The Extraordinary Life and Times of Harry Belafonte

Presentation by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
 
Born in New York to underprivileged parents with origins in the Caribbean islands of the West Indies, Harry Belafonte was one the world’s most popular and influential singers, activists, and actors. He passed away on 25 April at the age of 96. Some of his most popular songs, including “Jamaica Farewell” and “Banana Boat Song,” have been performed and adapted across the globe from the 1950s onwards. He not only performed in the calypso genre but also sang blues, folk, and gospel songs. Belafonte considered actor and singer Paul Robeson his mentor and was a close confidante of Martin Luther King. He was an outspoken critic of US Presidents George W Bush and Donald Trump, and even described the former as the biggest terrorist on the planet.
 
Moderator: N. Madhavan, music lover and veteran journalist
 
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is a music lover and an independent journalist, author, publisher, documentary film maker and teacher

Varanasi within Varanasi

A collection of poems by Sharmila Ray (Hawakal Publishers: 2022)

Discussants: Prof. Payal Nagpal, Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, poet and critic; Prof. Kalyanee Rajan, Assistant Professor, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi; and Prof. Sharmila Ray, poet, Associate Professor, City College, Kolkata and author of the book

Chair: Dr. Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, former Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and poet

(Collaboration: The Poetry Society, India)

Speaker: Dr. Vivek Venkatesh, filmmaker, musician, curator, and applied learning scientist whose research and research creation programmes focus on community co-creation. He is UNESCO co-chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism and serves as co-director of the Center for the Study of Learning and Performance, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Partisan politics that thrive on highly divisive debates catalyse the abuse and erosion of public trust through various disinformation campaigns, resulting in the dismantling of the democratic functioning of our shared society. At the presentation, the speaker will advance the foundations of a theory of social pedagogy within a framework grounded in humanism and community co-creation. He will present examples of a range of arts and community initiatives that enable people to own and revolutionize their own understanding, as well as our collective understanding, of what it means to create pluralistic platforms for dialogue to combat the rhetoric of division and pave the way for restoring the principles of an inclusive society
 

Presented by Ramchandra Gangoliya and party from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

Ramchandra Gangoliya is a well-known folk singer and musician from Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. He is accompanied by artists on traditional folk instruments – manjira, dholak, timki, and kartal among others
 
Organised to mark World Music Day 2023

An exhibition of works in pen and ink 
By Biswajit Das from Delhi

Curated by Rukmani Chatterjee, Gallerie Ruki

Inauguration by Prof. Biman B. Das, Chairman, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, sculptor and painter on Tuesday, 20 June at 18.00 

Puccini: Tosca
(120 min; 2011; dvd; English subtitles)

With Angela Gheorghiu (Flora Tosca); Jonas Kaufmann (Mario Cavaradossi); Bryn Terfel (Baron Scarpia); Lukas Jakobski (Cesare Angelotti); Jeremy White (Sacristan); Hubert Francis (Spoletta); Zheng Zhong Zhou (Sciarrone); William Payne (Shepherd Boy); John Morissey (Gaoler)

A Royal Opera House Production in association with the BBC
Stage Director: Jonathan Kent
Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Antonio Pappano

Jonathan Kent’s atmospheric and evocative production of Tosca features three of the finest singers; Angela Gheorghiu’s sensitively portrayed Tosca is paired with Jonas Kaufmann’s intense and compelling Cavaradossi, while Bryn Terfel is thrillingly malevolent as Scarpia. Antonio Pappano’s masterfully paced conducting captures all the drama and beauty of Puccini’s exhilarating opera.

Introduced by Sunit Tandon

SCREEING SCHEDULE

Indus Basin Interrupted: A History of Territory and Politics from Alexander to Nehru

By Uttam Kumar Sinha (Vintage Books: 2022)

Discussants: Shri Sharat Sabharwal, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan; Dr. D.V. Thareja, former Member, Central Water Commission; Dr. Ashok Behuria, Senior Fellow, MP-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; Col. D.P.K. Pillay (Retd.), Fellow, MP-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; and Dr. Uttam Kumar Sinha, Senior Fellow, MP-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and author of the book

Moderator: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Considered one of India’s finest masters of abstract art, Ambadas Khobragade (1922-2012), this exhibition is a tribute to mark his birth centenary year. On display are paintings and drawings spanning seven decades of the artists’ practice, from the collection of Dhoomimal Gallery as well as from private collections. The display includes personal letters, photographs, old catalogues and writings on Ambadas and his work

Curated by Shruti Lakhanpal Tandon in association with Dhoomimal Gallery and Prayag Shukla

Inauguration by H.E. Mr. Hans Jacob Frydenlund, Ambassador of Norway on Friday, 16 June 2023 at 18:00

As part of this exhibition, there will be several related programmes in the Art Gallery:

SATURDAY 17 FROM 11:30 TO 19:00
A Day with Prayag Shukla
Shri Prayag Shukla, art critic, poet, writer and a close friend of Ambadas Khobragade will interact with visitors to share his memories and views on Ambadas and his art

SUNDAY 18 AT 17:00
Poetry Reading
By Gagan Gill

Followed by
Ambadas and his Relationship with J. Swaminathan
Talks by Ashok Vajpeyi and Shridhar Iyer

WEDNESDAY 21 FROM 11:00 TO 13:00
Special Curatorial Walk for the Hearing Impaired 
Curated walk and drawing session with Sign Language interpreters

Conducted by Noida Deaf Society 

THURSDAY 22

FILM ■ C.D. DESHMUKH AUDITORIUM AT 18:30
The Way I See – Celebrating Ambadas (India)
(60 min; 2023; Hindi and English)
Produced by Dr. Shruti Lakhanpal Tandon, Founder, Ushaarth Art Foundation who will introduce the film

In this interview-documentary on Ambadas, artists, poets and writers introspect on him and his work, tracing his life’s journey through personal anecdotes and critical observations. The viewer is taken through a visual documentation and evolution of Ambadas’ paintings and drawings over almost seven decades of his art practice

Screening will be followed by a discussion with Shri Prayag Shukla, poet, writer and friend of Ambadas and Dr. Shruti Lakhanpal Tandon
 

Sitar Recital

By Soumendra Goswami from Delhi, disciple of Pandit Kushal Das

At 19:00
Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Shatavisha Mukherjee from Kolkata, disciple of Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar
 

Veena Recital

By Radhika Ramakrishnan from Delhi, disciple of Kalaimamani Vidushi R.Ramani

At 19:00
Carnatic Vocal Recital

By Sai Sundhar from Delhi, disciple of Dr. Radha Venkatachalam