Maharani Talks Mahathi Rangarajan

My guest this episode is the distinguished Kumi Naidoo - a human rights and climate justice activist. Naidoo first began his journey at the age of 15 fighting against the then apartheid government in South Africa by organising school boycotts. He was arrested several times for civil disobedience and when the government imposed a state of emergency, he was forced to go underground and flee to the UK, where he became a Rhodes scholar.
He eventually returned to South Africa in 1990 when Mandela was released from jail, and went onto play a vital role in shaping the then African National Congress. His steadfast work in the human rights and justice sphere led him to become the first person from the global south to head Greenpeace International and later, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
From scaling oil rigs to protest against the fossil fuel industry to sitting down with the likes of Tony Blair, Angela Merkel and Putin, Naidoo has become one of the prominent voices in the climate justice movement. 
He continues to represent Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity as a Global Ambassador and currently holds the position of Distinguished visiting lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. 
In this conversation, we discuss the tragic human crisis unfolding in Palestine to climate urgency and how the climate crisis is interlinked with human rights.
To learn more about Naidoo's work, please visit: https://www.kuminaidoo.net
You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic
 

What is it like to be a woman scientist in India? Why don’t we see enough of them? If you’re quick to point the superstar ones, sadly they’re not always the norm. In fact, research has shown that women in academia are expected to be much more competent than their male counterparts to be considered for the same role.
It’s this bias that got Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj to start ‘The Life of Science’ web portal to document stories of regular women in science, and the systemic bias they fight in their everyday lives. Having began their journey in 2016, it has now given rise to their book ‘Lab Hopping: A Journey to find India’s Women in Science’. Backed by research, it makes the reader come to terms with unsettling facts plaguing Indian academia, when it comes to gender and caste diversity. In our conversation, we bring some of these issues to light and what can be done to remedy it.
To learn more about The Life Of Science or order the book, visit: https://thelifeofscience.com/
You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic
 
 

Artificial intelligence or AI is quite the buzzword these days. Many of us would not have missed the news pouring in about AI - sometimes it is promising and at times, it isn’t reassuring. But Ankush Sabharwal, founder and CEO of CoRover, believes AI is more than a buzzword. It is here to stay - simply because an average human is already relying on AI in ways that they don’t realise.
CoRover is a platform for conversational AI. The kind of AI Chatbot-as-a-service (CaaS) that we encounter through customer support with organisations. The company is also the brainchild behind AskSarkar, an app that helps citizens better access and resolve issues about government services; behind Indian Railways’ virtual assistant DISHA and also BharatGPT, our own version of ChatGPT that supports 12 Indian languages and over 120 foreign languages.
A graduate of BITS Pilani and IIM Calcutta, Sabharwal has over 15+ years experience in the SaaS space and is a member of the invite-only Forbes Technology Council. He has appeared on many media outlets offering his opinion on the fast paced growth of AI.
To learn more about CoRover, please visit: https://corover.ai/
You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic
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How often have you shared a digital artwork on social media to simply convey your thoughts on an issue? 
The power of digital art to convey dissent or to protest has grown to become one of the most preferred ways to vent frustration or show solidarity. Its creation is not intended to sell (maybe that will soon change), but it does often cause one to react. A reason probably why many of these artists choose to be anonymous.
Smish Designs is a digital artist and illustrator whose work is a searing commentary on the socio-political events that happen in our country. Some of her designs have been used during protests such as the Hathras case and anti-CAA. In her first solo exhibition in 2021, Pati, Patni Aur Woke - her designs delved into the injustices often meted out to women in the institution of marriage as Smish asks if marriage is really a safe space for women?
But voicing one’s unfiltered opinion always comes at a cost - she has had to deal with threats, trolling, and even Instagram and Twitter taking down her posts. 
As she becomes one of the well-known voices in India’s protest art culture, stay tuned to this interesting episode as we talk about her art, staying anonymous, protecting her mental health, the prevalence of protest art in the age of social media, role of artificial intelligence and much more!
To learn more about her work, you can check her work on:
https://www.instagram.com/smishdesigns/?hl=en
You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros
https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic
 

In many ways, Anjali Gopalan has been a torchbearer for the LGBTQIA+ community. She started Naz Foundation in 1994 to lead a dedicated fight against HIV/AIDS issues and defend those marginalised due to their sexuality. Naz Foundation is the original petitioner to challenge Section 377 criminalising homosexuality, an archaic law which was struck down by the Supreme Court four years back.
Honouring her persistent fight for equality, she has received the Knight of the Legion of Honour, one of the highest honours from the French Government in 2013, shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, named one of Time magazine’s Most Influential People in the World in 2012 and received the Woman Achiever Award from the Indian Government in 2007.
Join us as we talk about many issues concerning the queer community such as the ongoing same-sex marriage petitions in the Delhi High Court, expressing gender at work, rainbow washing by corporates and the way forward for the Indian queer community.
To learn more about The Naz Foundation, please visit: https://www.nazindia.org/
You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

The Bombay Canteen is considered as one of the most popular restaurants in the country and its food most sought out. It has been adjudged as The Best Restaurant in India in 2018 by Conde Nast Traveller and was also included in its list of 100 places in the world to eat. And as the restaurant’s former Executive Chef, Thomas Zacharias’ constant innovation of the Indian food became its pièce de résistance. 
Through his latest venture, The Locavore, Chef Zacharias is keen to create a community around our rich Indian food legacy and in the process put the spotlight back on the best (and sometimes forgotten) regional dishes and cuisines. He’s among the forefront of people championing the cause of local ingredients and to ultimately, do good through food.
This is the 50th episode of Maharani Talks.
To learn more about The Locavore, please visit:
https://thelocavore.in
You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic