Kalki Presents - My Indian Life [World Service]

This episode is a taster of the second series of My Indian Life, coming to the BBC World Service in July.

Kalki Koechlin presents tales of being young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Standing stark naked - a woman fights back

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Please tell us your stories of being young and Indian in the 21st century – head here to leave us your message https://bbc.in/2OmbcoK

The man refusing to fit in with an ancient class hierarchy #MyIndianLife

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Produced by Geeta Pandey for BBC World Service.

Dreams threaten to tear a family apart. The story of belly dancer Eshan Hilal

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

From New York to Shimla
Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin presents tales of what it’s like to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.
Ilma Feroz grew up in a modest farming community in rural Uttar Pradesh, in the north of India.
As a child, her mother and father encouraged Ilma and her brother to study hard, knowing it could help them pursue a better life.
But Ilma’s life came crashing down when her father died, leaving her mother to raise two children alone. Still, Ilma was encouraged to study hard – something people in her community would tell her mother was wrong.
“If you educate her too much, nobody will marry her. She was told to make me submissive and quieter and a little less educated,” Ilma tells Kalki.

With her mother’s encouragement, Ilma went on to study at some of the world’s best universities, including Oxford, and build an international career, living in Paris and New York.
And then, one day she decided to give it all up and return home to India.

“My talent, my education, and my whole self is for my country. It’s for my mother,” she says.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Saving the Planet
Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin presents tales of what it’s like to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.
Arun Krishnamurthy grew up in the lush environment of rural Chennai, where he lived between a lake and a pond. He spent his time observing the local wildlife, like snakes, crabs and frogs.
“I had a greater understanding of the ecosystem at large…that they all exist and we live with them,” he tells Kalki.
But when he saw construction workers illegally dumping waste into the local lake, he decided to take action and organised a community clean-up.
Today, he has taken his campaign across the country and in the process gave up a highly-prized job at Google to become a full-time environmentalist.
“When you give nature a chance, she bounces back in style,” he says.

In this episode, we also hear Arushi Majumder, who was just 14-years-old when she decided to get her local community recycling.

Kalki Koechlin presents tales of being young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

In the final episode of the series, Kalki speaks to tech entrepreneur Gadhadar Reddy about the unusual path he is pursuing to get to another planet.

Rather than join an existing space programme to become an astronaut, Gadhadar has taken a much more strategic approach.
He set up a company to produce the materials needed to build spacecraft capable of such a long journey – because without this, nobody is going to get to Mars.

Pretty much everyone in India’s space industry told him he was wasting his time – and yet over the past decade he’s been doing an impressive job of proving them all wrong.

Kalki Koechlin presents tales of being young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

In the final episode of the series, Kalki speaks to tech entrepreneur Gadhadar Reddy about the unusual path he is pursuing to get to another planet.

Rather than join an existing space programme to become an astronaut, Gadhadar has taken a much more strategic approach.
He set up a company to produce the materials needed to build spacecraft capable of such a long journey – because without this, nobody is going to get to Mars.

Pretty much everyone in India’s space industry told him he was wasting his time – and yet over the past decade he’s been doing an impressive job of proving them all wrong.

Kalki Koechlin presents tales of being young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Ilma's life was in the USA. A call to her mum led her home to a new job in the police

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Ilma's life was in the USA. A call to her mum led her home to a new job in the police

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

This episode is a taster of the second series of My Indian Life, coming to the BBC World Service in July.

The baby left at the orphanage \u2013 Nisha\u2019s story. \u201cHappiness is a mindset.\u201d #MyIndianLife

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin presents tales of being young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

His brother died from an overdose. His dad was an alcoholic. Now Jenpu Rongmei is saving others from a similar fate. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a dropout – what matters is you are human.”
Tell us your stories about being young and Indian in the 21st Century: myindianlife@bbc.com
And let us know what you think of the podcast. #MyIndianLife

Two young Indians on a mission to make the world a better place to live #MyIndianLife

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Two young Indians on a mission to make the world a better place to live #MyIndianLife

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Produced by Geeta Pandey for BBC World Service.

A man who struggles to speak, but finds his voice when he sings

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

\u201cI can be whoever I want to be.\u201d Bidisha is a singer and she performs as a Persian prince

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

\u201cI can be whoever I want to be.\u201d Bidisha is a singer and she performs as a Persian prince

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.