muttered an urdu verse which hints that his silence is his biggest answer. Great help. A K Hangal, the grandfather of Bollywood died at 98. In sports, VVS Laxman retires and India under 19 wins the world cup for the third time.

While India was celebrating its 65th Independence Day Assam was burning. More than 400,000 thousand have been displayed due to ethnic clashes. The problems also spread to Mumbai when a group agitation turned violent. In several incidents people from north east were attacked in cities like Pune and Bangalore. In other news, Olympics concluded with India winning its largest medal tally so far.

Indias Olympic games report card has four medals to show. In the 100 meter race, Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the fastest race ever run where seven out of the eight runners passed the finish line in less than ten seconds. The big news this week was about American sending an unmanned rover named Curiosity on Mars. In this podcast, two commerce brains try to explain the whole science behind the landmark landing.

Last week 10 per cent of all mankind took a nap. Most of India suffered a coordinated power failure which put about 600 million people in darkness. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat offered help. It came at a price. In other news, Aditya brings up an interesting case study in market research. NDTV is miffed with Nielsen after the market research company allegedly tampered with the TAM ratings. We also bring you a lot of Olympics trivia and updates of the week.

The presidential post in India is largely a ceremonial role. But when Pranab Mukherjee took oath as the thirteeth president of India, the top bosses at Congress must have slept well that night. With the prospect of a hung parliament alive and well, Pranab da can exercise his presidential powers. In this podcast, we talk a bit about what he inherits from his predecessor and what lies ahead of him. In other big news, London prepares itself for one of the most lavish parties on earth as it hosts its third Olympics.

This week Tarun Sehrawat, a 22 year old photographer from Tehelka died of malaria. He picked up the germ while reporting from Jharkhand for the magazine. Ghazal myestro Mehndi Hassan passed away. In some encouraging news, three young Indians were shortlisted by Google for its annual science fair contest. In sports, Bhupati and Paes go at each other. And this week, we talk about Deepika Kumari, India's entry to Olympics in archery.

The world is in a sportive mood this week with Saina Nehwal winning the Thailand Open and Sania Mirza and Bhupati taking the French Open. Lewis Hamilton wins the Canadian Grand Prix becoming the seventh new winner in as many races. This episode we also talk about Krishna Poonia, India's discuss thrower who will represent us at the Olympics. The Euro 2012 has kicked off too with the best match so far being that of Spain versus Italy which was tied at 1-1. But outside football, Spain dare not celebrate. Spanish banks have been given a rescue loan totaling to more than a 100 billion USD in the hope that they turn things around. In politics, one Gunapati Deepak Reddy has declared revenues of more than Rupees 6,000 crores. An eventful week overall.

People are beginning to ask the question that every Indian dreads. Is India really shining? or is it being too pessimistic to keep expecting India to continue on its growth number while the world goes through a slowdown? The Indian government is doing its best defend the growth numbers, falling rupee, and the petrol price hike. In other topics, we talk about Indias new army chief, Vishwananthan Anand's victory, Sachin turning an MP, and Mary Koms Olympic dream

For the first time in many many years, Standard & Poor downgraded Indias rating from stable to BBB nevative and our politicians rehearsed their typical reaction of being "shocked" at this. In other news, a few politicians are miffed at the Haj subsidy which is an annual freebie given to those who make the trip to Haj. In what turns out to be the programing coup of the decade, Aamir Khan debuts with Satyameva Jayate, a one hour show which addresses social evils and attempt to offer a solution. Zohra Sehgal, the sprightly actress from Bollywood turns 100!

Our conversations about Sachin Tendulkar can get one-sided. We are fans. In this one, however, we are disappointed with his recent decision to accept the Rajya Sabha nomination. But our disappointment pales when we compare it with Suresh Kalmadis audacious attempt to make a comeback at the Indian Olympic Association as its president. Knowing our politics, he might even make it. A week back, India tested its Agni V long-range missile. Our neighbours responded with their own. In some pleasant news, IIT is set to expand overseas.

We are back after what has been the longest hiatus in the last 5 years that we have been doing Indicast. We start the episode taking about the top stories that we missed while we were away and then move on with the current affairs. This weeks stories include the successful Agni V test, The Aids train, Akaash tablets fail, Yuvraaj Singh returning back to India and Gandhi memoribilia still getting fetching big bucks.

Mumbai elections came and went. The 13th municipal elections since independence saw the BJP-Shiv Sena combo come into power for the fourth consecutive term. Mumbaikars however chose to stay at home and had just 46 per cent voter turnout. Down south in Karnataka, three ministers resign after they were caught watching porn at job. According to one poll, Indians are the among the happiest people on earth. In sports, Yuvraj Singh who has been diagnosed with tumor is recovering in a hospital at Boston.

This episode is full high and low points for India. While India got thrashed by Australia in the cricket, India, with a lot of help from many organizations, has achieved to be Polio free for an entire year. The later is a lot more important than cricket so it not really a fair comparison. There are a few more such topic in this episode.

Welcome to the first episode of the year 2012. We begin our episode with our ramblings about how cold it has been in India and we somehow manage to figure out the meaning of lyrics for one of Govindas hit song. The topics that we cover in this episode include the update on UP elections, Bhaichund Bhutia playing his last match, Kingfishers woes continuing, $1 doctor visits for urban poor and Indias dismal performance in Australia.

Time magazine put the protester on the front page of its Person of the Year issue. 2011 was truly a year of revolutions and we sum up some of them in this podcast. This year also saw some astonishing inventions in the world of Physics. A few weeks ago some scientists claimed that some particle can indeed travel faster than light. A few days back physicists have finally seem to have put their finger on what is called the God particle. In India, such news is being pushed to the back pages of the papers as the front page generally is dedicated to the falling rupee and its effects to Indians in India and outside.

Kapil Sibal is not the first Indian politician to trend on Twitter, but perhaps the first one to trend with a dubious adjective (or noun, whatever), idiot. His lack of knowledge about how the internet works was evident when he asked companies like Facebook and Google to prescreen content which is posted by Indian users after he found a few morphed pictures of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh which showed them in bad light. This year has seen quite a rew RIPs and Dev Anand and Indira Goswami get added to the list. In cricket, Sehwag scores a double century and if you are in Maharashtra, beware of those 500 rupee notes - they could just be fake!

Right from the days when trade was in barter format, the retail world has always been exciting. In the west, it has graduated from mom and pop stores to big box. The Indian government believed that India too should ape the movement, and has rejigged the Foreign Direct Investment rules in the retail sector. The opposition was not amused. In other corporate news, Cyrus Mistry will take over from Ratan Tata in December 2013. In the science field, the world's lightest material caught Adityas fancy and he gives us an overview.

Mayawati has follows a strict routine for ensuring to make it to the front pages of Indian newspapers at least once a week. This time she succeeds in convincing her party to pass a resolution demanding four different states. In Himachal Pradesh, more than 800 women have been reported missing in the past few years. The Unhate Benetton advertising campaign was the most talked about news story in business and in science, a startling discovery that one can travel faster than the speed of light just came to light.

Kingfisher is all over the place. Thats the news that everyone is feeding on especially in the business newspapers. Vijay Mallyas airline company has declared its 16 straight quarterly loss and things are not about to improve in the short term. In politics, Rahul Gandhi is now been slated to be the next man in charge as he contests elections in Uttar Pradesh. Government will soon be launching a Right to Education Act which promises education to every kid upto 14 years of age. In world news, floods in Thailand have set the country back. In cricket, South Africa and Australia slug it out in test matches and India is on a roll. At the time of the recording, Dravid, Laxman and Dhoni had scored centuries in the second test.

We start off this episode by talking a bit about the noise surrounding the Armed Forces Special Power Act which was established back in 1958. It turns out that Omar Abdullah wants it revoked in Jammu and Kashmir for it gives the army right to arrest and sometimes kill without the need of a warrant or necessary paperwork. In other news, Bhupen Hazarika and Joe Fraiser passed away this week and the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson's death was finally out when his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

The 150th episode of Indicast is finally here but this time with a new voice. Abhishek is out on his bike in the Himachal Pradesh and so Akhilesh, who has been on Bizination a few times, joined me on for the 150th. God seems to be feeling lonely and has called in for company of 3 greats in quick succession. We talk about Tiger Pataudi, Steve Jobs and Jagjit Singh passing away, Murthys comment on quality of IIT students and the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Finally, after all these years, Formula One comes to India. Thankfully, the event went off without a glitch. Sebastian Vettel won it by a huge margin and saw Mayawati on the podium hand him the trophy. In other news, Metallica performed in Bangalore after its show was cancelled in Delhi due to a lapse in security. Meanwhile, the seventh billion baby was born. In cricket, three Pakistan players were convicted for spot fixing on a day when the Indian captain was given the title of Honorary Lt Colonel by the Indian army.

This is an attempt to bring to our listeners a happier and less politically inclined episode of Indicast. We will make a conscious effort to have topics from a wider interest areas. This episode covers the Sikkim earthquake, Modi ending his fast, the DMIC mega project, Indias loss in Tennis Davis Cup, BCCI banning the Kochi franchise from IPL and our regular digressions.