Filled with serpent kings, long-lost lovers, magical birds and seductive witches, The Legend of Himal and Nagrai is an enchanting collection of folk tales from a land as beautiful as it is misunderstood—Kashmir.  In the title story, the serpent king Nagrai takes on human form to be with his one true love, the princess Himal. But despite Nagrai’s warnings, when Himal doubts her lover’s origins, all hell breaks loose. Will the star-crossed lovers ever be together?

In 2019, the BJP came into power once again on the back of one of the most significant electoral mandates in recent years. Since then, the Narendra Modi-led government has seen a tumultuous few years as they have implemented far-reaching legislative changes including the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, triple talaq, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as well as farming laws. These laws, when implemented, caused widespread protests and upheaval across the country. While the country grappled with internal strife, it also faced challenges from its neighbours in the form of one of the most intense military stand-offs in decades after an unprovoked attack by China's People's Liberation Army at Galwan as well as a global pandemic. While the Modi government took swift steps to limit the spread of the pandemic in 2020, the second wave of COVID-19 in early 2021 hit the country hard, claiming thousands of lives. Bringing a well-researched and nuanced understanding to Modi's second term, The Midway Battle sheds light on the sociopolitical issues facing India as it continues its struggle against enemies both known and unknown, and puts into perspective what lies ahead for the world's biggest democracy.

Author Anshul Chaturvedi talks to us about his book which he calls an essential guide to apply the principles of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings to one's everyday life. Anecdotal and thought-provoking, The Vivekananda Handbook for Everyday Living unravels the wisdom of Swami Vivekananda's teachings to guide you through your life, whether in personal matters, domestic life, or in the professional arena.

Join us for a chat with author Tanushree Podder about her latest book 'The Girls in Green', about a group of girls from different backgrounds and their experiences at a military academy where they have been admitted to train as soldiers. We also discuss the broad range of subjects explored in her numerous books including 'The Daughter of Nur Jehan' and the adaptation of her new book into an upcoming webseries. Tanushree also tells us what it was like growing up in a military family in India.

Greater Kashmir columnist and Srinagar resident, Emaad Makhdoomi, weighs in on Article 370, Naya Kashmir, the Separatist movement and responds to Omar Abdullah's recent claims on Times Now channel.

Author Koral Dasgupta talks to us about her 'Sati' series about the lesser known aspects of the lives of five iconic women from the Indian epics: Ahalya, Kunti, Draupadi, Tara, Mandodari

Sonam Kachru, Buddhist scholar, joins us for a fascinating and occasionally hilarious chat about his latest book on Vasubandhu, the Buddhist theory of multiple realities, the truth about the four noble truths, Theravada versus Mahayana Buddhism and the importance of having a laugh on the way to enlightenment ..

Author and teacher Devdip Ganguly of Pondicherry tells us about his life-long engagement with the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Diivine Mother. He talks to us about the chapter on nationalism that he authored in Gautam Chkermane's new book and some of the parallels between Indian and Chinese philosophy that he has been exploring.

In this riveting session, Vikram and Rahul discuss the forced expulsion of Kashmir's hindu minority, early childhood trauma of being uprooted from kashmir and seeing his brother killed by militants, media hypocrisy on the Kashmir conflict, how he deals with false labels, the Burhan Wani affair, how terrorists are made and much more..

Rajat Ubhaykar in conversation with Vikram Zutshi about his quirky travelogue 'Truck de India' which traces his 10,000 mile journey across India in trucks. About the book:   "The share auto I squeeze into next seems unusually vulnerable after a night in the truck - too compact, too low down. Perhaps, these are the usual side effects of prolonged riding with the king of the road, I think to myself. But it is only when I fill in ‘truck’ as my mode of transportation in the hotel ledger at Udaipur does the utter ludicrousness of my endeavour truly hit home"  Think truck drivers, and movie scenes of them drunkenly crushing inconvenient people to their gravelly deaths come to mind. But what are their lives on the road actually like?  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.

Namrata Wakhloo talks about what it was like staying back in Kashmir for ten years after the Great Exodus, the challenges of making a new home in mainland India, how she feels when she goes back every year, Article 370, religious fundamentalism, the idea of India, cultural sycretism and the pitfalls that Pandits may face in returning to Kashmir

 Sajit Warrier, director of Web series Chakravyuh talks to us about the inspiration behind his show and the OTT revolution in India.

Historian and Biographer Vikram Sampath talks to us about the long awaited sequel to his biography on V.D Savarkar (releasing on May 28th). We discuss the little known facets of this enigmatic and controversial personality aka the "Father of Hindutva", the conditions that gave rise to his worldview, why he evokes such intense emotions and to what degree his ideas have shaped India's ruling dispensation.   Hosted By Vikram Zutshi   Follow us: Twitter: @bigturtlepod  Instagram: @thebigturtlepodcast Facebook: @thebigturtlepodcast

Rituparna and Vikram talk about what it takes to heal from severe childhood trauma, how spiritual practices can help the healing process, writing candid memoirs in the west versus conservative societies such as India's, the world of publishing, social media, mental health and how to be happy without external validation in these times.

In this riveting segment we explore the common origins of Tantric Shaivism and Buddhism in Kashmir and discuss how these powerful practices can be applied to modern lifestyles.

Poet and literary critic Urvashi Bahuguna talks about 'No Straight Thing Was Ever Made', a collection of personal essays on mental health, providing deep and poignant observations about the writing life, therapy, dating, social media and parenting.

Most people automatically associate Kashmir with Islam and Hinduism but not many people know that it once was a major hub of Buddhist culture and learning. In this episode, we once again have Prof. Subhash Kak talking about the origins and pedagogy of Buddhism in Kashmir and how it spread to central and east Asia. We discussed the long-standing metaphysical debate between Buddhists and Hindus about the existence of 'Atman' or the eternal self. Finally we explored the common origins of Kashmir (Tantric) Shaivism and Vajrayana Buddhism and how to apply these practices to modern lifestyles. The conversation will be released in two parts and has been designed for a general audience.

Curator and Poet Ranjit Hoskote talks about the inspiration behind his latest collection of poetry  'Hunchprose' as well as his earlier work on the Kashmiri mystic Lalleshwari. Vikram and Ranjit discuss symbolist and surrealist poets such as Rimbeaud, Beaudelaire, Rilke and Lorca and the fine line between poetic inspiration, madness and the mystical state.

Subhash Kak is a computer scientist, poet and Sanskritist. In this episode we talk about Religion as a great unifier and a divider, the politics of Religion, the distortions of hinduism in the western academy and whether Artificial intelligence can replicate human consciousness. We tried to arrive at an understanding of how people can be brought together in these highly polarized times and how religious faith itself can be the glue that ultimately brings us together.

Arunava Sinha is a prolific literary translator and the Books Editor at Scroll.in. He also teaches Creative Writing at Ashoka University in New Delhi. In this episode of the Big Turtle we talked about the Burden of Representation faced by diaspora writers in the West, the differences in approach between Indians writing in English and those writing in Indian languages. Further we discussed whether partisanship in journalism induces further polarization and the "echo-chamber" effect. We concluded our chat with a discussion on the pros and cons of the Farm Bills and the notion of pan-hindu solidarity as espoused by the BJP.