Ep 421: Ira Mukhoty's Quest for Unseen Histories
The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma
00:00
Challenging Patriarchy: Voices of Resistance
This chapter reflects on the speaker's awakening to misogyny through her daughters' experiences, critiquing ingrained cultural norms around womanhood. Through the reinterpretation of mythological figures and personal anecdotes, she empowers young women to challenge traditional roles and speak out against systemic injustices. The discussion highlights the complex dynamics of gender narratives, the historical legacy of strong women, and the societal structures that both oppress and valorize female identity.
Transcript
Play full episode
Transcript
Episode notes
Too much of our history is looked at through either a colonial lens or a patriarchal one. Ira Mukhoty joins Amit Varma in episode 421 of The Seen and the Unseen to share her gaze on India's history, and all that it has taught her. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Ira Mukhoty on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads and Amazon. 2. Women in Indian History -- Episode 155 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ira Mukhoty). 3. The Lion and The Lily: The Rise and Fall of Awadh -- Ira Mukhoty. 4. Akbar: The Great Mughal -- Ira Mukhoty. 5. Song of Draupadi -- Ira Mukhoty. 6. Daughters of the Sun: Empresses, Queens and Begums of the Mughal Empire -- Ira Mukhoty. 7. Heroines: Powerful Indian Women of Myth and History -- Ira Mukhoty. 8. Jahangir the Curious — Episode 147 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Parvati Sharma). 9. The Many Cities of Delhi — Episode 172 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rana Safvi). 10. Episodes of The Seen and the Unseen with Manu Pillai: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 11. Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life -- Anna Funder. 12. Invisible Women -- Caroline Criado Perez. 13. An Immense World -- Ed Yong. 14. What Is It Like to Be a Bat? — Thomas Nagel. 15. History of European Morals — WEH Lecky. 16. The Expanding Circle — Peter Singer. 17. Yuganta -- Irawati Karve. 18. The Great Indian Kitchen -- Jeo Baby. 19. Heart Lamp -- Banu Mushtaq. 20. Misogyny is the Oldest Indian Tradition -- Amit Varma. 21. One Bad Law Goes, but Women Remain Second-Class Citizens -- Amit Varma. 22. The Incredible Curiosities of Mukulika Banerjee — Episode 276 of The Seen and the Unseen. 23. Mughal History as a window to Modern India -- Ira Mukhoty on The India Briefing. 24. The Life and Times of Shanta Gokhale — Episode 311 of The Seen and the Unseen. 25. The Life and Times of Mrinal Pande — Episode 263 of The Seen and the Unseen. 26. Caste, Capitalism and Chandra Bhan Prasad — Episode 296 of The Seen and the Unseen. 27. In defence of suit, boot — Chandra Bhan Prasad. 28. The Indianness of Indian Food — Episode 95 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Doctor). 29. Pushpesh Pant Feasts on the Buffet of Life — Episode 326 of The Seen and the Unseen. 30. Real Birds in Imagined Gardens -- Kavita Singh. 31. The Light in Winter -- Episode 97 of Everything is Everything, on Spanish art. 32. Tawaif — Episode 174 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Saba Dewan). 33. Swapna Liddle and the Many Shades of Delhi — Episode 367 of The Seen and the Unseen. 34. The Broken Script — Swapna Liddle. 35. Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court -- Audrey Truschke. 36. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. 37. The Year of Magical Thinking -- Joan Didion. 38. Blue Nights -- Joan Didion. 39. H is for Hawk -- Helen Macdonald. 40. The Procrastination Matrix -- Tim Urban. 41. The Age of the Partial Outsider -- Janan Ganesh. 42. Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light -- Hilary Mantel. 43. The Silence of the Girls -- Pat Barker. 44. The Hindus: An Alternative History -- Wendy Doniger. 45. Daily Rituals -- Mason Currey. 46. Daily Rituals: Women at Work -- Mason Currey. 47. The Surface Area of Serendipity -- Episode 39 of Everything is Everything. 48. Tawaifnama — Saba Dewan. 49. The Other Song -- Saba Dewan. 50. Sex and the Family in Colonial India -- Durba Ghosh. 51. Blueprint for Armageddon — Episode 50-55 of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. 52. Roam Research. 53. Zettelkasten on Wikipedia. 54. The History Thieves: Secrets, Lies and the Shaping of a Modern Nation -- Ian Cobain. 55. Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan -- Ruby Lal. 56. Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jehan -- Ruby Lal. 57. Coming of Age in Nineteenth-Century India: The Girl-Child and the Art of Playfulness -- Ruby Lal. 58. What is Islam? -- Shahab Ahmad. 59. Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity -- Manu Pillai. 60. The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East -- Barnaby Rogerson. 61. Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh -- ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni. 62. Sarkai Lo Khatiya Jada Lage -- Song from Raja Babu. 63. Edge of Empire -- Maya Jasonoff. 64. Shatranj Ke Khiladi -- Satyajit Ray. 65. That Obscure Object of Desire -- Luis Buñuel. 66. This House of Grief -- Helen Garner. 67. Joe Cinque's Consolation -- Helen Garner. 68. Grief Is the Thing with Feathers -- Max Porter. 69. Burial Rites -- Hannah Kent. 70. Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison. 71. The Wonder -- Emma Donahue. 72. When Montezuma Met Cortés -- Matthew Restall. 73. Stolen -- Karan Tejpal. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit’s newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It’s free! Also check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘Unseen Histories’ by Simahina.
The AI-powered Podcast Player
Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
