Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle

Meet the Bengaluru-based podcast creators who have made it big at the Asia Podcast Festival 2021

Bengaluru-based Gaurav Vaz, founder of ATS, bagged the award for stories that have actually been landmark and historic moments in India’s social and technological space, respectively

Documenting the abolishment of Sec 377 and tracing the iconic moments of India’s space history – not just made it to the podcast trend list on Spotify but was recognised at the Asia Podcast Festival 2021. Created by podcast studio, All Things Small (ATS), 377 and Mission ISRO, won the award under the Best Arts, Society and Culture and in Science,Technology and Business category in the Asia Podcast Festival this year. 

Bengaluru-based Gaurav Vaz, founder of ATS, bagged the award for stories that have actually been landmark and historic moments in India’s social and technological space, respectively. However, the moments that transpired behind the mic for both the stories are exhaustive and distinctive. While 377 dealt with the abolishment of Sec 377, an ‘archaic’ law criminalising homosexuality, the podcast team had to navigate the contradictory perspectives within the LGBTQ community itself. Meanwhile, Mission ISRO was a project that spread its wings right in the middle of the pandemic, which meant that the makers connected with top scientists aged above 80 years, over virtual platforms, which made the task all the more harder. 

Hosted by Sindhuri Nandhakumar and produced by Ashim D’Silva in 2018, Vaz believes the story of 377 revolves not just around the struggles of the LGBTQ community thanks to the law, but also explores the cluttered and complex layers of the Indian judicial system. The 12-episode series, starting with ‘History owes an apology’, takes you back to activist Anjali Gopalan who learns that ‘her efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and support human rights is actually coming up against a law- Section  377’.

 “Abolishing the archaic law is a landmark judgment in the history of India’s legal judgements. Very few people know about the activists and members responsible for the success and this was the motivation to greenlight the issue. Initially they were hesitant and guarded in the way they spoke to us. But the team broke down the beats of the story and convinced the members of the community to open up,” says Vaz, adding, “Despite this being an organic movement to decriminalise homosexuality, there were certain contradictions within the community. This also made sure that the stories were objective.” 

Hosted by cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and scripted by Bengaluru-based writer Archana Nathan in 2020, Mission ISRO is a story that puts India’s scientific achievements on the world map. From recognising the works of Vikram Sarabhai to Homi Bhabha and EV Chitnis to APJ Abdul Kalam, the story offers riveting moments on how India’s scientists used unconventional setups and with limited access to technology, launched ISRO. “India was completely an unexpected and unlikely star in the space race. The extraordinary tales of the scientists became the X factors of the podcast. Secondly, some of the scientists who spoke to us (Roddam Narasimha and Dan Aravamudan) are not with us anymore. This is the last recorded interview that is here to stay,” says Vaz. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
Indulgexpress
www.indulgexpress.com