Advertise on podcast: Books and Beyond with Bound

Are you one of those who cancel plans because you’re tired, then spend the next two hours feeling guilty about it? Let’s talk. In the latest episode of Books & Beyond, Tara chats with Ankur Warikoo about his new book Winning People Without Losing Yourself, and what it actually looks like to keep everyone happy all the time. Ankur talks about spending years trying to be the person everyone liked, and why that never really works out the way you think it will. They get into boundaries (especially with family), that turns into resentment when you don’t set them, and how often we end up breaking our own boundaries before anyone else does. They also talk about the idea that the right relationships in your 20s shouldn’t be a distraction, but an enabler, what really happens when you expect someone else to make you happy, and how most conversations fall apart when you’re only trying to get your point across. The episode touches on comparison in the age of the internet, and how easy it is to measure your life against what you see online. If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing a lot for people but still feeling off about it, this one is just for you. Books Mentioned in the Episode: Do Epic Shit by Ankur WarikooGet Epic Shit Done by Ankur WarikooBeyond the Syllabus by Ankur WarikooMake Epic Money by Ankur WarikooSapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah HarariRework by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason FriedThe Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzMindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

If you've ever felt the pull of a new city and the desperate need to start over, keep listening. In this episode, Tara sits down with the award-winning author Rahul Bhattacharya to discuss his latest novel, Railsong. Writing about the freedom of a woman set in the 1970s, as a male author, is no small task. Rahul talks about Charu, a motherless daughter of a railway worker who flees to Bombay to build a life from scratch, on her own terms, in a country that's also figuring itself out. Together, Rahul and Tara explore the role of research in fiction to make the audience feel like it's their story. Rahul explains what it was like to navigate this Everywoman story and how the domestic and the political are never really separate, whether it's 1974 or now.  He talks about why the computer undid his ability to go deep and how Toni Morisson’s method inspired him to write his first draft of 133,000 words by hand.  Whether you are stuck in the train or traffic, this episode will surely help you escape to another world.  Books mentioned in this episode: The Rabbit Angstrom series by John UpdikeDesperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence by Shrayana BhattacharyaPundits from Pakistan by Rahul BhattacharyaThe Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

If you decided to go analogue this year but still find yourself doomscrolling at 2 a.m., then this episode is for you. In this latest episode, Tara sits down with Ria Chopra, writer, influencer, and Youth Advisor to Google, to unpack what it really means to grow up with the internet, how it builds identity, memory, relationships and sometimes completely messes with all of it in her debut book, “Never Logged Out.”  Ria dives into the rebirth of antiquated notions of love through dating apps alongside the rise of trad wife content and femininity gurus. And then she questions the new norm for weddings and proposals, where we put on a show thanks to our ‘panopticon gaze’, trying to make it all ‘Instagram worthy.’ Ria also gets honest about what it means to build a writing career online, navigating how much of your life (and the lives of people around you) becomes content and how to stay authentic without feeling like you’re ‘selling your soul’ to the algorithm. Finally, they touch on some trends that might shape us, including AI influencers with millions of followers, the analogue revival (trend or genuine shift?), and why extreme gender polarisation online is something we should be paying closer attention to. Press play, and then maybe pause to check how you're actually using the internet. Books and documentaries mentioned in this episode:  The Anxious Generation by Jonathan HaidtDon’t Date Me, I’m Dalit by Christina DhanrajAlgo Speak by Adam AleksicInside the Manosphere by Louis Theroux (2026) ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What if the most defining moment of your career was the one you never planned? In this episode of Books & Beyond, Tara speaks with Dr. Ashok Ganguly, former Chairman of Hindustan Unilever, former Rajya Sabha member, and author of We Are Our Future. From failing in school to becoming a global business leader, Dr. Ganguly reflects on a life shaped as much by chance as by choice. He shares the idea that who we become is influenced long before we make conscious decisions; by our genes and our environment. Tara and Dr. Ganguly moves through different defining chapters of his life: an accidental interview that ended up shaping his career, the decision to return to India at a time when pursuing a life abroad was a dream for many, and his years navigating leadership and nation-building during a transformative period in India’s history. But beyond career and success, this episode is also a reflection of failure, the confidence instilled in him by his parents, the support of his wife, and the grief of losing her. It's really about how he makes sense of it all in hindsight. Tune in, there’s a lot to take away here.  ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What if we told you that Bombay food isn't as local as you think? In this episode, Tara sits down with writer and journalist Pronoti Datta, author of In the Beginning There Was Bombay Duck, to unpack the delicious and deeply layered history of Bombay’s food. Pronoti and Tara trace the city’s culinary journey, from the Koli fishing communities and early tiffin rooms to colonial clubs, Irani cafes, Goan bakers, Udupi restaurants, and the rise of Indo-Chinese food. Along the way, they explore how migration, colonialism, urban planning, and even real estate have shaped what ends up on your plate today. They also get into why “Bombay cuisine” is actually a mashup of many different cultures, the surprising origins of everyday ingredients like potatoes and chillies, how Goan cooks shaped elite colonial kitchens, the disappearing food cultures you won’t easily find in restaurants and so much more! This conversation will make you hungry. Order something before you hit play. Books Mentioned in This Episode: Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age by Naresh FernandesCity of gold: the biography of Bombay by Gillian Tindall‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What does it mean to feel at home? And what do you do when that feeling never quite arrives? In the latest episode of Books & Beyond, Tara Khandelwal sits down with journalist and author Rahul Pandita to discuss his novel Our Friends in Good Houses, a story about searching for home and a sense of belonging in a world where both can feel elusive. Drawing from decades of reporting in war zones, Rahul reflects on his journey as a journalist, the emotional weight of witnessing a conflict, and why he turned to fiction to express experiences that were perhaps too close to home. He shares stories from the field, from travelling with Maoist guerrillas in the forests of Bastar to reporting during the chaos of the Iraq war. Rahul explains the concept of “Ungrund”, or groundlessness, which became the seed of the novel. Along the way, he reflects on the craft of writing his novels and how fiction can reveal what journalism can’t. Tune in, and find out what “home” means to someone who is always on the move.  Books mentioned in the episode: 1. Murphy by Samuel Beckett ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

Wait… ghosts were people once too! In this episode of Books & Beyond, Tara Khandelwal speaks with historian and writer Eric Chopra about his book Ghosted, which explores the haunted monuments of Delhi. But this episode isn’t just about spooky stories. Eric looks at the histories behind these legends, from the Lathwale Baba believed to inhabit the arches of Feroz Shah Kotla to the mysterious second grave inside the tomb of Jamali Kamali. Together, Tara and Eric wander through some of Delhi’s most fascinating monuments and the stories people continue to tell about them. They also talk about queer histories, forgotten royal claimants, the politics of heritage, and why people still leave letters for jinn when life’s problems feel too big. Rather than trying to prove whether ghosts are real, Eric looks at what these stories reveal about history and how people remember it. Press play, the ghosts of Delhi have stories to tell. Books and TV Shows Mentioned in the Episode: Fear Files (2012)Goosebumps (Novel Series)Vikram and Vetal‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What does it take to build a Michelin-starred restaurant when you arrive in New York heartbroken and broke? In the latest episode of Books & Beyond, Tara sits down with Suvir Saran, the chef behind Devi; the first Indian restaurant in North America to receive a Michelin star, to talk about his memoir Tell My Mother I Like Boys. But this episode isn’t just about food. From growing up in Delhi feeling “othered,” to becoming one of the world’s first openly gay chefs, to being left on a New York sidewalk by his first love with Tiffany rings still in his pocket, Suvir speaks candidly about racism, heartbreak, illness, a 20-year relationship that shaped him, and the difficult decision to return to India at 53 and begin again. Tara and Suvir also unpack what it really took to make Indian cuisine “chic” in New York before it was trendy, why he chose not to villainise the people who hurt him, the story behind his 27-page acknowledgements (yes, 27!), and how the title came to be. This episode looks at the messy side of building a career and a life, the risks, the reinventions, and the moments that force you to grow up fast. If you’ve ever felt out of place or caught between two worlds, this episode will stay with you. ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What if the most powerful character in the Mahabharata was a boatwoman? In this episode of Books & Beyond, Tara sits down with debut author Rupeen Popat to explore his novel Satyavati, a bold retelling of the Mahabharata’s origin story through the eyes of a woman history forgot. Satyavati begins as a ferrying boatwoman, but her courage and resilience transform her into the queen who steered the fate of kingdoms. Rupeen takes us behind the scenes of his lifelong fascination with Indian epics, sharing his research process, stepping into the shoes of Satyavati, and deep dives that brought this book and the morally complex world of Hastinapur to life. From Bhishma’s unbreakable vows to Ganga’s enigmatic actions, the episode explores the conflicts, morally grey areas, and leadership lessons these timeless stories hold for readers today. He also opens up about his publishing journey with Jaico, what makes Indian mythology different than Western, and hints at the next books in the series that will shine a light on other overlooked characters. If you’ve ever wondered what really shapes history, or simply love epic storytelling, you won’t want to miss this episode. Books and TV shows mentioned in the episode: Mahabharat (1988)Game of Thrones (2011)The Lord of the Rings (Film trilogy)How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie  ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

Be honest. When was the last time you logged off because you wanted to, not because your battery died? In this brand new episode of Books & Beyond, Tara sits down with Anurag Minus Verma, influencer, writer, and podcaster, to trace how the Indian internet went from cyber cafes and Orkut scraps to algorithms that know us better than we do. From going down random rabbit holes and getting emotionally invested in strangers we’ve never met, to collectively losing our minds over the next big controversy, it all points to the same question: when did being online become the default setting, and what has it done to us in the process?   Talking about his book The Great Indian Brain Rot, Anurag and Tara get into the TikTok ban and the madness around it, the influence of Sushant Singh Rajput, and why influencer fame doesn’t always mean anything outside the app. He also talks about why so many creators want to shift to film or TV, and how podcasts have suddenly become the format everyone wants in on. If your day starts and ends with a screen, and “just five minutes” never means five minutes, this episode is for you! So press play. Then maybe, just maybe, touch some grass. Books and Documentaries mentioned in the episode: Never Logged Out: How the Internet Created India's Gen Z by Ria ChopraMorality TV and Loving Jehad by Paromita Vohra (2007)Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia TolentinoMother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati RoyThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiKasapa by Manohar Shyam Joshi  ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

Is Mumbai still a city for everyone, or just for those who can afford it? In this episode of Books & Beyond, Tara sits down with veteran journalist and author Sidharth Bhatia to discuss his latest book, Mumbai: A Million Islands. The book is not about the history of Marine Lines or the Gateway of India, but the thing that actually builds this city... PEOPLE! Tara and Sidharth explore the bubonic plague of 1896, the transformation of Parel’s textile mills into high-end malls, and what it’s like for 28 families to build a rooftop community, hauling groceries, furniture, and even dead bodies up by rope. They discuss displacement of both slum and middle-class communities, the stories of activist Gauri Sawant and Kanthibai of Kamathipura, and how walking across the city reveals the hidden lives and stories that often go unnoticed. Whether you’re a lifelong Mumbaikar or a curious outsider, this episode is a love letter and a critique that will make you question what it truly means to belong in Mumbai today. Books and Documentaries mentioned in the episode: Bachelor Girls by Shikha Makan (2016)Manto: Selected Short Stories by Saadat Hasan MantoNight in Bombay by Louis Bromfield  ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What if the most important love story in your life isn’t romantic at all? In our brand new episode, journalist and author Deepanjana Pal talks about her novel, Lightning in a Shot Glass. It’s a witty, radical look at two Mumbai flatmates navigating love, life, and ambition on their own terms. Tara and Deepanjana dive into why female friendships are often the real love stories of our lives and how having chosen family keeps us grounded. They challenge the notion of genre hierarchies while showing that love stories can be smart and fun. Deepanjana also gets candid about the messier parts of life, from workplace politics and abuse of authority to age-gap and interfaith romance. By bringing these real-world messes into the conversation, she proves that fiction can be both joyful and deeply authentic at the same time. If you’re looking to dive into something that's as smart and fun as it is unapologetically real, this episode is for you! Books and TV Shows mentioned in the episode: Younger (2015)Four More Shots Please! (2019)Call Me Bae (2024)Fleabag (2016)The Family Man (2019)A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie BrennanBeowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana HeadleyThe Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana HeadleyThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiCat's Eye by Margaret Atwood‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What happens to “us” when we’re no longer the smartest beings on the planet? In our brand new episode, technologist and global innovation leader Akshay Chopra discusses his debut novel After Us, exploring a world transformed by SUI, a self-aware, benevolent superintelligence that questions the very definition of life and humanity. Tara and Akshay dive deep into the fascinating (and often terrifying) intersections of science and fiction, from the "Longevity Escape Velocity" that could grant us 400-year lifespans to why humans may never truly understand an AI’s motives, and how Akshay conceived SUI not as an invention, but as a fallible, evolving being. The conversation goes on to explore why science fiction remains largely untapped in India, despite its wealth of technologists and storytellers, and how our fear of AI may stem from humanity’s own history of driving other species to extinction. Akshay also shares his journey of publishing his novel through Jaico and his shift from a "pretentious" writing style to a simplified narrative. By stripping away the jargon, he makes the looming reality of our future impossible to ignore. If the AI takeover keeps you up at night, this episode is just for you! Books, Movies, and TV shows mentioned in the episode: Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyBlack Mirror (2011)Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah HarariHer (2013)Star Trek (2009)Children of Time by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin SharmaAutobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa YoganandaRubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Omar KhayyamA Sound of Thunder by Ray BradburyChildhood's End by Arthur C. ClarkeRendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. ClarkeInterstellar (2014)2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)  ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

What does it take to actually curate a literary festival? We’re back! Season 9 of Books & Beyond kicks off with Tara and Aishwarya spilling the tea on their latest project: curating the Literature Section for the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2026!   This episode is a deep dive into the madness of curation. Why is Aishwarya obsessed with color-coded Excel sheets? Why is Tara picking out "apples" for a festival? And how many "healthy skirmishes" does it take to build a schedule from scratch? From the magic of reading Kafka in Marathi to the courage it takes to launch a debut novel, tune in for an exclusive peek into the heart of a mammoth arts festival!  ‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms. 

Would you keep writing if your agent told you "not yet" for ten straight years? In this episode of Books & Beyond, Tara sits down with NYT bestselling author Alka Joshi to discuss her latest novel, Six Days in Bombay. Alka reveals the incredible decade-long journey behind her debut, The Henna Artist, from a relentless agent who kept saying the book wasn’t ready, through years of tireless revisions, to the "perfect timing" that landed her in Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. But for Alka, the story started much earlier. She shares her personal journey of navigating prejudice as an Indian in America; an experience that once forced her to leave her heritage behind, until she finally chose to embrace it all to tell her mother’s story. She also takes us behind the scenes of her new book; how she purposefully traveled to cities like Prague, Paris, and Florence to "live" the world of her novels before meticulously reconstructing the 1937 world portrayed in Six Days in Bombay. Tara and Alka also dive into their shared love for historical fiction, their top book recommendations, and the real-life incredible women who inspired her most beloved characters. Tune in now to hear firsthand about Alka Joshi’s fascinating road to publishing and her life as a storyteller! Books Mentioned in the Episode: The Joy Luck Club by Amy TanA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryRed Azalea by Anchee MinPachinko by Min Jin LeeStories from TagoreThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Inheritance of Loss by Kiran DesaiAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Covenant of Water by Abraham VergheseRailsong by Rahul BhattacharyaSmall Things Like These by Claire Keegan‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.