Good Morning, Bangalore with Kay

My last ever link on radio.. bitter sweet. How else can I define it? It has been an absolute crazy ride.

I will forever remember 26.09.2022. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry on air.. but I didn't realise how that last link would hit me. It's not saying bye to the team so much.. its the listeners. They've allowed me to be part of their morning every single day! The pure, unfiltered love is what I'm grateful for!

You will hear RJ Prithvi come in in this live link. He's been the person who saw me start my career in radio.. only fitting that he is the last one there to see me through it.

Thank you for the music, Radio One. See you on the other side.

This is officially my last interview on air. I realised that over 7 and a half years of my career.. I have not introduced you to what my wife does(professionally)! So here we are.. Couldn't be a more fitting way to end a 7 & a half year career in Radio. Crazily enough, she was once a listener who called in. The only listener I ever broke my one rule(to never date a listener) for! Well, proud to say that she's my wife now!

I hope you enjoy listening to it!

Spoke to Anupama Vedachala and here are are some things I learnt:

Bonsai- Is a Japnese art of growing a tree in a tray. It includes careful selection of plant, pruning, training and growing a tree in a pot which resembles a tree in natural condition.

Which plant- Any perennial plant can be choosen with woody stem and branches. Trees, shrubs, seedlings, cuttings etc can be a selected as starting materials.

Pot- Selection of pot is very important, it should always be shallow and match the style of the tree which is grown.

Culture- Unlike many belive bonsai trees are not starved. A very systematic fertigation and irrigation practices jas to be maintained depending on the selected plant to grow a healthy bonsai.

Buying a bonsai- Always buy from a reputed seller, ask the seller the name of the tree, how to take care and follow the advices carefully as bonsai plants are grown in small trays or pots any kind of sudden changes can have a direct effect on the plant's growth.

Once mastered- Once a person becomes a bonsai grower it's a wonderful experience as one can journey with a plant from a small plant to a complete tree in a miniature size.

Indo-American Hybrid Seeds was established by Dr. Manmohan Attavar at Bangalore, India in 1965. IAHS is a private limited Indian company managed by technocrats. Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (IAHS) is a pioneer and an innovative Indian seed company.

IAHS is at present engaged in the Research and Development ( R & D), production and marketing of hybrid seeds of Vegetables, Field crops, Oil seeds, Flower seeds, and Ornamental and landscape plants. IAHS also undertakes turn key execution of greenhouse and net house construction. Since its inception, the company has made remarkable progress in many spheres of commercial Horticulture & Agriculture.

IAHS has a wide range of products in vegetable crops like Tomato, Hot pepper, Capsicum, Bhendi (Okra), Brinjal (Eggplant), Bittergourd, Bottlegourd, Radish and others, Field crops such as Cotton, Rice and Maize, Oil seed crops (Sunflower) and Flower seeds. The hybrids are characterized by their quality and high degree of tolerance to insect pests and diseases resulting in better quality crop and higher yields.

Spoke with Rashmi Attavar, Joint Managing Director & Dr. Madhusudhan, Manager - Technical at IAHS. Here is how conversation went!

“Just Another Day” is a modern neo-realist film that draws attention to in-arguably one of the most raging topics of modern times - depression, abuse and the perception of separated/divorced women in society.
Through the happenings of a single day, the story traces the life of a 40-something newly separated woman, Anjali Katekar, as she navigates another 24 hours of her life in the busy city of Mumbai. Her interactions with her colleague at work and a middle-aged lawyer at a cheap restaurant highlight the indifference of a typical patriarchal society to her mental and physical health coupled with their general lack of empathy and understanding. Societal indifference is sometimes one of the biggest reasons for the under-reporting of domestic abuse crimes.
Through Anjali, we can live the agony of hundreds of middle-aged women facing stigma for mistakes that are not even their own.

This film was done in a very independent way under limited resources and has been very successful and well received (especially in the USA & Canada) winning around 10 awards in around 30 film festivals after premiering in New York at the New York Asian Film Festival, last year.

Other festivals include Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Tasveer Film Festival, SAFFA, Jaipur International Film Festival, Oscars & BAFTA Qualifying festivals like RIFF, et al.

It was the only film from India at the New York Asian Film Festival in 2021.

The film was also showcased in the heritage Babylon Theatre in Berlin as per of Indo-German Film Week, powered by the Indian Embassy of Berlin.

Closer home, the film is in the pre-selection of the China Short Film Festival, the only government-recognized Short film festival in China.

At home, the film is in the lineup of the prestigious Jaipur International Film Festival, Goa Short Film Festival, and Ayodhya Film Festival, while winning two awards in Chennai and Pondicherry.

The film was also felicitated by the arts division of Kuthaya Dumlipinar University, Turkey on November 25th, 2021, on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The film was also specially screened by the prestigious Indiana University, USA.

Prataya & Anshulika stopped by the studios! Was a fun chat that I hope you will enjoy!

Aarushi Kombial is also known as 'The Girl In The Bandana'.

She's a singer-songwriter and musician from Bangalore. She is sixteen years old and is immensely passionate about music!

She released her debut single, ‘Lazy’, a year ago. It is a rhythm and blues take on the life of a teenager who recognises the value of hard work, yet needs to have some 'me time' and be lazy! : )

She released her latest single, 'Nightmare', on the 23rd of July!!

It is a song that she wrote, sung, composed and played (piano)!

Nightmare encapsulates the concept of struggle in a metaphoric fashion. It sheds light on the vulnerability and fear felt by one facing struggle for the first time. Nightmare brushes upon emotions of fear and panic for the most part- transitioning to a positive and determined ending in terms of the lyrical context.

It is a song that blends influences of classic rock with some modern twists. She stopped by the studios to chat! Check it out!

Corporate executive Suvigya Bansal and her entrepreneur husband would scour Bengaluru in search of an authentic Delhi-style chole bhature. When they found none, she decided to quit her job and set up a small eatery that would endeavour to dish out the flavours of their favourite chola bhatura from Delhi. And so seasoned cooks were hired from Delhi, a complex 58-spice masala developed to ensure authenticity of taste, the right size of chickpea sourced to convey the flavour of the spices, et al. Barely had this enterprise found its feet early last year when covid struck! 

Thanks for swinging by and chatting, Suvigya!

Ellie Goulding unveils ‘Easy Lover’ - a stunning slice of pop perfection that heralds a triumphant and long-awaited return - the first release since Ellie’s chart topping 2020 studio album ‘Brightest Blue’. The track, written and produced in collaboration with the legendary Greg Kurstin and Julia Michaels, sees Ellie’s unmistakable vocals paired with pulsating bass, punchy synths, epic key changes and contagious melodies - the perfect combination for a summer pop banger. The new single also features rap royalty Big Sean who adds his signature flow in contrast to Ellie’s breath-taking harmonies. Big Sean is one of the biggest names in rap is known for hits such as ‘I Don’t Fuck With You’ and ‘Dance (Ass) ft Nicki Minaj’ as well as working with the likes of Justin Bieber, 2Chainz, Halsey and Calvin Harris.

Alongside the single, Ellie has released the epic music video for ‘Easy Lover’, which sees her take on an otherworldly creature that takes the form of humans. The haunting visual is a confident and exciting accompaniment to the single and was directed by Sophia Ray (Years & Years, Raye, Mabel) with movement direction from Remi Black and creative direction from Nathan Klein who also styled the video.

Speaking about the track Ellie states, “I wrote Easy lover in LA with Julia Michaels after conversations about the age old tale of being infatuated by someone cool and beautiful knowing that they will never quite feel the same. It’s about going back to the same dangerous person to feel alive when you know they have hurt people again and again before you. Having the legendary Greg Kurstin produce any song of mine is always a dream come true. He always understands the assignment!”

Stay tuned for more news from Ellie Goulding in the coming months.

Rahael Roy Thomas is a singer/songwriter from Bangalore! His new song is out on all streaming platforms. He swung by the studios to chat about it!

Laxmi started out with this endeavor of launching MomPower360 during the pandemic because many mothers like her reached out to her wanting a solution to their problems. Mothers by default juggle many responsibilities and fulfill many roles in a domestic system, having seen a lack for well equipped support groups for moms, Laxmi decided to finally do something about it.

The objective for her was to support and empower mothers like herself and build meaningful networks and relationships that will channel towards solving problems and providing corrective solutions to over burdened mothers.

It was seen to be pertinent by Laxmi to take this concept of Mompower360 countrywide that will be a definitive guide to all mothers in terms of parenting, self care, fitness, nutrition, mental health and many other aspects.

Being a mom herself she has an understanding of this having gone through it herself at a grassroots level and her perspective added with the opinions of other mom’s helps empower this initiative furthermore.

With this initiative her goal is to build mom communities and create a safe space for moms to  connect with each other to build a sisterhood of motherhood circle, whether one is a homemaker mom, working mom, an enterprising mom or a single mom. Mompower360 will be hosting online and offline events, workshops, talks to inspire mom achievers and mom entrepreneurs to propel and pave the way for moms to think beyond the horizon. It will also provide a networking platform to entrepreneurs, influencers, content creators to learn and grow from each other's experiences by sharing their journeys with one another.

Besides being a full time mom and entrepreneur Laxmi loves reading, gardening and decorating spaces. She loves planning meals for her kids and spending time with them at home cosying up with a book or a movie.

Lakshmi also runs a charitable project called The Joy Box which redirects surplus from the community to NGOs and those in need. With Mompower360, she aims at uplifting moms to be their best versions with support of experts and other inspirational moms because she believes a happy home begins with a happy mom.

The idea for CosMix began when Vibha Harish was diagnosed with PCOD. She began researching the market for solutions for the disease, and the weight gain, the acne and everything that came with it. Unfortunately, everywhere she turned, all she saw was toxic messaging and inadequate marketing. Since she was already looking after herself through natural, plant-based, she felt it was only fair to share these with the rest of the world without the toxic language and preying on people’s – especially women’s – insecurities. This led to the birth of Cosmix. Cosmix has been growing steadily at a rate of 30% each month. Cosmix is a thoughtfully put-together range of products that take care of your internal as well as external nourishment. They not only nourish your body but also encourage you to embrace a holistic approach towards health

Vibha and Soorya are the co-founders of the company and are married. Vibha’s parents are the owners of Itsy Bitsy Craft Store here in Bangalore.The company has been mentioned in Vogue, Grazia and Forbes.

Had a chat with Vibha & Soorya! What fun!

Water hyacinth is one of the most successful colonizers in the plant kingdom. It was distributed as a takeaway gift at a cotton exhibition held in the New Orleans state of the United States in the 18th century.

Soon, it made its way into the state of West Bengal as an ornamental plant. Today it is known as the “Terror of Bengal” and the “blue devil”. The water hyacinth adds colour and freshness to squalid muddy village ponds. But its beauty is only surface deep. With one plant capable of duplicating itself every nine days, it is a parasite which clogs waterways and chokes village ponds.

However, on the occasion of the 50th World Environment Day that was on Sunday, the volunteers of Hulimavu Kere Taranga, a non-profit, decided to give this plant a good name, and sent Hulimavu Lake’s hyacinth to be converted into handmade paper and other eco-friendly products at Bluecat Paper, manufacturers of tree-free paper in Peenya Industrial Area.

The Green Oak initiative is a community mental health community mental health centre that provides psychiatric and psychological services that are easily accessible and affordable to its local community.

Along with providing individual and group therapies for individuals dealing with mental health related issues, our other not for profit initiatives cater to community at large, and they are as follows:

1. A free and confidential helpline providing psychological support exclusively for healthcare workers.

2. Samartha- A low fee mental health clinic for underprivileged communities.

3. Cogworks- A cognitive enrichment groups for seniors with dementia.

4. Khila- Rehabilitation groups for people recovering from severe mental illness.

5. COVID rehabilitation services: for people who suffered post COVID psychological, cognitive and physical symptoms.

6. Through the Looking Glass (book club) and the Oblique Angle film club- community events to facilitate conversations about mental health in popular media.

Shilpa Nagaraj was on the show to talk about all the above and more. She is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist.

She has been trained in range of evidence-based psychological interventions including Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Cognitive behavioural Therapy, Mentalization Based Treatment and Mindfulness based treatment approaches. Largely driven by curiosity and gratitude, she absolutely enjoys reading books and playing with her furry pals. She’s committed to individual care and working towards inclusion and in providing mental health care of highest standards.

City-based actor Akhil Iyer whose latest movie, Hit, released on Friday, speaks about his role in the movie and his dream of making it big in Bollywood!

Way before Akhil Iyer even knew the meaning of acting, he was sure of one thing - he wanted to become an actor. "I was a big fan of Akshay Kumar, I wanted to grow up and be Akhil Kumar. I had even named myself after him," recalls the Bengaluru-based actor. Close to three decades later, he is finally living his dream.

While talking about his recent film, HIT: The First Case, the actor says, "We shot the film towards the end of last year. There were a lot of delays because of COVID, but it has finally happened. In the movie, Rajkummar Rao and I are cops, who work for a group called the 'Homicide Intervention Team', and we are investigating a missing person's report."

Akhil was also my senior in school and stopped by the show to have a chat!

Bengaluru-based Vineeth Vincent wears many hats — that of a beatboxer, musician, emcee, voice artiste and an entrepreneur. "Colour" is a song about the burdens and judgments we carry towards ourselves and others.  This is the first track from the Album - "Growing Up and Then Some" by Vineeth Vincent.

He swung by to chat about the track and the song is now live across the country on the entire 94.3 Radio One International Network!

Hosachiguru was founded with a two fold goal- one, to give back to the environment by growing trees instead of  buildings and structures, two, to help individuals grow their own crops, trees and enjoy the benefits of having farmland. Anyone who owns a Hosachiguru farm can remotely monitor their farms through an app with real-time activity updates and alerts, Hosachiguru uses real time real-time IoT sensors that monitor weather, soil moisture, soil temperature, rainfall and humidity.

Crowded cities, polluted air and noisy streets. Given a chance, how many of us would like to get away from the hustle of city life? In the middle of our busy schedules, many of us dream of having that perfect weekend getaway, a farmhouse in the lap of nature, a chance to grow your own food, and experience open blue skies.

Bengaluru based Hosachiguru gives city folks a chance to live a life closer to nature. An agriculture startup, Hosachiguru gives you a chance to own farmland, grow your own trees/crops and spend your weekends at your farm. All this without the hassle of day to day management of the farm. Founded by Srinath Setty, Ashok J and Sriram Chitlur Hosachiguru offers cherry picked farmlands to customers, develops and manages the land and helps them earn income on the produce.

Hosachiguru was founded with a two fold goal- one, to give back to the environment by growing trees instead of buildings/structures, two, to help individuals easily own, manage and reap the benefits of farmland. The idea behind Hosachiguru is to create farmlands that are environmentally and economically sustainable. Hosachiguru picks farmlands based on important parameters such as clear land titles, soil, water availability and connectivity. Once the owner invests in the farmland, Hosachiguru will grow and maintain trees and crops of the land owner’s choice. The owners are free to choose fruits, vegetables and timber trees of their choice. Land owners can earn passive income by selling the produce and are also  free to partake in farming activities in the farmland. They can build their own weekend homes in 10% of their farmland.

Owning a Hosachiguru farmland offers an opportunity for land owners to be in sync with nature, enjoy the outdoor life and indulge in community activities. Each Hosachiguru farmland has a  farmhouse/guest house for weekend getaways with family and friends. From reading pods to cycling tracks, bonfire to camping, Hosachiguru farmlands offer a lifestyle close to nature.

Buyers can choose from ¼ acre, ½ acre and 1 acre plots. The company has created employment opportunities for 500+ local farmers and helped mitigate rural migration. In addition to the social impact, Hosachiguru is creating a positive environmental impact through its agroforestry model. They are actively involved in converting dry land into arable sustainable lands.  Their sustainable and natural farming practices help improve soil health and improve flora and fauna around the farmland.

Co-Founder & Managing Director of Hosachiguru, Sriram Chitlur, dropped by! What a fun bit of conversation!

Indo-American Hybrid Seeds was established by Dr. Manmohan Attavar at Bangalore, India in 1965. IAHS is a private limited Indian company managed by technocrats. Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (IAHS) is a pioneer and an innovative Indian seed company.

IAHS is at present engaged in the Research and Development ( R & D), production and marketing of hybrid seeds of Vegetables, Field crops, Oil seeds, Flower seeds, and Ornamental and landscape plants. IAHS also undertakes turn key execution of greenhouse and net house construction. Since its inception, the company has made remarkable progress in many spheres of commercial Horticulture & Agriculture.

IAHS has a wide range of products in vegetable crops like Tomato, Hot pepper, Capsicum, Bhendi (Okra), Brinjal (Eggplant), Bittergourd, Bottlegourd, Radish and others, Field crops such as Cotton, Rice and Maize, Oil seed crops (Sunflower) and Flower seeds. The hybrids are characterized by their quality and high degree of tolerance to insect pests and diseases resulting in better quality crop and higher yields.

Achievements:

● IAHS is the first company to launch Hybrid seeds of Vegetables in India(1973)

● IAHS is also the first company to undertake commercial seeds production in Greenhouses

● IAHS has repeatedly won the APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Development Authority) Export Award

● IAHS is one of the first companies in the country to establish a State-of-Art Commercial Tissue Culture Laboratory

● IAHS has developed protocols for more than 80 different species in Agro-Forestry, Plantation & Ornamental crops

● IAHS is the first company in the private sector in Asia and the seventh in the world to get accreditation from the International Seed Testing Association, Switzerland (ISTA) to issue "Orange" and "Blue" certificates for the export of seeds.

Santosh Attavar (Chairman and Managing Director) & Rashmi Attavar (Joint Managing Director) joined me to chat on the show! Absolute pleasure having them both!

Dr. Mahesh Sankaran – winner of the Infosys Prize 2021 in the  Life Sciences category, who is currently a Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore.

Dr. Sankaran’s area of expertise too is in the community and ecosystems ecology where in his lab looks at interactions and feedbacks between climate, biogeochemistry, fires and herbivory influence of ecosystems. He also studies and deals with the projected changes in climate such as increasing variability of rainfall, frequency of droughts, increasing aridity in the tropics, and rising CO2 and their impact on the ecosystem function, stability and services.

Infosys Science Foundation has been encouraging and promoting research culture to help foster a more collaborative environment, by giving researchers the chance to share their experiences and their successes. The Foundation’s annual award – Infosys Prize, aims to honor, inspire, and build a culture of science and research amongst young researchers and students. The recognize the outstanding achievements of researchers and scientists across six categories: Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.

Srikanth Kidambi is an Indian badminton player, who currently attends the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. In 2021, Kidambi emerged as the first-ever Indian to win a silver medal and enter the World Championships final in the men's singles.

In April 2018, he was ranked as world number 1 at the BWF ranking. In the same year, Kidambi was conferred with the Arjuna award in 2015 and the Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest civilian honour.

He recently captained the Indian team to the legendary Thomas Cup Victory!

Chatted with him with regards to the launch of GPBL and much more!

What a panel this morning!

- Soma Katiyar is Executive Creative Director at BBC Media Action

- Vasu Dixit is a singer, composer and musician

- Vani Murthy is an environmentalist who is passionate about composting and urban farming

- Shraddha Jain, popularly knowns as AiyyoShraddha, is an actor and comic

Everyday thousands of tons of waste is produced in our city. The waste produced ends up in the landfill, if not treated and recycled, making it a problem. Thousands of waste-pickers go about their daily task of collecting OUR WASTE to earn a meagre income. Not only are they cleaning our neighborhood, they are also saving our environment, health and money. The campaign is set up to reform the image of our waste-pickers into #Invaluables, without whom our city could not function as it is. BBC Media Action will be working on bringing in behavioral change in society towards the #Invaluables by

-Revealing the “Happy Number”, the amount of waste recycled by the #Invaluables

-Educating people about the 3 categories of #Invaluables and their contribution to society at large

-The economic value the #Invaluables add to everyone’s life

-The citizens need to respect and recognize the contribution of the waste pickers and aid them to help improve the lives of the waste pickers as well as contribute for the cause of environmental sustainability.

The happy number comes across as a glaring revelation to the people of Bengaluru and how privileged they are to have a hardworking community of waste pickers who have a direct impact on the well-being of the city.

It also points to the stark reality of the difficult lives of the waste pickers and how the society is oblivious of their invaluable contribution, valued to be about X crores in monetary terms. BBC Media Action and its partners are on a mission to spread awareness among the citizens of Bengaluru about the contributions of the community of waste pickers and to bring about an attitudinal change towards the community among the masses.

It's finally here!!!

The GPBL, which has the blessing of the Karnataka State Badminton Association, has eight franchises - Bengaluru Lions, Mangalore Sharks, Mandya Bulls, Mysore Panthers, Malnad Falcons, Bandipur Tuskers, KGF Wolves and Kodagu Tigers who will be looking to building their teams by choosing their picks.

Each team comprises of maximum of eight players each and should include one icon player, a minimum of two Tier-1 and Tier-2 players respectively and also a minimum of two female players including icon category. Each team has a star mentor including Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth, Ashwini Ponappa, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu and Jwala Gutta. Double Olympic medallist Sindhu who is the mentor of the City team Bengaluru Lions said from Kuala Lumpur that she was keen to see how the franchises choose their teams.

I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Prashanth Reddy, CEO Bitsport and GPBL Commissioner. This was such a great conversation! The future of sport is finally here in India!

PV Sindhu (born 5 July 1995) is an Indian badminton player. Considered one of India's most successful sportspersons, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first and only Indian to become the Badminton World Champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of no. 2 in April 2017.

She represented India at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio), where she became the first Indian badminton player to reach the Olympic final. She won the silver medal after losing out to Spain's Carolina Marin. She made her second consecutive Olympic appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics (Tokyo) and won a bronze medal, becoming the first-ever Indian woman to win two Olympic medals.

With earnings of US$8.5 million, $5.5 million and $7.2 million respectively, Sindhu made the Forbes' list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2018, 2019 and 2021. She is a recipient of the sports honours Arjuna Award and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, as well as India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. She was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India, in January 2020.

Recent news:

- A plethora of Indian badminton stars including PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponappa and Chirag Shetty will take part in the launch of the Grand Prix Badminton League, Karnataka’s own version of Premier Badminton League, here on Saturday.

- to participate in Indonesia Masters, from 7-12 June in Jakarta

- won two Super 300 titles at the Syed Modi International and Swiss Open and a bronze at Badminton Asia Championships this season

Instagram has today announced a new music property, ‘1 Minute Music’, which is a set of music tracks and videos, exclusively available on its platform, for use on Reels and Stories. This includes music from 200 artists across India. It will make Instagram content more entertaining, and inspire other artists to release their one-minute music on the platform as well, said Instagram.

Reels is a growing global stage, where artists and music are being discovered. Since launch, artists have been using it to launch their music and share it with others, which inturn is fueling many trends on the platform. To fuel this further, and to inspire others to unleash their talent as well, Instagram is now releasing the ‘1 Minute Music’ property.

The property will have music representation from artists across India, so it interests everyone in India using Instagram. This includes Hindi artists like Dhvani Bhanushali, Neeti Mohan and Shaan, Punjabi artists like Jassie Gill, Himashi Khurana and Gurnaam Bhullar and Tamil artists like Aniruth, Sivaangi and GV Prakaash Kumar.

Kabir Chandra, Head of Music Partnerships, Meta India chatted with me on the show about the same. Was a super fun chat!

Conservationist and UNEP - Plastic Tide Turner Ambassador, India. Driven by the idea of coexistence and aiming to inspire positive actions towards social and environmental issues. Interested in developing resilience, adaptation policies and integrated strategies for climate change mitigation.

An MA Environmental studies student, Sneha signed up 300 other students from her college and eventually became one among the 18 affiliated members selected from the country for this campaign.

To initiate the campaign, they chose to clean up a drain inside the campus. But later, they realised that it was a natural stream — home to several living organisms. However, it was clogged up with plastic waste.

In a joint effort, students removed over 700 kg of plastic from the urban stream. During the monsoon, Gangetic Flapshell turtles and crocodiles found their way to the stream. Other insects and plants also grew in their surroundings.

The Bhukhi Stream Project nominated Sneha and her team the Youth for Earth Award.

Had a chat with her and this is how it went!

Born in Kashmir in September 1981 to parents Santosh & Kuldeep and like any ancient culture, food was central to everything he knew growing up a Kashmiri Pandit. With a large family of close uncles and cousins, mealtimes were big affairs.

Sandeep received rave reviews from legendary chefs like Rick Stein and was the first contestant in MasterChef Australia history, to win a Perfect 30 score and an Immunity pin. His Lobster Masala is considered one of the best dishes in the MasterChef Australia’s history and he was given the title of the best Indian cook in the 11 seasons of MasterChef Australia.

Sandeep has been successful in his various food stints after the show, including sold out Pop Ups at restaurants. He also curated a special menu at the iconic Aussie Pub The Cricketers, at Port Melbourne and going beyond curries and curating Indian Bar Dishes called ‘Chakhna’ in a modern Aussie format.

Sandeep curated the MasterChef Australia Dining Experiences across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore along with some of the Best Indian Chefs. He has also help set up authentic South Indian flavours restaurant in London

In 2021 Sandeep, alongside chefs Adam D’Sylva and Helly Raichura launched a new cooking show called India Unplated on SBS. India Unplated celebrates the beauty of Indian food and uncovers the rich secrets of Indian cuisine from all over the country.

Neerav Ghosh is a film maker with 20+ years of creating content for all screen sizes and continues to be the chief Producer and Director of Oaktree’s content. His previous work includes the 26-part definitive series on the history of Indian Cricket called ‘Midwicket Tales with Naseeruddin Shah’ (2015). His first Feature film as a Writer-Director, Soundtrack, starring Rajeev Khandelwal and Soha Ali Khan, with music by Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale, released to critical acclaim in October 2011. He also has Feature film credits as an Editor, Sound Designer and Writer.

Breakfast with Champions is the flagship offering of Oaktree Sports. At one point, it was India’s first Youtube Original show and is now in its 7th season. It is available on the Youtube channel, ‘Oaktree Sports’ which has 1.6mn subscribers. In previous seasons, the show has featured the who’s who of Indian cricket from Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev to Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, as well as popular International stars like AB De Villiers, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Holding.

The show is back now after nearly 3 years, and is focusing this season on ‘The future of Indian cricket’. The 4 episodes so far have featured KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav. So far, these episodes have collectively yielded 20mn views. The new episode drops at 11am on Tuesday, 26th April and features Harshal Patel of RCB, and winner of the Purple cap at IPL 2021

The company Oaktree Sports was founded in 2016 with Gaurav Kapur and Neerav Ghosh, with the intent to tell compelling stores against the backdrop of Indian sport. Apart from the Youtube Channel where all original content is released, the company also has long term partnerships with leagues and franchises to create short form and long form content.

Neerav stopped by for a fun chat!

Namit Malhotra, one of the biggest Indian successes in Hollywood, is the founder of Prime Focus. The company had modest beginnings in 1997 before it became a powerhouse of integrated media services. Malhotra is responsible for the strategy, growth and success of the company.

Malhotra is the eldest son of Bollywood film producer Naresh Malhotra and the grandson of cinematographer MN Malhotra. He grew up in Mumbai, where he completed his schooling at Jasudben M L School in Khar. He is a commerce graduate from HR College of Commerce and Economics.

Before Prime Focus got its name, Malhotra had a small editing studio that he operated from his father’s garage. He bagged work for many television shows and serials such as Boogie Woogie for Sony, and Colgate Top 10 for Zee Entertainment. He also bagged work for music videos. In 1997, he merged Video Workshop with Naresh Malhotra's Video Works to create Prime Focus.

Dune bags six awards at the Oscars 2022, thus becoming the highest Oscar-winning movie of the year. The Chairman and CEO of DNEG, Indian-origin Namit Malhotra has created a buzz in the industry with his Oscar win for Best Visual Effects Oscar.

Note: This chat happened before Dune swept the Oscars! Enjoy!

National-level boxer Jeeth Sanghavi was in her early 20s when it came to her as a surprise that she was appointed as Priyanka Chopra’s trainer for the film on champion boxer and Olympic medalist Mary Kom.

She was training in the national boxing camp when the Indian chief coach suggested her name to train Priyanka for the film because she was more qualified than her peers.

She has done her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education and a few certification courses. In 2019, she opened Boxx Era, her own fitness studio, in Delhi’s Hauz Khas area.

She was passionate about becoming a professional boxer and she gave it her all for nine years training in different state camps of Sports Authority of India. But Jeeth is of the belief that you need a godfather in sports.

She went back to studying and completed a master’s degree in health and fitness from Edith Cowan University, Australia.

She learnt cross-fit training, pilates, and body transformation techniques to get a better perspective in fitness coaching and training. After returning, she joined Snap fitness chain of gyms as a fitness director in 2015, where she was responsible for bringing in a systemic evolution in fitness training.

The Trichy-born and Haryana-based digital content creator, Ankit Sharma is an early disruptor in the Indian creator economy, breaking into the relatively uncommon automotive space as a photographer and videographer, eventually going on to chart his own destiny.

His brand Man Made Machines has carved its own space and identity — commanding 181,000 (and counting) followers on Instagram.

In this edition of Kays Spotlight Ankit Sharma joins RJ Kay to talk about his journey as a content creator, photographer and his love for machines, bikes and cars. He speaks about his recent experiences and how he started Man Made Machines and built the name to where it is today!

International Icon Season 2 is ongoing and it's by far the most entertaining for everyone, the viewers, the participants and even the celebrity mentors! We've had popstar Hrvy, Swiss Sensation Veronica Fusaro, International Icon winner of season 01 Joel Jacob and British Singer-Songwriter Calum Scott on board as celebrity mentors for this season! With each episode the season is getting intense and alot of talent is being highlighted! We've had so many entries from around the world which just proves to show that talent is everywhere and this is truly an International talent hunt! The excitement is real on this and this is just getting better by the day!

Amrapali won the entire season and takes home the grand prize and bragging rights! She stopped by the show to hang out for a while.. and we played a prank on her! Listen in!

Born Dan Griffith, Gryffin got his start in music as a classically trained pianist and guitarist while also playing in several bands. After receiving an electrical engineering degree from the University of Southern California, he pursued a path in music production, drawing equally from his carefully honed musicality and edgy ingenuity. Gryffin made his breakthrough in 2016 with

two singles showcasing his melodic take on dance music: “Heading Home” ft. Josef Salvat (which shot to #1 on Spotify’s US and Global Viral charts) and the Gold-certified Bipolar Sunshine collaboration “Whole Heart. In addition, his 2017 smash single and first Platinum record “Feel Good” — with Illenium and featuring Daya— peaked at #18 on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts. Gryffin’s major triumphs also include “Tie Me Down” ft. Elley Duhé (which hit #2 on the Spotify US Viral Chart, #9 on the Global Viral Chart, and was recently Platinum-certified), “Remember” ft. Zohara (which garnered 6.5 million streams in its first few weeks and earned support from Tiesto, who featured the track on an Instagram story), and “All You Need to Know” with SLANDER ft. Calle Lehmann (a Gold-certified smash that’s now surpassed 320 million streams globally). In October 2019, Gryffin’s debut album Gravity quickly climbed to #1 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Now, with multiple heavyweight collaborations under his belt and a US tour underway with stops at major festivals, he’s excited to put out his sophomore effort later this year as he continues to put out pop-dance anthems for the world.

His brand new track, "Alive", is out now with Calle Lehmann and he's on the show to chat about it!

Sunit Zadav is a singer songwriter currently living in Mumbai, India. His music can chiefly be classified as acoustic pop with subtle influences from blues, country, jazz and folk. The music, says he, is lyrically inspired by "matters of the heart" and includes predominantly guitar-centric, peppy numbers that will surely get you tapping your feet and singing along. Amongst the popular songwriters, his influences include James Taylor, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, Chris Martin and Justin Timberlake. After having played at numerous venues in Pune: Swig, High Spirits and Doolally, to name a few; he has recently moved to Mumbai to promote his music in this city. He has performed at The Habitat, Khar and has been a part of Sundown Sessions 2.0. He has recently performed at the first VH1 takeover at Bandcamp.in and at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender Pune, 2017. Currently, Sunit is recording his debut EP titled Quarter Life Crisis, under his mentor Mr. Sanjay Divecha. The EP is slated for release in 2018.  His debut single ʻMushʼ made it to Apple Music India's Top 25 Indie Singer-songwriter Tracklist. It is available on all global music streaming platforms.

Bharadwaj Krishnan is a Saxophonist, vocalist, electronic music. Currently based in Pune. He's into Experimental music and is a beast on the sax!

For four decades, Corner House has been adding sweetness to people’s lives in Bangalore. Their signature ‘Hot Chocolate Fudge’ and ‘Death By Chocolate’  are pick-me-ups on days that need some TLC or a delightful treat to accompany a celebration. Established at a time when the city was more trees and lakes than concrete, Corner House has been steadfastly serving Bangalore’s folks since 1982. And this year, it will be 40 happy years since Narayan Rao’s long standing labour of love has brought smiles to many.

Corner House has become a part of families and homes; integral to Bangalore’s spirit. For 40 years now, Rao has offered customers in the city high-quality ice cream desserts at reasonable prices that adhere to the in-house ‘scoop value’ tenet; a guarantee that customers get their money’s worth. Corner House’s recipes are specially crafted and monitored and tested at each stage; from the production line at the factory to the sales counter at every outlet. You can indulge in 16 flavours of ice cream, 17 ice cream sundaes, eight fruit sundaes, 11 milkshakes and three non-ice cream desserts. Plus, their ‘bring your own bowl’ initiative allows the environmentally inclined to reduce plastic.

Narayan stopped by the show and here's how conversation went. Happy listening!

Charu Sharma is an Indian commentator, compere and quizmaster. He is the director of the Pro Kabaddi League.

Charu Sharma is well known for his television presentations (especially on cricket) along with Mandira Bedi. He is also known as a quizmaster in television programmes and other event. He regularly hosts award shows, corporate events and contributes to teamwork and leadership seminar.

He stopped by for a wonderful little chat and here it is!

Aman Agarwal is the Executive Editor of Finance India. He is officiating Director at IIF BUSINESS SCHOOL [GGS Indraprastha University], Editorial Board member/Co-Editor of The Empirical Economics Letters, Research in Financial Economics, Global Finance Journal, Les Cahiers de la Recherche ISC, Euro-Mediterranean Economics and Finance Review, Research in Quantitative Finance and Business Management, the Journal of Financial & Risk Management Asia Pacific Journal of Finance and Banking Research, Global Journal of Finance and Banking and the Journal of Entrepreneurship and an invited Financial Expert.

On this edition, he deep dives into Budget 2022 with us!

For over a decade now, Dr Sunil Kumar Hebbi, a resident of Malleswaram in Bengaluru, has been running a mobile clinic through an NGO called Matru Siri Foundation to treat the poor for free.

A graduate from the Bijapur Medical College, the 37-year-old doctor was born and raised in Vijayapura, and worked at the BGS Hospital in Bengaluru for several years before quitting in 2011 to devote his attention to the mobile clinic.

Dr Sunil has converted his car into a mobile clinic and stacked up emergency medicines and equipment such as an oxygen cylinder and an ECG machine. He also has an assistant doctor and a nurse who volunteer with him

At present, he runs the mobile service both in Bengaluru and in his hometown, Vijayapura, and treats about 80-100 patients every day

A noted Radiologist from AIIMS, Delhi, Dr.Jaideep Kumar Sharma is the second longest coma survivor in the world. After facing a tragic accident, he battled with death to ‘LIVE’ against all odds. Today, he strongly advocates that organ donation is a bioethical issue from social perspective, as saving life is the most precious and priceless contribution towards humanity. His desire to provide quality treatment to all, laid the foundation of a project called ‘HEAL’- Health Experience at the Speed of Light. It is an effort to create a virtual technological platform to link doctors and patients across the globe and to deliver timely, affordable and quality healthcare to especially those residing in rural areas. Dr. Sharma’s mission is to save lives through the provision of exceptional healthcare. His life is an inspirational story of exemplary leadership in the field of medicine and ‘living by example’.

Jayati Sinha was nine years old when she realised that she wanted to be in the creative field, courtesy a Disney show she used to watch. She started by designing Barbie dresses and grew up to learn that there are different kinds of creative careers. Soon, she stumbled upon product design. She coped by shuttering herself in her room, drawing things, and it eventually turned into a career.Today, Jayati has grown to be one of the noted visual designers (physical and digital experiences) in the US. She got to be a creator, she “got to be the person who gets paid to ask ‘why’ and ‘how’”.

Prior to moving to the US in 2017, she has interned with many organisations including Viya Home, DeMuro Das and Artecnica. She has also worked as environment designer II in fuseproject, which focused on designing and prototyping experiential environments for retail, and exhibition spaces in addition to involvement in industrial design, and strategy development. After graduating in lifestyle products from National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi, Jayati was a part of many projects and various causes.
Soon after, during her master’s in environmental design in the US, she was part of a homeless housing initiative in Los Angeles. Where she got to visualise the future of homeless housing and how she could improve it.

Pilot Laxmi Joshi, who flew to China in May 2020, as part of Vande Bharat mission, says she feels privileged to be part of such rescue endeavours that are continuing even now. Presently she’s flying people who are stuck in San Francisco, California, New York and Vancouver.

From waiting to see her in uniform before every flight, to making sure that their relatives and friends know all the details about the rescue missions she’s going on, Vande Bharat pilot Laxmi Joshi says her dad ensures all this and more. Joshi is one of the few pilots who flew to China as part of the Vande Bharat mission in May 2020, and says that her parents have been a constant support throughout this phase where she has been serving the nation and humanity.

She is the Founder President and CEO of AROH Foundation, a national-level NGO set up by her in 2001 to realize her childhood dream of giving back to society.

Her professional journey has taken her through an enriching experience, from being an agricultural scientist to a successful entrepreneur, before venturing into social service and setting up an NGO.

For almost a decade, she ran a printing and publishing business that gave her good financial standing. She also earned a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from Delhi University.

Owing to her experience and learning through research and enterprise, she could inculcate commitment and dedication as hallmarks of the organization and integrated the use of technology to bring transparency through information sharing. Sound policies and governance systems put in place have translated into the success and goodwill that AROH enjoys at present.

Peekay is back on the show with Andrea!

Swati is a trained lactation counsellor and sex educator motivated towards normalising conversations around several tabooed issues like, sexuality, body, mental health, relationships, etc. Through Instagram posts, stories as well as workshops on anatomy, sex education and lactation, she is helping young people and parents create a wholesome and progressive generation.

However, a few years ago, the 34-year-old had never imagined she could amass this level of reach and impact. It all started in 2014 when Maya was born. With the good news of motherhood, Swati also suffered the loss of both her parents. A young mother looking for support and guidance, she reached out to several parenting groups on social media and was finally able to connect with a peer-to-peer support network of mothers in Coimbatore where they discussed a myriad of relevant topics from diapers, sleep schedules, baby carriers to breastfeeding and more.

Listen to her story here!

Meet Yogeshwar and Sushma Bhalla, a couple from Delhi, who are two riding enthusiasts that have travelled the world and more together, enjoying long distances on their Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. yogeshwar and Sushma Bhalla, affectionately known as Yogi and Sushi, have been married for over 40 years. A common thread that binds the couple together, even today, is their shared love for travelling, and willingness to set out on the next big adventure. They have travelled to. “Belgium, Bhutan, Dubai, France, Qatar, Rome, Singapore, England, Scotland, Turkey and Venice overseas.

Now if this couple can keep the love alive through travel.. anyone can! Listen to this inspiring story of love!