x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria

Postcards from Nowhere is a travel podcast that takes you on journeys exploring culture, history, food and people in the form of stories. With over a decade of travel stories in his kitty, Utsav Mamoria narrates the stories of the strange, obscure and fascinating things about the world, often interspersed with practical tips and deep realizations, which would shape the way you travel. Tune in to the new episode every Thursday.

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

9:19

Biryani vs Pulao, Deceit and Mughlai Cooking

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/04/28

In 1856, the last Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah invites a prince from Delhi to his durbaar. He serves a dish, which masquerades as a a murabba - a thick, highly spiced conserve made of fruit or vegetables. In return, the prince invites Wajid Ali Shah to Delhi, and he too serves hundreds of dishes which are not what they appear. This week, in the seventh episode of the series, Fabulous Foods, we explore a tradition of delightful deceit which became the hallmark of Mughlai cuisine, and settle the

en

7:58

Clove, Transnational Smuggling and Nostalgia

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/04/14

"Peter Piper picked some packs of pickled peppers in each pack of pickled peppers that peter piper picked was 3 pickled peppers. Now peter piper is happy with all 36 of his pickled peppers. How many packs of pickled peppers did peter piper pick?"What does this tongue twisting nursery rhyme have to do with a global smuggling operation between two colonial powers of the 18th century? And what does it possibly have to do with a 400 year old tree in one of the thousands of islands that make up

en

9:19

Dosa, Apocalypse and Dashavataras of Vishnu

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/04/07

What does a 12th century treatise on the life of a medieval king in Karnataka have in common with 1st century Sangam literature from Tamil Nadu, that describes the ancient food practices of the Tamil people? And do they have to do with Dashavatars of Vishnu? This week, in the fifth episode of the series Fabulous Foods, we travel from Udupi in Karnataka to Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and dive into the fascinating history of the dosa, its origins and evolution. Tune in, and discover where one can find the

en

8:51

Portugese, Banned Languages and Grinding Songs

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/03/31

What connects the assasination attempt of King Jospeh 1 in Portugal, the ban on the Konkani language in Goa and a story about a young Lord Krishna, whose bravery provided the name of a famous waterfall? And how does it have an impact on almost all our culinary practices as Indians? This week, in the fourth episode of Fabulous Foods, we discover an unlikely music and storytelling tradition which is fast disappearing from our landscape. Tune in, and discover how this tradition encapsulates primal

en

9:23

Nutmeg: The World's Most Violent Spice

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/03/24

Why is the spice Nutmeg being mentioned in India's foremost treatise on military strategy? Why is it mentioned in a tri-fold collection of Sanskrit poetry about politics, erotic passion and renunciation? And what does it all have to do with the tiny cluster of islands in the southeastern Indian ocean, part of modern day Indonesia? This week, in the third episode of Fabulous Foods, we trace the journey of two tireless travellers, Nutmeg and Mace, and how they went on to become mainstays in global

en

18:48

Indian Jews, Konkan Coast and Kippur-Chi-Puri

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/03/17

About 2000 years ago, a group of people escaping persecution by the Greeks landed on the shores of Alibaug in Maharashtra, India. They were a small community, and soon spread out across the state. A similar phenomenon was observed in Cochin and Calcutta as well. The community went onto integrate so well into the regions they lived in, that they became indistinguishable from the natives. This week, in the second episode of Fabulous Foods, we follow the lives of this tiny, dwindling community spread

en

9:36

Coconuts, Cold War and Nuclear Fusion

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/03/10

In the spring of 1943, US torpedo boat No. 109 gets shattered to pieces by a Japanese destroyer. Some of the crew members make a miraculous escape, and one of them goes on to create history. Over 8000 miles across the oceans in Gujarat India, a team of paleobotanists find 37 million year old fossil. This fossil is of an object which is often mailed across the world by tourists who visit Hawaii. But what could possibly connect these three wildly different events spread across space and time? This

en

9:44

West Indies Cricket, Jackals and Mariamman Temples

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/03/03

In the early 2000’s, a concerned government official approached Dave Martins. Dave was an iconic musician from the Caribbean, who was the lead vocalist of the band Tradewinds. Someone who had his finger on the pulse of the Southern Caribbean islands. The government official asked him to write a song to quell the ethnic violence in Guyana. In another time, at the turn of the 20th century, Tamilians from Madurai and Dindigul were flocking the ports of Pondicherry, Karikal and Madras waiting to board

en

9:06

Siddis, Limes and Benazir Bhutto

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/02/24

"In October 2021, the Kannada film Salaga, featured a track which was sung by a Hindustani classical singer, the first from her community. Further up north in Hyderabad, since the 18th century, there is a popular form of music which features only drums. Across the border in Pakistan, a song sung by Balochi singer Shabana Noshi became the anthem of the Pakistan People's Party, following which Benazir Bhutto rose to power. But what if I told you that the thing which connects these 3 disparate songs

en

8:44

Sindhis, Crocodiles And Abida Parveen

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/02/17

"In the 14th season of Coke Studio Pakistan, Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal gave us a beautiful song steeped in the Sufi tradition - Tu Jhoom. Almost 75 years ago, the prolific writer Saddat Hassan Manto, gave us 'Yazid', a story set in the backdrop of partition. But there is an unlikely connection between the two. This week in the sixth episode of the series The Great Migration, we uncover the story of the Sindhis, which goes much beyond their famed penchant for business. Tune in, to discover why

en

8:22

The Malayalis Of Pakistan

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/02/10

In 1921, a bloody rebellion in North Kerala led to the death of over 2000 people. In 2018, almost a century later, a song from the film Oru Adaar Love titled Manikya Malaraya Poovi went viral, garnering millions of views, even from parts of India that did not understand a word of Malayalam. But what could connect these two wildly diferent events? This week, in the fifth episode of the series The Great Migration, we uncover the fascinating history of a community in Kerala, who through a chain of

en

9:13

Gujaratis, Uganda and The Last King of Scotland

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/02/03

What does a military dictator in a South-East African republic have in common with Ramanand Sagar, the man who made the cult television show Ramayan? And what could it have to do with one of the richest communities in India, which actually thrived in that very African republic? This week, in the fourth episode of the series The Great Migration, we travel from across Asia and Africa to uncover this connection, all of it culminating in two small housing societies in one of India's fastest growing

en

12:48

Chettiars, Burma and Fiery Dragons

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/01/27

What does a small cluster of less than 100 villages in Tamil Nadu have in common with agrarian flatlands of Burma? And what are both of these doing in a conversation taking place in a modern urban home in the IT corridor of Bangalore? This week, in the the third episode of teh series, The Great Migration, we look at the story of the Chettiar community, who at the dawn of the 20th century owned a financial empire that straddled both South and South East Asia. Their migration and subsequent legacy in

en

7:58

Money Orders, Dehradun & Transatlantic Slave Trade

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/01/20

In 1898, the New York Times wrote a glowing review of this particular service in India. Closer home, the Bombay Mill Owners Association wasn’t so pleased - The service was so popular amongst its workers, that it led to work disruptions. But what has all this got to do with the hill city of Dehradun. This week, in the second episode of the series, The Great Migration, we delve into this now forgotten service, that once accounted for 2-3% of India’s GDP. And we also uncover a curious aspect of

en

13:32

Bhojpur, Sexuality and Migration Songs

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/01/13

"It's all around us, so much so, that probably no state in India has been untouched by it - The labour migration. The state which probably provides the most manpower to India's varied workforce is Bihar. More specifically, the Bhojpur region. While the region has become infamous for its supposedly low brow music and cinema, what hides underneath is a whole genre of art which is seldom heard by outsiders. This week, starting a new series, The Great Indian Migration, we delve into the world of

en

14:49

Shimla, Rare Books And The American Declaration Of...

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2022/01/06

In 1947, on the eve of Partition, a young man left Lahore and came to Shimla. What makes his journey unique, amongst the millions who must have undertaken this voyage is what he ended up doing in Shimla. What started out as a stationery shop went on to become a storied institution. This week, we travel to Shimla and learn about a rare bookshop which through a hand of chance, came in possession of a piece of history - A copy of the American Declaration of Independence. But that was not the only piece

en

1:14

The Caravan Rests

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2021/12/09

It’s been over 2 years we have travelled together. This month, the Caravan rests to return in 2022. Till then Check out the other episodes of "India's Linguistic Heritage" The Hidden Story of Sanskrit, and the North-South Divide : https://ivm.today/3CpKQuO Reclaiming India's Linguistic Heritage: 300 Ramayanas?: https://ivm.today/3kgataz Partitions Unknown: Hindi, Urdu and the Umbilical Cord: https://ivm.today/3DhQCz2 The Hidden Injustice in India's Languages: https://ivm.today/3HA6YWo Breast

en

8:47

The Improbable Impact Of Nature On 2000 Languages

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2021/12/02

Why does the hill district of Shimla, home to a mere 8 lakh people, have at least 10-15 different languages? Why does Indonesia have 250 languages, and the strangest of them all - Papua New Guinea, an island nation, to this very day, has over one thousand spoken languages? Why did these rather disparate places acquire such a high density of languages, despite having relatively smaller populations. This week, in the sixth episode of India’s Linguistic Heritage, we travel far and wide and uncover a

en

8:50

Breast Tax, Brahmins And The Bizarre Origins Of...

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2021/11/25

In the early 19th century, the Maharaja of Travancore levied an absolutely bizzare tax: Any woman who had come of age and had breasts had to pay a breast tax, and bare her breasts to anyone who was of a higher caste to them. This was one amongst the hundreds of taxes the lower castes had to endure, which put them in a cycle of perpetual debt and poverty. And then came a revolt which led the Maharaja to revoke the tax. This week, in the fifth episode of India's Linguistic Heritage, we explore the

en

7:49

The Hidden Injustice In India's Languages

Postcards From Nowhere with Utsav Mamoria ·

2021/11/18

In 2018, a research study by the University of Michigan and World Bank found that women who are native speakers of certain kind of languages have a lower labour force participation rate and lower educational attainment. How did our Indian languages fare? This week, in the fifth episode of the series, India's Linguistic Heritage, we uncover the hidden injustice perpetrated by our languages on women right from the Rig Vedic times to even today. The linguistic journey takes us across swathes of North

en

231 results

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger