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Asimov once said that if he found he had six months to live, he would start typing faster. I, on the other hand, would weep for six months before dying due to excessive weeping. So I wrote a story to put my fear of death into perspective. Death gives life meaning. Without it, none of us would type fast enough. Music: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Two guards atop a fortress in lanka discuss the events of the day and trade rumours. A story set in Ramayana-era Lanka, but also, oddly enough, in the here and now. Music: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Sound Effects: Freesound.org

This is a story about the importance of making mistakes and how trying to avoid making mistakes is a sure way to drive joy out of your life. Music: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

I have a problem with depictions of Hanuman where he is little more than an angry, brooding, musclebound hero. He has always meant something more to me -- someone brave enough to doubt himself. Valmiki Ramayan makes several mentions of Hanuman's fears. So I wrote a story about self belief and put Hanuman in it. This story is a personal favourite. Also, this is the first episode I have made with sound effects in it. I hope I didn't go overboard. Let me know! Also, this is the first episode to have patrons listed in the credits at the end. Do listen till the end. --- Music: White Lotus Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sound Effects: https://freesound.org/

When you think about it, omnipotence is a somewhat silly idea. We assign it to our gods unthinkingly, never stopping to wonder what we are burdening them with. So I wrote a story to put myself in a god's shoes.

Some say the Buddha said " I am but a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t look at me; look at the moon." Others say the Buddha didn't say so, thus missing the point completely. And the point is missed all around us all the time. So I wrote a story about the music that Krishna is said to have played to do my part in making sure people don't miss the point. Music: Kevin MacLeod

A short story called "The City God". Written and told by Vijayendra Mohanty.

What can Duck Tales tell us about the human condition? What are we really doing when we tell stories about talking animals? What's up with Star Trek aliens? We are a storytelling animal and it is important that we do not forget that.

In addition to telling us that gods created us and how the gods created us, creation myths also tell us WHAT the gods created us FOR. Creation myths they tell us what we are allowed to do and what we are not allowed to do. I believe that the gods come from a place that lies somewhere between two human impulses -- the impulse to cooperate and the impulse to destroy. What happens when an empathetic creature commits murder? The answer is guilt. Guilt happens. And what do we need when we feel guilt? We need forgiveness. So when humans were struck by the guilt I just mentioned, they found no one who could forgive them. And because they needed forgiveness desperately -- because without forgiveness they would go mad -- humans had to invent gods. Gods who would justify their existence by telling them that there was nothing wrong with them. The gods of today -- democracy, capitalism etc. -- are gods we have not forgotten yet.

What if I told you Cows do not give us milk? What if I told you Trees do not give us oxygen. What if I told you that we have lied to ourselves from the beginning of civilisation? The history of religion is the history of language. Religion and the law both seek to define what it means to be human and tell us how to behave. Both are human-centric. Both prioritise human beings. Both tell us the story of human exceptionalism. In the eyes of both worldviews, the human being holds a special place. Religion says human beings were created and are loved by a god who looks suspiciously similar to human beings. The law is more direct -- it says that human beings need to be good to each other because such behaviour is what holds societies together.

In which I go on an elaborate rant about the Indian education system and how the middle-class relates with it.

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