An interesting insight into the Indian psyche and masculinity
The recently launched Podcast, What’s A Man? examines what it means to be a boy or man in India today. The final episode of the series will be aired on coming Wednesday, June the 9th.
Through a series of humorous, moving, and thought-provoking interviews with renowned guests ranging from comedians to army generals, and Bollywood actors, the podcast offers new insights into our relationship with masculinity.
Hosted and developed by Dr. Deepa Narayan, a former Senior Adviser at the World Bank, one of Foreign Policy Magazine’s 100 most influential global speakers, and author of the ground-breaking book Chup.
The podcast, already drawing rave reviews, offers Dr. Narayan’s view that gender equality will never be achieved without addressing men. She has drawn from her research for her book, Chup which addressed issues around women in India and the inequalities they faced, for inspiration for the podcast.
What’s A Man? is developed as an evolving piece of research and is based on interviews with over 250 educated middle and upper-class boys and men from across India. Through a series
of simple but thought-provoking questions Dr. Narayan is able to explore the role of power and love in various aspects of men’s lives, in homes, schools and offices.
Dr Narayan further addresses these issues with a series of engaging guests including mythology writer, Amit Tripathi; Sushant Digvikar, a gay man, drag queen, singer, and actor; retired army General HS Panag; Vishal Talreja, co-founder of NGO Dream, a Dream; comedian Neville Shah; and veteran Bollywood actor Dalip Tahil amongst others.
Broken down into thematic topics, each episode discusses a new subject or idea, from what it means to be a man, to bodies, sex, or power. The podcast throws light on how gender equality issues cannot be addressed by removing men out of the equation but rather understanding the struggles men may face in having to adhere to society’s expectations of what it means to be a man.
