One of the best things that happened in 2020 was the rise of the Podcasting scene in India. People know about Podcasts and may even listen to them, but as far as the creators India is still in its nascent stage. With Covid on the rise and many were stuck at home, people starting finding new hobbies. Podcasting gave solace to many because it gave many the power of anonymity and many came forward to voice out their opinions, putting their freedom of speech to good use with their identity safe. Before jumping into my recommendations, I would like to share a few findings I managed to gather in these last 9 Months.

Apart from resorting to my regular Podcast, I explored the nascent and growing Tamil Podcasting scene. As a Tamil and as a Podcaster, I’m really happy to see so many good and interesting Podcasts in Tamil popping up. Although, it was really hard to determine the listening pattern of Indians, especially Tamils. I managed to discover a few things based on the number of followers on the Instagram page of these Podcasts and also the topics people are more interested in.

Since the Tamil Podcasting scene is nascent many are still exploring and finding the content which suits them. Most of them are ready to listen to Podcasts that are 15 minutes or less. If the Podcast content is Politics or Books there are lots of people who listen to them even if the duration is 1 hour or more. From the start of 2019, I’ve been recommending various Podcasts that I found interesting and you can read them here, here, and here. You might few of them repetitive but do check them out.

In this edition, I’m going to spare the usual ones and going to recommend some of the Podcasts which I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this year, except one of the rest of them are Tamil Language Podcasts. If you are new and looking for some interesting ones, please do consider listening to one of them or all of them. ?

The Other Banana Pod:

This Podcast grew to become one of my favorites last year. A bunch of friends sit and dissect Indian language movies. If you are someone who likes Movie Podcasts, especially the Indian ones this will definitely blow your mind. I would like to recommend some of my favorites and you can choose to start from them or go as per your liking. The first thing you should do is check Illayaraja: A Musical Movement 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Mayabazaar 1 and 2, Arjun Reddy, Virumandi 1 and 2, Super Deluxe, Tamil Prabha’s Pettai and SPB, The Actor. There are so many other episodes I like but due to my laziness to link all of them, I’m linking only a few. If you like them leave a rating on Apple Podcasts.

Catch my Point:

This Podcast is by two of my friends and even if you don’t know them personally you’ll love this Podcast because of those weird but interesting segments they have. The leg-pulling they do and the worst 10 segments are sure of laugh riots. It is 13 episodes short and I love all of them. Do check out this Podcast, laughter guaranteed.

Kadhaippoma with Karthik:

What I loved the most about this Podcast is the way Karthik presents each episode. They just take 10 minutes of your time but he manages to share so much information that will make you ponder, react, make you sad and enlighten you. I would recommend you to start from anywhere but his Season – 2 on breaking down Periyar’s “Penn Yen Adimaiyaanal” is sure an enriching listen.

Schumy Vanna Kaaviyangal:

This is a beloved Podcast of Tamils, started as a Meme page they grew into a YouTube channel and then a Podcast reaching thousands of audiences across the globe. They were the heartthrob of Tamils in the true sense. Some of the episodes and opinions one might not echo their thoughts but they kinda were the voice of many Tamils. After the right-wing minions found the anonymous identity of the hosts, they had to safeguard themselves and their loved ones from the trolls. They are in hibernation and we are really looking forward to their re-emergence. We miss you SVK, come back stronger.

Tirunelvelikaran Podcast by Bragadeesh Prasanna:

He is another good friend of mine, who has many faces. He is an entrepreneur, Author, Wanderlust, and now a Podcaster too. If you are a History enthusiast or someone who likes stories, this is for you. What I loved the most about this podcast is we don’t get the boring history incidents but he presents them as stories. You will be hooked to know more of what happened and in one go you would end up listening to all of them and no I’m not biased in adding this Pod on the list because he is a friend. Shameless plug, I was invited as a guest in one of the episodes and you can listen to it here.

Movie Herald Tamil Podcast

The host of this Podcast Gopal was the guest on my Podcast. He is very knowledgeable and has a good sense of Cinema. Although he does Podcasting on and off one must definitely listen to his Podcast. It suits the current set of Podcasting audiences of Tamil who want the duration to be 15 minutes or lesser and his Podcast fits the bill. He also have dissected and recommended so many good films which one must watch.

Kanna’s Diaries Podcast

It is hard to place this Podcast in one specific genre because the host takes upon different topics and discusses them with various people in length and that’s one of the reasons this Podcast has become my favorite. I came across this Podcast on the Tamil Podcasters community, Yes you read it right there is a community and as of today, there are 125 Podcast hosts in this community. I really wish we grow and thanks to that community, I’m finding more and more amazing podcasts there. Some of my favorite episodes from this Podcast are Meme Culture & Rise of Dogelore – Check this episode for surprise guests. Economics of Money Heist, India GDP, Busting 10 Misconceptions and Being Gay & Lesbian 1 and 2.

Neshflix Podcast

Hosted by a Doctor who started off with some of the issues he faced as a Doctor and also had some episodes where he and other doctors tried to break some myths around topics. I wish he continues to do more on the Medical Industry as a whole and try breaking down some common misconceptions and myths. Recently, he treaded into dealing with Pop-culture topics but there are fewer or no Podcasts that break down the medical myths. As a listener who saw a lot of potential in that area and the host is an expert in it would reach more people not just as entertainment but also as infotainment. Some of my favorite episodes on this Podcast were All about Dogs 1 & 2 – I don’t own dogs but these two episodes were very informative and educating. Dreams, Not a NEET Doctor, Pei Irukka illaya? – It is about ghosts and related scientific debate. I’m yet to listen to five more episodes, but this is a good place to start.

Aadhira’s Podcast

Apart from the rise of Podcasts this year also gave me a number of YouTube channels and Podcasts which talk about books, especially Tamil books. I haven’t heard much of Tamil book narration Podcasts except for few episodes from Kadhai Osai by Deepika Arun and then this one. What I loved about Aadhira’s Podcast is instead of sticking to reading the story the host tells us a story from each chapter. Sometimes she does read some passages but the narration style is what I loved about this Podcast. Do check out if you are someone who is trying to listen to audiobooks but fails miserably. This might hook you in. Currently, she is narrating Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1.

Some additional mentions:

Well, this section is about the Podcasts which have really good potential but the hosts are juggling between many things hence, their newer episode releases are uneven but we should keep a look-out for them and they might become big owing to the content they produce and the number of episodes is 10 and fewer.

Cringe-Cast – We can put this under Politics but they tread into different zones.

PodukaLam – The host Varadhukutty is funny and his episodes are short and entertaining. Do keep a lookout and you are definitely in for some good laughs.

The Wolfie’s Podcast – If you are someone who likes some soothing voice to listen to then this is one such Podcast. Again there are only 5 episodes and we cannot put this Podcast in any genre as yet.

VenBARKS – This Podcast is all about stories and it is just 2 episodes older.

Maybe in next year’s round-up, I might add all these Podcasts as my favorites. We’ll have to wait and see how these four Podcasts turn out to become. These are some of my observations about the Podcasting scene in Tamil Nadu and the Podcasts I enjoyed listening to last year. I’m still in the discovery mode because there are numerous Podcasts out there I have to listen to at least 10 episodes to form a conclusion if I like them or not before recommending them to someone. I hope this was helpful.

What were your favourite Podcasts from last year? Please recommend some of them to me and I will be more than happy to check them out.

Happy New Year 2021 and Happy Listening ?