In their endeavour to create engaging content from a parenting lens, Nadir Pop and Peter Pop want to expand their horizons and enter into conversations surrounding relationships, of the adult kind.
Their first attempt is on how a spouse’s relationship changes with their significant other in the due course of parenting. For this, they invited Seema Kazi Rangnekar, pre-natal and post-natal expert to talk about the experiences that she has gone through, after having been married for two decades and being a parent to two children.
Unlike their regular episodes, this episode had equal participation from both hosts and guest. It was a well-rounded dialogue on what aspects of their relationship with their respective wives have changed.
Seema brought up some very interesting points on how she had to change in order to accommodate after she got married. But the change didn’t stop there, after kids, more transformations took place.
We urge you to listen to the episode and let us know what aspects of our experience did you connect with.
We are available on all major podcast platforms, so just hit play and continue doing what you were engaged in – cooking, working out, driving, walking, even showering 😀
If you like what you hear on our podcast then please do share it along with your friends, families, colleagues or anyone you think should listen to POPS IN A POD.
If you have an interesting story or experience to share then please write to us on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned next week as Nadir Pop and Peter Pop look into a different aspect of being a parent.
Nadir and Peter have always maintained that parenting is a journey filled with joy, happiness and various other emotions. But it is also a journey of learning. The day we think that we have learnt enough, the joy in parenting fades away.
Keeping this philosophy in mind the Pops have started a series called CHANGING PERCEPTIONS on the podcast. What they intend to do via this series is share their experiences about specific topics that influenced them while they were kids and how their thinking has changed now that they are parents.
They plan to have an open chat with each other, not as experts but as ever-learning parents about the changing times and perceptions. But by the end they will leave you with a lot of questions to ponder over.
The first episode in the series is about NUTRITION and they have specifically chosen four food types: Aerated Drinks Packaged + Instant Foods Fast Food Milk
The pops discuss the stories and significance behind these food items while they were growing up. They had an open conversation about various things, not as experts but as observers, gauging the shifting perception of food consumption then and now.
What was a soft drink for them when they were kids? Would they give it to their children today? Did they know the downside of excess sugar?
Were they hooked on to packaged good? Was that their go-to snacking food? Was Maggi Noodles an important part of their lives? What does the snacking regime for their kids look like today?
The emergence of fast food was a turning point for them when the economy opened up? Do they remain as excited about it today as they were 20 odd years ago?
Will they push milk as the superfood to their children like how it was sold to them by their family members when they were growing up?
If you have an interesting story or experience to share in terms of Changing Perceptions then please write to us on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned next week as Nadir Pop and Peter Pop look into a different aspect of being a parent.
This week is World Breastfeeding Week and this year is focused on how breastfeeding contributes to the survival, health and wellbeing of all, and the imperative to protect breastfeeding worldwide. So after reading this far, you must be wondering, what are Nadir and Peter going to talk about breastfeeding? Well, quite a bit.
They are joined by a guest, Dr. Mugdha Joshi, who spoke to them about the role of a father in breastfeeding
Dr. Mugdha Joshi is a Lactation Consultant and Paediatric Nutritionist. She has been working in the field of Lactation for over 8 years. She is very passionate about helping new mothers. She also provides Prenatal Breastfeeding guidance.
Fathers may feel left out but, they have a profound effect on breastfeeding as well as well being of the wife and child
Highlights of the chat are :-
The father’s role starts even before the child is born
The use of the breast pump and how fathers can help
Tips that Mugdha has for fathers
If you have an interesting story or know of someone with an interesting story then please write in on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned next week as Nadir Pop and Peter Pop look into a different aspect of being a parent.
This past weekend was a personal win, for both Nadir Pop and Peter Pop. The newspaper, Mid Day, featured them in their Sunday Edition. The article is available in the media section.
In the past 87 episodes, the Pop duo have covered many different aspects of parenting, kids, entrepreneurship and even entertainment on the podcast, on this episode they got someone from the LGBTQA+ to talk about her parenting journey.
Chitra is a mother, a trans woman, a lesbian, and is raising her preschool age child along with her ex and her partner. She writes as @threegirlfamily on Instagram, Twitter and Substack about her experiences of balancing motherhood and her career with life as an ‘out’ queer woman.
“A good thumb rule is to not say to / ask queer people something that you would not say to / ask a cis heterosexual person.”
Some of the highlights from the chat are :-
Chitra’s experience co-parenting
The challenges that Chitra faced with her family
Her daughter’s school admission experience
The Representation of the Trans community in Indian Media
The future of @threegirlfamily as a platform
A must listen episode for all!
Thanks to Natasha Kini for introducing the Pop duo to Chitra.
If you have an interesting story or know of someone with an interesting story then please write in on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned for updates from the Pop duo on social media below
We are so tired of starting practically every blog with the line “During this lockdown…”, but here it goes.
During this lockdown we have achieved a heightened sense of attachment towards our respective cities (Mumbai in our case). This of course has a lot to do with the fact that we are not moving out much. But every time we do, we just want to stay out and our kids are just looking for every excuse to step out of the house even if it means just going down to the car and retrieve what you might have forgotten.
Just today, Nadir opened the door to walk up to the terrace to check out a hanging wire, before he knew it his daughter was ready with her shoes and following him. She didn’t even know where he was headed but not the one to miss out on going outdoor. Today’s kids, at least in Mumbai are evidently missing open space, to just walk, run, jump around or just be.
What are we going to leave behind for our kids in this closely embroidered city with barely any open spaces? How do we explain to our children that when we were young we exploited whatever space we could find to play sports, run around and even learnt how to drive/ride a vehicle.
We invited Advait Sambhare, an urban planner and architect to talk about this forever changing relationship between kids and our city. What can we do with the city? How can we make it better for these little tots? The importance of culture and design on a city scale.
Advait, Peter and Nadir discuss for almost an hour what was it like for them to grow up in a magical city like Mumbai and their kids experience with it today. How do other cities compare to Mumbai and what can we expect in the future for the city and the space that we inhabit.
Advait Sambhare is an architect and urban designer based in Mumbai with GDS Design and Development Consultants. He is deeply interested in cities and enjoys traveling. He is currently obsessing over his two year old daughter.
Check out the full episode here or any other podcast platform that you use to listen to podcasts
Podcasts are of the ways that the Pop duo get through their boring and mundane chores, hope that podcasts help you get by your tasks too. And if you haven’t tried it out yet, we strongly suggest you give it a shot.
If you have an interesting story or know of someone with an interesting story then please write in on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned for updates from the Pop duo on social media below
There are a couple of things that we have noticed over the past year of speaking to guest as part of Entrepreneur Parent. They pay a dual role, the first of an enterprising entrepreneur and second of a loving parent. On this episode, our guest plays both roles effortlessly while also being an athlete.
Meet Nikhil Kapur, a five time participant in The IRONMAN Triathlon – the most challenging triathlon in the world. Nikhil is the Founder-Director of Atmantan Wellness Centre, an integrated wellness destination, nestled in the foothills of Mulshi, a district in Maharashtra, India. He is also a father who is actively looking at inculcating fitness as part of his 13 year old son’s upbringing.
Nikhil has an unrelenting passion when it comes to wellness and fitness, which is evident when he spoke about his experience training for The Ironman Triathlon. Growing up as an army kid discipline was one of the factors that played an important role in his life.
Nikhil talks about how influential his dad was, “never a push but a soft nudge” when it came to sports and fitness. As a parent he borrows some of his dad’s character defining traits and implements them on his son today.
Later in the episode Nikhil told us how we went about setting up Atmantan Wellness Centre along with his wife. They were very clear about their entrepreneurial goals and how they wanted to convert their passion into an enterprise and raise the level of wellness and well-being for like-minded people.
You can listen to the entire episode on Spotify, Apple, JioSaavn,Gaana or any other platforms that you prefer.
Podcasts are of the ways that the Pop duo get through their boring and mundane chores, hope that podcasts help you get by your tasks too. And if you haven’t tried it out yet, we strongly suggest you give it a shot.
If you have an interesting story or know of someone with an interesting story then please write in on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned for updates from the Pop duo on social media below
As an extension to Fathers’ month, Nadir Pop and Peter Pop decided to watched the recent Nextflix release Fatherhood. The movie stars Kevin Hart who plays a father that brings up his daughter as a single dad after the unexpected death of his wife who died a day after their daughter’s birth.
Nadir Pop and Peter Pop discuss how real the situations depicted in the movie are and compare it to their own lives and their previous guests.
The highlights from the conversation are :-
The emotional start to the movie.
The milestones of the daughter
The depiction of Kevin Hart’s love interest
The Pops favourite lines
Every dad even if not a single parent can relate to at least one scene in the movie because it has happened to them. It was also refreshing to see Kevin Hart in this role, very different compared to the roles in previous movies.
Here is the trailer for Fatherhood in case you have not seen it already
If you have an interesting story or know of someone with an interesting story then please write in on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
Stay tuned for updates from the Pop duo on social media below
Parenting is a wonderful journey, any parent will tell you that. Of course, like everything else, it has its ups and downs but more importantly parenting is a responsibility. Unfortunately, in our country and other parts of the world the word parent is synonymous with mother. The term ‘father’ shows up in more lofty societal titles, “Father Of This or Father of That”.
The growing involvement of dads was one of the insights that sparked the launch of Pops in a Pod. Between work, marriage, parenting responsibilities and enough coffee cups to keep the local Starbucks in business, the podcast was launched in January last year.
Through the podcast we have come across many interesting parents who have shared their stories, learnings and even struggles. This June we celebrated Father’s Month and as a tribute we invited a few inspiring dads to share their journeys.
Times are changing and so are the fathers, significantly. He now plays an equal part in the upbringing of his child(ren). Through our experience we have noticed that fathers today are no longer your stereotypical babysitters or just the “fun” parent.
Lahar Joshi and his twins
And that’s where Lahar Joshi steps in. The advertising and creative professional put his business venture on hold on to become a stay-at-home dad, while his wife became the sole bread-earner.
Lahar is a straight talker and when we probed him as to what motivated him to take this step, his explanation was less extraordinary and more practical. “My wife earned more than me, so yeah I decided to stay back and manage the kids” said Lahar nonchalantly. He continues to question the norm saying ‘What’s the big deal?’. Lahar views his role as a parent as that of a coach, where it is not his responsibility to know what each person does but to ensure that they work collectively as a unit.
This modern avatar of dad is one who is passionately involved in his child(ren)’s life journey. We see dads balance their work, life, and share equal responsibilities with the wife on the home front because if it takes two to make then it takes two to raise.
It’s stories like these that pushed us to look for more such dads because we knew that they exist. There were more dads who think and parent equally but we rarely get to hear their stories, where he gets involved with the kids from food to snooze and everything in between.
Ankit Jindal and family
Another dad we spoke with was Ankit Jindal, a marketing professional with Wipro. Ankit has a genetic condition that has made him visually impaired. Planning for a child was not an easy subject for Ankit and his wife, in the end his wife gave him a lot of strength and they decided to become parents. Today he is a dad to a healthy and strong boy.
Ankit’s journey of being a dad was far from easy. With his disability he did face unavoidable moments when his son would question him about his lack of sight. Instead of receding in the background Ankit took it upon himself to educate his son about his condition and sensitize him about people with disabilities. Ankit sits with his son during his classes and even though he cannot actively participate, ensures that he is around to help in his best capacity.
No one ever said that being a parent was easy, but having a special condition definitely has its own set of challenges.
A dad with a unique set of challenges is Yan Garin, a Frenchman married and settled in India. The Country Head at Ecole intuit.lab, a design institute based in Mumbai has traveled to over 50 countries and is still surprised everyday by India.
Yan Garin and family
As an expat dad, Garin decided to stay in India as he found it easier and he doesn’t regret it. As the head of a design institute Yan looks at objects not as just colours and patterns but as problem-solution. This is one aspect that he tries to imbibe into his sons through extra curricular activities. He spends his weekends with his sons guiding them to be curious and embrace the arts through DIY activities like building models, creating electronic components and stop-motion animation. Yan’s philosophy for them is that there are many things in the world and the more you look the more you discover.
We ended the Fathers’ Month with a self-proclaimed ‘swaddle ninja’ Mohijit Mukerjee. He also holds another distinct title, The Pandemic Dad. Mohijit and his wife become parents smack in the middle of the pandemic.
Mohijit Mukerjee
Mohijit, a Spotifier, shared with us some very interesting tit-bits of planning to be parents during these testing times. He highlighted the support that they received from his gynaecologist and how she put them to ease through the pregnancy. Don’t miss THAT Uber story from this episode.
Through our journey of Pops In A Pod we are getting more and more convinced that there are many dads out there who are doing their best and being involved. It is no longer acceptable to just show up. Showing up is just the first step and there are many more steps later that makes one a parent.
This is the final episode of Father’s Month and what a way to end.
Nadir Pop & Peter Pop curated four stories this month, of dads from different walks of life. The fourth and final story is of a Mohijit Mukerjee who became a dad during the pandemic. Mohijit talks’ us through various aspects of his journey of becoming a parent: 1. How the pandemic played a role in becoming parents 2. the support received from the gynaecologist 3. The DOs and DONTs of delivering a child during the pandemic 4. THE DELIVERY STORY – Do not miss this one (You can hear it from the time code 29:00)
Mohijit Mukerjee is a marketing professional and currently he identifies as a Spotifier, no points for guessing… he works with Spotify. In past he has worked with brands like family first brands Disney and Mattel and today he has a little family of his own.
We will be back with our regular programming starting July. Thank you for all your support and engaging with us during Father’s Month in June. Hope you’ll had fun listening to all our dad guests
If you have an interesting story or know of someone with an interesting story then please write to us on popsinapod(at)gmail(dot)com.
We are also available on social media. You click on the icons below and it will take you straight to our podcast page.
This past Sunday, 20th June was Father’s Day. Nadir Pop & Peter Pop decided to make this month Fathers’ month for the podcast.
They have curated 4 stories of dads from different walks of life. The 3rd story is of an expat dad, Yan Garin.
Yan Garin is a Frenchman married and settled in India. The Country Head at Ecole intuit.lab, a design institute based in Mumbai has traveled to over 50 countries and is still surprised everyday by India.
Yan shared with Nadir Pop and Peter Pop his transition from being a tourist to an expat dad, adjusting to life in India, his thoughts on the Indian education system and more. Tune in to find out more
Pops in a Pod 