On Episode 95 of #LearningStories, I chat with Samarth Mahajan. He is a Mumbai-based filmmaker, passionate about telling human stories that remain invisible to the mainstream. His work includes two national award-winning documentaries - the 2022 feature "Borderlands" explores lives defined by India's borders, and the 2018 film "The Unreserved" captures stories from general compartments of Indian Railways. Samarth's films have screened across six continents to favorable reviews and received broadcast and theatrical releases in India. His projects have featured in major film markets, including the Marché du Film, the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival. Recognized by IIT Kharagpur as a Young Alumni Achiever, Samarth's commercial collaborations include brands like Vice Studios, Applause Entertainment, and Discovery+. He is currently working on his debut fiction short. You can find Samarth on Youtube and IMDB.

Show Chapters

(00:02) - Podcast Introduction

(00:20) - Guest Background

(01:50) - What has filmmaking taught you about human beings

(02:20) - "Storytelling is about understanding our place in the world"

(02:40) - "I really admire resilience shown in difficult situations"

(03:00) - What has story telling shown me as a filmmaker?

(03:40) - "I also understood how we are all connected"

(04:00) - Why create films around universal themes?

(06:00) - What stories did you love as a child and teenager?

(06:50) - "My father loved eating good food and watching films"

(07:00) - My relationship to films and books as a young person

(07:30) - "Lagaan made me fall in love with cinema and was magical"

(08:20) - "I loved reading encyclopedias and books about space and dinosaurs"

(09:30) - "I still do not read a lot of fiction"

(09:38) - "Most of my fiction work is around fantasy themes"

(10:30) - Who was Samarth till the age of 25?

(11:00) - "I spent five years doing a B.Tech/M.Tech at IIT Kharagpur"

(11:30) - "Two years studying for JEE in Chandigarh was quite difficult"

(11:40) - "I come from Dinanagar in Gurdaspur District in Punjab"

(12:15) - "My childhood was quite sheltered and in a small town"

(13:00) - "I thought I will clear JEE and my life will be set"

(13:10) - Experience as a student for 5 years at IIT Kharagpur

(15:00) - How stories can shape your thinking as a young person in India?

(17:00) - How engineering shaped your approach to filmmaking?

(18:00) - "All filmmakers are very unique in their approach"

(21:00) - Experience watching films at MAMI Film Festival in Mumbai

(25:15) - Experience studying Liberal Arts for 2 years at Ashoka University(29:50) - Building strong relationships with editors and cinematographers

(30:00) - Meeting Ashay Gangwar, Producer and CEO of Camera and Shorts

(32:00) - Meeting Anadi Athaley, Editor of 'Borderlands' and 'The Unreserved'

(33:00) - "We had nine hours of footage for a ten minute film"

(34:40) - Meeting Omkar Divekar, Cinematographer of 'Borderlands'

(36:00) - How much raw footage do you capture for your films?

(38:00) - What are your memories and experiences of traveling on trains in India?

(46:00) - What are your memories and experiences of living in a border town in India?

(54:00) - Working on my first fiction feature film

(55:30) - Documentary Film Recommendation

(56:30) - Fiction Feature Film Recommendation

(57:30) - TV Show Recommendation

(58:00) - Food Recommendation

(59:30) - Closing Notes

Show Links

Samarth's Website - https://samarthmahajan.in/bio

'Borderlands' (2022) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KKDkFo1IQ8&t=1s

'The Unreserved' (2018) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWvoCicq9eo&t=1s

'Kazwa' (2015) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hnX97HV7uc

Show Description

#LearningStories is an audio and video show where we interview a diverse set of #learners from the 21st century. Each guest profiled here has a unique story to share about how they acquired a set of valuable #skills and #knowledge in a creative and innovative manner.

On Episode 94 of #LearningStories, I chat with Ajay Kamalakaran. He is an independent journalist and writer with a special interest in Russia and the Soviet Union. He has lived in Russia and the US and is now based in Mumbai. Ajay if the author of four books including: 'Globetrotting for Love and Other Stories from Sakhalin Island' (2017), 'A Week in the Life of Svitlana' (2019), 'Colombo: Port of Call' (2026). His articles regularly appear on Russia Beyond, Manorama Online, Scroll and other publications. You can find Ajay on Goodreads.

Show Chapters

(00:02) - Podcast Introduction

(00:20) - Guest Background

(02:50) - Stories from your Childhood

(03:40) - "I was born here in Bombay"

(03:50) - "When I was quite young we moved to the US"

(05:00) - My love for basketball and the New York Yankees

(08:20) - What did you study at university?

(09:40) - "I first wanted to be a lawyer"

(10:00) - "You could chose between Science, Arts and Commerce in India"

(10:50) - "I always enjoyed writing as a student"

(11:30) - "I was told writing is a hobby and not a profession

(11:40) - "I studied banking and finances for my masters"

(12:10) - "I did not want to live my father's dream"

(12:30) - "I wanted t interact with people from different parts of the world"

(13:00) - "I decided to take the plunge and do journalism full time"

(13:40) - How did you acquire the skills and knowledge to become a journalist/writer?

(15:20) - Why did you want to move away from big cities?

(15:30) - What motivated you to learn Russia and move to the Russian Far East?

(16:00) - "There was an oil boom in Sakhalin Island and lots of expat families moved there"

(16:50) - "I started working for an English language newspaper

(17:30) - "I was also freelancing for the wire services"

(17:50) - "I edited that English newspaper in Sakhalin Island for four years"

(18:40) - "In America, I was the Indian Kid. In India, I was the American Kid"

(19:40) - The cultural, social and political history of Sakhalin Island

(28:00) - What was your experience as a journalist and editor in Sakhalin Island for 4 years?

(32:00) - "There would be months where the only space I spoke English was at work"

(33:40) - Why did you chose to write fiction to talk about your experience in Sakhalin Island?

(35:00) - The experience of working on a translation of my book into Russian

(37:20) - What was your experience working on your second work of fiction?

(43:15) - The challenges of writing fiction

(44:15) - Why writing is always a work in progress?

(46:00) - "Colombo is a home away from home for me"

(47:20) - Why did you want to write a book about Colombo

(48:30) - "I started reading about famous people that lived and travelled to Colombo"

(50:40) - What is the timeline you explore in your book about Colombo?

(54:00) - Exploring the golden era of steamships and ocean travel in this book

(57:00) - The elements of Malayali culture in Colombo

(58:10) - The idea of slow travel(58:30) - "It is about being where you are completely"

(59:40) - "I believe I am a traveller and rarely a tourist anywhere

(1:00:15) - Book and Film Recommendations

(1:03:30) - Closing Notes

Show Links

Ajay's Author Website - https://www.ajaykamalakaran.com/

Book Recommendation 1 - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54906247-the-amur-river?ref=nav_sb_ss_5_13

Book Recommendation 2 - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52319117-upon-a-sleepless-isle?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_19

Film Recommendation - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071411/

Show Description#LearningStories is an audio and video show where we interview a diverse set of #learners from the 21st century. Each guest profiled here has a unique story to share about how they acquired a set of valuable #skills and #knowledge in a creative and innovative manner.

On Episode 93 of #LearningStories, I chat with Varun Gwalani. He is an author and teacher. He is a 7 time published author whose books span a variety of genres and stories. He has been teaching English and Creative Writing for nearly a decade now. He mentors young authors. He is a mental health advocate who has a TEDx talk on OCD. Finally he runs interactive murder mystery games that have been popular across the country. In this conversation we chat about his creative process and his advice for budding young authors in India. You can find Varun on Goodreads, Amazon and Instagram.

Show Chapters

(00:02) - Podcast Introduction

(00:20) - Guest Background

(02:10) - "I was the one always reading a book"

(02:20) - "There was a sense of loneliness growing up"

(02:40) - "Writing became an outlet for my emotions"

(02:50) - When was the first time your writing was recognized?

(03:40) - How did you develop the habit of reading as a student?

(05:00) - What was your experience studying English Literature at university?

(05:15) - On choosing to study the arts

(05:45) - Why I found literature fascinating?

(06:20) - "I like understanding how the human mind works"

(07:10) - "We are one story in the book of humanity and we are all of it"

(07:15) - "We are all different but we are all also connected"

(09:00) - What was your experience publishing your first book in India?

(10:20) - Why writers need to be critical about their work?

(10:40) - "So much of writing is about rewriting your work"

(12:00) - How do you decide what story idea to convert into a novel?

(13:50) - The story behind my second novel

(16:00) - "You should write what is meaningful to you and what matters to you"

(17:00) - What is your relationship to the characters in your stories?

(18:40) - "If I am not emotionally invested in my character than my readers won't be"

(19:20) - "Writing needs to interest me"

(19:40) - How writers create stories as architects and gardeners?

(20:10) - My creative process as a writer

(21:00) - The skills of a writer

(21:10) - "I taught in a school for 2 years"

(21:30) - Writing a story for teenagers and young adults

(22:17) - Writing a story set during the pandemic

(23:45) - How do your personal biases and experiences come into your stories?

(26:00) - "Writers must listen non jugdementally and approach stories with sensitivity"

(26:40) - Writing a story set inside a cult

(28:00) - The role of sensitivity reader and beta readers

(28:30) - Writing about difficult and challenging topics

(29:40) - The role and responsibility of the reader

(30:22) - Are the author's opinions the same as the character's opinions?

(31:22) - How author's market their books today in India?

(32:32) - Responding to reader feedback as an author

(33:52) - The reality of being an author of English fiction in India

(34:00) - Why people are reading more?

(35:10) - The challenges of marketing and selling your book in India

(36:00) - Can artists find a balance between business and creativity?

(37:20) - The process of creating murder mystery games for general audiences

(40:00) - What was your experience teaching English and Creative Writing?

(42:40) - How does a writer read? Who are your favourite writers?

(46:40) - Closing Notes and Connecting with Varun

Show Links

Varun on Linktree - https://linktr.ee/varung

Varun on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7307603.Varun_Gwalani

Varun on Amazon - https://www.amazon.in/stores/Varun-Gwalani/author/

Varun on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/authorvarungwalani/

Show Description

#LearningStories is an audio and video show where we interview a diverse set of #learners from the 21st century. Each guest profiled here has a unique story to share about how they acquired a set of valuable #skills and #knowledge in a creative and innovative manner.