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In the first episode, India Booked talks to Manimugdha Sharma, News Editor and
author of Allahu Akbar: Understanding the Great Mughal in Today's India. Listen
to discover about mughals, akbars, nationalism and how bollywood gets Akbar
wrong.
Manimugdha Sharma is a quizzer, a journalist, and holds an interest and
education in history. In Allahu Akbar, he combines his love and knowledge of the
past, to give us an interesting oral account of what Akbar represents in today's
times. We discuss Akbar's ruthless achievements in warfare, his political
savviness and how media agenda setting and the (mis)representation of matters
has not changed through times. We also touch upon the subject of secularism and
discuss if Akbar was the statesman he's made to be and ask the pertinent
question: should the present be judged by the yardstick of the past? Listen in
to find out!

 In the second episode, travel through a Christian village in Meghalaya, meet
the Kolkata-based Jewish community and feast on the 56-course feast at Jagannath
as India Booked talks to Varud Gupta, author of the cookbook-cum-travelouge
Bhagwaan Ke Pakwaan. Listen to discover what he has to share on the connections
between faith and food in the communities of India and how they are trying to
preserve their culinary cultures.
Varud Gupta is an NYU graduate in Finance. He has also penned Chhotu, a
coming-of-age graphic novel set against the Partition. Bhagwaan ke Pakwaan,
which loosely translates to Food of the Gods, captures stories of what different
cultures have to offer around their famous recipes. Listen now to find out how
food, faith, and community are interwoven in India and how the stories came
together in the book.

Invisible Man, the seminal work (controversies and shortcomings included)
talking about the Indian transmasculine network, is an important work for
bringing the community's voice to the fore. In this episode of India Booked,
Ayushi speaks to author Nandini Krishnan on how the book came to be, what the
interview process looked like, how India's socio-religio-political realities
play out within the network, the friction that the book caused after being
released, and much, much more. Tune in now!

Bad Money, the latest book of Vivek Kaul is an important title for the way its
author discloses the history of the Indian Economy and Banking system we never
knew about, and discusses why it is important to be aware of where your money
goes. 
In this episode of India Booked, Ayushi Mona discusses with him what constitutes
bad money, what the transition has been like from the banking systems in the
past to the current ones, and how important is it to know where your money is
safe and unsafe. In this episode, he also unfolds how bad money affects the
economy, layer by layer and shares with the listeners his recommendations on
books related to economy and other structures. Tune in!

In Truck De India!, journalist Rajat Ubhaykar embarks on a 10,000 km-long, 100%
unplanned trip, hitchhiking with truckers all across India. On the way, he makes
unexpected friendships; listens to highway ghost stories; discovers the
near-fatal consequences of overloading trucks; documents the fascinating
tradition of truck art in Punjab; travels alongside nomadic shepherds in
Kashmir; encounters endemic corruption repeatedly; survives NH39, the
insurgent-ridden highway through Nagaland and Manipur; and is unfailingly
greeted by the unconditional kindness of perfect strangers.
Imbued with humour, empathy, and a keen sense of history, Truck De India! is a
travelogue like no other you've read. It is the story of India, and Indians, on
the road.
Listen to Rajat Ubhaykar in the fifth episode and take a journey. Horn Ok Please

In Bulletproof, journalist and author Teresa Rehman goes beyond statistics and
looks at documentary evidences, and shows us how conflict impacts women,
children, health etc. A first-of-its-kind account, Bulletproof is the story of a
female combat journalist and her encounters with insurgency from north-east
India.
In this episode of India Booked, Rehman speaks to Ayushi Mona about her
experiences of being a journalist and author, and also shares the story behind
the title of the book, how challenging and eventually traumatic it is to report
in some of the most under-reported regions without any support system, why it's
important to still do so, and much more. Listen now!