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

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 

Petrykivka Painting

A masterclass on traditional Ukrainian decorative painting style, originating from the village of Petrykvika in Ukraine, where it is used to decorate walls of homes and objects of daily use.  The earliest known examples of this style date from the 18th century, but it continues to thrive and develop as a modern art form. It has been included in UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013

The masterclass will be conducted by Elina Nischal and Olga Syrovatko, Ukrainian artists based in India 
 

The Moonsmith Gulzar: Orbiting the Celebrated Words
By Shailja Chandra (Hawakal Publishers: 2021)

Discussants: Prof. Malashri Lal, academic and author who is a specialist on literature, women, and gender studies; 
Dr. Saba Mehmood Bashir, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia; Shri Atul Tiwari, Film Writer and Actor, and Smt Shailja Chandra, Educator & author of the book
 

POSTPONED

Lead presentation by Ms Shebonti Ray Dadwal, independent Energy Security Consultant 

The discussion is based on the paper prepared by Ms Shebonti Ray Dadwal as part of the IIC Sectoral Policy Group on Security
 

(55 min; 2022; Assamese with English subtitles)
Directed by Utpal Borpujari who will introduce the film
Produced by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts – North East Regional Centre

Recipient of the award for Best Documentary (Bronze), North East Film Festival, Mumbai 2023

Screening will be followed by a discussion

The numerous satras (Vaishnavaite monasteries) of Majuli, the world’s largest inhabited river island, are not only religious places of great significance but also form the heart of Satriya culture that was created by the 15th century saint, poet, playwright, social reformer and cultural icon Srimanta Sankardev. One of the key elements of Satriya culture is the masks worn by performers during Bhaona – dance dramas based on Hindu mythology. These masks or mukha represent an intricate art form with the artisans creating them in a unique and completely organic way using biodegradable materials. A dying art form, the film documents the last few families that are engaged in keeping this practice alive at the Natun Chamaguri Satra, including award-winning mask maker, Dr. Hem Chandra Goswami