loader from loading.io

EP 3 - Shadow Realm with Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran

True Fiction Project

Release Date: 01/18/2022

EP 14 - Janet Blue show art EP 14 - Janet Blue

True Fiction Project

In today’s episode, Heather Vickery is here to talk about her life journey from fear-based to limitless! Heather is an award-winning business owner, global leader, entrepreneur, and published author. We talk about embracing fear and the unhelpful and unrealistic pursuit of being fearless. Heather shares her story of coming out at the age of 38 and how she rebuilt her life by taking risks and manifestation. Later in the episode, we hear a fictional story by Michael Kobzik about a woman who takes a chance and a brave step toward her dream.      IN THIS EPISODE:   ...

info_outline
EP 13 - The Queen of Teacups show art EP 13 - The Queen of Teacups

True Fiction Project

Today I’m speaking with the Queen of Teacups, Lissi Kaplan, about her journey to becoming an internationally recognized fine artist. Lissi’s hand-painted porcelains are in the collections of dignitaries, heads of state, and private collectors around the world. We talk about her unique calling to porcelain art following the passing of her mother. More than her skill with a brush, Lissi also has a beautiful gift of capturing the essence and spirit of a client through her artwork. Listen in as she explains the emotional process behind her art and hear a fictional story by Michael Colucci...

info_outline
EP 12 - ENCORE - Wiseguy Charming show art EP 12 - ENCORE - Wiseguy Charming

True Fiction Project

I want to tell you about a show I think you'll enjoy: -- epic audio adventures that reimagine Shakespeare’s timeless tales, featuring original music composition and the voices of award-winning actors. Each episode explores plays from Macbeth to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in a way that you can actually understand it and created specifically for the podcast form by some of America’s most exciting playwrights, directors and composers, and performed by stage and screen’s best. Check out their current season of King Lear that stars Emmy-winner Keith David and Severance star Tramell...

info_outline
EP 11 - The Appointment show art EP 11 - The Appointment

True Fiction Project

In this episode, I’m speaking with Jess Salomon, a New York based Canadian comedian who prior to her career in comedy was a war crimes lawyer. Jess speaks to the cathartic process of her work and how “tragedy plus time equals comedy.” Jess shares about her relationship with wife, their comedy duo, and the unique perspective they bring with being Jewish and her wife being Muslim and Palestian. We also hear a comedy fiction story, written by Parker James, based on Jess’s prompt about an odd couple and their unique career choice.     IN THIS EPISODE: [02:05] Jess’s...

info_outline
EP 10 - Namaste Station show art EP 10 - Namaste Station

True Fiction Project

In this episode, I’m speaking with three members of the Kabir Café or Neeraj Arya's Kabir Café. Described as a modern mystic band, they are influenced and inspired by a 15th century poet named . We discuss how the band came to be and what Kabir’s ideology means to them and fans. They also play a beautiful piece of music that encompasses the message of Kabir and carries a central theme that we have come to better understand during the pandemic. The fictional story is written by Jean Bernard and tells the story of Kabir, a traveling poet who finds a young boy to apprentice. The young boy...

info_outline
EP 9 - The Grape Farm Spectre show art EP 9 - The Grape Farm Spectre

True Fiction Project

In this episode, I’m speaking with Rajeev Samant, CEO of Sula Vineyards and the man responsible for putting wine on the map of India. When asked about his success he simply says he was “the right guy in the right place with the right background.” His friends called him crazy when he quit his job and moved to a poverty-stricken area in India to start a vineyard. But, he now has the last laugh having created one of the most visited vineyards in the world. Rajeev talks about the team he assembled to help him create Sula Vineyards, the bureaucratic obstacles he had to overcome in the...

info_outline
EP 8 - First Stop show art EP 8 - First Stop

True Fiction Project

In this episode, I’m having a timely conversation with Dr. Barry Thomas Malin, a head and neck surgeon turned art gallerist (the Malin Gallery), about switching careers and following your passions. Now more than ever people are reevaluating their careers and asking themselves the important question of am I satisfied in my work. Dr. Malin reflected on this same question when he decided to leave his career as a sought-after free flap construction surgeon and open his own art gallery. We talk about the intricacies and challenges of being a free flap surgeon and what ultimately led him to quit...

info_outline
EP 7 - True Fiction Favorites: A Case Study on Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin show art EP 7 - True Fiction Favorites: A Case Study on Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin

True Fiction Project

In this episode, I'm speaking with Diann Wingert, psychotherapist turned business mindset coach and the host of the Driven Woman Podcast.  Why are people so fascinated by Anna Delvey/Anna Sorokin, who bilked her way through the New York social scene? As a psychotherapist, Diann was particularly intrigued by her motivation – what drove this seemingly successful young woman to engage in such fraudulent behavior? Interestingly, much of Anna's motivation can be traced back to her childhood. She was always a bright and imaginative child, but she was also drawn to the finer things in life....

info_outline
EP 6 - White Terror show art EP 6 - White Terror

True Fiction Project

In this episode, I’m speaking with Steve Vines, who was a journalist based in Hong Kong for 35 years until he recently left for political reasons in 2021. Steve shares the rapid series of events that ultimately led to his departure from the country he called “home.” Steve sheds light on the current situation in Hong Kong by looking back at its history and the resilient spirit of Hong Kong, which he has studied in depth for his new book, Defying the Dragon: Hong Kong and the World's Largest Dictatorship. He discusses how there was once a high degree of liberty and low democracy in Hong...

info_outline
EP 5 - Emergency Ukraine Crisis episode: A Plea from Yuriy show art EP 5 - Emergency Ukraine Crisis episode: A Plea from Yuriy

True Fiction Project

In this Ukraine special emergency episode, I’m speaking with Yuriy, a journalist on the ground in Kyiv who has taken up arms to fight for the freedom of his country. Yuriy recalls waking up to the early morning attacks in Kyiv and shares how this unwarranted conflict has affected his family and the civilians of Ukraine. He speaks to the heroic and sacrificial patriotism of his fellow Ukrainians. Yuriy’s main concern is to appeal to Western allies to take to the streets in an effort to help convince NATO to help Ukraine by establishing a no fly zone. Later in the episode, we hear two...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

In this episode, I’m speaking with Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran, an internationally renowned music composer, educator and scholar known for his sustained contribution to music and community for the past 25 years. We talk about his incredible work on the soundtrack of Shadow Realm, a podcast project based on a young adult fantasy fiction book that I wrote. Dr. Kanniks shares how his imagination was instantly captivated by the vivid literary descriptions and how he utilized Sanskrit chants, an ancient language of India, to musically portray different characters. We also talk about the inspiration he found from his travels to the ancient village of Hampi, India. The latter part of the episode showcases Dr. Kanniks’ work as we listen to Episode 8 of Shadow Realm and hear a portion of Arya’s story.

  IN THIS EPISODE:

  • [00:01] Kanniks Kannikeswaran introduced 
  • [02:02] Purpose of The True Fiction Project
  • [03:12] His process of writing music 
  • [10:50] Explaining lyrics and Sanskrit
  • [13:40] The Medicine Woman
  • [16:55] Rishiji’s Theme
  • [25:57] Where to find the music
  • [28:30] Episode 8 of Shadow Realm
  • [29:03] The Vanar’s theme
  • [39:06] Rishiji’s theme 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Shadow Realm is a young adult fantasy fiction story about Arya, a 15 year old boy who fell through a fault and finds himself in the land of the Ramayana. He has to fight demons in this mythical world in order to get back home to save his mom and tackle demons in his ordinary world
  • Dr. Kanniks’ main inspiration came from his travels to the ancient village of Hampi in India
  • The vanar represent the prehistoric people descended from old world tribes, best translated as monkeys or monkey people
  • For the “Vanar March,” Dr. Kanniks used Sanskrit chants to create a joyful chant to go along with the vanar as they joyfully frolic and jump around
  • For “Rishiji’s Theme,” Dr. Kanniks used the pentatonic scale, most commonly known for meditation, to create a serene humming that captures the magic and mysteriousness of the mystical mentor
  • The Medicine Woman is a representation of a source of wisdom for us all
  • Dr. Kanniks created a total of 14 tracks to complement the podcast project which is now available on Apple Music, Spotify, and other streaming platforms. 

 

BIO:

Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran, an internationally renowned music composer, educator and scholar is known for his sustained contribution to music and community for the past 25 years. His recent viral video ‘Rivers of India’ featuring Bombay Jayashri and Kaushiki Chakravarti has received critical acclaim. Kanniks, is regarded as a pioneer of Indian American Choral music and for bringing together ancient chants in Indian ragas with choral and orchestral polyphony; his far reaching work in this area has personally touched the lives of over 3500 performers, has inspired the flowering of community choirs in over 12 cities in the United States, has built new audiences and collaborations. His composition ‘Mahavakya’ was performed at the historic reception accorded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Gardens in 2014. Kanniks has been described as a renaissance personality who effortlessly traverses diverse disciplines such as music, spirituality and innovation. He is a recipient of several awards including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras, the McKnight Residency, the Ohio Heritage Fellowship and more. He can be reached at [email protected].

Connect on Social Media: 

https://www.facebook.com/kanniks/

https://twitter.com/kanniks

https://www.instagram.com/kanniks_kannikeswaran/

 

LINKS:

https://www.thearyachronicles.com/