Overlooked Authors on The Casual Academic has begun! We discuss our first featured book, U.R. Ananthamurthy's classic "Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man," translated by A.K. Ramanujan. Our conversation centers on the binary Ananthamurthy sets between the arcane and the modern, religion vs. rationalism, and action vs. inaction in a very Indian context.

We also dive into one of Ananthamurthy's major influences, Ingmar Bergman's classic film "The Seventh Seal," and how our featured author found the inspiration to write what is now considered a classic of Indian literature.

We hope you enjoy the episode, and we want to give a special thanks to NYRB Classics for collaborating with us during our Overlooked Authors Series. As always, join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and if you need a copy of "Samskara," head over to the NYRB Classics webpage and pick one up! Happy Listening
- TCA