A celebrated podcaster and writer Mohua Chinappa is known for using her voice to take a stand on important issues.
Her podcast “The Mohua Show,” has more than 1 million downloads. It amplifies the voices of rising stars who are facilitating economic and social change in their respective environments. It has a diverse range of guests, from activists, authors, entrepreneurs, and artists among others, whose stories shine in Mohua’s interviews.
Her book, “Nautanki Saala and Other Stories,” is a testament to the themes of women’s empowerment. It was picked by the Daily Guardian as one of the eight best books of 2022. The Pragati Vichaar Literary Festival awarded it the PVLF Best Debut Non Fiction Author Award 2023. The book has also been picked for Hindi translation by India’s leading Hindi publishing house Prabhat Prabhashan Pvt Ltd which is due to come out in June 2023. Her writing has been featured in the Telegraph, News18, Daily Guardian, Firstpost, Outlook Weekender, News 18, The Telegraph and Deccan Herald.
She has been part of various panel discussions on career and gender topics as a speaker and is regularly invited to speak at TEDx and Josh talks. Among the other accolades, she has also been honoured with the Change-maker Award from the Hon’ble Governor of Rajasthan.
What do you think of the term Women’s Fiction ? Do you think it’s empowering or demeaning?
I would sincerely hope that with time, this term would never be used. It is unnatural and regressive to box literature, arts or any profession based on gender.
One wouldn’t identify a doctor, an engineer or an architect by their gender. I think the same applies for authors, writers, filmmakers, painters and all other fields of art.
Who are the writers who have inspired you with their work?
I am inspired by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandhopadhyay, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Albert Camus, Murakami, Amitav Ghosh, Elif Shafak, Jhumpa Lahiri and many more authors.
Podcasts are an emerging medium. Why do you think it’s here to stay?
Content is dynamic and podcasts have created a buzz in the Indian market. They are an excellent way to reach out to the audience via a candid conversation between the guest and the host.
Audio podcasts are also extremely useful for students who want to broaden their knowledge horizon on the subject of their interest. Therefore college and school students are the highest consumers of this kind of content.
The best part of an audio podcast is that it can be heard while one is driving, walking or doing any activity. This flexibility makes a podcast an extremely easy way to consume content.
Podcasts are also easy to create without too much investment and the market is only growing.
You have had so many interesting guests on your show, can you narrate the most funny BTS story?
I have had an episode where the guest was done talking and I was so involved in the conversation, that I continued talking to myself. I was broken out of my reverie when my team member guffawed aloud. It was embarrassing but very funny.
