From Poetry to Podcasting: A Journey of Discovery

The Video I Almost Deleted

You know, I almost deleted this video. Just this Monday morning, an hour back, I was cleaning my laptop for things I don't need – I'm a minimalist in that sense and keep deleting things which I think I don't need. Family and friends always complain I have nothing for memories except for those in my mind.

And I almost deleted this one, thinking what use it is. I didn't even know what stopped me. Then, as if some shooting star was passing by our way, it gave me this thought: why don't you share it? It is something that could be useful to someone starting out podcasting, perhaps starting out anything else.

For me, the Rattle platform who let me read the live poem, and Timothy Green – they are in California, and they launch stuff into space. I feel they launched me into podcasting that day. Today I do many, many guests from California, Houston, and many places from the world. That feeling is difficult to explain...

Sometimes the things we almost throw away are exactly what someone else needs to find.

How My Journey Really Began

I have done many, many shows with great experts, but my journey into podcasting didn't begin with a live show... it began with a poem. A live poem reading! 😊

As a journalist, I think and want to do different things. So when COVID struck, I was thinking about what I would start with. At that time, I didn't even know I would go into podcasting. When you begin things, they start showing their way.

I liked poems, though I wasn't a poet, and so I tried writing a few... and I DID write a few. This was my first one, which I read out live on a platform that promotes poetry and poems. I suggest you too try them out.

Even though I had been on stages before for speeches and debates, it was this poem that gave me a new whole world of confidence. At a time when I indeed needed it.

And that is where it all started. First, it led to a few audio recordings. When things were a bit topsy-turvy in life, I came across PodMatch... and I thought it had some cool guests. Seeing that continuous stream of guests sparked my mind - this could work for live shows! As a journalism background person – why not use all my skills and whatever little I know and bring their knowledge to the world?

That's when I moved to live shows. PodMatch really changed everything - the continuous flow of guests matched perfectly with all I was, and they are the best till today. Alex, Alecia, and the PodMatch team have been incredible.

The good part is I was in some very good company. They supported me as they do thousands of others. They too had started sometime back, and our paths crossed... and my faith in that platform has only grown.

From there came KAJ Masterclass Live, then Author's Voice with KAJ. And yes, poetry – poetry is very prominently welcomed and featured on Author's Voice. You see, my first poem started this whole journey, and this failed poet who perhaps became a successful podcaster created Author's Voice for this very reason – to give poets that chance along with authors.

Today, KAJ Masterclass is globally ranked in the top 1.5 percent, with thousands of videos and audio content across the internet. And Author's Voice, in just 6 months, is already in the top 10 percent globally and growing at a fast pace.

There is so much to do... From those idle days when I sometimes had no work to this. It has given that whole meaning for the future. All this goes with me wherever I go or want to go. Very few are that lucky.

Now, out of my close to 2500 live episodes, my guests from PodMatch itself account for over 2000 (completed 2000 very recently) and 132 more for Author's Voice.

Thank you, Alex and PodMatch.

This is how some circles get complete in life. This is how your journey begins, gets a new direction, meaning, purpose. Everything that you have been in tidbits and didn't understand their meaning starts to fall into place – it all becomes clear.

The Poem That Changed Everything

As for that poem... it was written on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, questioning whether humanity has lost its way. And it looks even more relevant now, with AI and so many digital things happening while we still struggle with the same fundamental human challenges. Do tell me how it resonates with you.

I had recorded that poem – I don't even know how – it was 2020, and it was on Skype, then put it together for my own reference. I still have it with me. Today, here it is for you.

Footprints on the Moon!

"One small step for Man,

One giant leap for Mankind"

Dear Moon, can you still see

The footprints that Neil and Buzz left behind

That step made us grow in confidence

Now, Mankind has so much Intelligence

We have now machines that learn

Who cares how every night

Billions of hungry stomachs burn

You watch us quietly

Searching for water up your alley

And every day humanity dies on Earth

In overflowing rivers of human folly

Moon, you have been watching

Since time came into being

The games man plays that only he can play

Killing each other just for nothing

Moon, you have a clear view of things from there

Please tell if humanity has still a redemption chance

If we still got time to retrace some steps

Or we now are a species lost, our future dark

In this glittering Milky Way!

Is it that Neil and Buzz's footprints

And perhaps of a few more

Left long ago on your sands behind

Will be the only imprints left in universe

Of this lost Mankind!

From Questions to Purpose

Looking back now, I see how that vulnerable moment of questioning humanity's path led me to my own path of purpose. From wondering if we had lost our way to creating a platform where thousands of voices share their knowledge, wisdom, and insights.

The poem asked the moon if humanity still had a redemption chance. Through my podcasting journey, I've discovered that redemption lies in connection, in sharing knowledge, in amplifying the voices of those who are working to make our world better.

Every expert who shares their insights, every author who tells their story, every conversation that sparks new thinking – these are our modern footprints, not just on the moon, but in the minds and hearts of people everywhere.

From KAJ Masterclass Live to Author's Voice, from intimate conversations with breakthrough thinkers to larger discussions about our future – each episode is a small answer to that poem's question. Yes, we still have time. Yes, we can still choose wisdom over folly.

The platforms that supported me – PodMatch, which connected me with incredible guests, and all the others that became home to these conversations – they too are part of this larger answer. We're building something together, one conversation at a time.

Your First Step Is Waiting

So whatever your first step is, however small it is, take it. Don't hesitate. You never know – you may take the biggest leap of your life and find its meaning for you and the universe.

That's all I want to share this Monday morning... the sun is shining and it all looks so promising.

Until next time,

Ajay

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