She’s been a journalist, travelled the world, lived in nine countries, fought and beaten cancer — and written about it all in exquisite prose. Pallavi Aiyar joins Amit Varma in episode 351 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about her life and learnings.
Also check out:
1. Pallavi Aiyar on Substack, Amazon, Twitter and her own website.
2. Smoke and Mirrors — Pallavi Aiyar.
3. Orienting — Pallavi Aiyar.
4. Babies and Bylines — Pallavi Aiyar.
5. The Acting Life — Episode 189 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rasika Dugal and Mukul Chadda).
6. The Adda at the End of the Universe — Episode 309 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Sathaye and Roshan Abbas).
7. Orphaned and almost married at 10 — Pallavi Aiyar about her grandmother.
8. Who’s Afraid of Cola Colonialism? — Pallavi Aiyar.
9. The Incredible Curiosities of Mukulika Banerjee — Episode 276 of The Seen and the Unseen.
10. The Life and Times of Mrinal Pande — Episode 263 of The Seen and the Unseen.
11. The Memoirs of Dr Haimabati Sen — Haimabati Sen (translated by Tapan Raychoudhuri).
12. Kavitha Rao and Our Lady Doctors — Episode 235 of The Seen and the Unseen.
13. The Life and Times of Shanta Gokhale — Episode 311 of The Seen and the Unseen.
14. Luke Burgis Sees the Deer at His Window — Episode 337 of The Seen and the Unseen.
15. Train-Track Figure — Kay Ryan.
16. The Arias-Aiyar global khichdi — Pallavi Aiyar.
17. The Rooted Cosmopolitanism of Sugata Srinivasaraju — Episode 277 of The Seen and the Unseen.
18. Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar’s columns and homepage.
19. A tribute to my mother, Gitanjali Aiyar — Pallavi Aiyar.
20. Confessions of a terrible guru — Pallavi Aiyar.
21. Children and Death — Pallavi Aiyar.
22. The Steady Determination of Yamini Aiyar — Episode 341 of The Seen and the Unseen.
23. Films, Feminism, Paromita — Episode 155 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Paromita Vohra).
24. The Poetic Feminism of Paromita Vohra — Episode 339 of The Seen and the Unseen.
25. The Coming Collapse Of China — Gordon G Chang.
26. Lord of the Rings — Pallavi Aiyar.
27. A Meditation on Form — Amit Varma.
28. We Are All Amits From Africa — Episode 343 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Krish Ashok and Naren Shenoy).
29. How The Desperate Norwegian Salmon Industry Created A Sushi Staple — Jess Jiang.
30. Nothing is Indian! Everything is Indian! — Episode 12 of Everything is Everything.
31. Wanting — Luke Burgis.
32. René Girard on Amazon and Wikipedia.
33. Womaning in India With Mahima Vashisht — Episode 293 of The Seen and the Unseen.
34. Womaning in India — Mahima Vashisht’s newsletter.
35. Butter Chicken in Ludhiana — Pankaj Mishra.
36. An End to Suffering — Pankaj Mishra.
37. A Room of One’s Own — Virginia Woolf.
38. My Mother’s Magic Jar of Happiness — Pallavi Aiyar.
39. In between the Kingdoms of the Well and Sick — Pallavi Aiyar.
40. Farewell, good breast — Pallavi Aiyar.
41. I Am, I Am, I Am — Maggie O’Farrell.
42. Reggaeton.
43. Bad Bunny on Spotify and YouTube.
44. Dekalog — Krzysztof Kieślowski.
45. Dead Poets Society — Peter Weir.
1. Pallavi Aiyar on Substack, Amazon, Twitter and her own website.
2. Smoke and Mirrors — Pallavi Aiyar.
3. Orienting — Pallavi Aiyar.
4. Babies and Bylines — Pallavi Aiyar.
5. The Acting Life — Episode 189 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rasika Dugal and Mukul Chadda).
6. The Adda at the End of the Universe — Episode 309 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Sathaye and Roshan Abbas).
7. Orphaned and almost married at 10 — Pallavi Aiyar about her grandmother.
8. Who’s Afraid of Cola Colonialism? — Pallavi Aiyar.
9. The Incredible Curiosities of Mukulika Banerjee — Episode 276 of The Seen and the Unseen.
10. The Life and Times of Mrinal Pande — Episode 263 of The Seen and the Unseen.
11. The Memoirs of Dr Haimabati Sen — Haimabati Sen (translated by Tapan Raychoudhuri).
12. Kavitha Rao and Our Lady Doctors — Episode 235 of The Seen and the Unseen.
13. The Life and Times of Shanta Gokhale — Episode 311 of The Seen and the Unseen.
14. Luke Burgis Sees the Deer at His Window — Episode 337 of The Seen and the Unseen.
15. Train-Track Figure — Kay Ryan.
16. The Arias-Aiyar global khichdi — Pallavi Aiyar.
17. The Rooted Cosmopolitanism of Sugata Srinivasaraju — Episode 277 of The Seen and the Unseen.
18. Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar’s columns and homepage.
19. A tribute to my mother, Gitanjali Aiyar — Pallavi Aiyar.
20. Confessions of a terrible guru — Pallavi Aiyar.
21. Children and Death — Pallavi Aiyar.
22. The Steady Determination of Yamini Aiyar — Episode 341 of The Seen and the Unseen.
23. Films, Feminism, Paromita — Episode 155 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Paromita Vohra).
24. The Poetic Feminism of Paromita Vohra — Episode 339 of The Seen and the Unseen.
25. The Coming Collapse Of China — Gordon G Chang.
26. Lord of the Rings — Pallavi Aiyar.
27. A Meditation on Form — Amit Varma.
28. We Are All Amits From Africa — Episode 343 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Krish Ashok and Naren Shenoy).
29. How The Desperate Norwegian Salmon Industry Created A Sushi Staple — Jess Jiang.
30. Nothing is Indian! Everything is Indian! — Episode 12 of Everything is Everything.
31. Wanting — Luke Burgis.
32. René Girard on Amazon and Wikipedia.
33. Womaning in India With Mahima Vashisht — Episode 293 of The Seen and the Unseen.
34. Womaning in India — Mahima Vashisht’s newsletter.
35. Butter Chicken in Ludhiana — Pankaj Mishra.
36. An End to Suffering — Pankaj Mishra.
37. A Room of One’s Own — Virginia Woolf.
38. My Mother’s Magic Jar of Happiness — Pallavi Aiyar.
39. In between the Kingdoms of the Well and Sick — Pallavi Aiyar.
40. Farewell, good breast — Pallavi Aiyar.
41. I Am, I Am, I Am — Maggie O’Farrell.
42. Reggaeton.
43. Bad Bunny on Spotify and YouTube.
44. Dekalog — Krzysztof Kieślowski.
45. Dead Poets Society — Peter Weir.
Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new video podcast. Check out Everything is Everything on YouTube.
Check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing.
And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It’s free!
Episode art: ‘Harbour’ by Simahina.