Kathak Recital                                                                                                                                                                              

 By Raksha Singh David from Delhi, disciple of late Pt Birju Maharaj     

At 19:00
 

Duet Odissi Recital 

By Kalyani and Vaidehi Phagre from Bhopal, disciple of Smt  Bindu Juneja 
 

Sitar Recital                                                                                                                                                        

By Varadaraje Bhosale from Mumbai, disciple of Pt Arvind Parikh    
 

At 19:00

Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Vaibhav Sakshi from Delhi, disciple of Dr Soma Singh 
 

Writing and publishing during the Pandemic

A reflective session and readings with Antara Dev Sen, journalist, editor and translator, also working in the voluntary sector; Mandira Ghosh, poet, author and Treasurer, The Poetry Society (India); Radha Chakravarty, poet, critic and translator; Rachna Joshi, poet, reviewer and Senior Assistant Editor, IIC; Humra Quraishi, columnist and author; Saikat Majumdar, author and Professor of English and Creative Writing, Ashoka University; Reba Som, author and singer; Sukrita Paul Kumar, poet, literary theorist, academic, translator and Guest Editor, Sahitya Akademi’s Journal of Indian Literature; Abhilasha Kumari, Judicial Member, Lokpal of India, former Chief Justice, poet and author; and Malashri Lal, academic, author and critic, with a focus on women’s studies, Member, Sahitya Akademi Advisory Board for English

Coordinated and moderated by Jayshree Misra Tripathi, poet, author, former examiner in English and consultant for the International Baccalaureate Organisation

The programme will also include the reading of a poem from Jayshree Misra Tripathi’s commemorative book of poems, Uncertain Times in honour of the late Gayatri Manchanda

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

Milarepa (90 min; 2006; English)
Director: Neten Chokling

The film traces the arduous journey of Tibet’s greatest yogi and saint, Milarepa. Navigating a world of betrayal, the young Milarepa’s quest for revenge ultimately confronts him with the consequences of karma, exemplifying the idea that the material world’s cycle of suffering can be broken through spiritual transformation and becoming a student of Dharma

(Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness The Dalai Lama)
 

Soul of Sarode: the Journey of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan   
A Centenary Tribute 
A presentation by Gaurav Mazumdar

This year we celebrate the birth centenary of the legendary Sarod maestro, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan of Maihar Gharana. The noted sitarist, Gaurav Mazumdar will be discussing the significant features of this illustrious Gharana and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s association with this gharana.

Gaurav Mazumdar is an internationally acclaimed Sitar virtuoso, composer, teacher and a Grammy Nominee whose music brings in global harmony and understanding.
 

Speaker: Prof. (Dr.) Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, School of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada where he has taught for over thirty years. Prof. Sharma has published extensively in the fields of Indian religions and world religions and is the general editor of the Encyclopedia of Indian Religions (Dordrecht: Spinger, 2017)

Chief Guest: Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture

Chair: Dr. Ashok Vohra, formerly Head, Dept. of philosophy, University of Delhi

Moderator: Prof. Madhu Khanna

Tantra Foundation Annual Distinguished Lecture

(Collaboration: Tantra Foundation)
 

Lead presentation by Dr. Rajnish Karki who specialises in strategy and organisation design. Dr. Karki has advised business groups, multinational corporations, professional firms and institutions, government and allied entities at the centre and in Uttarakhand

Discussants: Amb. Kanwal Sibal, former Indian Foreign Secretary; and Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC 

Chair: Shri Gurcharan Das, author, Commentator, Public Intellectual

The government is the pivotal instrument for realising India’s potential and aspirations. Efficacy of its organisational construct or the design is thus critical. Rajnish Karki in a recent IIC Quarterly article, ‘Organising the Indian Government: Where We Stand, and Could’, traced the patterns in its evolution and the challenges going further. There is indeed a strong case for the organisational reforms and being innovative, ahead of the curve. The panel delves into the ‘whats’ of right design and structure-process-cultural elements and the ‘hows’ of making it ready for the future.

An exhibition of paintings by Madhu Jain

Inauguration on Thursday, 8 December 2022 at 18:30

Organised to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and India
 

The True Potential of the Mind: 8 and 9 December 2022

A retreat with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Welcome Address: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

The retreat will be led by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who possesses a rare ability to present the ancient Indian and Tibetan wisdom in a fresh, engaging manner. Mingyur Rinpoche is a world-renowned meditation teacher with personal experience of anxiety and panic attacks, which he suffered from throughout his childhood and into his teenage years, when he learned to transform his panic through meditation. From childhood, he became interested in contemporary science through conversations with scientists on research projects that study the effects of meditation on the brain and the mind. 

Mingyur Rinpoche’s first book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages. In his most recent book, In Love with the World, Mingyur Rinpoche shares how his meditation practice sustained him when he left his monastery to wander through India and the powerfully transformative insights he gained from the near-death experience he had at the beginning of his journey. 

More information on the Retreat can be accessed on:

https://www.cepeace.org/RegisterNow-Retreat-with-Mingyur-Rinpoche

(Collaboration: Centre for the Escalation of Peace; Nalanda Foundation; and with the support of Pallavan Learning Systems; and Ritinjali)
 

Architectural Adventurism in 19th Century India: Begum Samru’s Sardhana Church

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Jyoti Pandey Sharma, Professor of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. She engages with issues of architectural and urban history and heritage and is widely published.

Chair: Dr. A.G.K. Menon

Operating against the backdrop of the politically fluid and culturally hybrid environment of the Indian subcontinent during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this talk examines the ecclesiastical architectural feats of Begum Samru, Bibi of a German mercenary; subsequent ruler of Sardhana, a Jagir, near Delhi, and a zealous advocator of Christianity. It is argued that the Begum resorted to what can be termed as an ‘Architectural Adventurism’, to mark her identity as a devout Catholic.