Detours with Anuradha Goyal

Yakshagana is a popular folk dance drama from Karnataka. It is a night long performance traditionally performed by males only, including the female roles and has live music including 3-4 instruments. Costumes and wooden jewellery is all designed by the artist themselves. We speak to Priyanka Mohan of Yakshadegula troupe that has been working on preserving the folk art form by not just performing but also innovating it for the current times. Follow Yakshadegulu at https://www.instagram.com/yakshadegula.bengaluru Follow Anuradha Goyal's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anuradhagoyal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianuradhagoyal Twitter: https://x.com/anuradhagoyal Follow IndiTales's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inditales Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndiTales/ Twitter: Twitter: https://x.com/IndiTales Blog - https://www.inditales.com Hindi Blog - https://www.inditales.com/hindi Personal website - http://www.anuradhagoyal.com Books link - https://www.anuradhagoyal.com/publications/

Trees are a part of our living and urbanisation of India has happened at the cost of trees. Say Trees is a Bangalore based organization trying to bring back trees back in urban as well as rural spaces, rejuvinating lakes of Bangalore and planting lakhs of saplings. Follow Say Trees at https://in.linkedin.com/company/saytrees https://www.instagram.com/saytrees_ind https://www.facebook.com/SayTrees https://twitter.com/saytrees_ind https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdZrN4u_Iu4rHpnvxn-PJCA Follow Anuradha Goyal's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anuradhagoyal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianuradhagoyal Twitter: https://x.com/anuradhagoyal Follow IndiTales's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inditales Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndiTales/ Twitter: Twitter: https://x.com/IndiTales Blog - https://www.inditales.com Hindi Blog - https://www.inditales.com/hindi Personal website - http://www.anuradhagoyal.com Books link - https://www.anuradhagoyal.com/publications/

Indian Games have a long history as they can be found in our epics like Mahabharata. Gaurav Tiwari, the founder of Sutradhar talks about the: Role of Games in our lives History of Games Future of physical games in the era of AI Follow Gaurav Websites - mysutradhar.com and playranbhoomi.com Youtube - Hindi - youtube.com/@mysutradhar Marathi - youtube.com/@sutradharmarathi English - youtube.com/@sutradharenglish Odia - youtube.com/@sutradharodia Kids - youtube.com/@sutradharkids Follow Anuradha Goyal's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anuradhagoyal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianuradhagoyal Twitter: https://x.com/anuradhagoyal Follow IndiTales's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inditales Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndiTales/ Twitter: Twitter: https://x.com/IndiTales Blog - https://www.inditales.com Hindi Blog - https://www.inditales.com/hindi Personal website - http://www.anuradhagoyal.com Books link - https://www.anuradhagoyal.com/publications/

Hariparbat Parikrams is an ancient Parikrama of the hill that is believed to be the embodiment of Sharika Devi - the presising Devi of Kashmir. The city of Srinagar is named after her. Read More about ancient Kashmir - https://www.inditales.com/ancient-kashmir-detours-ashish-kaul/ Leave your questions in the comments. Follow Anuradha Goyal's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anuradhagoyal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianuradhagoyal Twitter: https://x.com/anuradhagoyal Follow IndiTales's Social Media Handles:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inditales Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndiTales/ Twitter: Twitter: https://x.com/IndiTales Blog - https://www.inditales.com Hindi Blog - https://www.inditales.com/hindi Personal website - http://www.anuradhagoyal.com Books link - https://www.anuradhagoyal.com/publications/

India is full of stepwells, but most of them are not doing the job they were built for. Many of them are stunningly beautiful but most are lying in absolute neglect. Kalpana Ramesh ji has restored many stepwells. In this podcast, she walks her through the process of stepwell restoration with a casestudy of Bansilal Stepwell in Hyderabad. An inspiring story. Read the details in Kalpana Ramesh's book - The Journey of Restoring Bansilalpet Stepwell - https://amzn.to/3NVdegr Read more about stepwellls in India: Rani Ki Vav in Patan - https://www.inditales.com/rani-ki-vav/

How To Teach Different skills using the Heritage Monuments with a case study of Modhera Sun Temple with actor turned educationist Dr Swaroop Sampat Rawal. Architecture of Sun Temple at Modhera - https://www.inditales.com/architecture-of-sun-temple-modhera/ Poem on Sun Temple Modhera - ⁠https://www.inditales.com/sun-temple-modhera/

Temples in Dikshitar Music with G Ravikiran - the founder of GuruGuha channel that is working towards reviving the poetry of music of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. We find description of temples of Tamil Nadu in the music of the master. Follow Guru Guha YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@UCgcgr0Ehog37e5rQw71r36Q Facebook - facebook.com/Guruguhaamrta

Learn all about Podcasting from the best knwon Indian podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia. He talks about his learnings from interviewing myriad guests for his podcasts to the technical details of podcasting.

Pre-historic to Modern Temple Trail of Bangalore with Arun Bharadwaj. Bangalore is known for its trees, parks, IT parks, ISRO, PSUs and lovely weather but not many of us know about the ancient and medieval temples that continue to live within the BBMP limits.

Chhathh Puja of Bihar is the oldest living Sun worship that is done twice in the year during Chaitra and Kartik months that lie at the junction of two seasonal transitions. Listen to all about Chhath Puja from someone who practices it.

What Are Sacred Sites? What Makes Them Sacred? Why do we need to go on a pilgrimage? A conversation with Martin Gray who has travelled to 160+ countries and documented sacred sites and has read more than 2000 books on the subject - Sacred.

Sabrimala Pilgrimage Guide telling you: Where is Sabrimala? When is the Yatra done? Who can do it? How is it done? What are the preparartions for the same? If you still have questions, tell us in the comments.

Sadhabas were the traveling traders who crossed the seas to do business across the world. Listen about what they traded in, when did they sail, their sailing boats and the incredible legacy of Kalinga.

Travel Writing is undergoing changes with the advent of technology. A peep into the history and future of Travel writing with author Haroon Khalid.

Shakti Worship in Kashi with Dr. Rana P B Singh Navaratri Navadurga Yatra in Kashi - https://www.inditales.com/navaratri-navadurga-yatra-varanasi/

Vari Pilgrimage to Pandharpur with Dr Varada Sambus for Detours with Anuradha Goyal. Buy Vari Pilgrimage by Dr Varada Sambus at https://amzn.to/3PjCUVl

Ayodhya is well known for its illustrious kings like Sri Ram, Dashrath, Harishchandra, Dilip, Aja, Bhagirath. Queens of Ayodhya have rarely been spoken about. At most, we know about Sita and her three mothers-in-law. So, we have Sh. Amarnath Dube ji, who is an Ayodhyawasi and a collector of world Ramayanas. He has translated the Philipines and Tibetan Ramayana in India. He talks about different illustrious queens of Ayodhya, including the one who ruled from this ancient city.

Amritsar is a city that revolves around Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple. Gurmeet Rai takes us for a walk around Amritsar starting with its Puranic roots, the building of the Harmandir Sahib, and coming up of city around it, including its living quarters and its famous markets.

Balram Yatra is a part of Indian Epic Mahabharata. When the elder brother of Sri Krishna decided not to take part in the Mahabharat war, he decided to go on a pilgrimage along the Saraswati river from Dwarka to Kurukshetra. It took him 42 days to do this Yatra along the Saraswati which had already begun to dry up by then. The yatra takes us through the scenic route along which the most ancient civilizations once flourished. Jijith Nadumuri Ravi is the founder of the Website AncientVoice which contains 23500 pages on Mahabharata, Ramayana, the four Vedas, and Vishnu Purana. It contains ancient India maps, analysis articles, lineage maps, the full text of English translation of these texts in Wikified form with 7000 plus nouns analyzed creating huge information networks of Indic texts. The author additionally hosts websites like Nalanda, Takshasila, and RecentVoice, focusing on Greek, Avestan, and Tamil literature. He was a former ISRO scientist (2001-2006) and an artist who loves to paint events from Mahabharata.

Spiti Valley is one of the most beautiful regions in the world. Barren mountains with their snow caps with rivers passing through them quietly, with lakes that look like jewels thrown around. Dheeraj Sharma of Devil On Wheels takes around this mystical magical land defined by Spiti Valley. Read More: https://www.inditales.com/himachal-shimla-kinnaur-spiti-valley-road-trip-lahual-manali/ Follow Dheeraj - https://devilonwheels.com/

Temples are not just to be built but they are to be maintained regularly. Shilpa shastras not only tell us about how the temples should be built but also how they should be maintained. There are four types of maintenance mentioned - regular, expansion, struck by a calamity - natural or man-made and temples that have fallen out of the use or are deserted. Ponni Selvanathan ji comes from the family of Sthapatis who have been maintaining a lot of South Indian temples talks about these Maintainance routines. One of the temples they are helping expand - https://www.inditales.com/mannar-thiruketheeswaram-temple-sri-lanka/

India has a long coastline and a longer maritime history. This means ample opportunity for doing underwater archaeology. However, just a handful of sites have been excavated like Dwarka, Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Mahabalipuram, Lakshadweep, and of course, Goa. National Institute of Oceanography in Goa is the body that anchors most of these excavations. Their primary excavations are on the coast of Gujarat, where the lost city of Dwarka was excavated. Sh A S Gaur is one of the only three underwater archaeologists in India. Hear him speak about underwater archaeology in India. Read More Dwarkadhish Temple - https://www.inditales.com/architecture-dwarkadhish-temple-dwarka/ Bet Dwarka - https://www.inditales.com/beyt-dwarka-saurashtra-gujarat/ S R Raos book - Lost City of Dwarka - https://amzn.to/38QOnGt

Kumbh Mela happens at the time decided by an astral clock, following the movement of Jupiter in the sky. We popularly know Kumbh Mela to take place at Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain, and Nashik but the river festivals happen at almost all rivers across India at a pre-defined time. It is fascinating how the movement of pilgrims maps the movement of astronomical bodies and everyone participating just follows them like clockwork. A fascinating talk with Dr. Hari and Dr. Hema Hari of Bharathgyan, who have authored many books on Indian Civilization. Do check out their website for their books, videos, and courses - https://bharathgyan.com/ Read More - https://www.inditales.com/must-do-things-at-kumbh-mela/ and https://www.inditales.com/kumbh-mela-all-you-need-to-know/

Arctic Circle is best known for the unbelievable northern lights among tourists, but a place is always more than its best-known attraction. So, we have a seasoned traveler Juhi Sinha ji taking us to the Arctic circle and introducing us to its landscape, its long winter nights, its life, and its philosophy. Read Books by Juhi Sinha Beyond the Dunes - https://amzn.to/3fVUJWZ Bismillah Khan - Maestro from Banaras - https://amzn.to/3lsgAGE Read more about Lofoten Islands - https://www.inditales.com/lofoten-islands-norway-road-trip/

Indian Railways started as different lines funded and sponsored by different people for different reasons. Slowly these lines that were laid in different sizes - narrow, meter, and broad gauge joined each other and formed the network joining the nooks and corners of the country. Listen to Ananth Rupanagudi, an IRS officer with a vast knowledge of Indian Railways talk about the first few railway lines in India, and some very interesting stories and innovations associated with them. Follow Ananth ji on Twitter at @rananth Read more: Darjeeling Himalayan Raiways - https://www.inditales.com/darjeeling-himalayan-railway/ Konkan Railway - https://www.inditales.com/konkan-railways-joy-getting-lost/ Deccan Odyssey Luxury Train - https://www.inditales.com/deccan-odyssey-luxury-train-travel/ Bollywood Songs on Indian Trains - https://www.inditales.com/top-20-bollywood-songs-on-trains-must-see/

The 10th Century was probably the golden period of India when the best of surviving architecture was built when the invasions that would change the culture and map of the sub-continent were yet to begin. We know very little about ancient Kashmir while it has dominated our news channels all our lives. Ashish Kaul takes us back to 10th CE Kashmir and talks about its landscape, geography, history, and its illustrious people. Check Out the Biography of Didda, the warrior queen of Kashmir by Ashish Kaul - https://amzn.to/363WlJG Read our Travel stories at - https://www.inditales.com

Bhutan is a mystical land living in the folds of snow-clad Himalayas. In conversation with Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj who takes us through the history, heritage, landscape, and culture of Bhutan. She is the person best placed to talk about India Bhutan relationships and how that has been nurtured by various leaders during different times. Read More Bhutan for first-time visitors - https://www.inditales.com/bhutan-travel-an-experience/ Bhutan for the Tourist - https://www.inditales.com/bhutan-for-the-tourists/

Samit Garg is the co-founder of E Factor, a leading event management company talks about the potential of adventure tourism in India. They also specialize in setting up temporary camp cities in places that are otherwise inaccessible like a river island on Krishna River or on the hills of Mandu. Read More Hot Air Ballooning over River Krishna https://www.inditales.com/adventure-activities-amaravati/ Mandu Festival - https://www.inditales.com/mandu-festival-heritage-adventure-culture/ Water Management of Mandu - https://www.inditales.com/ancient-water-management-system-at-mandu/ Hot Air Ballooning Over Mandu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhZl61k11qc&t=66s About E Factors - http://efactor4u.com/

Most of us know Bengal from the colonial times, though this place has been mentioned in Indian scriptures as Banga Desh for a long time. Anita Bose takes us through the journey of ancient Bengal starting with Gangaridai, with an impressive maritime trade from its ancient ports like Chandraketugarh and Satgaon that connected it with all of Asia including South East Asia. There are stone and terracotta temples that tell us about the glorious history of the Bengal region that includes current day Bangladesh, Tripura, and parts of Assam. Terracotta Temples of Bengal - https://www.inditales.com/bishnupur-terracotta-temples/

A naturalist is a perfect career option for those who love to not just live amidst nature but also those who love to share their knowledge of nature with others. We speak to Manav Khanduja of Pugdundee Safaris who have pioneered this concept of resident naturalists who learn and study about the nature in their surroundings and then regale their guests with the amazing stories of the jungles. Listen to this conversation to know; What does it take to be a naturalist? What kind of work routine would you have? How much money you can make and what are the career growth opportunities? Where can you take a course to be a naturalist? To learn more about these programs read more; https://www.inditales.com/naturalist-travel-tourism-careers/ https://www.pugdundeesafaris.com/professional-naturalist-training-course-india https://www.pugdundeesafaris.com/amateur-naturalist-training-course Suggest Readings Birds of India by Salim Ali ( https://amzn.to/3hSYlZO) Hinduism And Nature By Nanditha Krishna ( https://amzn.to/2veqxzC )

S Vijay Kumar, author of 'The Idol Thief' and co-founder of India Pride Project talks about the journey of Gods from the temples of India to the art market, museum through the route of smuggling and illegal trade. His project reversed this journey by talking about the stolen idols and making ways to bring them back. It all started with a blog for documenting the idols in remote villages of India. He talks about various laws governing the art trade, the practices in the trade market and most importantly what we can do as individuals to stop this theft. Read more about them on their website - https://www.ipp.org.in/ Read more on understanding Indian Art - https://www.inditales.com/tag/arts-of-india/

Have you ever thought of looking at the world through the lens of Poetry? Have you read poems written outside your mother tongue or the few languages you know? Well, Diplomat Poet Abhay Kumar has not only read but compiled poetry books that have poems from all countries in the world and from all Indian languages. He also writes one poetry book on each of the countries he is posted to. Listen to him speak about poetry and how his work takes inspiration from the universal human values of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam'. Check out Abhay K Books online: Capitals - A Poetry Anthology Seduction of Delhi 100 Great Indian Poems Eight-Eyed Lord of Kathmandu Alphabet of Latin America - Carnival of Poems

What is common between Good Governance and Travel? Well, you can travel to learn the best practices in Good Governance. Listen to Kumar Subham of Vision India Foundation speak about taking promising young professionals on a 9 day Yatra across the country to meet inspiring entrepreneurs, achievers, innovators, educators, and bureaucrats. The rigorous Yatra aims to connect the future changemakers with the current ones. Listen to the kind of experiences you can expect to have on this Yatra. For more details on Good Governance Yatra, please visit - https://visionindiafoundation.com/ Do check out Subham's talk at Yatra conference on experiential tourism - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHbeh9rpVwE

How To Visit an Indian Temple? - Few Simple Steps that you can follow. Detours E10 - How to Visit Indian Temples with Ramakrishna Kongalla Indian temples are architectural marvels, aesthetic wonders, spiritual homes, have storytelling walls and have so many elements that we sometimes wonder where and how to visit them. Which are the most important parts of a temple that one should not miss? Is there a sequence that one should follow while visiting a temple? Does the temple bell have a purpose? Why are stories on the outer walls? Hear answers to all these questions by the temple expert. Follow Ramakrishna Kongalla on twitter @artist_rama and on Instagram @tourism_teacher You can also follow our temple tales on Instagram at @inditales or read them on our blog at - https://www.inditales.com/tag/temples-of-india/

Water Heritage of Rajasthan Detours E09 - Water is an integral part of human life. Civilizations settled on the banks of perennial rivers. Have you ever thought about how did life flourish in the Thar desert of India? How did they manage water with almost no rains? Neeraj Doshi takes us through the water bodies, water technologies, and more importantly, through the lovely culture that exists around water in this colorful state, we better know for its forts and palaces. This fascinating conversation will suddenly make you aware of the sources of water that feed us, of the cultural relevance, and would inspire you to look at the water heritage of your own city. Listen to the Panihari Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPaQgI2eXro Read about Chand Baori of Abhaneri - https://www.inditales.com/chand-baori-stepwell-abhaneri/ Check out Neeraj Doshi's Heritage Water Walks in Jaipur - http://heritagewaterwalks.com/

Detours E08 - Doot Kavyas or Messenger Poetry in Sanskrit Literature Detours 08 - Doot Kavyas is a genre of Sanskrit poetry where a messenger carries a message from one place to another. While traveling it talks about the route, usually aerial route, it tells you all that it sees below. Poets have used clouds, swans, language, and many other messengers. The message takes the backseat, the route becomes important and the descriptions are evocative. Meghdoot of Kalidasa (https://amzn.to/31Urw9W) is the most popular Doot Kavya where the cloud travels from Ramtek in South India to Alkapuri in the Himalayas. Hams Sandesh is another popular Kavya. All this poetry has roots in the flight of Hanuman in Ramayana and Nal Charita in Mahabharata. Read our Travel Stories at - https://www.inditales.com Subscribe to Detours on any of the podcasting platforms you use.

Temple Trail of Mumbai DeTours E07 - Mumbai is named after Mumbai Devi - the presiding Goddess of the city that never sleeps. Bharat Gothoskar of Khaki Tours takes us through the temple trail in South Mumbai touching upon the ancient Walkeshwar Temple and some of the caves spread across Mumbai. In a fascinating conversation, Bharath - one of the best heritage experts on Mumbai, takes us through the lesser-known and less explored parts of Mumbai's past including some anecdotes of its film industry. Do check out Khaki Tours website - http://khakitours.com/ Some of the places covered in this are also on IndiTales: Kanheri Caves - https://www.inditales.com/kanheri-caves-mumbai/ Banganga Tank - https://www.inditales.com/banganga-tank-ancient-heritage-of-mumbai/

Detours E06 - Kampilya - The Birthplace of Draupadi with Neera Misra. Draupadi - the chief protagonist of epic Mahabharata was the daughter of the Panchal kingdom with its capital at Kampilya, near the modern-day Farukhabad in Uttar Pradesh. Neera Misra ji has been working on reviving the heritage of Kampliya, documenting its ancient temples, ponds, and culture. She talks about the city of Draupadi as well as the city of her own ancestors. Learn about this ancient city of India on the banks of Ganga River. Best Books to Read on Draupadi: Draupadi by Pratibha Rai - https://amzn.to/3d2RoCk Sairandhari by Narendra Kohli - https://amzn.to/3e7OQnG Yugandhar by Shivaji Savant - https://amzn.to/2Y8Z9CA Best Books on Mahabharat - https://www.amazon.in/shop/inditales?listId=AF5E3DQMHDN0

The journey of 12 most famous diamonds from India to the World. Detours E05 - 12 Most prestigious diamonds in the world trace their origin to India, let's hear about them from an author who has researched on their journeys and written a fictional account of their travels. Buy 'Diamond in my Palm' by Sanjay Dharwadker - https://amzn.to/3hcTSkU Read our travel stories at - https://www.inditales.com

Anuradha Goyal in conversation with Pradeep Chakravarthy on the ancient past of the city of Chennai. Detours E04 - Anuradha Goyal in conversation with Pradeep Chakravarthy on the ancient past of the city of Chennai. He talks about the ancient villages that make the metropolis of Chennai today, the ancient living temples, and the stories that have for us. Do check out books of our guest - Thanjavur - A Cultural History - https://amzn.to/3dsf7gh Kodaikanal - Vanishing Heritage of an Island in the Sky - https://amzn.to/2XSsYGb Road Less Travelled - Lesser-Known Temples of Tamil Nadu - https://amzn.to/2XSsYGb Do read IndiTales stories of Tamil Nadu - https://www.inditales.com/india/tamil-nadu/

Conversation between Anuradha Goyal and Jai Bharathi - a leading woman biker from Hyderabad. Detours E03 - Conversation between your host Anuradha Goyal and Jai Bharathi - a woman biker from Hyderabad, India who has biked across India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, from Hyderabad to the Mekong in South East and then a solo biking trip across the United States. She started a Mowo foundation to help women learn riding two-wheelers which enables them to take on many new occupations. Check out her book about on her Mekong trip - Road to the Mekong - https://amzn.to/3c5zRc0 Read Kindness of the Road by a Woman Biker - https://www.inditales.com/woman-biker-stories-omg-india/ Read about UNESCO World Heritage Sites - https://www.inditales.com/tag/world-heritage/

A walk through the pre-historic Goa. Detours - E02 Detours - E02 - In a conversation with your host Anuradha Goyal, Prof Prajal Sakhardande takes us through the ancient Goa when its valleys settled on the banks of Madhei, Zuari and Kushavati rivers, through its oldest aboriginal culture, petroglyphs, and ancient temples. Prajal is the author of Goa Gold Goa Silver - covering the history of Goa from pre-historic times to 2019. So check out his book on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3gbbGwg He teaches history at Dempe college of Arts and Science in Goa, is a heritage activist and part of Goa Heritage Action Group. You can read about a lot of places mentioned in this talk on IndiTales blog - https://www.inditales.com/india/goa/

'Travel in Ancient India' - A Conversation between Anuradha Goyal and Sumedha Verma Ojha - Detours E01 Detours 01 - Conversation between Anuradha Goyal and Sumedha Verma Ojha on the 'Travel in Ancient India' covering the; Purpose of Travel Modes of travel Places to Stay Roadways & Waterways Sources of information Book Recommendation on Travels in Ancient India: Trade and Trade Routes by Moti Chandra - https://amzn.to/3bnnGqX Archaeology of Indian Trade Routes by Nayanjot Lahiri - https://amzn.to/2YRF04H Discovery of Ancient India by Upinder Singh - https://amzn.to/2yJQdJK About Sumedha Ojha Verma Ojha Sumedha Verma Ojha is a renowned author, columnist, and speaker, born in Patna and educated in Delhi. After 15 years in the Indian Revenue Service, she switched careers to research and write a book set in the Mauryan period based on the Arthashastra of Chanakya. - Urnabhih; then expanded into a book series on the Mauryan Empire. Sumedha works in the area of translating and explaining the epics and bringing ancient Sanskrit/Prakrit literature to the English speaking Indian as also in the area of gendered analysis of ancient India. Do check out her books: Urnabhih - https://amzn.to/3fKqMbW Ramayana - https://amzn.to/3fLICv2 Read IndiTales posts on Ancient India - https://www.inditales.com/tag/ancient-india/