Tipu Sultan's sword fetches £14 million, Sunak's immigration woe, Tina Turner's Sanskrit mantra

Note: The podcast was recorded on May 27, 2023How Tipu Sultan's bedchamber sword was auctioned at Bonhams for a whopping £14 millionWhat UK's record immigration numbers mean for the Conservative Party governmentHow Tina Turner, one-time Londonite, turned to Eastern religionsWhat is the future of podcasts? What kind of podcasts work?In London Live, your weekly roundup of the news from Britain Tipu Sultan's bedchamber sword was auctioned in London this week for a record £14 million.The sword of the ruler of the Mysore kingdom sold at Bonhams for a lot more than anticipated; it was estimated at £1.5 to 2 million. There were two phone bidders and one bidder in the room bidding away, which is what got the price so high.Times Special checked with Vijay Mallya; he did not buy the sword, and nor was it his sword that was auctioned.This sword is really special because the provenance, which is a really important facet in an auction, is absolutely clear. This was the sword that Tipu kept when he was sleeping in a hammock in a locked bedchamber with two pistols and a sword next to his bed. This sword was actually retrieved after he was killed by the British on the 4th of May, 1799 at Srirangapatna in present-day Karnataka. The colonial army presented the sword to David Baird, a Scottish general who had led the soldiers that day to end the month-long siege. The sword has inscribed on it in Persian the words 'The sword of the ruler'. It also has inscribed on it some other words relating to the five qualities of God, and two invocations calling on God.The sword was manufactured by Mughal swordsmiths following a model of German blades that was introduced to India.UK immigration at record highImmigration numbers revealed at record highs are not good news for the Rishi Sunak government. The Conservative party had in its 2019 manifesto promised to bring down immigration. Theresa May said she was going to get it beneath 100,000 and the latest figures show the number of migrants to Britain in the year ending March 2023 showed net migration at 606,000 – 1.2 million people moved to the UK in the year, minus the number of people who emigrated out of the UK in the same period. Indians top the numbers in virtually all the categories, including work and student visas. From a total of 138,622 student visas, 42,381 dependents. Similarly, 71,957 Indians got work visas and 78,448 Indians came on dependent visas.In total, Indians got the highest number of UK visas. Suella Braverman announced a new policy: From January 2024, foreign students coming for postgraduate degrees will no longer be allowed to bring a dependent on that student visa, unless they're research degrees or they're coming to do a PhD. Future of podcasts in London showThe podcast show in London showcased new trends and innovations. Almost all the sessions said that video podcasting is what people need to be doing. TikTok (banned in India) and YouTube were cited as best platforms for podcasts because – apart from watching the video – people can comment. Emphasis was also laid on doing the kind of stories that mainstream big media would not.Tina Turner's Sanskrit mantraThere was a side to Tina Turner, the Queen of Rocknroll who died this week in Switzerland, that was not highlighted in many of the tributes to her. The very spiritual side of her. She, like so many other rock stars, got inspired by Eastern spirituality. She produced four albums that include Hindu mantras and Buddhist chants set to instruments like the sitar and tabla. .Tina Turner was also cast as Goddess Shakti in a film to be directed by Ismail Merchant. Merchant died the following year and the project had angered some Hindu groups in the UK which were against it saying that Tina Turner was a sex icon and she could not play a Goddess.Tina Turner also went on a tour of India in 2004 with Ismail Merchant and met, among others, the tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. Audio production: Prateek Kapoor