FILMS OF THE SPIRIT

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

Kundun (Monaco/Morocco/USA)
(134 min; 1997; English)
A film by Martin Scorsese

The boy monk’s story comes alive in this epic biographical film. It traces the extraordinary journey of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyaltso from his discovery as a reincarnation of the Great 13th, the Buddha of Compassion, to take over the reins of a nation at a young age and his escape to India, following the tragedy of the Chinese invasion of Tibet

(Collaboration: Foundation for His Holiness The Dalai Lama)

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Abhay Chawla, Visiting Professor at GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC), Delhi, and University of Delhi and teaches a range of subjects in New Media and Mass Communication and their application today. Due to his background in technology, his special interest is on how humans make sense of technology and the technology mediated new media and engage with it.

Chair: Ms Mahima Kaul, Head Public Policy, Bumble APAC and former Public Policy Director, Twitter India

Digital technology and digital media have increasingly become part and parcel of our personal and professional lives. However Digital technology has given rise to issues quite a different from the earlier analogue technology of landline phones and traditional media like press, radio and television. 
 
As most users of digital technology and digital media are not fully aware of the entire gamut of new challenges brought by these new technologies and technology-mediated media, many are confused with the rise of disinformation and online frauds. Many in the absence of a clearer understanding often find themselves in situations that could potentially become personally and professionally stressful or even cause outright harm to self and families. 
 
This talk aims to enhance a well-rounded understanding of the digital and virtual world we inhabit today, and how we can secure ourselves and our families, even as we gain greater benefits from the digitization of services. 

Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Khushal Sharma from Delhi, disciple of Guru Madhup Mudgal
 

At 19:00 
Sitar Recital

By Chandrashekhar Phanse from Mumbai, disciple of Pt. V. R. Athawale Dinkar Kaikaini and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan 
 

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Asani Bhaduri, Assistant Professor, Molecular and Computational Biology Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi. A passionate birder, Dr. Bhaduri has observed more than a thousand bird species across India in his ten year long quest for birds. He has been writing regularly on and promoting various aspects of birdwatching and the rich bird-diversity of India

Guest of Honour: Shri Ramesh Pandey, IFS, Inspector General of Forests, MoEFCC

Chair: Vijay Dhasmana, Rewilder, Eco-restoration practitioner

The presentation showcases and celebrates Indian avi-fauna from the upper cold mountains of Ladakh to the pristine Little Andaman island. The talk will cover the variety of birds both on the perspective of bird families and regional distributions. Some of the birds included in the presentation are less-known or less-talked about in the birding circles and few others require conservation effort

Teardrop Diplomacy: China’s Sri Lanka Foray

By Asanga Abeyagoonasekera (Bloomsbury Publishing: 2023)

 Discussants: Mr. C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute; Dr. Smruti S. Pattanaik, Research Fellow , Manohar Parrikar-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; Dr. Rajeswari Rajagopalan, Director,  Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology (CSST), Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi; and Mr. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Senior Fellow, Millennium Project and author of the book

 Moderator: Amb. Ashok K. Kantha, former Ambassador to China, Hony. Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Distinguished Fellow, Vivekananda Foundation

(110 min/2018/b/w & colour/Bengali/Spanish/English)
Director: Pablo César

With Victor Banerjee, Elenora Wexler, Héctor Bordani

Screening will be followed by a discussion with Suraj Kumar, Producer of the film

Thinking of Him are two stories intertwined over the time. In the present, Felix, a pessimistic and lazy teacher encounters a book that dazzles him, while teaching geography at a detention centre for minors. In the past Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet, author of the book that has come to Felix arrives in Argentina and is hosted by Victoria Ocampo, Argentinian writer, critic and public intellectual. Felix becomes more and more obsessed with the story of the poet and writer…

Sitar Recital

By Pt. Shubhendra Rao
Accompanied by Babar Latif on tabla

AT 20:00
Dhrupad Recital
By Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar
Accompanied by Pt. Mohan Shyam Sharma on pakhawaj

(Collaboration: Dagar Brothers Memorial Trust)

Culture. Ukraine. Europe

Organised in collaboration with EU National Institute for Culture

This is Who We Are: Writing in Times of Conflict
Haska Shyyan and Nidheesh Tyagi in conversation

Two celebrated poets come together to talk about the role of literature during conflict.  Ukrainian writer, translator and poet Haska Shyyan and editor, poet, and translator Nidheesh Tyagi explore the power of the written word in striving for peace and reconciliation during times of conflict and turmoil.

Haska Shyyan (Гаська Шиян, born 1980) – Ukrainian writer, translator and poet. She studied Classical Philology at the University of Lviv. In 2012 she debuted with the novel Hunt, Doctor, Hunt!, which was partially written on a cell phone while the author was bedridden for a few weeks with a rare complication of meningitis called "Hunt syndrome". Her novel Behind Their Backs written in 2016 - 2017 and published in 2019 won the European Union Prize for Literature and two Ukrainian literary awards. The book was also included in the list of the 100 of the most important Ukrainian novels. Haska lives between Lviv, Kyiv and Brussels.

Nidheesh Tyagi is an editor, poet, writer, digital evangelist, media consultant/ trainer and a translator. Currently he is working as Communication Solutions Consultant with his own Venture Talking Fish Pvt Limited. Providing consulting to digital and legacy media companies, besides helping with communication strategy in social and corporate sectors.

FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Four Chapters
Rabindranath Tagore’s Char Adhyay (1934) translated by Radha Chakravarty (New Delhi: Penguin, 2022)

Discussants: Dr. Debraj Mookerjee, Associate Professor, English department, Ramjas College, University of Delhi; Prof. Malashri Lal, critic and former Professor, Dept. of English, Delhi University; Ms Rumi Malik, writer and broadcaster and Prof. Radha Chakravarty, writer, critic and translator, former Professor of Comparative Literature & Translation Studies, Ambedkar University and translator of the book

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Organised in collaboration with Embassy of Ukraine

The masterclasses are open to both children and adults. All materials for the classes will be provided on both days 
 

Watercolour painting

Conducted by Masha Kulikovska, leading contemporary artist from Ukraine