Has the coronavirus pandemic disrupted your plan to take that long trip? Is the ongoing lockdown making you crave going off-road? Fret not. If you can’t go to the highway, Rocky, Mayur, Prashant, and Abhinandan — the team behind shows like Highway On My Plate, Vital Stats of India, Jai Hind, and Rocky and Mayur's Food Xpress — will bring the highway to you!

So, here goes the newest offering from Newslaundry: Highway On My Podcast. The creators of the much loved TV travel show revisit their travels across India, sharing stories, anecdotes, trivia, and — for when the roads are open and inviting again — recommendations on food, culture, people, and much more.

In this special episode of Highway On My Podcast, Rocky, Abhinandan, Mayur, and Prashant take a trip down memory lane, and recount some of their favourite experiences together in the past years.

The team recounts their memories of witnessing Onam at the ancient Thrikkakara Temple in Kochi, Kerala. While the festival is celebrated by people of all religious backgrounds — both devout and otherwise — no one wants to kill anyone, which according to Mayur truly showcases India at its secular best. From costumed elephants and quarrelsome bulls to a never ending feast, the port city does not disappoint the discerning travellers.

The panel also reminisces the magical interconnectedness between the Himalayan town of Darjeeling and Mount Kanchenjunga, visible through every window frame, doorway, and verandah. Although they missed a ride on the iconic toy train, they did visit some of the town’s most celebrated eateries, including Glenary’s Bakery and Pub and the original Keventer’s which serves what is arguably India’s best continental breakfast.

Later in the episode, the gang remembers their trip to Mandvi, a small but historic town in Kutch, Gujarat. Mandvi is home to India’s most exclusive and most talented dabeliwala, the now-late Gababhai. Talk of the quaint, medieval shipyard in the beach town evokes in Rocky and Mayur memories of the time they replicated the iconic ‘king of the world’ move from the movie Titanic.

And since any journey across India is as rich a gastronomical tour, the group also recalls some of their favourite meals together, including the royal wazwan in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, the theatrically-prepared chaat at Indore’s legendary Sarafa Bazar, and in Nagpur and Tezpur, chillies hot enough to make your life flash before your eyes.

All this and more, only in this week’s episode of Highway On My Podcast.

For more trivia and behind the scenes moments from Rocky and Mayur’s travels across India, sign up for the HOMP newsletter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Highway On My Podcast, Rocky , Mayur and Abhinandan fly off to their first international destination for the show, Sri Lanka. During the first leg of their Sri Lanka tour, the men discuss their visits to Habarana, Sigiriya and Minneriya.

Rocky sets the conversation going with the socio linguistic relevance of “bada bhai” (big brother) and “chhota bhai” (younger brother) with reference to Sri Lanka. Delving into what he thinks the essence of Sri Lanka is, Mayur talks about the spices, beaches, Buddhist culture, plenty of green cover, and the generosity and courteousness of people.

On reaching the island nation, Rocky and Mayur decided on becoming Indian superheroes who would represent culture in a foreign land. This led to the birth of “Masala Man” and “Aachar Boy” (pickle boy). The duo reminisce about the lack of changing rooms during most of their travels and having to don their superhero costumes on top of the clothes they were already wearing.

Talking about superheroes, the gang talks about how Masala Man and Aachar Boy saved a deer from being hunted down. Abhinandan is reminded of how pleasantly surprised he was by the extraordinary use of jackfruit by Sri Lankans for making a wide variety of exquisitely unique dishes.

The team fondly remembers their first pit stop — Cinnamon Lounge, a beautiful property with tiny cottages where monitor lizards peacefully cohabited with guests.

Next comes the trek up to the magnificent Sigiriya rock and the beautiful statues on the way. Once back down, the boys head to a nearby village where local hosts arrange a luncheon prepared by the villagers. While the food is cooking, the gang take two canoes and go boating on a local reservoir built by a king. Abhinandan is yet again stunned by the beauty and cleanliness that a place left completely to the locals reflects.

The meal, like all meals prepared by locals, turns out to be scrumptious. Abhinandan talks about how similar it was to Indian Goan cuisine despite the stark differences.

The men then travel to a national park where they see hundreds of Asian elephants in their natural habitat. They talk about red rice and a local preparation “Pol Sambol” whilst busting the myth about Indians never having invaded a foreign lands. Oh, and they also go hunting with a local tribe.

All this and more, only on Highway On My Podcast.

For more trivia and behind the scenes moments from Rocky and Mayur’s travels across India, sign up for the HOMP newsletter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has the coronavirus pandemic disrupted your plan to take that long trip? Is the ongoing lockdown making you crave going off-road? Fret not. If you can’t go to the highway, Rocky, Mayur, Prashant, and Abhinandan — the team behind shows like Highway On My Plate, Vital Stats of India, Jai Hind, and Rocky and Mayur's Food Xpress — will bring the highway to you!

So, here goes the newest offering from Newslaundry: Highway On My Podcast. The creators of the much loved TV travel show revisit their travels across India, sharing stories, anecdotes, trivia, and — for when the roads are open and inviting again — recommendations on food, culture, people, and much more.

In this episode of Highway On My Podcast, the gang sits across (virtually ofcourse! ) to read out mails written by some of the most dedicated and loving fans of all the shows the team has created over the years.

Abhinandan asks his co-panellists to think of the people they still remember meeting during their travels. This opens an interesting can of anecdotes about some really interesting people.

Abhinandan begins by talking about Sweeta who had shown the gang around a rum factory in Mauritius--‘the lady with the voice and face of an angel,’ as Abhinandan calls her. Meanwhile, Rocky is more interested in the Rum Baba, a dessert made with sponge cake soaked in rum, sugar, and spice...and all things nice.

The team reads out a mail from Sovesh who suggests the team ought to make their next journey to Cuttack more satisfying than the last one with the Cuttacki biryani. Mayur is reminded of one Mr Raja about whom he promises to talk more in the Sri Lanka episode.

Reading Sujay’s mail, the gang expresses their gratitude for fans who have become family over the course of years. Special shoutout to Abiraan who has been writing to Rocky and Mayur for a long time now.

Another mail from a fan in Andhra Pradesh is loaded with recommendations for the two tsars of Indian food and travel. The mail lists Bhimavaram, the “Andhra of Andhra,” with its exceptional range of dishes on offer. The fan shares historical trivia about some of the places the team talked about in the Andhra episode.

Then, Rocky goes on to narrate some behind the scenes anecdotes from one of the shows they hosted, called India’s Most Haunted. He talks about how Mayur nearly killed himself multiple times during the shoot at various locations.

The conversation meanders across topics, from Prashant’s favourite soft spoken Jaat to a really sentimental story about Major Vikrant, a reminder for us to respect our differences and love one another to honour men like him who sacrifice so much for the country we call home.

All this and more, only on Highway On My Podcast.

For more trivia and behind the scenes moments from Rocky and Mayur’s travels across India, sign up for the HOMP newsletter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.