
11/08/2025
The latest conversation on my podcast is about South-Asian marriages that are 'arranged' - via matrimonial websites, friends or families.
My guest - Madhumita Rai is a writer and cultural observer whose work explores the silent, often uncomfortable truths tucked into the folds of modern Indian life — especially as they relate to women, family, and the emotional cost of societal expectations. With a voice that is at once intimate and incisive, her essays offer sharp reflections on love, marriage, parenthood, and the messy in-betweens that rarely get named out loud.
Her writing has touched on themes such as the pressure on women to “settle” by a certain age — even at the cost of their emotional well-being; the quiet tragedy of babies born to patch up failing marriages; the comic chaos that ensues when Daddy’s Girl marries Mamma’s Boy; and the exhausting dance between daughters-in-law and meddling mothers-in-law — especially when husbands remain passive bystanders instead of becoming empathetic bridges.
Madhumita shares her work across Medium, Substack, and LinkedIn, along with her engaged community on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. While her first book is still in the works, her growing body of essays continues to strike a deep chord with readers who crave honesty over perfection, and resonance over noise.
She writes not to offer answers — but to start the conversations so many are too afraid to have.
Please have a listen to our conversation and help us spread the word.
The latest conversation on my podcast is about South-Asian marriages that are 'arranged' - via matrimonial websites, friends or families.My guest - Madhumita...