Title: ‘Running Its Course’

Goal: To gain insights into the work and creative process of architect Brinda Somaya

Execution: Explored Somaya’s use of metaphors in building design, her emphasis on art, and the challenges unique to architects in India

Title: ‘Questions for My Sindhi Grandmother’ (see link)

Goal: To capture the Sindhi Partition experience through personal narratives, raising questions of language, land and memory

Execution: Structured the piece around an interview with my grandmother, supplemented by the experiences of the Chennai Sindhi community, and my own double perspective as an insider and an outsider

Title: Once Upon a Billboard (see link)

Goal: To interview Neel Kumar, a film-maker from India who tells stories of Dubai

Execution: Drew from personal experiences of Dubai and its multilayered society to cast unique light on Kumar’s work

Title: Street Smart

Goal: To pay tribute to India’s sixty-third anniversary of independence

Execution: With the team, conceptualized Culturama’s ‘Rising India’ feature, highlighting unconventional young Indian achievers

Title: Split Personalities

Goal: To bring two people together in conversation for the first time, for Culturama’s ‘Coffee & Conversation’ column

Execution: Identified unique pairs of individuals spanning artistes and sportspeople, facilitating conversations based on parallels and divergences in their professional and personal journeys

Title: Sure Shot

Goal: To celebrate the centennial of International Women’s Day

Execution: With the team, conceptualized Culturama’s ‘Wonder Women’ feature, highlighting exceptional women from India and abroad

Title: Past Master

Goal: To gain insights from pioneers and leaders for Culturama’s ‘View from the Top’ column

Execution: Identified and interviewed game changers across various fields; featured here is an interview with historian and writer Ramachandra Guha

Title: The Long Road Home (see link)

Goal: To interview South Korean documentary film-maker Sung-Hyung Cho about her German film, Home from Home

Execution: Drew on parallels between the film’s protagonists and Cho herself, focusing on questions of identity and the concept of ‘home’

Title: Muscle Memory

Goal: To interview Nick Bismack, fighter and former trainer of UFC Hall of Famer Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn’s fight team

Execution: Based on Bismack’s neuroscience background, highlighted links between psychology, fighting and fitness