New York: What started as a family project for Indian-American Bhargav Kesavan, a resident of Parsippany in New Jersey, has now become a global movement in Tamil storytelling.
During the COVID lockdowns, Kesavan began recording simple Tamil moral stories for his nephew from his small working table at home. "It was just a way to connect with him and share lessons I grew up with in Chennai," he told The South Asian Times.
Bhargav Kesavan, the creator and host of KadhaiNeram
Over time, that personal project evolved into a Tamil kids’ podcast called KadhaiNeram (“Storytime”), which today has over 730 episodes, five million streams, and 29,000+ followers worldwide.
Kesavan says he creates and publishes every episode as a free, ad-free service to the Tamil community, with the goal of nurturing values like kindness, honesty, and compassion in children at an early age; values that are increasingly vital in today’s digital world.
Kesavan with his father
As his family grew, he began using the Parsippany Library’s small studio to record each week. "Their support helped me continue producing quality content while balancing family life; a wonderful example of how local community spaces can help immigrant creators do something meaningful," Kesavan said.
The podcast is also an attempt to connect generations
During the weekends, Kesavan's father narrates stories. According to him, "the father-son collaboration has become one of the most meaningful parts of the podcast, showing how stories can connect generations."
KadhaiNeram has become a trusted name among Tamil families globally, from the US to India, Singapore, and the UAE; encouraging parents and kids to listen together and reconnect with their cultural roots through timeless moral tales. To hear the stories, you can log on to - https://kadhaineram.com
(All photos courtesy: Bhargav Kesavan)
