He observed our society from up close as an advertising man — and then became an iconic storyteller on Twitter. Ramakrishna Desiraju aka Ramki joins Amit Varma in episode 415 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his journey, and all that it taught him.
Episode 414: The Spectacular Life of Prahlad Kakar
He learnt his craft from Shyam Benegal, became a pioneer & a legend of advertising filmmaking, learnt & taught scuba diving, started the Prithvi Cafe, and lived every moment to the full in a million different ways. Prahlad Kakar joins Amit Varma in episode 414 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his long and wondrous life.
Episode 413: Shaheen Mistri Goes to School
One of India’s tragedies lies in the schooling of our children. We have let our kids down. Can we fix this problem? Shaheen Mistri joins Amit Varma in episode 413 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe her journey — and what she has learnt about education.
Episode 412: Probal DasGupta Goes to the Himalayas With Books in His Bag
So much in history never made it to the popular imagination — such as the battles of 1967 in which India beat China. Probal DasGupta joins Amit Varma in episode 412 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his time in the Indian army — and his fascinating discoveries as a military historian.
Episode 411: Vishal Nevatia Finds His True North
Business and life can sometimes be seen more as a search for values than a quest for profit. Private equity pioneer Vishal Nevatia joins Amit Varma in episode 411 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe his journey towards finding his true north.
Episode 410: Shruti Rajagopalan Remembers the Angle of the Light
She’s an economist, an institution-builder, an ecosystem-nurturer and one of our finest thinkers. Shruti Rajagopalan joins Amit Varma in episode 410 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about her life & times — and her remarkable work.
Episode 409: Salil Tripathi and the Gujaratis
He’s lived a rich life as a journalist, a human rights activist, an author, a columnist — and now he’s written a great book on Gujaratis. Salil Tripathi joins Amit Varma in episode 409 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, his learnings, these times we live in — and the times that came before.
Episode 408: Amitava Kumar Finds His Gulmohar Tree
His earlier episodes on this show have been huge hits, and as he completes a trilogy of books, he returns to complete a trilogy of episodes. Amitava Kumar joins Amit Varma in episode 408 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about writing, noticing, painting, travelling, trees and unfulfilled train journeys.
Episode 407: Sarbpreet Singh Finds His Sikhism
He was born in Sikkim and lives in the USA, and in the course of engaging with his identity, has written powerful books of Sikh history, and revived its music. Sarbpreet Singh joins Amit Varma in episode 407 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, his writing, his music and the lessons of Sikhism.
Episode 406: Sathya Saran and the Shaping of the Indian Woman
She worked with Femina for 26 years, 12 of them as editor. And she wrote numerous biographies after that. Sathya Saran joins Amit Varma in episode 406 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss Indian society, feminism, femininity, her life as a journalist and the art of the biography.
Episode 405: The Forces That Shaped Hinduism
Every simple story about it is wrong: Hinduism contains multitudes. And it went into the directions it did for specific reasons. Manu Pillai joins Amit Varma in episode 405 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe the role of history in the shaping of Hinduism — and Hindu nationalism.
Episode 404: Devdutt Pattanaik and the Stories That Shape Us
Our societies, our norms, our values are all shaped by stories from the past. Devdutt Pattanaik joins Amit Varma in episode 404 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, our society and why we should take mythology seriously.
Episode 403: Shikha Dalmia Is the Unpopulist
Populism is on the rise everywhere, and the long arc of history has bent away from freedom. Shikha Dalmia joins Amit Varma in episode 403 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the derangements of our modern times — and the threat that Donald Trump poses.
Episode 402: Ajay Shah Brings the Dreams of the 20th Century
He’s a polymath who cares deeply about the world, tries to understand it, and straddles many fields. He’s played a key role over the last few decades in India’s journey towards development. Ajay Shah joins Amit Varma in episode 402 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his life and times.
Episode 401: Finding Love in Modern India
Bloody hell. The world has changed, society looks different, and men and women have to find new ways of relating to each other. We’re not equipped for this. Sanjana Ramachandran and Samarth Bansal join Amit Varma in episode 401 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss how meeting and mating are both easier and, well, harder.
Episode 400: Life Lessons That Are Priceless
It’s episode 400, and on this special and unlikely occasion, Shruti Rajagopalan gets Amit Varma to chat about all the life lessons he has learnt during these eight years — and favourite books, films, music and poetry.
Episode 399: Divya Prakash Dubey: Ek Jeevani
He’s a bestselling writer who’s brought Hindi literature into a modern age — and he also writes films and tells stories. Divya Prakash Dubey joins Amit Varma in episode 399 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, his language, his society and his art.
Episode 398: Eve Fairbanks Examines a Fractured Society
She learnt journalism in America and spent many years in South Africa writing a portrait of their troubled society, where everything is complicated and nothing is settled — much like anywhere else. Eve Fairbanks joins Amit Varma in episode 398 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about her life, her work, her craft and the world around her.
Episode 397: Larry White and the First Principles of Money
We take money and banking and finance for granted — but the way they exist in the world is not the only way they could exist. Lawrence H White joins Amit Varma in episode 397 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss ideas, ideologies, money, crypto and the field he pioneered, free banking.
Episode 396: Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha Are Fighting for Us
They started out busting misinformation. Then, as fake news became weaponized at an industrial scale, they become warriors not just for truth, but for a better society. Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha join Amit Varma in episode 396 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about their life, their work and their country.
Episode 395: Tanvi Madan Is the Kid Who Asked Why
She’s an authority in the field of foreign policy — and what makes her such a force is her deep curiosity about, well, everything. Tanvi Madan joins Amit Varma in episode 395 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about her life, her learnings and this changing world.
Episode 394: Arnold Kling and the Four Languages of Politics
Why is our political discourse so polarised? Why do we shout past each other instead of talking to each other? Arnold Kling joins Amit Varma in episode 394 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, the state of the world and how a fourth language has joined the three he mentioned in his seminal book on political discourse.
Episode 393: Amrita Agarwal Wants to Solve Healthcare
She grew up reading three books a day, became a high-flying consultant, and then became hyperfocused on healthcare. Amrita Agarwal joins Amit Varma in episode 393 of The Seen and the Unseen to share her learnings from years of studying the field. Also discussed: first-principles thinking, consulting, philanthropy, longevity and sunscreen.
Episode 392: Biju Rao Won’t Bow to Conventional Wisdom
He’s an economist who cares more about people than numbers — and he thinks his field needs more sociology and anthropology in it. Vijayendra (Biju) Rao joins Amit Varma in episode 392 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about what makes him angry, what drives him forward and what brings him peace.
Episode 391: Shephali Bhatt Is Searching for the Incredible
The internet has changed the way we live — and someone needs to make sense of it all. Shephali Bhatt joins Amit Varma in episode 391 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe all that she has learnt through her deep dives into popular culture, the creator economy, this turbulent society and her Mamaji’s library.
Episode 390: Sanjiv Sharma Sails Through 45 Years of Indian Entertainment
He started in advertising in 1979, became a pioneering ad filmmaker, broke new ground in Indian television, and is the managing trainee of his own life. Sanjiv Sharma joins Amit Varma in episode 390 of The Seen and the Unseen to share his frameworks for living.
Episode 389: Bhargavi Zaveri-Shah Will Not Wear a Blue Tie to Work
The world is complex. The state is primitive. Regulation is where they meet. Bhargavi Zaveri-Shah joins Amit Varma in episode 389 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss her experiences with the regulatory state at the intersection of law & economics.
Episode 388: Niranjan Rajadhyaksha Is the Impartial Spectator
He’s an elder statesman in the worlds of journalism, policy and economics in India — and he takes the long view. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha joins Amit Varma in episode 388 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his life and learnings.
Episode 387: The Life and Times of the Indian Economy
Our greatest moral imperative is to solve the problem of poverty — and after over 75 years, we still have some distance to travel. Rajeswari Sengupta joins Amit Varma in episode 387 of The Seen and the Unseen for a deep dive into how we got here, where we went wrong, what we got right, and how we should look at the Indian economy going forward.
Episode 386: Shashi Verma Made London Move
Our cities have changed — but the ways in which they are governed and imagined can take time to catch up. Shashi Verma joins Amit Varma in episode 386 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe his journey in thought and action — and his pioneering work in reshaping urban transport.
Episode 385: Vinayak Calling Vinayak
To understand modern India, we must understand the history of Hindutva — and we must wrestle with Savarkar. Vinayak Chaturvedi joins Amit Varma in episode 385 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life and work as a historian — and the importance of history in shaping the present moment.
Episode 384: Narayan Ramachandran Is Playing the Long Game
He has lived two lives: first he reached the top of the corporate ladder and became a top banker; and now he is embarked upon the long game of changing India. Narayan Ramachandran joins Amit Varma in episode 384 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about stimulating change, building institutions — and making ideas and serendipity come together.
Episode 383: Arati Kumar-Rao Took a One-Way Ticket
She gave up a corporate career to live a slow life: to travel, to immerse, to write, to learn to see. Arati Kumar-Rao joins Amit Varma in episode 383 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about her writing, her photography and the lessons she has learnt by standing still and looking.
Episode 382: Kushal Mehra Dives Into Hindu Thought
He describes himself as a dharmik skeptic, and has written a book about how atheism evolved within Hindu philosophy. Kushal Mehra joins Amit Varma in episode 382 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his intellectual evolution– and his journey as a podcaster.
Episode 381: V Vinay Has Lived a Life of Science
He created the iconic Simputer, and has lived a life that married science and its applications. V Vinay joins Amit Varma in episode 381 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his journey and what it taught him.
Episode 380: Sowmya Dhanaraj Is Making a Difference
How do women live in India? How do workers live? What impact can economics have in the real world? Sowmya Dhanaraj joins Amit Varma in episode 380 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe her life, her work and the churn in our society.
Episode 379: Lant Pritchett Is on Team Prosperity
He’s one of the great economists of our times, always focussed on the big questions, no matter how hard they are. Lant Pritchett joins Amit Varma in episode 379 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his life, his work and what he has learnt about the world.
Episode 378: Rohit Lamba Will Never Be Bezubaan
He is an economist with the soul of a poet. He has studied number theory and is an expert on policy. He has studied Urdu and and dreams in shairi. Rohit Lamba joins Amit Varma in episode 378 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss economics, politics, society and our human condition.
Episode 377: Malini Goyal is the Curious One
As a journalist, she always went deep. As an author, she has peeled off layers of Bengaluru — and Indian society. Malini Goyal joins Amit Varma in episode 377 of The Seen and the Unseen to share her insights — and the values that shape her work.
Episode 376: Postcards From Utsav Mamoria
When he travels, he’s a man of reflection. When he creates, he’s a man of action. Utsav Mamoria joins Amit Varma in episode 376 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his philosophy towards travel, creating and living.
Episode 375: Karthik Muralidharan and the Bureaucrat’s Burden
To reform India, you must reform the Indian state. Karthik Muralidharan joins Amit Varma in episode 375 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his much-awaited new book that has finally released — and the chapters on it that deal with our bureaucracy.