Indicast - Indians On India

While the general elections in India was marred by violence at two venues, Afghanistan conducted a peaceful elections earlier in April. Capital punishment in Egypt reached new heights when one of its courts condemned more than six hundred people to death penalty. A new earthlike plant has been discovered, but it is still many light years away. Rajeev Suri will head the new Nokia. Chinese schools feel the pressure of Olympic babies and Shakespeare turned 450 late last month.

The death toll of this podcast runs in hundreds. An avalanche has killed sixteen Sherpas on Mount Everest. Russia continues to flex its muscles to scare tiny Ukraine as the West and the EU watch on. In South Korea a ferry capsizes killing more than 300 onboard. The country also faces a suicide epidemic. In Syria, four French journalists have been freed after ten months of captivity. And RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Once in five years India breaks its own record of successfully conducting the worlds biggest general elections. In this one we doff our topis to Indias election commission. In related news, two new books on Congress give us a glimpse of what Dr Manmohan Singh went through in his two terms. We talk a bit about where he will go from now. Aditya narrates a list of interesting candidates that the elections have thrown up including the usual suspects like Mr. LK Adwani, who will contest yet again at 86. We round it off with some superstitions that our politicians like to obey and how, after relentless efforts, India is finally polio free.

The case of the missing plane gets mysterious by the day. Twenty six countries including India are involved in search operations. Subrata Roy, owner of Sahara Parivar pulls off a multi-crore scam which lands him in jail. The general election voting season kicks off soon and IPL, which is scheduled around the elections will be played in two countries. Before signing off, Aditya regales us with updates on his two month old kid.

Arvind Kejriwals life in the fast lane came to an abrupt end when he resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Friday. Another star who stole the show a few weeks back was Rahul Gandhi. His impeccably eventful performance on his first big TV interview baffled one and all. In sports, we have the Sochi Olympics, IPL auctions, England cricket woes and Indias tours New Zealand. And oh Aditya is now a brand new daddy. Hurray!

In sports, everyone loves a good contest. And when Magnus Carlsen, the 22 year old Norwegian prodigy beat Vishy Anand, chess entered a new era. In this podcast we talk about how these giants of the game prepare to get there. Another prodigy, Prithvi Shaw smashed 546 in the 2013 Harris Shield tournament. This week also marks the 50th anniversary of Indias first rocket launch from Thumba, a small hamlet in south India. And of course, some Ashes updates right at the end.

Statisticians love to debate about whether Sachin Tendulkar is indeed the best batsmen that the game has ever seen. Perhaps not. He ranks 29th according to one analysis. But Sachin has captured the imaginations of world cricket like no other player. In India he is revered for his performances on and off the field. As he calls curtains on a glorious career, we look back at his exploits with the bat including the stroke filled 74 at the Wankhede. We were there. At the stadium. And it was a joy to watch him regain some of his lost touch.

In this podcast, we talk about Manna Dey, one of the greatest singers known to us. In sports, Ajit Agarkar retires. Aditya talks about his experience of watching Sachin get out in the 90s at the Wankhede stadium as he prepares to play his last two Tests. In Australia, tree leaves can offer clues for spotting gold deposits and why voting cannot us any good, says an MP.

With Telangana fast tracked into another state, we found an excuse to talk a bit about the history of Indias princely states and how the country was formed as an amalgamation of more than 500 mini states ruled by princes. In cricket, India whitewashes Zimbabwe while the IPL runs into further mess.

The week started off with the shocking news of kids in Bihar dying from eating food that was cooked in utensils previously used for storing insecticides. The mid day meal program from across India has mixed reviews, but this episode highlights how, when it comes to even the bare essentials, we are way off. In other news, Britains royal baby tumbled forth, the great Arun Bose of Bose speakers passes away and Indian Badminton league makes a debut.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since we recorded a podcast last time. Uttarakhand remains buried, telegram is dead, Murray has won the Wimbledon, Modi is slammed for wishing happy Ramadan to a few of his Muslim friends and a bloke from Rajasthan gets himself a hall ticket with Barack Obama's picture on it.

One of the most versatile actors of his time, Pran was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke award earlier this month. India makes progress to get its polio erradication certificate from the WHO. A single man cultivates an entire forest in Assam. His name is Jadav Peyang. And the most expensive dog fetches close to a million pounds in UK.

With Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Jadeja, Dhoni all getting their personal bests, all seems well with Indian cricket. For now. Sanjay Dutt has been ordered to serve his time in prison. A new pope gets appointed and Bill Gates floats a 100,000 USD grant for anyone who can come up with a next generation condom. Also, tell us what you think of our new website.

In this episode we talk about the Hyderabad blasts, the successful launch of a PSLV by ISRO and Fauja Singh, the 101 year old running his last marathon.

Sorry about the radio silence. In this long coming episode and the first one of 2013, we talk about the Maha Kumbh mela, changing rape laws and the perpetual peace talks that continue with our friendly neighbour inspite of the cross border firings and the most recent brutal killing of Jawans on the front.

A spate of rape cases show up on the radar as media mercifully covers the most recent gang rape of a 23 year old woman in Delhi. All politicians including the home minister and the prime minster make a mockery of themselves by reading out prepared statements or making careless remarks on television. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi gets elected for third time in a row. In sports, Sachin Tendulkar retires from One Day Internationals. And DARPA comes up with a magic foam to help army men in rescue operations.

Pandit Ravi Shankar passes away. The great man was a bundle of energy and had performed on stage with his daughter in the US at the ripe age of 94. Text messaging turns 20. Saudi Arabia adds SMS tracking of wives to its increasingly long list of injustice towards women. At a village in Bihar, a local committee has banned women from carrying mobile phones. The Panchayat believes that this will lead to fewer elopements.

This week, the Lok Sabha gives a green signal for allowing FDI in retail. Bihar pulls off an amazing track record of growth by beating Maharashtra and Gujarat. In sports, Ricky Ponting retires and Freddie Flintoff takes to boxing. Sachin finally gets a fifty after his worst slump in two decades. The Kabbadi world cup is being played in Punjab. And a weed wacking robot from two Stanford trained engineers trawls lettuce fields, identifies weeds and kills them using a concentrated dose of fertilisers.

Four years after the grisly event, Ajmal Kasab was hanged at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. In international news, Israel pummels Gaza for eight straight days. More than 140 Palestinians were killed before a cease fire came into effect. Somewhere on this planet, a few people still believe that the world will come to an end this December and hope to seek refuge near a hill in France. The French authorities, fearing commotion have blocked entry to the venue. And a bunch of folks at Carnegie Mellon Robotics institute have devised a way for us to drive safely during a thunderstorm. Their smart headlights illuminate the road and not the rain drops.

The man had a mafia like control over the city so much that he had it change its name because he did not like it. In this podcast we talk a bit about Bal Thackerays beginnings, his quirks, agendas and of course his legendary oratorical skills. In other political news, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to lead the Congress poll campaign in the upcoming 2014 general elections. In some happy news, a bunch of doctors from University of Michigan claim to have devised a pacemaker which can be powered by the motion of heart beats.