The Sandip Roy Show

The pandemic has been tough on many of us, but for those with mental health problems, it's been even tougher. Former CEO of BP Ergo, and columnist Aparna Piramal Raje has had to deal with Bipolar disorder during this time, and which she talks about in her book, Chemical Khichdi: How I Hacked My Mental Health. While it has been hailed as a brief coming out story, it is also a handbook for those struggling with mental health issues. In this episode, she joins host Sandip Roy to talk about it.

On this show’s 100th episode, host Sandip Roy is joined by the iconic pop singer Usha Ushup as she takes a trip down memory lane, remembering her unique musical journey so far, recounting her experience of working in the Indian film industry, giving us a peek at her talent for mimicry, and discussing her authorized biography, The Queen of Pop by Vikas Kumar Jha. Do stay with us till the end of the episode for a very special surprise for our listeners, from the legend herself!

After five weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine not going as planned, what end game does Vladimir Putin have in mind? How well can India continue to walk the tight diplomatic rope? And how will this crisis reshape the geo-political chess game? In this episode, host Sandip Roy is joined by retired diplomat, historian, and former Indian Foreign Secretary Krishnan Srinivasan to answer these questions and more.

In veteran journalist Saeed Naqvi’s play, The Muslim Vanishes, overnight everyone Muslim, and everyone thing deemed Muslim in the country, suddenly vanishes into thin air. This leads to consequences that no one could have foreseen, including problems for those who wanted Muslims to vanish from public life. In this episode, Naqvi joins Sandip Roy to talk about his sardonic play, why the hindutva project needs the Muslim community, the results of the UP elections, the recent Hijab ruling, and more.

Journalist Adrija Roychowdhury joins Sandip Roy to speak about her new book, 'Delhi in Thy Name' which traces the history of the capital city through the naming of its streets. She delves into six neighborhoods of Delhi to trace the different trajectories and expressions of the past. She identifies Mughal influences in Chandini Chowk, the remnants of British colonialism in Connaught Place, and migration and partition histories in CR Park and Pamposh enclave.

Shrayana Bhattacharya is trained in development economics and is currently working at a multilateral development bank. But, to the surprise of many around her, she spent the last 15 years interviewing women who are Shah Rukh Khan fans. And she did this, to understand the Indian economy. Her book, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh, details her research and reveals an emotional map of the economy. In this episode, she joins Sandip Roy to discuss what she found, and what the SRK fandom can teach us about womanhood.

We often use data to understand India and its problems. Be it data about unemployment, how we vote, what crimes we commit, and even who we choose to love. But data journalist Rukmini S' new book, Whole Numbers and Half Truths, talks about how we use numbers to make sense of all this, without realising that data can be misleading or that we might be misreading it. In this episode, she joins host Sandip Roy to discuss India's problem with data.

You can listen to the series at:3 Things - https://bit.ly/34jEQbpExpress Elections - https://bit.ly/3gvzDQ1

A lot of us can relate to the idea that increasingly, we are finding it harder to focus and are more distracted. Many blame themselves and their smartphones for shorter attention spans, but a new book claims that there is another reason why we can’t pay attention the way we used to. In this episode, best-selling author Johann Hari speaks to Sandip about his new book, Stolen Focus, in which he writes about how we have profoundly misunderstood what’s happening to our attention, and calls for an attention rebellion.Episode image credit: Kathrin Baumbach

How bad is India's water crisis? What has led us to this place? And what can be done to solve it? In this episode, Sandip is joined by Mridula Ramesh to talk about India's groundwater crisis. From the Indus Valley civilisation, to British policies that still affect us, Ramesh tells us about all that has caused India's grave water crisis.Ramesh is the author of the new book, Watershed: How We Destroyed India's Water and How We Can Save It. She is founder of the Sundaram Climate Institute, which focuses on waste and water solutions.