Dateline Pauri: This lockdown has brought a lot of things to the foreground. One such being Podcast: an episodic series of the spoken word.
These days, from experts to industry leaders are using digital audio files or Podcasts, a portmanteau of IPod and Broadcast to woo listeners. Joining this long list of Podcast hosts is Uttarakhand’s Ashish Bhandari whose, ‘Back to The Roots’ Hindi Podcast, a five-month-old venture, already has a growing number of loyal followers.
Giving us a glimpse into his pahadi heritage, Ashish tell us, “My grandfather migrated to Delhi in the early 70s. Visiting my native village in summer vacations was how I always stayed connected to my roots. For the longest time, Village Khuir, Patti Kafolysun, District Pauri was my permanent address.”
No stranger to the world of media, Ashish has an illustrious background working for the biggest Media Houses in the country for over ten years. “Intrigued by the idea of story telling, I finally took a plunge into the world of freelancers in August, 2019. I started going back to my passion for voice-overs and voice acting. I got back to the dubbing circuit of Delhi and worked on some of the finest documentaries for National Geographic,” he adds.
A skilled storyteller with a mellow voice, Ashish has successfully belted out eighteen episodes from ‘Back to The Roots.’ Each episode is different to the norm as the host has aced the art of fishing unheard, hidden anecdotes, stories and tales from the treasure trove that Indian History and our mythology is, “Upcoming festivals, auspicious days, millions of untold stories. This is an attempt to bridge the gap between young minds and our culture. In the months that don’t have an upcoming major festival, we go back to pertinent topics like Char Dham, Banyan Tree, story of Tilak etc,” he adds.
‘Back to The Roots’ podcast is definitely entertains us as well as educates us, captivating all age groups. The audio episodes are easy-to-consume and last from anywhere between five to six minutes. “Usually an episode takes around two days of research, writing, recording and editing.”
In the near future, ‘Back to The Roots’ plans to have an English version of the audio episodes as well as short video clips regaling us with tales from our history and culture.
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