Documenting Culture

Purvi Rajpuria

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A podcast where I speak to various individuals from South Asia, unpacking the forces shaping its society, culture, and politics.

Aug 15

The perverse rationale of the business world with journalist Mutasim Khan

Why did an economics graduate switch from working at a private equity fund to journalism? How is privatisation of education panning out in India? Who are the different players in Bangalore's water crisis? Mutasim and I discuss his experience so far as a business journalist, and the insights he has gained in the process. He talks candidly about the factors that drove him to take up this profession. Host: Purvi Rajpuria Guest: Mutasim Khan Mutasim's byline at the Ken. Mutasim's Linkedin. Email me: documentingculture.pod@gmail.com My Instagram, YouTube, and Substack.
May 21

Street Photography and Personal Resonance with Soumyendra Saha

How does one describe the art of street photography, and why is an artist drawn to it in the first place? How does street photography help you discover a city? And what is its relationship with the digital revolution? We answer these questions and more in this episode of the Documenting Culture podcast. Guest: Soumyendra Saha Host: Purvi Rajpuria Photographers mentioned: Henri Cartier Bresson Richard Kalvar Robert Frank Diane Arbus Elliott Erwitt Flickr groups: Gauntlet Small Grower’s Street Association Hardcore Street Photography (better known as HCSP on Flickr) 121clicks (wesbite here) Street Fight Street and Repeat Street Photography Now Project Other online communities: Artphotofeature.com (Magazine here) Worldsp.co Soumyendra da's Instagram and website. Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Substack. Email me at: documentingculture.pod@gmail.com
Feb 26

Art Comes from the Urgencies of a Place with Visual Artist Pallov Saikia

What does it mean to inhabit a place that has now been swept away by the river? What does this do the psyche of a person, and how does one make sense of such an experience? How does an artist, with a loaded past, navigate the art school setup, and emerge from it with a clear sense of where they want to go? What, ultimately, is the purpose of an arts practice, and why is an artist compelled to follow it? I unpack these questions and more with visual artist Pallov Saikia. Host: Purvi Rajpuria Guest: Pallov Saikia Follow Pallov's work ⁠here⁠. Find me on ⁠Instagram,⁠ ⁠Youtube,⁠ and ⁠Substack⁠. Email me with questions, comments and suggestions at documentingculture.pod@gmail.com 00:00 Intro02:20 River erosion in Rahmoria 09:21 Artistic and cultural influences growing up15:30 Art college years In Guwahati18:27 Colonial syllabus in art college24:04 Teaching art in Arunachal Pradesh29:14 Master’s degree years31:08 Pressure to produce work32:32 Financial pressures33:06 Interview stories from Rahmoria38:01 Process of practice39:00 Going beyond documentation42:56 Collective imagination of his community45:43 Why he practices art48:34 Outro
Jan 12

On Documenting the Climate Crisis (and other such questions) w/ photographer Arko Datto

Documentary photographer and filmmaker Arko Datto talks about his practice and process of developing various bodies of photographic works. One of his most extensive projects, titled 'Shunyo Raja,' documents the ecological crisis unfolding in the Bengal Delta. The conversation covers questions of memory, ecology, surveillance, nationalism, and the world of images at large. Host: Purvi Rajpuria Guest: Arko Datto Follow Arko's work here and here. Find me on Instagram, Youtube, and Substack. Email me with questions, comments and suggestions at documentingculture.pod@gmail.com
12/13/2025

On Covering the Bihar Elections w/ journalist Anant Gupta

My guest this episode is Anant Gupta, a political correspondent at Scroll.in. We discuss his reporting process for covering the 2025 Bihar elections, and the many factors shaping the election results. This includes the in-fighting between the Congress and the RJD, BJP's role in Bihar politics, voter sentiments toward Nitish Kumar, and the opposition's failed attempts at presenting a coherent election campaign. Host: Purvi Rajpuria Guest: Anant Gupta Read Anant's reporting here. Email me with thoughts, suggestions and feedback: purvi.rajpuria@gmail.com Shownotes: Books: Ruled or Misruled by Santosh SinghThe Brothers Bihari by Sankarshan ThakurCommunity Warriors by Ashwani KumarYouTube Channels: Followup BiharThe JantanaJournalists: Amarnath Tewary of The HinduSantosh Singh of The Indian Express Follow my work here. 0:00 Intro 2:53 How different social classes depend on the government 7:04 The reporting process 9:35 Voter sentiments in North-West Bihar 13:08 Research before going on field 16:20 Relationship between Nepal protests and Bihar elections 17:40 Friendly fights between the RJD and Congress 20:25 Other constituencies covered 22:53 Core reason for RJD & Congress in-fighting 26:02 Congress' social base in Bihar 29:15 Success of the BJP-JD(U) coalition 31:05 Religion & communalism in Bihar 35:45 Muslim vote in Bihar 38:10 Slow communalism & religiosity in Bihar 38:55 BJP's role in Bihar 44:00 Vikaas vs caste binary 45:50 Why Nitish has a bad rep in liberal circles 50:15 2020 vs 2025 state elections 51:45 Why the opposition campaign failed 55:15 How social media distorts our understanding 57:45 Outro

5 Episodes

A podcast where I speak to various individuals from South Asia, unpacking the forces shaping its society, culture, and politics.

Creator

Purvi Rajpuria
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

5
Rating

Clean
Show Website

Documenting Culture

Documenting Culture

Episodes

The perverse rationale of the business world with journalist Mutasim Khan

Street Photography and Personal Resonance with Soumyendra Saha

Art Comes from the Urgencies of a Place with Visual Artist Pallov Saikia

On Documenting the Climate Crisis (and other such questions) w/ photographer Arko Datto

On Covering the Bihar Elections w/ journalist Anant Gupta

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