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" The Seen and the Unseen " is India's premier long-form podcast hosted by Amit Varma. The podcast, which has been running since 2017, features long-form conversations with writers, intellectuals, economists, historians, and thought leaders from India and around the world . Amit Varma is a respected journalist and writer, twice winner of the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The show is known for its rich intellectual content and the diversity of its guests, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in public policy, history, culture, or economics in India today.  I am only sharing the books recommended related to  Literature & Fiction (Indian) The Education of Yuri — Jerry Pinto Raw Umber: A Memoir — Sara Rai Other Skies — Sara Rai Wilderness — Sara Rai Clouds — Chandrahas Choudhury My Country Is Literature — Chandrahas Choudhury A Book of Light — Edited by Jerry Pinto Murder in Mahim — Jerry Pinto I Have Not Seen Mandu — Swadesh Deepak (translated by Jerry Pin...

" The Seen and the Unseen " is India's premier long-form podcast hosted by Amit Varma. The podcast, which has been running since 2017, features long-form conversations with intellectuals, writers, economists, historians, and thought leaders from India and around the world. Amit Varma is a respected journalist and writer, twice winner of the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The show is known for its rich intellectual content and the diversity of its guests, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in public policy, history, culture, or economics in India today. I am only sharing the books recommended related to International Affairs and Indian Politics: The Most Dangerous Place: A History of the United States in South Asia — Srinath Raghavan The Strategy Trap: India And Pakistan Under The Nuclear Shadow — Srinath Raghavan South vs North: India’s Great Divide — Nilakantan R. S. Commanding Hope — Thomas Homer-Dixon Private Truths, Public Lies — Timur Kuran What is P...

The Jihad Game: Inside Pakistan’s Dark War by Abhinav Pandya The Jihad Game: Inside Pakistan’s Dark War by Abhinav Pandya | Goodreads ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ Worth Reading India-Pakistan conflict (wars) is a challenging mostly negative-sum game where both countries are often in escalation cycles with no easy solution. The roots of the conflict, particularly cross-border terrorism supported by Pakistan trace back strongly to Kashmir.  Pakistan has long used Jihad   (religious war against infidels)   as a strategic tool in Kashmir, now reinforced by a nuclear umbrella. Kashmiri Muslims were predominantly Sunni Hanafi , practicing a syncretic, Sufi-influenced Islam shaped by local traditions (Rishiyat), shrine culture and coexistence with Kashmiri Pandits. What has changed over the years? Religious followership has shifted toward a more orthodox, radical Sunni Islamist and scriptural orientation  especially among youth. The 'Jihad Game' written by Abhinav Pandya (counter-terro...

Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West  - Catherine Belton Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Catherine Belton | Goodreads ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended Catherine Belton’s Putin’s People  is less a conventional political biography and more a forensic examination of how money, power, and state institutions fused to produce modern Russia under Vladimir Putin. For readers seeking to understand Putin not just as a man, but as a system, this book is essential reading—even if it leaves you uneasy about where responsibility truly lies.  Origins: Perestroika, Collapse, and the Intelligence State Belton begins the narrative in the early 1990s, just before the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia lagged far behind the West technologically, while Dresden - where Putin served as a KGB officer- had become a hub for smuggling and covert intelligence networks.  During Perestroika , KGB closely monitored the Soviet Union’s...

Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits  by Rahul Pandita Our Moon Has Blood Clots - Goodreads Our Moon Has Blood Clots - Complete Book at Internet Archive ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended The best in me are my memories. Many people will come to life in them, people who gave their blood while they lived, and who will now give their example. -  Anton Donchev , Time of Parting Rahul Pandita opens the book with an epigraph from a historical Bulgarian novel: Time of Parting . The epigraph highlights the theme of loss, forced displacement and cultural rupture - themes that resonate with Pandita’s own narrative of the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits . Kashmiri Pandits are among the oldest indigenous communities of the Kashmir Valley, with roots stretching back over two thousand years. For centuries, they lived in the Valley as custodians of its language, learning, and cultural traditions, deeply tied to the land they called home. Our Moon Has Blood Clots is a boo...

Snow (Kar) by Orhan Pamuk Snow by Orhan Pamuk | Goodreads ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ Worth Reading By imagining through the eyes of others, we tap into the heart of their culture, circumstances, and surroundings. It makes our world a little more complete knowing that we share experiences, and celebrate differences, across a broad spectrum of possibility.   Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish novelist and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature, invites readers to explore the complex social and political landscape of Turkey in his novel Snow ( Kar ). Set in the cold, far-off town of Kars situated near the Armenia, Georgia & Iran border, the novel follows Ka, a Turkish poet who returns to his country after twelve long years of exile in Germany. He comes back to Kars  posing as a newspaper reporter, officially to cover local municipal elections and investigate the troubling suicides of young girls who wear headscarves. But beneath this professional reason lies a very personal one: Ka wants to me...

Howard Marks once said that “I became famous overnight after writing for 10 years.” Mr. Raj Shamani shared a valuable insight that sometimes people who are less smart, less prepared, and less talented still succeed and achieve bigger things. He emphasized consistency as a key factor enabling such success despite lacking typical advantages like talent or preparation.  I got inspired by that short to write down this blog post. A truly self-aware person recognizes that their greatest strength lies not in constantly accumulating new skills, but in nurturing and deepening the qualities that already define their unique identity. By embracing and building upon what is innately mine, I can offer a piece of life to the readers and viewers.  Hence, I am looking to work behind this YouTube Channel with imperfection and consistency.  I am thrilled to reintroduce the What good is a life if it trails behind work?  YouTube channel, a unique space that has been cultivating a rich ar...

90 के दशक की केबल-टीवी वाली ज़िंदगी आज सोचें तो किसी अलग ही दुनिया जैसी लगती है। एक ही टीवी पर रूसी कार्टून, चीनी धारावाहिक, दूरदर्शन के कार्यक्रम और बीच-बीच में 8-बिट वीडियो गेम की आवाज़ — सब कुछ बिना इंटरनेट के। न वाई-फाई था, न स्मार्टफोन, फिर भी दुनिया हमारे घर तक पहुँच जाती थी… बस एक टेढ़े-मेढ़े टीवी एंटीना के सहारे। 90 के दशक में टीवी देखने का मज़ा ही कुछ और था |  पहले तो हम DD National और DD Metro के भक्त हुआ करते थे।  रामायण दोबारा देखने में भी गर्व होता था।  एंटीना को घुमाकर और केबल का सिग्नल ठीक करने की कोशिश अपने आप में एक गेम जैसी होती थी।  और उसी भरोसे में हमारा बचपन दुनिया घूम आता था — बस केबल के सहारे। दूरदर्शन के बाद प्राइवेट चैनलों के आने का इंतज़ार ही सबसे बड़ी एक्साइटमेंट हुआ करता था।  वो दौर जब “केबल कनेक्शन” लगना किसी स्टेटस सिंबल से कम नहीं था। मोहल्ले की किसी छत पर जैसे ही नया केबल एंटीना दिखता, खबर अपने-आप फैल जाती — “अरे, इनके घर तो अब सारे चैनल आने वाले हैं!” शाम होते ही बच्चे वहीं जमा, रिमोट हाथ में लेने की बारी को लेकर बहस, और चैनल ब...

" The Seen and the Unseen " is India's premier long-form podcast hosted by Amit Varma. The podcast, which has been running since 2017, features long-form conversations with intellectuals, writers, economists, historians, and thought leaders from India and around the world. Amit Varma is a respected journalist and writer, twice winner of the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The show is known for its rich intellectual content and the diversity of its guests, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in public policy, history, culture, or economics in India today. I am only sharing the books recommended related to Memoirs & Biography: Indian Authors My Daughters’ Mum  — Natasha Badhwar My Life in Full — Indra Nooyi The Brass Notebook: A Memoir — Devaki Jain Lady Doctors: The Untold Stories of India’s First Women in Medicine — Kavitha Rao Breaking Through: A Memoir  — Isher Judge Ahluwalia A Full Life — Sabira Merchant The Memoirs of Dr. Haimabati Sen — Haimabat...