Indicast - Indians On India

Brexit will change the course of Britain and Europe in the coming months and years. Dattu Bhokanal, an army man from the drought prone region of Talegaon, once afraid of water, qualifies for the Olympics in water sports. England and Pakistan go at each other in a tightly contested Test series. And what lies beneath Cambodia.

Raghuram Rajan puts in his papers, Donald Trump advances, Kumble is Indias new head coach and Mohammad Ali RIP.

"Make in India" week was kicked out in Mumbai to a mixed response. Modi flagged off the event along several industry leaders. We spend some time talking about TRAI's decision against differential pricing effectively shutting down Free Basics and the reaction to it. Abhishek geeks out on gravitational forces and how it is a BIG thing in understanding the very beginnings of the earth. The other topics include Brendan McCullum retiring, Eagles being trained to bring down drones and BCCI banning Asad Rauf.

The last time we were on air, Sania had won her first doubles Grand Slam title with Martina Hingis. In this episode we talk about her winning her third. But before that we get into Indias urban development minister announcing the first batch of 20 cities to be converted in to smart cities, Delhi's "Odd-Even" policy to counter being world's most polluted city, and the man who almost conquered Antarticas 1000 mile journey alone.

Sania Mirza and Leander Paes win Wimbledon titles by pairing with Martina Hingis. In cricket, Bangladesh is on a high and so is match fixing in the IPL. Old Monk, the iconic Indian rum needs some reviving. Iran and US ink a historic nuclear deal. And El Shorty Chapo, the most wanted man in Mexico escapes the countrys most secure prison.

The monsoons are back and Mumbai shuts down for a day or two. And then comes a lull. India and Bangladesh agree to swap pieces of land that will redraw the borders of both countries. Myanmar, our tiny neighbor has one of the worlds most persecuted minority known as the Rohingyas. They are circling about in the oceans on creaking ferries knocking on doors of countries to let them in.

More than 2500 people have died in India this summer from the murderous heat. Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA steps down after several top officials from his team were arrested on charges of corruption. The Indian ice hockey team crowdsources its way into a tournament in Kuwait.

Iran and America push for a nuclear deal in which Iran will agree to shun its ambitions to make a nuclear bomb. In return, America and other countries will lift a bunch of sanctions imposed on Iran. Chaos in Yemen reaches a new low as the Indian government completes one of its greatest evacuation programmes. Uber launches a rickshaw hailing app and monkeys disrupt internet in Gujarat.

The legendary Australian cricketer and commentator, Richie Benaud passes away. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Owners of NSE listed Indian companies appoint their wives, daughters and stepmothers as board members. And Ecommerce in India is on steroids.

Indias splendid run in the cricket world cup comes to an end in the semifinals. We recorded this on the eve of the finals and we root for New Zealand, a tiny country of 4.4 million. Saina Nehwal is now world number 1 in womens badminton. Rajendra Singh wins the Stockholm Water prize, the equivalent of the Nobel proze for water. More than 750 students have been expelled and 300 people arrested for the mass cheating scheme in the state exams in Bihar. The defense ministry takes cyber security more seriously. In the US, breast milk is being traded in what is a multi million dollar industry. And Shashi Kapoor wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award.

In this world cup, Indian cricket teams dug dug medium pacers and so so spinners have far outclassed our star batsmen. We reach the last leg of the tournament and will play Australia at Sydney in the semi-finals. BBC hires a guy who fakes his way into a panel discussion claiming to be a former Pakistani Test batsman. In other sports news, Indian badminton rising star, Srikant Kidambi wins the Swiss open. Down south, a bunch of engineers have figured out a way to power street lamps by harnessing energy generated by vegetable waste. And the BJP runs into further trouble by needling with the Land Acquisition Bill which, we think, needs some needling.

BJP bans BBCs documentary on Indias daughter. In other news, it bans beef in Maharashtra. A solar powered plane takes off for a trip around the world. An in-form Indian team advance in the world cup. With the knock out stages of the competition round the corner, there are no clear favourites to win the cup.

For more than 50 years R K Laxmans You Said It made people laugh and squirm at Indian politics. In this episode, we talk a bit about his work ethic. In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party bags more than half of all votes in the state elections and yet continues to remain on thin ice. The cricket World Cup is on and India has won all their matches in the group stages so far. Arun Jaitley announces the much anticipated Union Budget and Aditya tries to explain how India calculates its GDP.

From what depths of his soul would Robin Williams have scrapped out all the laughter and pleasantries for us, said a Tweet summarising for us the man who spent most of his life spreading happiness through his quirks. RIP Robin Williams. Ebola has swept large parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone and New Guinea. There is no cure, 90 per cent of those afflicted die and the WHO has described it as a public health emergency of international concern. And Why do migratory birds get confused when they over urban sprawls. Please keep sending us your picture submissions and soundscapes. We absolutely love them.

The theme remains the same. For centuries, countries have gone to war in the name of politics or religion. Innocent people have died. They continue to die. The latest on the list is Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was shot down from 33,000 feet in Eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board. In the Arab world, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria marches ahead with barbaric ferocity. Israel and Palestine have rekindled their old rivalry. In other news, India's new government presents its first Union budget and Brazil hosts one of the most entertaining World Cups of all time.

Now that Narendra Modi and his ministers have taken oath, India will hope for some action. While the cabinet may not hit the ground running, Modi has asked all his lieutenants to submit a 100 day plan of action for each of their ministries. The venerable Ambassador car calls it a day. Madhav Mantri, Indias oldest test cricketer dies. Two Indian Americans make history in the annual Scripps national spelling bee competition. We end with the weighty issue concerning a young Irish messo Soprano in London. And thank you all for sending in all the fascinating soundscapes as well as pictures of the area around you when you were listening to us. A picture gallery of each of your images will be up on the website shortly.

The Modi melodrama continues and it need not necessarily be a bad thing. A few months from now, he will be judged on different parameters. For now, his speeches are drawing applauses and tears. At about this time, last month, miles away in another continent, Iraq, too, conducted what was a mostly peaceful national elections. Hats off to people who came out to vote in a country where walking on the street, on some days, is as dangerous as straddling the India Pakistan border. As the Eurpoean Union bans mangoes, we get to have a little more of them at cheaper rates in India. Gulzar wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award and Russi Mody, the great manager from the Tata family dies.

In arguably the biggest day in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party, after spending a decade in opposition, has swept into power. The margin of victory is so huge that it has reduced Congress to a negligible force in the parliament. Most of India has welcomed the long awaited change. And yet a sizable chunk, views his appointment with scepticism, and some, even with fear. They, rightly, point to the 2001 Gujarat riots that happened when he was the states chief minister. In this episode, we spoke to a few construction workers, a rickshaw wala, a shopkeeper and a businessman and asked their opinion on Indias new political order. After playing second fiddle for years, the BJP and Modi deserve all the adulation that comes their way. But after the celebrations get over and when the boozy supporters go home, Modi will have to, at once, saddle up and take charge of a country that deserves better from its leaders. We wish him well.

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.