Secularism as Misdirection: Critical Thought from the Global South 

Speaker: Nivedita Menon, Professor, Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She is the author of several books including Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law (2004); and Seeing like a Feminist (2012). This talk is based on her new book, Secularism as Misdirection: Critical Thought from the Global South (Permanent Black; 2023). Nivedita Menon is a regular commentator on contemporary issues on the collective blog kafila.online (of which she is one of the founders), and active in democratic politics in India 

Chair: Tanika Sarkar, historian of modern India and Visiting Professor of History, Ashoka University

In the performance of a magic trick, misdirection draws attention away from where the trick is happening to another place which appears more fascinating. The talk addresses the grid of meanings secularism produces, which effects such a misdirection. Certain features become hyper visible (religion, women) while others are obscured (caste, capitalism, the non-individuated, non-rational self). The perspective is from the global South and India, and reconceptualises secularism more generally.

Sarod Recital
By Arnab Bhattacharya from Kolkata, disciple of Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta.  
 

Hills of Paradise: Freedom and the Female Body

Speaker: Prof. Mineke Schipper, Emeritus Professor of Intercultural Literary Studies, University of Leiden, The Netherlands. She is the author of several bestsellers and in India, she has published Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet (2018); Naked or Covered: A History of Dressing and Undressing Around the World (2018); and Hills of Paradise: Power, Powerlessness and the Female Body (2023)

(Collaboration: Speaking Tiger Books; and with the support of Leiden University Fund; Dutch Foundation for Literature; and Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New Delhi)

Majaz Zinda Hai (80 min) 
Script, Design & Direction: Salima Raza
Presented by D for Drama in Hindi and Urdu

With Farrukh Seyer, Paayal Kapoor Nair, Anaamika Tiwari, Tarique Hameed, Navendra Mishra, Snigdha Anand Prakash, Anant Srivastava, Jipal Pathak, Kirti V.A., Arhan Willson and Rigved Singh

A musical dramatization of the life and works of the legendary Urdu poet, Asrar-ul-Haq Maz or Majaz Lakhnavi as he is popularly known. Set against the backdrop of 1940s and 1950s Lucknow, we see him at his highest highs and lowest lows. We see Majaz Lakhnavi fall in love, be applauded for the unique union of ‘Shabab’ and ‘Inqlab’ in his writings, the beautiful bond he shared with his sisters, the eternal effect of his poetry on the youth and his untimely demise.

(Collaboration: D for Drama)

Exploring the beauty of contemporary art crafted from E-waste

By Vishwanath Mallabadi Davangere from Bengaluru

Inauguration by Sh. K.N. Shrivastava, Director IIC at 18:30 on  22 November, 2023

A Pottery Story: The work of Ira Chaudhuri(New Delhi: Tulika Books, 2023)

Release of the book by Dr. Raj Kubba, connoisseur and ceramic art collector

Followed by a talk on 
Ira Chaudhuri’s pottery by Kristine Michael, ceramic artist and curator
Moderator: Ina Puri, Curator

The book is a simple commemoration of the work of master potter Ira Chaudhuri, over seven decades-primarily through 150+ images of works juxtaposed with quotes from the artist. Ira Chaudhuri describes her life’s journey in an essay at the end, along with critical writings by artists and critics. The candid, forthright and lucid essay is valuable because Ira Chaudhuri’s career as a self-taught potter tracks the trajectory the development of ceramic art in India, from nascency to its ongoing and gradual insertion into contemporary art practice. Neelima Sheikh, Trupti Patel and Ella Datta’s pieces serve to excavate other facets- her artistic temperament, stylistic influences, and signature technique. The book is compiled and edited by her son Itu Chaudhuri and his studio.
 

Dastangoi Collective presents an evening of performative readings by Mahmood Farooqui, Sunit Tandon, Darain Shahidi, Meera Rizvi, Lokesh Jain and Syeda Hameed in memory of Rahbar-e-Mulk Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, musician, sufi, revolutionary, rasik, scholar and statesman.

Inauguration by Hon’ble Hamid Ansari, former Vice President of India and Hon’ble Meira Kumar, former Speaker of Lok Sabha

Discussants: Prof. S. Irfan Habib; and Amb. T.C.R. Raghavan

(Collaboration: Khwaja Ahmed Abbas Memorial Trust; Rajendra Prasad Academy; and Working Group on Alternative Strategies)
 

Devotional Music of India: Spreading Harmony and Peace 

Edited by Amarendra Khatua and Mandira Ghosh (Shubhi Publications: 2023)

Chair: Dr. Karan Singh

Discussants: Vidushi Sharon Lowen, well-known artist, dance guru and writer; Dr. Amarendra Khatua, former Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and Co-editor of the book; and Ms Mandira Ghosh, poet, writer and Co-editor of the book

Cancelled

Curator: Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray

Early Buddhist Art at Sanchi: Power and Piety in Uruvela Narrative Cycle

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Seema Bawa who specializes in the History of South Asian Art and Culture, Department of History, University of Delhi. Books written by her include Gods, Men and Women: Gender and Sexuality in Early Indian Art and Religion and Art of the Chamba Valley, A.D. 700-1300. The areas of research focus on Indian Art, Ancient Indian Art and Iconography; Western Himalayan Art and Religion and Modern and Contemporary Indian Art. She was a recipient of DAAD Fellowship at the University of Bonn

This presentation focuses on the physical and imagined landscapes and locale within the visual narratives in early Buddhist art at Sanchi. The Uruvela or Uruvilva cycle, depicted on the pillar of the Eastern gateway at Sanchi Stupa 1, illustrates the interaction between the Kasyapa brothers and the aniconic presence indicating the Buddha. The fact that this is also a story that is based on the contestation between the established ideology of yajna and the emergence of Buddha as a proselytizing force makes nuanced reading of this visual even more interesting. 

Conceptualised by Dr. Ashwani Kumar

From 10:00 to 13:00
Workshop on ‘Assessment of Risk factors & Prevention of Renal Diseases’ 
To be conducted by Dr. (Prof.) Sandeep Mahajan, Department of Nephrology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Suspected cases of renal diseases will be examined for pulse & blood pressure, any past history of renal disorder will be recorded, depending upon the findings, will be advised there and then. If need arises, would be referred to AIIMS, New Delhi for further investigations and management.

Open to IIC members and staff members of IIC

At 16:00
Organ Donation Awareness: Risk Factors & Prevention of Renal Diseases
Facts and Myths about Organ transplant
Speaker: Dr. (Prof.) Virinder Kumar Bansal, Professor of Surgery, Consultant general, Minimal Access, Hepato-pancreatico-biliary and Renal transplant surgeon, Department of Surgical Disciplines, All India Institute of Medical Sciences

Chair: Dr. Ashwani Kumar

Sixteenth lecture in the monthly series of medical presentation on early signs, prevention and management of diseases/conditions in common medical perspectives by eminent medical consultants