Shows
Spotlight with Sandhya"Salvation is in a clean, good note of music" – Pandit Rajeev Taranath in Spotlight with SandhyaWorld-famous musician and sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath, in this multilingual interview with Sandhya Mendonca, reflects on music, the greatness of Chandrashekhara Kambara’s writing and Rahman’s music, and other experiences of a rich and varied life. He captivates both as a musician and a person, with a blend of audacity and humility. Deeply influenced by his guru Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravishankar, Pandit Taranath has greatly impacted music, literature, theatre, and cinema. He is a ‘Renaissance’ person who excels in everything he does - as a performing artist, a guru, a music composer, a professor, a writer...2024-04-1935 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"We yearn for simpler times" -Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 71Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy is the lead actor and debutant director of the delightful coming-of-age film ‘Aachar and Company’. Set in the 60s back when Bangalore was still a small town, it's about siblings growing up in Bangalore, tackling patriarchy and gender roles. This little Kannada film has taken everybody by surprise with the kind of impact that it had when it was released this July. It had a good run in theatres before streaming on Amazon Prime.Sindhu talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the gentle humour she uses to approach issues of women claiming their agency by going...2023-11-2029 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"Choose Ethics, Not Expediency" - Vinita Bali in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 70“Profits are important, but it's also important to be driven by morals and ethics”, Vinita Bali says. Known for her skills in building brands and leading companies in five continents including Coca-Cola, Cadbury's and Britannia. In this episode of the podcast, she talks to Sandhya Mendonca about why and how to build healthy companies. She emphasises character and work ethics over expediency – traits that make her a sought-after Independent Board member by global companies.Bali is also deeply involved in efforts to increase nutrition levels in India and in promoting the arts. She also talks about th...2023-10-1726 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"ISRO is truly nationalist" –Gita Aravamudan in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 69Indians are over the moon with the success of its lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-3 in August 2023. The joy and pride are greater as ISRO sprang up unfazed from the failure of the previous mission. The first country to land a craft on the moon’s South Pole and doing it at a fraction of the cost that advanced countries would have spent is just one of many in a string of steady successes notched up by the Indian Space Research Organisation. Gita Aravamudan, journalist and co-author of a book on ISRO talks about India’s spectacular jour...2023-09-0137 min
Spotlight with SandhyaAn Asian refugee’s road to success – Ram Gidoomal in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 68His family was torn from its home in Sindh by the partition of India, and a few years later, they were thrown out of their adoptive homeland in Kenya. Ram Gidoomal CBE, a British Asian refugee who went from riches to rags and back to riches, shares his life-changing decision after visiting the Dharavi slum in Mumbai.He shifted his focus from business to improve the lives of those at the bottom of society. Ram's experience in India led him and his wife to give up their luxurious lifestyle and use their finances to...2023-07-3132 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"Save India's Airlines" - Capt GR Gopinath in Spotlight with Sandhya | Part 2Visionary airline entrepreneur Capt GR Gopinath's order of 30 planes turned the fortunes around for the French aeroplane manufacturer ATR in 2004. Capt Gopi recalls the heady days when he also ordered 60 Airbus planes. In light of mega orders for planes by Indigo for 500 planes and Air India for 470 planes, we asked him about the growth of the airline sector in India. "The airline sector hasn't grown commensurate with other industries and less than 4% of the Indian population is traveling by air", he says. He goes on to tell Sandhya Mendonca about the policies that hinder the growth and says that...2023-07-1722 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"Presenting Goa in a Bottle" - Solomon Diniz in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 65Solomon Diniz presents the spirit of Goa in a bottle. The fourth generation of a liquor distillery wants to celebrate his heritage that’s intrinsically linked to feni. Diniz talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the rise of Adinco Distilleries from a village tavern into a company that makes over two dozen spirit variants. Diniz spearheads innovation in manufacturing and branding. After adding new gins and liquor chocolates he’s created India’s first charred whisky. In a further innovation, he’s used charred coconut shells, making it perhaps the first-ever whiskey of its kind. “The Indian consumer has evolved and we sho...2023-06-2622 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"Learning Maths is key to Innovation" Dr Sujatha Ramdorai in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 64World-renowned mathematician Dr Sujatha Ramdorai talks about her work in algebraic number theory and the vital need for learning maths. She recalls her early years when the love for maths sparked within her and her wish to enable every child to understand and appreciate maths. Ramdorai tells Sandhya Mendonca in this podcast that “the basics of teaching have to improve”. She talks about her efforts to engage with teachers and empower them with the teaching tools. Sujatha Ramdorai was the first Indian to win the prestigious International Centre for Theoretical Physics ICTP Ram...2023-05-2248 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"Life is all about taking risks" Shobhaa De in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 63Best-selling author and columnist, the inimitable Shobhaa De talks about her relationship with food, life, journalism and writing about people. She discussed interesting anecdotes that feature in her memoir that she wrote to mark her 75th birthday ‘Insatiable – My Hunger for Life’. In this podcast, De tells Sandhya Mendonca that there’s "life is too short for regrets". Her advice to younger people is to “take risks in life”. To be featured on this show write to us at mail@raintreemedia.com or https://www.facebook.com/raintreemedia or https://www.instagram.com/raintreemedia/Edit...2023-05-0517 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"The Good Old Days of Bangalore" Dr Hajee Abdul Sattar Sait in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 62This episode is partly an oral history of Bangalore. A 90-year-old 7th generation Bangalorean talks about life in Bangalore, the interesting people he’s met and his diverse interests in politics, business, fast cars and horses. He belongs to the community of Kutchi Memons who migrated from Gujarat four hundred years ago. Dr Hajee Sattar Sait built the first modern shopping mall, Safina Plaza and has been a pioneer in many fields. He was one of the first private technology parks in the city, the Safina Tech Park where Amazon had its first office in the...2023-04-2437 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"A Life in Art" SG Vasudev in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 61The Tree of Life of this master artist is 82 years old. It’s a life lived in art and has been shaped by a variety of experiences and insights gleaned from introspection and inspiration. SG Vasudev, the eminent artist, tells Sandhya Mendonca about how the interplay of various forms of art has helped form and define his art. He talks about creating institutions that nurture arts and crafts. His art is shaped by his theory that “Art has to be beautiful. It’s not necessary for ugliness to come into art at all”, he says in this e...2023-04-1742 min
Spotlight with Sandhya"A Passion for Bangalore" - Naresh Narasimhan in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 60Bengaluru is in a Catch-22 situation. It attracts and welcomes the world while the density of the population adds to its woeful lack of adequate public infrastructure.Naresh Narasimhan, leading architect and urban planner. He tells Sandhya Mendonca why he loves the city and why he works hard on many fronts to make it liveable and preserve its historical heritage. Karnataka state's approachable political leadership enables him to be a critic of and partner of the government on civic issues.“All the new ideas that change India originate in Bangalore,” he says in this episode of S...2023-04-0428 min
Spotlight with Sandhya''Party, Politics & Corruption" Brijesh Kalappa in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 59Brijesh Kalappa, Supreme Court lawyer and former national spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, joined the Aam Aadmi Party and is contesting in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections. He talks to Sandhya Mendonca about the deep pockets needed to get a party ticket in other parties. He says, “I’m taking a stand against corruption”. He’s committed to improving the lives of ordinary Indians by rooting out corruption and making life easier for people starting with decongesting his constituency.To be featured on this show write to us at mail@raintreemedia.com or https://www...2023-03-2528 min
Spotlight with Sandhya'The Perfectionist off-stage' Arjun Sajnani in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 58Theatre director Arjun Sajnani is known for staging spectacular theatrical productions. On the heels of his latest production of Girish Karnad's historical play "Crossing to Talikota', he talks to Sandhya Mendonca about his approach to direction, his bond with Girish Karnad, and what has inspired him to bring Indian stories to English theatre. A perfectionist to the core, he says, "I don't let people get away with shortcuts." In this episode, he also speaks about the challenges of scripts, funding and more.To be featured on this show write to us a...2023-03-2530 min
Spotlight with Sandhya'Beauty & the Business' Blossom Kochhar in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 57This podcast in the month of March focuses on a successful business leader who celebrates femininity. Sandhya Mendonca talks to Blossom Kochhar about her experience in building a business and what it means to be truly beautiful. Blossom is one of the OGs of the beauty and personal care business in India, valued at 27 bn dollars in 2023. The founder of the Aroma Magic brand is a pioneer of aromatherapy and has written three books on skin care, beauty and aroma therapy. ‘Look good, feel good, be good’ seems to be her mantra.Talking about her success, Blossom says...2023-03-1826 min
Spotlight with SandhyaThe Rappers of Bangalore in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 56The boulevards of Bangalore, its streets and parks come alive on weekends to catchy beats and rhythmic words. They are in a burst of languages that range from Kannada, English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and dialects like Dakhni as rappers and hip-hop artists come together at ciphers.In this podcast, Sandhya Mendonca talks to three rappers Smokey the Ghost – the senior most among them, Agahi Raahi and Putti Raps to find out what they are rappin’ about. “Indian Rap and Bangalore Rap have come into their own,” says Smokey.To be featured on this show write to us at m...2023-03-1729 min
Spotlight with Sandhya' Kaveri - the river that divides the South' - C Chandrashekar in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 55Civilisation has flourished or perished alongside water bodies. The Kaveri is a life-giving river in the south and for over a couple of centuries, it has also led to bloodshed in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Peace has prevailed for the last few years but might not last if permanent solutions are not found. In this episode, Sandhya Mendonca, who reported the riots over the sharing of the Kaveri waters, talks with a former police officer, C Chandrashekar who has recently published a book, 'Kaveri Dispute: a historical perspective’. Their conversation digs into why this problem prevails, the historical and con...2023-03-1427 min
Spotlight with Sandhya'Music, Emotions, Brands & all that Jazz' Rajeev Raja in Spotlight with Sandhya | Episode 54In this podcast, Sandhya Mendonca talks to jazz musician Rajeev Raja about his journey melding music and advertising. A handful of musicians hold the ability to cast a magical spell that brings back audiences time and again. Rajeev Raja, the flautist and frontman of the eponymous Rajeev Raja Combine, is one of them. Raja has evolved a genre that’s ‘Ethno Jazz’ or ‘World Jazz’. Inspired by the form of Jazz, his music is a seamless, organic blend of the music of various ethnicities from India, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. ”Music is more about expressing my musical soul and essen...2023-03-1426 min
Spotlight with SandhyaTrailerRaintree Media presents 'Spotlight with Sandhya'. This podcast features author, journalist and cultural evangelist Sandhya Mendonca in one-to-one conversations with brilliant people that get to the heart of who they are, why they do what they do and how it impacts the world. This show features guests from diverse sectors: art, technology, wellness, business, politics and everything in between. If you would like to give us feedback or be featured on this show write to us at mail@raintreemedia.com. or https://www.facebook.com/raintreemedia or https://www.instagram.com/raintreemedia/2023-03-1400 min
Spotlight with SandhyaEpisode 4 - Spotlight with Sandhya Mendonca featuring Harish BijoorIn this episode of the talk show, marketing maven & brand guru Harish Bijoor talks to show host Sandhya Mendonca about post-COVID challenges to the media/ arts/ entertainment industry. His in-depth answers are a master class in retaining audiences for both artistes & brands. #bringingthebuzzback #spotlightwithsandhya #raintreemedia2020-07-1423 min