NEW DELHI: Zoo Media and FoxyMoron co-founder Suveer Bajaj has started a new podcast titled 883 to Infinity, with the aim to start a transformative dialogue about the values, interests, culture and heritage we share with our neighbouring country, Pakistan. It is an attempt to bridge the perception gap, not only for the citizens of each respective country but globally too. Bajaj hosts the podcast along with Umair Kazi, founder of Ishtehari, an award-winning advertising agency based out of Karachi.
The title 883 to Infinity refers to the geographical distance between Bombay and Karachi and the infinite positive outcomes that the two admen, who also happen to be Sindhi, hope to achieve through their light-hearted and relevant dialogues.
In the first episode of 883 to Infinity titled ‘Train to Pakistan’, Suveer and Umair chat about their friendship, which takes its roots back a decade and their experiences after visiting India and Pakistan, respectively. Their lives in Karachi and Bombay, which echoes similarity in family values, tastes in food and music amongst many other things.
In the upcoming episodes, they chat with entertainers Cyrus Broacha and Junaid Akram on the role content and culture plays in bridging this perception gap. In another episode, they delve into the love story of a young Indian and Pakistani couple and find out what goes on during cricket matches and how they pulled off their wedding. The guests on the other episodes range from sportsmen, authors, musicians, policymakers from both sides of the border amongst others.
Bajaj said, “As a media professional, I’ve been cognisant of the role that the media plays in defining Pakistan and Pakistanis in a stereotypical fashion. Over the last decade, Umair and I have had conversations about how while our countries have differences, on a humane level we are regular people who have a similar outlook to things, be it movies, work from home challenges. Or even how racism against ‘brown’ skinned people affects us as a collective. It’s this transformative dialogue that we want to initiate between in a relatable and humorous way. A podcast couldn’t have been a better means to put this thought into action.”
883 to Infinity is the property of Mammoth Media. New episodes will release every Wednesday on leading audio streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
