[While we take a breather and get Season 8 ready, we're revisiting some Season 7 episodes you loved (or might have missed!). Kicking things off with dance, with a few more re-releases lined up till December.]Everyone sees the applause, the costumes, the final performance.But what about the hustle behind it?In this powerful guest episode of Small Talk: Work| Play| Build, host Subha speaks with acclaimed dancers Smt Anuradha Vikranth and Shri Parshwanath Upadhye, about building a creative life in full public view.From facing self-doubt and burnout to carving a space for themselves as performers, educators, and entrepreneurs, this episode is a masterclass in creative resilience, ambition, and authenticity - especially in fields where passion and profession are deeply intertwined.Smt. Anuradha Vikranth ( @AnuradhaVikranth ) is a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, founder of the cultural institution Drishti Art Centre, and one of Karnataka’s foremost arts educators and curators. Trained under illustrious Gurus and a recipient of accolades including the Karnataka Kalashri Award, Anuradha has not only performed across the world but has also brought classical dance to public consciousness through platforms like the Drishti National Dance Festival.Shri Parshwanath Upadhye ( @ParshwanathUpadhye ) is one of the most compelling Bharatanatyam artists of our time. An Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and founder of the acclaimed Punyah Dance Company, Parshwanath is known for his bold interpretations of mythology, his precise technique, and his ability to connect with diverse audiences across the world. A trained Carnatic vocalist, black belt in karate, and now educator with students worldwide through the Upadhye School of Dance, Parshwanath constantly straddles art and entrepreneurship.You can learn more at:https://drishtiartcentre.com https://anuradhavikranth.com/https://www.punyahdancecompany.comhttps://linktr.ee/parshwanathupadhyehttps://www.instagram.com/anuradhavikranth/https://www.instagram.com/parshwanath_upadhye/Episode guide:00:00 Highlights02:15 Making Dance a Career 08:10 Family Pressure & Early Doubts 12:36 Building a Dance Institution 20:26 Staying Original in the Age of Reels 26:10 Inspiration, Fitness & Discipline 32:25 Innovation Within Tradition 38:48 Mentorship & Creating Safe Spaces 48:22 Advice to Aspiring Artists 58:40 Redefining Success in the Arts 1:02:41 Read Watch Listen--------------------Small Talk: Work, Play, Build is the latest season of Small Talk. As a business podcast in its fifth year of production now, we look forward to having many conversations with you on what it means to live a life that feels true to each of us, both at work and outside of it. 📅 New episodes every fortnight📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smalltalk_wpb🌐 Website: https://www.smalltalkpod.com📩 Media enquiries: smalltalkpod.wpb@gmail.comCopyright © Rainkraft Creative Solutions (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. No segment of this episode or its accessories may be reproduced for commercial use without explicit written permission from the creators.Small Talk: Work, Play, Build Subha Chandrasekaran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhachandrasekaran/) Hasita Krishna (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasita/)

Close to 40 episodes. Our first season in video, in studio. And many conversations that happened before the topic hit the headlines or became a meme.

In this season finale, Hasita Krishna and Subha Chandrasekaran look back at Season 7. They talked about AI and the careers it will reshape before it arrived in force. They discussed quiet quitting while it was still new, and they covered moonlighting, toxic managers, hybrid work, and why trust is what really builds a business. The finale also returns to the guests who stayed with them: a sports psychologist to Olympians who wanted to talk about elephants, an aerospace manufacturer who makes time to ski, dancers on the guru-shishya bond, and the people building communities for migrant children, for men, and for young changemakers.

They also talk about what's coming next. That includes conversations across opposing ends of the same spectrum, such as a climate scientist and an AI evangelist in the same room, plus the trend they want to end the season on: we're struggling to say what we mean in a way that makes each other feel something.

Thank you to every listener and viewer for every like, comment, WhatsApp message, and DM. See you on the other side. It won't be long.

Chapters

0:00 We were in the room

3:03 Meet the hosts

4:11 Guests who surprised us

6:06 Trends we called early

6:44 Careers of the future

8:32 Communities that change lives

10:44 Impact beyond numbers

13:27 What's next

15:04 Thank you

Subscribe for Season 8, and tell us in the comments which Season 7 conversation stayed with you.

Link to donate to Diya Ghar: https://diyaghar.org/

#SmallTalk #Podcast #SeasonFinale #FutureOfWork #Careers #Leadership #Communication #IndianPodcast---------------------If this one landed, here's the one thing we'll ever ask: rate Small Talk on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Five seconds. It's the only signal that decides who else gets to hear us. Stay close.

🎧 Listen everywhere · https://www.pod.link/1531495902

📺 YouTube · https://www.youtube.com/@smalltalkpod_wpb

📷 Instagram · https://www.instagram.com/smalltalkpod_wpb

🌐 https://www.smalltalkpod.com

📩 Write to us: smalltalkpod.wpb@gmail.com

📅 New episodes every fortnight

Small Talk: Work, Play, Build is a fortnightly podcast about careers, leadership, and the things we make outside our day jobs.

Hosted by Subha Chandrasekaran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhachandrasekaran/) (executive coach, founder of RainKraft) and Hasita Krishna (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasita/) (brand strategist, co-founder of Motley Crew).

Seven seasons in, still about what it means to live a life that feels true — at work and outside it.© 2026 RainKraft Creative Solutions (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.

What does getting healthy actually look like when you’re a woman approaching 50?

Is it about losing weight? Going to the gym? Eating more protein? Taking a GLP-1? Or is the real challenge changing your relationship with your body, food, and the idea of what being healthy is supposed to look like?

In this episode of Small Talk: Work Play Build, we speak with Monika Manchanda, food writer and culinary professional, about her very personal journey into fitness and better health.

Monika talks openly about starting small after years of not working out, learning to feel comfortable in the gym in a larger body, navigating changing health needs as she approaches 50, and why loving your body and wanting to improve your health don't have to be contradictory ideas.

We also get into one of the biggest health conversations right now: GLP-1 medications. What do they actually mean for a health journey? Are they a shortcut? What role do strength training, protein and fibre play alongside medication? And how do you make sense of wildly conflicting health advice online?

Plus, Monika answers a question many Indian vegetarians struggle with: how do you get enough protein without completely overhauling your diet?

Chapters

00:00 Loving Yourself, Getting Healthier

01:41 Monika Manchanda’s Health Journey

11:04 Starting Fitness From Scratch

12:13 Being a Bigger Woman in the Gym

15:39 The Truth About GLP-1s

24:41 Body Positivity vs Better Health

25:24 Women’s Health After 40

38:09 Health Influencers and Bad Advice

45:41 Can Sharing Your Journey Help Others?

1:02:09 How Vegetarians Get Enough Protein

1:15:49 Social Media, Hobbies and Work

1:16:42 Getting Older and Getting Healthier

One of the ideas that runs through this entire conversation is simple: health isn’t a 30-day transformation or a shortcut. It’s a relationship with your body that keeps evolving.And sometimes, the most important thing you can do is stop waiting to become the “right kind of person” before you start taking care of yourself.

Small Talk: Work | Play | Build is a podcast for curious people figuring out careers, work, passions and everything in between.

#WomensHealth #Fitness #HealthJourney #Nutrition #Protein #GLP1 #Perimenopause #StrengthTraining #WomenOver40 #FutureOfWork #CareerGrowth #SmallTalkPodcast

---------------------

If this one landed, here's the one thing we'll ever ask: rate Small Talk on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Five seconds. It's the only signal that decides who else gets to hear us.

Stay close

🎧 Listen everywhere · https://www.pod.link/1531495902

📺 YouTube · https://www.youtube.com/@smalltalkpod_wpb

📷 Instagram · https://www.instagram.com/smalltalkpod_wpb

🌐 https://www.smalltalkpod.com

📩 Write to us: smalltalkpod.wpb@gmail.com

📅 New episodes every fortnight

Small Talk: Work, Play, Build is a fortnightly podcast about careers, leadership, and the things we make outside our day jobs. Hosted by Subha Chandrasekaran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhachandrasekaran/) (executive coach, founder of RainKraft) and Hasita Krishna (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasita/) (brand strategist, co-founder of Motley Crew).

Seven seasons in, still about what it means to live a life that feels true — at work and outside it.

© 2026 RainKraft Creative Solutions (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.