It all started in December 2021 when she was interviewed by Bound—a storytelling company—for their podcast Books and Beyond. It got her ruminating about a podcast about the dark, regional lore of India, and a few months later, it became a reality with Bound being the producer and co-creator of the podcast.

Das loves listening to Lore, an American podcast that explores the origins of urban legends, unsolved mysteries and horror folklore in the US and Europe. “I thought of doing something similar and started asking questions. For example, I was curious about the chudail legend which is a recurring demon in many South Asian stories,” she says. “I wanted to trace where it came from, why it exists, and the history behind it.” Thus was born Rumours: Dark Lore from India.