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The Gyaan Project

The Gyaan Project

By: The Gyaan Project
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The Gyaan Project (formerly Audiogyan) is a podcast exploring creative wisdom. Since 2016, it has chronicled ideas, philosophies, and stories of Indian luminaries—bridging the past with the present to inspire the future.

www.thegyaanproject.comKedar Nimkar Art Philosophy Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ep. 326 - Designing your news diet in this noise with Manisha Pande

    Ep. 326 - Designing your news diet in this noise with Manisha Pande
    May 6 2026

    In this episode of The Gyaan Project, Kedar Nimkar sits down with Manisha Pande, Editorial Director at Newslaundry and the writer and host of TV Newsance, to break down what news really means in today's noisy, polarized India.

    Manisha walks us through the basics of journalism, the inner workings of newsrooms, the rise of TV anchors as circus masters, and the business model that makes Newslaundry one of India's only ad free, subscription driven independent news platforms. She also unpacks fake news, misinformation, disinformation and propaganda, and shares practical tips on how to design a healthier news diet.

    Whether you are a journalist, a student, a designer, a content creator or simply a citizen trying to make sense of the news, this conversation will sharpen the way you consume information.

    About the guest

    Manisha Pande is the Editorial Director at Newslaundry and the writer and host of TV Newsance, a weekly satirical critique of Indian television news. Previously with DNA and Business Standard, she has won the Ramnath Goenka Award and the Laadli Media Award for her reporting.

    Chapters

    (00:00) Introduction

    (03:03) What is news?

    (06:36) Roles of different journalists in the news ecosystem

    (11:35) What is Newslaundry?

    (16:56) Why critique news and not just report news?

    (21:34) How do you define misinformation, disinformation and fake news?

    (25:49) What travels faster in India?

    (32:22) How to read news?

    (40:29) What is the future of independent news?

    Reference reading

    https://www.thegyaanproject.com/

    https://www.youtube.com/@thegyaanproject

    https://www.instagram.com/thegyaanprojectpodcast/

    https://www.instagram.com/manisha.pande/

    https://www.newslaundry.com/author/manisha-pande



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com
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    46 mins
  • Ep. 325 - The secret to designing for India’s plurality with Amit Das

    Ep. 325 - The secret to designing for India’s plurality with Amit Das
    Apr 8 2026
    SummaryAmit Das, SVP of design at Urban Company, has spent years understanding how Indians actually live with their appliances. In this episode, he breaks down what designing for India's plurality really means, from durability and shared usage to what premium looks like across different households. He also challenges the popular idea of smart living and makes a case for convenience over complexity.About the guestSVP of design and native products at Urban Company, Amit Das is a software and hardware designer, blogger and hobby artist. He has previously worked at Housing.com, FusionCharts and Fab.com, and has co-founded two startups.Who should listen* Product and industrial designers who want to understand what designing for India’s real and diverse user base actually looks like on the ground.* Founders and product teams building consumer hardware or home appliances for the Indian market.* Anyone curious about how culture, affordability and everyday behaviour shape the products we live with.* Design students and early career professionals looking for honest, practical perspective on what the field demands beyond aesthetics and trends.Topics discussed in the episode* Rapid fire round: one appliance Indians buy more for hope than utility, buttons or dials, one everyday object that teaches good design, one button you would delete, your favourite industrial product and why, which product has the most emotional value, should products behave like tools or companions, the most over designed product in Indian homes, and manuals or no manuals?* You write about designing for moments rather than steps. How do you see household appliances in daily lives, and does this philosophy apply to digital products too?* India has many Indias. What are the most defining differences you observe in how people use products across different economic and social contexts?* What framework does Urban Company use to understand these diverse user dynamics, and how do you conduct ground level research including in home visits and shadowing?* Why did Urban Company venture into building native hardware products like RO water purifiers, and what was the origin story behind that decision?* How do different Indias define premiumness, and what does premium actually mean across social strata, geographies and product categories?* How should designers think about CMF for durable appliances that sit in a home for many years, compared to trend driven shorter shelf life products?* What does smart living actually mean for Indian homes, and why does the current definition of smartness often increase cognitive load rather than solve for convenience?* How do you balance aspiration versus affordability at scale, and what are the hardest trade offs between design aspiration, cost, reliability and repairability?* How did you transition from digital to hardware design, and what skills, mindsets and experiences should young designers build if they want to get into industrial design?Reference links* https://www.linkedin.com/in/dasamit88/* https://www.godgeez.com/about* https://www.instagram.com/godgeez/* https://medium.com/uc-design/amit-das-633fb92042e0* https://medium.com/@godgeez* How to Become a Senior UI/UX Designer? | The Ultimate Career Framework by Urban Company’s Design SVP* https://www.quora.com/profile/Amit-Das-5* https://x.com/Godgeez* https://www.instagram.com/urbancompany/* https://www.urbancompany.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Ep. 324 – Why boredom is your best creative tool ft. Artist Vishwa Shroff

    Ep. 324 – Why boredom is your best creative tool ft. Artist Vishwa Shroff
    Mar 25 2026
    Every building has a story. Every crack, every stain, every surface holds a memory of someone who was there before you. The question is — are you looking?In this episode of The Gyaan Project, host Kedar Nimkar sits down with Mumbai-based artist Vishwa Shroff for a slow, rich, and deeply thoughtful conversation about the art of drawing, urban observation, and what it means to build a creative practice from the ground up.This episode is part of an ongoing series with MATTER — an architectural design and curatorial practice with a deep interest in design discourse in India.ABOUT VISHWA SHROFFVishwa Shroff is a Mumbai-based contemporary artist represented by TARQ Gallery and co-founder of SQW Lab. Her practice is rooted entirely in drawing — not painting — and she has exhibited her work internationally in London, Basel, and Tokyo. Her work explores urban memory, architectural space, and the human traces left behind in the built environment.WHAT WE TALK ABOUT🖊️ Drawing vs. Painting — Why Vishwa insists drawing is a fundamentally different act from painting, closer to writing than to gesture, and why the distinction matters more than the medium.🐦 Pigeons, Architecture & Memory — How Vishwa arrived at architecture as her subject matter by following the flight of pigeons in Baroda, and how a family home transition sparked a lifelong interest in memory and space.📷 Why the Camera Captures Too Much — Her complicated, tension-filled relationship with photography, why she believes drawing is an act of editing, and how she uses the camera as a tool without surrendering to it.🏙️ Reading Cracks & Stains — Why the details most people walk past — the cracks, the stains, the worn surfaces of buildings — are where Vishwa finds her richest material, and how each drawing becomes a time capsule.📓 The Daily Practice — How her sketchbook works as a living database, why she takes notes even while watching Bollywood films, and how observations spiral into finished works over time.😴 Boredom as a Creative Tool — Why being bored is not a problem to fix but a creative state to cultivate, and why sitting in your studio doing nothing might be the most productive thing you can do.🎨 Finding a Gallery — The honest, unscripted story of how Vishwa found gallery representation — and why she describes it as an arranged marriage.💪 Advice for Young Artists — On discipline, rejection, daily practice, and why art-making is an addiction with no retirement and no exit strategy.KEY INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE"Drawing is an act of editing. The camera captures too much — more than what my eye wants to see. Drawing lets you take a mop to things.""The best way to get over a creative block is to be bored. Then you will start to find things to self-entertain.""Be active every single day. Make it the way you brush your teeth. Whatever your material is — just do it every single day.""Art-making is a compulsion. If you take away drawing, cigarettes, and food — there'll be none of me left."ABOUT THE MATTER SERIESThis conversation is part of The Gyaan Project's ongoing series with MATTER — an architectural design and curatorial practice with a deep interest in design discourse in India. Each episode in this series brings together artists, architects, and creative thinkers exploring the intersection of space, design, and culture.CONNECT WITH VISHWA SHROFF Follow Vishwa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vishwashroff/Explore SQW Lab: https://www.instagram.com/sqwlab/TARQ Gallery: https://www.instagram.com/tarqmumbai/CONNECT WITH THE GYAAN PROJECT thegyaanproject.comCHAPTERS(02:13) What is drawing for you? (04:11) Difference between drawing and painting (05:26) What happens when you see an object to draw? (07:16) Why does an artist's subject matter? (13:47) Isn't drawing technical? (14:36) What do you draw? (19:23) How do you connect the viewer to your work? (23:22) How does drawing enrich the person who is drawing? (27:31) How do you decide what to draw? (31:21) How does permanence look in your work? (33:17) Journey of a drawing — from sketchbook to a gallery (36:08) How can one train oneself to be slow and observe details? (40:00) Tips & advice for young artistsENJOYED THIS EPISODE?If this conversation made you stop and think, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — it helps more curious minds find the show. Share this episode with a fellow artist, architect, or creative who needs to hear it.Stay curious. 🎙️----------------------------------------The Gyaan Project has been documenting Indian creative wisdom since 2016 — 300+ conversations on design, art, culture, and craft with leading practitioners across India and the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com
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    43 mins
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