Branding specialist, author and columnist Mohua Chinappa from Bengaluru has added a new feather to her cap. Her podcast of two years hit 1 lakh downloads recently.
Called ‘The Mohua Show’, it features inspiring stories of people who have reinvented themselves, and topics that need a deeper conversation. So you will find stories of a professional cuddler, and a retired surgeon running a YouTube channel about military aviation but also expert interviews in episodes ‘Victims blamed in India’s rape culture’, ‘You have to hide in a closet to sing in Afghanistan’ and ‘Are we moving fast enough towards sustainable fashion?’ on the weekly show.
Incidentally, Mohua’s foray into podcasting was an attempt to reinvent herself at 48. She was in the PR/communications role for 15 years. “I was a stay-at-home mother for almost 12 years. I was totally lost because the world of technology and media had changed... People were telling me that the podcast market was really increasing,” she looks back on why she chose the audio medium in 2020.
She started by recording her own writings on Tagore and her life as a Bengali woman. It remains the most listened to among all her podcast works, she shares.
She then steered towards interviewing people and those conversations, she says, often leave her surprised and overwhelmed.
She illustrates, “We interviewed a couple who gave up their career after losing their son to cancer. Now they go to the paediatric cancer wards and do medical clowning. It requires bravery to overcome such a loss and give back to society. Then bodybuilder Aryan Pasha took me by surprise when he said that (some) transgender men get periods.”
Podcasting has contributed to her growth as well. She has become comfortable in front of the mic and confident as an interviewer.
“There were days when I felt, why am I pursuing something that had no goal ahead? Now I am passionately in love with the work I do. I am able to express myself which I couldn’t for so many years. We are looking for a million downloads.”
This year marked her debut as a writer of short stories with ‘Nautanki Saala and other stories’. Up next, she will curate content for a popular radio station in Delhi, and is open to the idea of collaborating with other podcasters.
*The podcast is available on major streaming platforms.
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