The episode opens with Arun talking about what creativity means to him. Arun shares his earliest memory of being creative and how he started out on his creative journey. He talks about his experience as a graphic designer and his teaching stint. We then delve into how he started Helter Skelter and Astray and what his curation process is like. Later, we talk about social media and the different formats that exist today for stories. Arun also shares his thoughts on AI. The episode ends with Arun reading the editor’s note from Helter Skelter’s latest volume.

Best known as the founding editor of Helter Skelter Magazine, Arun has been a media entrepreneur for the past 22 years and his professional experience spans a number of roles, including writer, editor, educator, graphic designer (print and digital), and web developer. He has also had a fruitful stint as teacher and program director at a French college of graphic design and visual communication, and recently concluded a stint leading communications and capacity building at a non-profit applied AI research institute. You can find him on Instagram @sleepybyday and on X @arunkale. And you can find more about Helter Skelter @helterskeltermag (Instagram) and @ishelterskelter (X).

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: The Prince And The Pauper, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, J Krishnamurthi, Rishi Valley, Tata Lit Live, Adobe InDesign, PageMaker, Soundcloud, MySpace, MTV, Channel V, CG Salamander, Pragya Bhagat, Janice Pariat, Kala Ghoda Festival, Bound, Spotify, IFP, Anchor, Spotify for Podcasters, Astray, Appupen, Devashish Makhija, Kaneez Surkha, Ursula Le Guin, Stefan Zweig, Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master And Margarita, Zadie Smith, Black Sabbath, Oasis, Ozark, A Young Doctor’s Notebook

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot

Note: This episode is in Hinglish. The episode opens with Tejas talking about what creativity means to him. We talk about how his interest in music began and how he went about making it a professional pursuit. Tejas shares his take on having an agent and how he initiated his signature Qawali venture Mehfil-E-Sufi. He also talks about his relationship with social media and what going viral was like. We later chat about his favourite artists and influences. The episode ends with excerpts from two pieces written and narrated by Tejas.

P.S. - No episode next week on account of Navratri! Talk to y'all on 20th Oct! :)

Tejas is an independent singer, songwriter and composer primarily in Hindi. He has produced songs like Jaana Zaroori Tha, Pyaar, Intezaar and Qurbat to name a few. Tejas is classically trained and has also been a teacher at the Shankar Mahadevan Academy. He is also the founder of Mehfil-E-Sufi. You can find him on Instagram @tejasgambhirofficial and @mehfilesufi.

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: Gurbani, KK, Emraan Hashmi, The Corona Song, Shankar Mahadevan Academy, Velvet Vibes, Papon, On Stage Talents, Arbaaz Khan, AR Rahman, Spotify, Coke Studio, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rohail Hyatt, Sajjad Ali, Arjit Singh, Suits, Designated Survivor, rahat Indori, Krishn Bihari Noor, Mark Manson, Enid Blyton, Secret Seven, Diljit Dosanjh, On Stage Talent

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot

The episode opens with Krish talking about what creativity means to him. We chat about how he started writing and illustrating. Krish talks about his time in Delhi as a journalist, a student in Singapore and his life in Beijing as an artist. We talk about his deep interest in music and how that’s influenced him. Later, he talks about Chaoyang Trap a quirky publication on socio-political and cultural themes in China. We also share book recommendations and discuss Krish’s favourite artists. The episode ends with an excerpt from a piece written and narrated by Krish.

Krish Raghav is a comic book artist based in Amsterdam. He was part of Chaoyang Trap, an experimental newsletter about everyday life on the Chinese internet. Krish's writing and illustrations have appeared in TANK Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Real Life, Topic, and Al-Jazeera. He’s working on his debut full-length comic book, a history of the Beijing underground music scene titled Open All the Buddha Boxes. You can find him @krishraghav on X (Twitter), @beijingbrown on IG. Website: krishcat.com

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

Mentions: Tasha’s Comic, The Beetles, Bjork, Nucleya, Lifafa, Peter Cat Recording Co., Disco Puppet, Sanitary Panels, The Vigil Idiot, Bakarmax, Singapore Art Museum, Fifty Two, Substack, Real Life Magazine, Chaoyang Trap, Illayaraja, The Mountain Goats, Awaara, The Song Explorers, Interesting Times, The Observatory, Cortex, McDowell Fellowship, Yaddo Fellowship, Krish Ashok, Masala Lab, Al-Jazeera, The New York Times, Michael DeForge, Familiar Face, Appupen, Yan Cong, Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida, Shehan Karunatilaka, The Saint Of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrashekara, Our Share Of Night, Mariana Enríquez, Benjamín Labatut, The Maniac, When We Cease To Understand The World, Taking The Horse To Eat Jalebis, A Night Of Knowing Nothing, Payal Kapadia, Enter The Clones Of Bruce, Ghost Maps,

Social Media:

Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles

Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com

Music:

Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io

Produced By White Hot