I got interviewed by the Passion People Podcast. You can listen to the first part here and the second part will be out on November 1. Subscribe to the Passion People Podcast so you don’t miss it.

Our conversation in this episode mostly spans being an artist, dealing with life as an artist, and getting angry about it all.

New episode of Yugantar

In other news, a new episode of Yugantar just dropped on the Mythofiction podcast. In this third installment of the story, Veer Das goes to the Tooth and performs before a live audience of asuras, vaanars, and humans.

• If you are on Android, click here to listen to it on Google Podcasts.

• If you are on an iPhone, click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.

• Or… you know… use an audio app of your choice, like JioSaavn or PocketCasts, or Castbox. Whatever you like.

Make sure you have listened to all the previous episodes or this one might confuse you.

Needless to say, if you like what you hear, tell your friends about the podcast and consider supporting the making of it by pledging $2 a month on Patreon. The podcast of course remains free for all to listen.

Now I need a nap.

In the first episode of Yugantar - the science fiction / fantasy story being serialised on the Mythofiction podcast, you listened to what happened on the night the chosen one was born.

It has been six years since that night. Veer Das no longer commands a Gandharva legion. Instead, having been demoted, he sits behind a desk at the Devbhumi immigration office.

In the second episode - The Gandharva Choice - he gets a few visitors, and perhaps a job offer.

You can listen to the episode here on the website

• or here on Spotify

• or here on Apple Podcasts

• or here on Google Podcasts

• or here on Stitcher

• or here on Radio Public

Or on any other podcast app / platform of your choice. Be sure to listen to the first episode - The Rakshas Solution - first if you haven’t done so yet.

Of course, what goes without saying is that I would really appreciate it if you could share the podcast with people you think might enjoy it. And if you like what you hear, do subscribe to the Mythofiction podcast on an app of your choice.

Here’s some more green screen experimentation that I did using some free resources and assets. The video was edited using Movavi Video Editor.

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So this is for all you Hindi-as-national-language advocates. I am sure not all of you are linguistic imperialists. Some of you might simply be ignorant. So read this thread and maybe you'll get why people are opposed to the idea of Hindi officially being given national language status.

First, the universality myth. Hindi is not universally spoken all over India. That's a lie that some Hindi-speakers like to tell themselves because it feels nice to live under the illusion that you live in a linguistically united country. You don't.

India is linguistically diverse and that's a good thing, not a problem to be solved by bulldozing everything apart from Hindi.

Second, the myth that Hindi is easier to pick up than English. It is not. Hindi has very little in common with languages in the south and north-east.

If you think people unwilling to use it are being lazy, take some time and learn Tamil, Telugu, Assamese and Odiya. We will see how open-minded you are to Indian culture.

Third, the myth of English as a foreign language. Facepalm. If English is foreign, then so is your computer, Twitter, the Internet, and maybe even your clothes. Abandoning or deprioritising things on the basis of where they came from is moronic. Consider utility, not emotion.

Fourth, if English is foreign, then so is Hindi... TO THOSE WHO DON'T SPEAK HINDI. Why is this so difficult to understand? You can't employ the "foreign" logic selectively.

Fifth, NO, most of us don't hate Hindi. It' a great language that we often use and consume entertainment in. Hindi might feel special to you if your mother tongue is Hindi, but why would it feel that way to those whose mother tongue is not Hindi? Think about it.

Sixth and last, this is a pointless pursuit. It changes nothing. It improves nothing. Even if implemented, it will do nothing. Connaught Place was renamed Rajiv Chowk ages ago. The only person who calls it Rajiv Chowk is the automated voice in Delhi Metro. Everyone says CP.

You can't shove things down people's throats. And this applies to languages even more. If you want to promote a language, use it, create art in it, and make people want to use it. Don't do it by government order. That's juvenile.

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This essay initially went out as a Twitter thread and went somewhat viral there and on Instagram. So I figured I will send it out here as well.

I seem to always end up with Rakshasas as my protagonists.

The second episode of my storytelling podcast Mythofiction is called The Rakshas Solution. A brief summary is as follows:

One hundred years ago, the gods made a prophecy foretelling the coming of a hero who will slay the lord of the Rakshas Dominion. That day is today. But if you think you have the hero-villain equation of this story figured out, you might be in for a surprise.

• You can listen to it on the website by clicking here

• or you can listen to the episode on Spotify by clicking here

• or you can play it on Google Podcasts by clicking here

• or you can listen to it on Apple Podcasts here

If you like the story, share it on your social media profiles, and with your friends. Also, subscribe to the podcast on an app of your choice. Links at the website.