Historian Udaya Kumar, 52, tunes into Thale-Harate, a Kannada podcast, on his way to work. The podcast, in his mother tongue, has an emotional connect for him. “There is an absolute dearth of Kannada podcasts . It is a big alternative to standard television,” he says.HR professional Vasant Shetty says the world of Kannada podcasts is refreshing because of the sheer range it covers — from technology to consumer behaviour, from art to economy. The routine conversations, however, are largely cinema- or literature-focused. Kumar and Shetty are among the thousands turning to Kannada podcasts as a refreshing alternative to other mediums like music and movies.Kannada podcasts have been in existence for three years but began to grow only from late 2017. “There is not a Kannada podcast culture yet,” says Pavan Srinath, host of Thale-Harate, which has over 12,000 listens a month. Given that podcasts are a medium to capture conversations, Srinath says he is using his podcasts to speak about different topics in Kannada, something that is currently lacking.Suneel Raghavendra from the Cricket Kannadiga podcast echoes the sentiment. For people who enjoy Kannada pop culture, there is little content available, he laments. “We are building demand without first having a supply,” is how Amit Doshi, founder of IVM Podcasts, puts it.Children, too, are the target audience for many podcasters. Kelirondu Katheya, created by Anand Hemmige, focuses on children’s stories. “There is a shortage of quality content in Kannada for kids, which is why we are producing creative content for them, without visuals.” They have had over 30,000 listens for all the stories released so far. Parents believe that such content will help children learn the right pronunciation of Kannada words.Those creating podcasts cannot yet live off them. “Distribution is still hard. Once there is some kind of conglomeration of podcasts, there is a possibility to get more ads,” says Raghavendra of Cricket Kannadiga. Those creating podcasts are doing it more to follow their heart rather than as a business. Vichitramanjari’s Harish Kumar says, “We aren’t looking at revenue from this. We are doing it out of pure passion.”Arun Meshtru, who hosts the Kaggaanubhava podcast on YouTube – based on the late DV Gundappa’s famous work Mankuthimmana Kagga too is not worried about the number of views. He sees it as an attempt to pass on his knowledge about Mankuthimanna Kagga to viewers.