India, Identity & the Untold Story — A Young Author’s Curry Summer
What happens when a four-month gap between MBA and first job becomes a journey across India, Bengal elections, and the roots of civilizational identity? Praan Pratap Singh discusses his debut book Curry Summer with host Animika — a narrative non-fiction travelogue that is far more than a travel diary.
The conversation weaves through Singh’s pilgrimage to Amritsar with his mother, the birth story of Nandi Maharaj at Kashi, first-hand encounters with Bangladeshi illegal settlements in Kolkata, and the raw mechanics of vote-bank politics in West Bengal. Singh also unpacks India’s “civilization amnesia” — how Hindus repeat rituals without knowing their origin, how Japan modernized without westernizing, and why India’s failure to do the same has left its heritage in urgent need of reclaiming. He draws on his parallel career as a political consultant across Jharkhand, Bihar, and Bengal to illuminate how caste dynamics, regional identity, and factional politics shape electoral outcomes at the grassroots level.

About the Speakers:

Pranav Prattap Singh is the founder of Matraa Consultants Pvt. Ltd., a political marketing agency that has worked with major parties like INC, BJP, LJP, and AJSU, and leaders such as Chirag Paswan and Sudesh Mahto. An alumnus of NIT Patna and IIM Kashipur, he combines analytical expertise with creative strategy, shaped by prior roles at ITC Infotech, ZS Associates, Future Group, and Jarvis Consulting. Originally from Dhanbad and now based in Ranchi, he remains closely connected to the political landscape of Jharkhand and has worked across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. His debut book Curry Summer blends travel, spirituality, politics, and personal reflection to explore contemporary India.

Ananmika is an Associate with Garuda Publications.