Grasshopper and the Ant

In this episode we talk to Rahul Goel about cycling in India. The stats, the trends, culture and safety. What's the future of cycling and what can govt institutions do to encourage more people to cycle.

In this episode of Grasshopper and the Ant, we dive into the far-reaching effects of car culture and car-centric infrastructure on urban planning and public transportation. Our guest, Rahul Goel—Assistant Professor at IIT Delhi's Transport Research and Injury Prevention Center—joins us once again to talk about the impact of car culture on urban cities, expanding roads and Induced demand, Parking, Congestion and finally pollution and environmental damages due to car centric planning.. Tune in for an engaging discussion on how we can shift towards better urban mobility.

In this episode, we talk to Tapasya about Kashmir whose family has had to leave Kashmir during the late 80's and early 90's. We talk about the different store she has heard while growing, why does she support Azadi movement and various other things related to Kashmiri Pandits.

In this episode, we have two lawyers from the Criminal Justice & Police Accountability Project which is based out of Bhopal, talking about the Criminal Tribes Act, the Habitual offender's act, police brutality as a phenomenon, and what does police reforms mean & what's the idea of defunding in the Indian context.  The website of Criminal Justice & Police Accountability Project: cpaproject.in Some of the pieces they have written on these issues:  https://www.article-14.com/post/born-a-criminal-how-poverty-struck-tribals-become-habitual-offenders https://www.article-14.com/post/why-charan-singh-bolts-his-house-from-inside-and-out-before-he-sleeps https://www.article-14.com/post/indramal-bai-s-death-and-how-the-police-got-away https://www.thewire.in/article/video/police-brutality-reforms?utm=authorlistpage

In this episode, we have Saumya Dadoo from Detention Solidarity Network (https://detentionsolidarity.net) talking about the prison systems in India and structural issues related to it with some historical background. 

In this episode, we have Samir Chopra who is a Professor of Philosophy and a Philosophic counselor. We discuss among many things, what is Philosophy of counseling, how does he approach with various clients, on philosophy of anxiety, approaching the current pandemic using tools of philosophy.  Samir writes at samirchopra.com. He has written a  series of blogs related to Philosophy of counseling:  https://samirchopra.com/2020/06/03/what-is-philosophical-counseling-part-one-the-basics/ https://samirchopra.com/2020/06/04/what-is-philosophical-counseling-part-two-the-counselors-work/ https://samirchopra.com/2020/06/08/what-is-philosophical-counseling-part-iii-dolls-that-remove-worries/ https://samirchopra.com/2020/06/11/what-is-philosophical-counseling-part-iv-aristotle-on-effective-and-practical-knowledge/ He has also written on anxiety at Aeon mag :  https://aeon.co/essays/dread-accompanies-me-through-life-but-it-is-not-without-consolation

In the second part of the episode, Mudasir expands more on the issues related to the military siege, the struggle for freedom, and politics in Kashmir.  Mudasir's writings:  His Journal under Siege:  https://aleemudasir.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/journal-of-a-siege-11th-january-2020-kashmir/ Resisting the Language of Occupation:  http://www.kashmirlit.org/resisting-the-language-of-occupation/  Language of Resistance: http://www.kashmirlit.org/language-of-resistance/

In this episode, we talk to Mudaisr Alee Lone, a Pulwama resident, about the lockdown within a lockdown in Kashmir. A unique personal perspective from a Kashmiri which highlights the magnitude of issues related to the brutal military siege along with the restrictions because of the COVID19 pandemic.  Some of the articles Mudasir has written along with this Journal during the siege:  Resisting the Language of Occupation : http://www.kashmirlit.org/resisting-the-language-of-occupation/ Journal of Siege: https://aleemudasir.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/journal-of-a-siege-11th-january-2020-kashmir/ Language of Resistance: http://www.kashmirlit.org/language-of-resistance/

In this episode, Kamayani Sharma & Shalmoli Halder have joined us to talk about the state's reaction of protests in UP & Delhi along with reactions from the people from the ground. We also touch upon the events leading to the Delhi riots in February.  Link to the Caravan Piece by Kamayani & Shalmoli https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/after-police-crackdown-in-kanpur-muslim-men-remain-arrested-their-families-in-fear

In this episode, we discuss the effect of changes in labour laws brought upon by certain states in India during the pandemic and historic lockdown. 

India is a country where one of the largest internal migration in the world takes place, although the pandemic has wreaked havoc in all strata of society the worst hit are migrants. In this episode, we talk about the current situation of migrants and the issues they are facing.

If you are interested in helping the fight against NRC this is one way to do it, you can donate and help people on the ground to fight NRC  https://www.ourdemocracy.in/Campaign/notonrc?fbclid=IwAR3Vz0b7aeTRZx-n5-GpR2oMKEE7ijMAWiDEQOIBO8_5plHCIDg2gQxzF6Y

This is the label Ishan & Yaduveer spoke about, check out their  artists, especially Sutej Singh who is amazing. http://www.wearepinecones.com/#sessions This is google doc of Ishan's curation and rating. There are some amazing bands, if you are looking to explore music this is the best way to start. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HQc_NHTkxCWHwjdPZUXocRvryH3_qUpbzDy3hbQpWEY/edit?usp=sharing This is Yaduveer's band's Reaonable Hope bandcamp page, check out his music too https://thereasonablehopeindia.bandcamp.com/

Books and Articles mentioned in this podcast  1) Road Less Traveled by M Scott Peck https://www.amazon.in/Road-Less-Travelled-Arrow-New-Age/dp/0099727404/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Road+Less+Traveled+by+M+Scott+Peck&qid=1565685484&s=books&sr=1-1 2) Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig https://www.amazon.in/Reasons-Stay-Alive-Matt-Haig/dp/1782116826 Articles :  1) "No, You Don’t Have a Disorder. You Have Feelings" by Lisa Marchiano.  https://areomagazine.com/2018/07/08/no-you-dont-have-a-disorder-you-have-feelings/ 2) "Beyond biomedical models: a perspective from critical psychiatry" by D B Double http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/Tewbook.htm Podcasts related to Mental Health:  1) The Hilarious World of Depression.  https://www.hilariousworld.org/  2) Terrible, Thanks For Asking    https://www.ttfa.org/ Instagram accounts spreading Mental Health Awareness:  @sitwithwhit : https://instagram.com/sitwithwhit?igshid=r1qyvxa843ok @themindgeek  : https://instagram.com/themindgeek?igshid=1f69xgqru5wci @holisticallygrace : https://instagram.com/holisticallygrace?igshid=lubhnpv3f91g

Mandar mentioned few books so here they are:  Life : The Movie by Neal Gabler https://www.amazon.com/Life-Movie-Entertainment-Conquered-Reality/dp/0375706534 From Dawn to Decadence  by Jacques Barzun https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Decadence-Present-Western-Cultural/dp/0060928832 Mandar's Instagram page , follow and buy some art if you like something there :P  https://www.instagram.com/mandar.devarshi/

In this episode, we speak to Kamayani Sharma, an independent writer, and researcher who works on visual culture focusing on contemporary art and cinema. We discuss the influence of Modi govt on Bollywood, politics of Bollywood, the hollow activism of various film personalities with regards to BLM in comparison to activism surrounding issues in India among many other things.  Kamayani's piece which we discuss:  https://caravanmagazine.in/perspective/how-bollywood-acted-under-modi-government You can find Kamayani's other work in her wesbite:   https://kamayanisharma.journoportfolio.com/

Joel Bordeaux joins us this week to talk a little bit about Hinduism & Hindutva and clarify questions around it.  Bibliography :  Dirks, Nicholas B. Castes of Mind : Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001. Lorenzen, David N. “Who Invented Hinduism ?” Comparative Studies in  Society and History: An International Quarterly, 1999.   McGovern, Nathan. The Snake and the Mongoose: The Emergence of Identity in Early Indian Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.  Nicholson, Andrew J. Unifying Hinduism : Philosophy and Identity in  Indian Intellectual History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.   Pennington, Brian K. Was Hinduism Invented? Britons, Indians, and the  Colonial Construction of Religion. New York: Oxford University Press,  2005.  Rao, Velcheru Narayana, David Dean Shulman, and Sanjay Subrahmanyam.  Symbols of Substance: Court and State in Nayaka Period Tamilnadu.  Delhi:  Oxford University Press, 1998.  Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar. Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu. 5th ed. Bombay:  S.S. Savarkar, 1923.  Vidyasagar,  Isvarcandra, and Brian A. Hatcher. Hindu Widow Marriage. New  York: Columbia University Press, 2012.