In this promotional clip from the fourth episode of "Paani with People," host Neeraj Shetye sits down with an interviewer (Speaker A) to discuss his educational journey, cultural background, and political experiences. He recounts receiving a £3 million Indira Gandhi scholarship grant to UCL in 2013, his family's connection to the Indira Gandhi National Open University, and the challenges of student accommodation in London that led him to spend time in Paris. Shetye reflects on the "bubble" mentality of Mumbai residents, describing linguistic and cultural clashes he observed when interacting with people from North India. He shares his role in managing the 2014 BJP election campaign, describing the intense violence and tension he witnessed, and admits a conflicted enjoyment of the high‑risk environment. The conversation shifts to his identity, expressing a desire to apply the knowledge gained abroad to improve infrastructure in India while building a future in the UK. He also touches on personal aspects such as family calls, a long‑form podcast he recorded, and the criticism he receives from peers, illustrating the tension between his public persona and private life.
Chapters
Such a coincidence that we met already outside the Italian restaurant.
I don't know what Serene told you, but like I can talk about literally anything. The government gave like a three million pound grant to the university saying we want to start scholarships in the name of Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
What year was this?
Twenty thirteen. So you'd know right before. Yeah.
My my father works in the Indira Gandhi National Open University. अच्छा ओके नाइस। I'm just waiting for it to change its name.
UCL is like randomly spread all over.
One building फिर किसी का घर है। A lot of my friends say कि when you come to university You're placed right in the heart of the city. देखो ये ये सब तुम्हें मिल सकता है। उसके बाद जैसे ही खत्म होता है, accommodation से निकालते हैं। Yeah, I think you're thrown out when you go like some north or some south. Didn't have anywhere to be. तो मैं सोचा मैं क्या करूँ? यहाँ पे London में भी अगर मैं rent पे लेके रहता हूँ तो उतने पैसे लगेंगे। So I went to Paris.
The whole psyche of people from Mumbai or like around Mumbai is that you don't leave the city.
Right.
They live in a bubble like you know. They feel everything's here and people some people are coming here. So why do you want to go? हाँ, इंडिया is very cruel. Like it's Bombay Hindi, which is very crass. And I didn't realize it until I went there and started speaking to all these people from North India. And they were just like, तुम ऐसे मत बात करो। What the fuck is तुम?
Eat food, they'd say तेरा खाके हो गया। And I was like, what words are these? What does that mean? The conflicts that I've had is कि the learnings that I've come with, I want to apply those for my country. मुझे लगता है कि यार मैं यहाँ पे इनकी सरकार के लिए काम कर रहा हूँ। वो ही काम। At some point I do want to make that infrastructure.
All the best. That's all I say. I would have actually preferred studying. In Delhi.
It's just like I couldn't get through JNU, which is the JNU of the UK.
I mean, yes, if you quote me on this now, like if this ever goes online, I'll be bashed by SOAS graduates.
In 2014, I helped manage a campaign for the BJP, and it was such a crazy election.
Very intense experience. Everything that I had only read in books happened in front of me. You know, the violence, the tension, the— you know, you're exposed to like— but I enjoyed it. I don't know, my parents call me sadistic for this, but I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the risk, actual violence that takes place, the attacks, you know, arson. Just things that if I say out loud in public, probably nobody would believe. I'm still sort of struggling to unlearn things that I've learned all my life and then relearn stuff. Reels? Oh no, it's such a soft boy core thing that I'm trying. You know how you try to be mysterious but you're not? That's my vibe at this point.
Would you choose Thackeray or Modi as your favorite?
Oh my God, what is this kind of question? I remember I got this one Instagram DM from a college friend and they said the 2019 Neeraj would come and slap me. I do miss my parents, like living with my parents, but They, it's a very momentary thing. I don't know whether it happens to you, but it's I think there's an expiration period of say two weeks and two weeks later even they are like, what are you doing? We call once a week, but that once a week is a long call.
Which is what I like. कि हाँ अगर बात करनी है four hours. Wow, four hours.
Believe I recorded a podcast last last year with this other collective in Mumbai, and she listened to it. It was a very long podcast. She listened to all of it, and she made notes, and then she criticized me about. क्यों बोला ऐसे क्यों नहीं बोला? You know, I'm very sure like if you put it out online. Yeah, they put in the time.
