On the occasion of International Women’s Day

An Evening of Women’s Poetry and Prose

This thoughtfully curated evening will bring together poets, authors, scholars, and young voices to reflect upon women-centric themes through poetry, fiction, and expressive readings. The event seeks to create a vibrant intellectual space where words become instruments of reflection, dialogue, and progressive thought

Speakers: Ms. Sagari Chhabra, Writer and film director; Ms.K.E. Priyamvada, Author, Poet and Deputy Editor, India International Centre; Ms. Bindiya Bedi Charan Noronha, Writer, Social Worker, Educationist, Bibliotherapist; Ms. Sangeeta Gupta,  Artist, Bilingual Poet, and Filmmaker; and Ms. Achla Bansal, Writer

Whispers of The Sky
 

By Abhishek Kumar is a wildlife photographer focusing on birds and their relationship with natural habitats, grounded in patience, close observation, and an ethical, field-based practice.

The exhibition presents photographs made in quiet moments — early mornings, long pauses, and stretches of waiting where nothing seemed to happen. Standing still, watching a bird settle into a branch, listening to the wind, and noticing how light slowly changed the sky, these images are drawn to moments of rest and watchfulness. The act of waiting becomes a way of seeing and learning patience, sharing a sense of calm, attention, and connection where the boundary between earth and sky briefly dissolves.

The exhibition will be inaugurated on Monday, 30 March 2026 at 17:00 hrs

Cracks in the wall: stories 
By Neera Kashyap (Niyogi Books, 2025)

Discussants: Prof. Malashri Lal, Author, Poet, anthologist; Former Professor, Department of English, University of Delhi; Deepa Agarwal: Author, Poet, Translator.; Dr. Payal Nagpal: Poet; Professor, Dept of English Literature, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; Neera Kashyap: Poet & Author of the book.

Chair: Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee, Director, Niyogi Books 
 

The Theatre Photograph as Evidence

Speakers: A. Mangai (Dr V Padma), scholar, activist, and theatre personality known for her extensive work in Tamil feminist theatre; Amal Allana, theatre director and former Chairperson, National School of Drama)

Moderator: Zuleikha Chaudhari

The talk engages with theatre as a social document. As dynamic source material, deflecting and reflecting both evidentiary and lyrical dimensions of performance, how can the theatre photograph situate the medium within the social, political, economic, and legal? How can theatre be read as a public record of the everyday experience of historical events?

(Collaboration: The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts)
 

Dan Zhu on violin; Jean-Frédéric Neuburger on piano

Dan Zhu an internationally acclaimed violinist, he made his Carnegie Hall debut at 18. Performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Festspiele, Marlboro, Marvão, Enescu, Schleswig-Holstein, Prades-Casals, Ravinia and Spoleto. Has appeared with leading orchestras under conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, Neeme Järvi, Zubin Mehta, Jacek Kaspszyk, Alexander Rahbari, Muhai Tang, Long Yu and many more.

Jean-Frédéric Neuburger a distinguished French pianist and composer, performed with orchestras such as NHK Symphony Orchestra, the New-York Philharmonic, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker with conductors as Lorin Maazel, Paavo Järvi, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Zinman, Jonathan Nott.
 

The Symbiosis of Music and Dance: Placing Music in Indian Classical Dance                                                      

 An illustrated presentation by Madhavi Mudgal

The presentation will focus on Madhavi Mudgal's perspective of the music that accompanies Indian classical dance; a perspective that emphasises how music and dance go together and enhance each other.   
Madhavi Mudgal is a renowned exponent and Guru of Odissi dance 
 

Doing the Dirt on Tragedy
Uses D.H. Lawrence’s preference for “liveliness” over “grandeur” to rethink the boundaries of Western and non-Western literary traditions.

Speakers: Amit Chaudhuri, novelist, poet and Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the Centre for the Creative and the Critical, Ashoka University; Will Harris, critic, writes essays for n+1, New Left Review, Jacobin, etc; Jatin Nayak, translator, literary critic, and Professor Emeritus at KISS University, Bhubaneswar; Sumana Roy, author, critic, and Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing, Ashoka University; Saikat Majumdar, novelist, critic, and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University; Anne Serre, award-winning French novelist; Aditya Bahl, poet and critic, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at UCLA; Udayan Vajpeyi, Hindi poet, essayist and Associate Professor at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal.

(Collaboration: Ashoka University)
 

Art Matters
Urdu Poetry with Saeed Naqvi, Senior Journalist

(Collaboration: Raza Foundation)