Zubaani: South-Asian Parenting Tips and Storytelling

Peerbagh
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"Zubaani" in Hindustani translates to "through the language" or "by means of language" in English. It is produced by nonprofit Peerbagh and discusses South-Asian parenting tips, books, storytelling with folk, personal, and regional stories that build our common myths and community as people. Peerbagh is an award-winning 501c3 nonprofit organization incorporated in Austin, Texas. The nonprofit produces storytelling events and workshops and produces an illustrated South-Asia-inspired children’s quarterly magazine Bento. Website: peerbagh.com/bookstore Insta: instagram.com/peerbagh.stories

  1. Hindustani: Urdu Shayari x Abhishek Shukla

    FEB 10

    Hindustani: Urdu Shayari x Abhishek Shukla

    We are celebrating the International Mother Tongue Day and dropping a few episodes talking to poets and writers of Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) language. This mid-season drop has episodes recorded bilingually in Hindi/Urdu and English. Guest author: Abhishek Shukla Host: Upasna Kakroo Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Peerbagh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episode cover art: Ira Nagar Books/media in the episode: Harf-e-awara by Abhishek ShuklaMujh Ko Meri Yaad Aa Rahi Hai by Farhat EhsasKulliaat by Mir Taqi MirHansti Shabnam Rote Phool by Ajiz Matwi

    31 min
  2. Hindustani: Urdu Shayari x Aamir Azher Khan

    FEB 9

    Hindustani: Urdu Shayari x Aamir Azher Khan

    We are celebrating the International Mother Tongue Day and dropping a few episodes talking to poets and writers of Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) language. This mid-season drop has episodes recorded bilingually in Hindi/Urdu and English. Guest author: Aamir Azher Khan Host: Upasna Kakroo Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Peerbagh⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episode cover art: Ira Nagar Books/media in the episode: Delhi Ki Aakhri Shamah by Mirza Farhatullah BegThe Broken Spell by Dr. Pasha Khan

    38 min
  3. Zubaani: Desi Joys Versus Trauma Porn

    09/18/2025

    Zubaani: Desi Joys Versus Trauma Porn

    White authors aren't tasked with writing stories addressing colonialism, inequality, racism, etc. Desi writers have that burden placed upon them (internally & externally: our readership demands it and the publishing industry rewards it). How do we not feed into trauma porn? How do we nurture and grow a readership that connects with and cares about our "joys" as much as our trauma? What is self-love other than our focus on stories of our successes, triumphs and joys? Guest author: Nadir Shah Co-hosts: Upasna Kakroo & Salma Hussain Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠Peerbagh⁠⁠⁠ Episode cover art: Niloufer Wadia Research: Imtiaz Ali and Diksha Sharma Supported by: The Very Asian Foundation Books/media in the episode: Slumdog Millionaire (Vikas Swaroop); 2009 film by Danny BoyleYou Started It (Jackie Khalileh)More then just a pretty face (Syed Masood)Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt! (Rukhsana Khan)The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey)Bento (Peerbagh)Never Have I Ever (Mindy Kaling, 2020)

    31 min
  4. Zubaani: LGBTQiA Representation & Celebration

    09/17/2025

    Zubaani: LGBTQiA Representation & Celebration

    South Asia has had a long history of unique reprepresentation of various genders from the Hijra community to Shikhandi in the Mahabharata, but how are we rep-ing today? This episode deals with the representation of different gender and sexual identities in literature and why they're critical for building inclusive and loving cultures. Guest author: Adib Khorram Co-hosts: Upasna Kakroo & Salma Hussain Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠Peerbagh⁠⁠⁠ Episode cover art: Niloufer Wadia Research: Imtiaz Ali and Diksha Sharma Supported by: The Very Asian Foundation Books/media in the episode: Darius the Great (Adib Khorram)Keya Das’s Second Act (Sopan Deb) Manboobs (Komail Aijazuddin)Hijab Butch Blues (Lamya H )The Pregnant King (Devdutt Pattanaik)Authors: Julian Winters, Firoozeh Dumas, Marjan Kamali, Martha Wells

    32 min
  5. Zubaani: Desi Model Minority Myth and Perfectionism

    09/16/2025

    Zubaani: Desi Model Minority Myth and Perfectionism

    Our (Asian) culture has a fascination with "good" children. Obedience and co-dependency is baked into our idea of what makes a good and bad life or child. In this episode we talk about these model minority myths and how we can subvert these limiting narratives of what success means. Guest author: Annika Sharma Co-hosts: Upasna Kakroo & Salma Hussain Produced by: ⁠⁠Peerbagh⁠⁠ Episode cover art: Niloufer Wadia Research: Imtiaz Ali and Diksha Sharma Supported by: The Very Asian Foundation Books/media in the episode: Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words (Chai Masala Club, #1)The Girl Who Wouldn’t Stay Within the Lines (Vinitha) Counting Down with You (Tashie Bhuiyan) Sort of (2021, Bilal Baig)A Suitable Boy (Vikram Seth)

    26 min
  6. Zubaani: Colorism & Desi Beauty Standards

    09/15/2025

    Zubaani: Colorism & Desi Beauty Standards

    In this episode of Zubaani we talk with full time writer and a full time model, Jyoti Rajan Gopal who dazzles the world with grace and gray hair. And importantly, we discuss, how do we break the European beauty standards and notions of what is pretty in our desi communities? What does it take to reclaim our self-worth and build safe spaces of belonging no matter how we look? Guest author: Jyoti Rajan Gopal Co-hosts: Upasna Kakroo & Salma Hussain Produced by: ⁠Peerbagh⁠ Episode cover art: Niloufer Wadia Research: Imtiaz Ali and Diksha Sharma Supported by: The Very Asian Foundation Books/media in the episode: TJ Powar has something to prove (Jesmeen Kaur Deo)What Color is the Baby? (Harshini Vankineni)Razia Sultan (Kamal Amrohi, 1983)Mississippi Masala (Mira Nair, 1991)Laxmi's Mooch (Shelly Anand)I am Kavi (Thushanthi Ponweera)If you're not the one (Farah Naz Rishi)Desert Queen & My Patti's Saris (Jyoti Rajan Gopal)

    32 min
  7. Zubaani: Love languages & desi dating culture

    09/08/2025

    Zubaani: Love languages & desi dating culture

    In DDLJ, the father says "ja, Simran, ja." Was that not every desi father telling his daughter, 'go follow your heart?' We swoon. We die. We believe Shah Rukh Khan is a global treasure. Almost every South Asian writer is writing about love in one way or another. How does it show up in our homes? How does it work along lines of gender, caste, class, and age? Guest author: Uzma Jalaludin Co-hosts: Upasna Kakroo & Salma Hussain Produced by: Peerbagh Episode cover art: Niloufer Wadia Research: Imtiaz Ali and Diksha Sharma Supported by: The Very Asian Foundation Books/media in the episode: Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995 film, Aditya Chopra)Detective Aunty (Uzma Jalaludin)When Dimple Met Rishi (Sandhya Menon)Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating (Adiba Jagirdar)

    30 min
  8. Zubaani: Stories of Conflict

    06/25/2025

    Zubaani: Stories of Conflict

    Welcome to Season 2 of the Zubaani podcast by nonprofit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Peerbagh⁠⁠⁠⁠. Season two takes a deep dive into the topic of intergenerational storytelling with writers Salma Hussain and Upasna Kakroo as cohosts. Episode 5, Season 2: Stories of Conflict In this podcast episode, we talk about stories of internalized or external conflict that are often hidden in families. Books we discuss may work as tools and resources to help navigate through these complex journeys in our families. Books and other trivia discussed in this episode: The Secret Diary of Mona Hassan (Salma Hussain)The Unlovable Alina Butt (Ambreen Hussain)The Partition Project (Saadia Faruqi)The Night Diary (Veera Hiranandani)The Big Red Lollipop (Rukhsanna Khan)I Can Be All Three (Salima Alikhan)Why: Research shows intergenerational storytelling is like a resource (similar to air, clean water) but it is inequitably distributed. Whether you live in the subcontinent or the diaspora, colonial rule and its subsequent conflicts have left the South Asian subcontinent wounded. There is intense loss of human stories that tell the stories of our resilience, empowerment, or those that celebrate joy. About: Peerbagh is an award-winning 501c3 nonprofit organization working with a mission to diversify bookshelves and build storytellers. The nonprofit creates storytelling events and produces the world’s only South-Asia-inspired children’s print magazine, Bento.  Episode art by Ira Nagar. Research for the expert by Imtiaz Ali. This podcast has been made with the support of the City of Austin's Elevate Grant and Michigan Humanities.

    34 min
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About

"Zubaani" in Hindustani translates to "through the language" or "by means of language" in English. It is produced by nonprofit Peerbagh and discusses South-Asian parenting tips, books, storytelling with folk, personal, and regional stories that build our common myths and community as people. Peerbagh is an award-winning 501c3 nonprofit organization incorporated in Austin, Texas. The nonprofit produces storytelling events and workshops and produces an illustrated South-Asia-inspired children’s quarterly magazine Bento. Website: peerbagh.com/bookstore Insta: instagram.com/peerbagh.stories

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