Skip to content
Melo Podcasts Home
CategoriesLanguagesFollowing

Episode notes

They say you cannot ever go home again but as long as there is a paash baalish you can come pretty close. what IS a Paash Baalish? Sandip Roy explains.

Dispatches from Kolkata

by Sandip Roy · English · Society & Culture

Every week NPR contributor (and former San Franciscian) Sandip Roy brings you a little taste of the 'new India' – a letter home from his other home.

More from Dispatches from Kolkata

  1. E625 · 17 Jun 2026 · 6 min

    I Too Sing America

    As the Whitehouse lawn showcases one very specific version of America, Sandip speaks with someone who has another version.

  2. E624 · 10 Jun 2026 · 6 min

    Slots or Beethoven?

    It's the "controvery over public art" game show again, this time in Kolkata. Sandip Roy kicks it around for us.

  3. 27 May 2026 · 6 min

    A Home in the Himalaya

    Sandip talks with author Anuradha Roy about her home in the Himalayas and how they've witnessed firsthand the effects of climate change.

  4. E621 · 13 May 2026 · 6 min

    Things to be Done

    As David Attenborough turns 100, Sandip remembers his mother and all the things left to be done.

  5. E620 · 6 May 2026 · 6 min

    Citizen Who?

    West Bengal just went to the polls with several million voters struck off the electoral rolls, banished to some kind of limbo land. The Special Intensive Revision or (SIR) process was meant to clean up the voter list. But we will be no nearer a consensus on how to determine what citizenship really means.

  6. E619 · 29 Apr 2026 · 6 min

    Something Fishy's Going On

    It's election time in India and that means noise and songs and speeches. But this year both parties are using fish to prove their local credentials.

  7. E636 · 30 Sep 2026 · 6 min

    Audacity of Hope

    Sandip reflects on the 'audacity of hope' that arts organizations exhibit as he tours various cities in the Bay Area during his recent book tour.

  8. E635 · 23 Sep 2026 · 6 min

    The French Connection

    the French came back to India last week. The French Ambassador was in Chandannagar to work with the city on restoring its French Colonial buildings and heritage.

  9. E634 · 9 Sep 2026 · 6 min

    Holding Out for a Hero (at the Centennial celebration of Uttam Kumar)

    Sandip attends a festival honoring a long dead Bollywood star and discovers why Uttam Kumar still commands attention.

  10. E633 · 2 Sep 2026 · 6 min

    Birthday Cake

    Sandip recently had a birthday and that got him reminicing about rituals...

Every episode of Dispatches from Kolkata →

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.

Get it on Google Play