The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma
Ep 376: Postcards From Utsav Mamoria
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Travel philosophy intertwines with life philosophy, urging intentional living and presence in the moment.
- Utsav emphasizes discipline and motivation in content creation, highlighting the journey within as crucial for creative endeavors.
- Slow travel allows for profound discoveries, fostering a deeper connection with places and personal growth.
- Shifting from immediate comparisons to long-term growth enhances perspective and reduces self-doubt.
- View content projects like children, nurturing them gradually for long-term success and fulfillment.
- Child cartoon characters reflect successful traits of ignoring external opinions, influencing content acquisition strategies.
Deep dives
Traveling and Living with Intentionality
Traveling is likened to life, prompting questions about the purpose of travel and living. Reflecting on the pace of travel - slow absorption versus fast accumulation, and the depth of reflection in both travel and life. The importance of intentionality is emphasized in both realms, questioning if the goal is reaching a destination or savoring the present moment. Travel philosophy intertwines with life philosophy, urging intentional living and presence in the moment.
From Traveling to Creating: Utsav's Journey
Utsav Mamoria, creator of the 'Postcards from Nowhere' travel podcast, shares insights on transitioning from travel exploration to content creation. Collaborating on the '6% club' project with Chag Gopalakadipa Gopalakrishnan to assist creators in bringing ideas to fruition. Utsav's experience highlights the discipline and motivation essential for content creation, emphasizing the journey within as crucial for creative endeavors.
Embracing Slow Travel and Reflection
Slow travel emerges as a transformative experience, encouraging in-depth exploration beyond tourist landmarks. Embracing intentional travel allows for profound discoveries, like uncovering historical narratives and cultural nuances. The shift towards a slower pace in travel mirrors personal growth, prompting a deeper connection with places and a more profound understanding of oneself and the world. The balance between intentionality and spontaneity in travel signifies a profound journey of self-discovery and cultural exploration.
Shift from Cross-Sectional to Longitudinal Perspective
The speaker discusses how their perception of time has evolved over the years. Initially, they compared their progress to others in the present moment, feeling inadequate. However, they shifted to viewing life longitudinally, focusing on personal growth over time. Embracing the journey's length and recognizing that success requires persistent effort and patience changed their approach, leading to reduced comparison with others.
Treating Content Projects as Children
An analogy is drawn between treating content projects and children, emphasizing realistic expectations. Like children, content projects need nurturing and time to grow without seeking immediate perfection or success. By viewing content creation as a long-term journey with incremental progress, creators can find joy and purpose in the process, understanding that success evolves gradually over time.
Impact of Personal Experiences in Shaping Identity
The speaker reflects on their childhood experiences and the influence of family dynamics, especially the loss of a parent at a young age. These experiences, along with supportive family members, shaped their perspective on life and relationships, fostering resilience and empathy. They highlight the importance of individual journeys, personal growth, and familial connections in defining one's identity.
Insight into Masculinity and Beard Trend
The beard trend, influenced by Hollywood, was found to be a response to men feeling a need to differentiate themselves from women, particularly due to increasing female presence in the workplace. Additionally, older men in their 30s-40s were observed to maintain facial hair to balance the hair on their heads, revealing an unexpected insight into perceptions of masculinity.
Understanding Child Cartoon Characters
A study of child cartoon characters showed that successful characters often reflected an archetype of ignoring external opinions, similar to a child's behavior. This insight influenced content acquisition strategies for companies looking to invest in children's shows.
Travel Experiences and Insights
Travel experiences, including trips to Turkey, Tanzania, and Argentina, led to a deeper appreciation for architecture, culinary diversity, and natural beauty. Observations during safaris in Masai Mara highlighted the importance of patience and observation, revealing the richness of wildlife behaviors and natural phenomena that can be missed in a hurry.
From Poachers to Conservationists: The Transformation in Panki Village, Nagaland
In the village of Panki in Nagaland, one of the world's largest Amur falcon migrations takes place every October, with an estimated one million falcons migrating. Previously, the villagers used to kill around 10,000 to 15,000 falcons daily for meat. However, the people of the village transitioned from being poachers to conservationists. They now offer home stays and guest houses for visitors during the migration, showcasing their dedication to preserving these magnificent birds and their environment.
The Library Beneath Bhadariya: A Testament to Knowledge and Preservation
Bhadariya, a village in Rajasthan, holds a remarkable underground library that houses nine lakh books and can accommodate up to 2,000 people. The library, created by a social reformer, boasts a diverse collection covering subjects ranging from psychology to history. The founder's vision was to provide education to all, ensuring resources were not a barrier. The library's history and its immense scale exemplify a dedication to knowledge dissemination and cultural preservation.
Building an Audience for Aspiring Authors
Aspiring authors are advised to focus on building an audience before pursuing publication. While having an existing audience can make publishing easier, some successful authors did not start with a built-in following. The volume of books being published sometimes leads to a lack of quality control, with many books lacking editing and coherence. The recommendation for creators is to focus on following their passion and producing content that resonates with them.
Embracing a Multifaceted Approach to Passion and Life
The notion of singular passion is challenged, emphasizing that individuals can have multiple passions throughout their lives. Gen Z's fearlessness in defying conventions is praised, with advice to create content for learning, teaching, or simply sharing one's unique perspective. The importance of not chasing perfection, enjoying the creative process, and forming good habits to support consistent creation are highlighted. Lastly, the advice to never regret creating and the transformative power of sustaining creative efforts over time is emphasized.
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. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out 1. Utsav Mamoria on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. 2. Postcards From Nowhere -- Utsav Mamoria's podcast. 3. The 6% Club.. 4. Episodes of The Seen and the Unseen on the creator ecosystem with Roshan Abbas, Varun Duggirala, Neelesh Misra, Snehal Pradhan, Chuck Gopal, Nishant Jain, Deepak Shenoy, Abhijit Bhaduri and Gaurav Chintamani.. 5. The Universe of Chuck Gopal -- Episode 258 of The Seen and the Unseen. 6. Getting Meta. -- Chuck Gopal's podcast. 7. The legendary Simblified. 8. Sabbaticalling -- Episode 85 of Simblified (w Utsav Mamoria). 9. The Untravel Show -- Abhishek.Vaid's YouTube show. 10. Chuck Gopal interviews Utsav Mamoria. 12. Horizon -- Barry Lopez. 13. Imaginary Cities -- Darran Anderson. 14. Invisible Cities -- Italo Calvino. 15. The Hiking Episode -- Episode 35 of Everything is Everything. 16. I Play to Play -- Amit Varma. 17. Unboxing Bengaluru -- Malini Goyal and Prashanth Prakash. 18. Lords of the Deccan -- Anirudh Kanisetti. 19. Anirudh Kanisetti's podcasts. 20. Are You Just One Version of Yourself? -- Amit Varma. 21. Don't Get Into a Box -- Amit Varma. 22. Shoveling Smoke -- William Mazzarella. 23. Swapna Liddle and the Many Shades of Delhi — Episode 367 of The Seen and the Unseen. 24. From Cairo to Delhi With Max Rodenbeck — Episode 281 of The Seen and the Unseen. 25. The Stanford Prison Experiment. 26. Imagined Communities — Benedict Anderson. 27. Indian Society: The Last 30 Years — Episode 137 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Santosh Desai). 28. Santosh Desai is Watching You — Episode 356 of The Seen and the Unseen. 29. Dhadak Dhadak -- Song from Bunty and Babli. 30. The Prem Panicker Files — Episode 217 of The Seen and the Unseen. 31. The Language of Food -- Dan Jurafsky. 32. Bihar Review -- Kumar Anand's twitter account on Bihar. 33. Interior design for 10 crore kids. 34. Amitava Kumar Finds His Kashmiri Rain -- Episode 364 of The Seen and the Unseen. 35. Amadeus -- Miloš Forman. 36. Arctic Dreams -- Barry Lopez. 37. The Art of Travel -- Alain De Botton. 38. The School of Life. 39. Robert Macfarlane and Pico Iyer on Amazon. 40. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. 41. Marginlands -- Arati Kumar-Rao. 42. Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India through Its Languages — Peggy Mohan. 43. Understanding India Through Its Languages — Episode 232 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Peggy Mohan). 44. Tarana Husain Khan, Sadaf Hussain and Krish Ashok on Amazon. 45. The Language of Cities -- Deyan Sudjic. 46. Italo Calvino on Amazon. 47. When Breath Becomes Air -- Paul Kalanithi. 48. Coke Studio Pakistan. 49. Kabir, Kabir Cafe and Songs of Kabir. 50. The soundtracks of Qala, Udaan and Lootera. 51. Ud Jayega Hans Akela -- Kumar Gandharva. 52. Spotlight -- Tom McCarthy. 53. Grave of the Fireflies -- Isao Takahata. 54. My Neighbour Totoro -- Hayao Miyazaki. 55. Woman in the Dunes -- Hiroshi Teshigahara. 56. Departures -- Yōjirō Takita. 57. Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Majid Majidi, Tahmineh Milani and Yasujirō Ozu. Amit’s newsletter is explosively active again. Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It’s free! 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. Episode art: ‘Travel’ by Simahina.
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