Conversation:  Avadhu Mera Mann Matwaara

Acclaimed musician and author, Shubha Mudgal in conversation with Sujata Prasad and Oroon Das
 
(Collaboration: Ahad Anhad)
 

Illustrated lecture by Brig. Ashok Abbey, a veteran climber, who has climbed extensively for over 43 years in the Karakoram, Great Himalaya, and adjoining mountain ranges who will retrace Galwan’s fascinating life, journey and travels.

With select photographs from the personal collection of Amb. Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Speaker: Dr. Janet Rizvi, Cambridge educated independent scholar who has specialised in Ladakh. Her two seminal books, Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia; and Trans-Himalayan Caravans: Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders in Ladakh are well-known. She has also written numerous papers and articles on Ladakh, Kashmir and the wider are of Western Himalayas.

Chair:  Amb. Shyam Saran, President IIC

Moderator & Host: Ms Ahtushi Deshpande, travel journalist, photographer and author of Speaking Stones: Rock Art of Ladakh (2024)

I Want a Boy
By Aruna Kalra (Vitasta Publishing Pvt. Ltd.: 2024)

Discussants: Ms Ranjana Kumari, social activist, writer, academic and Director, Centre for Social Research; Ms Narayani Ganesh, Editor, The Speaking Tree and former Associate Editor, The Times of India; Ms Subuhi Khan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Founder & National Coordinator, Rashtra Jagran Abhiyan; and Dr. Aruna Kalra, eminent obstetrician, gynaecologist, laparoscopic & robotic surgeon and author of the book

Moderator: Ms Lipika Bhushan, Head, MarketMyBook
 

Evoking the Sounds and Scents of Monsoon in the Gardens of Rajasthan

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Priyaleen Singh, Dept. of Architectural Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

Followed by a panel discussion
Panelists: Prof. Narayani Gupta, historian and author; and Dr. Rima Hooja, Managing Trustee, Jaipur Virasat Foundation

Coordinator and Moderato: Anuj Srivastava, architect, writer and photographer

The Rajput gardens of the 17th and 18th centuries, in capturing the spirit of the monsoon, through sound, scents and visual displays have much to inform and instruct design today. In enhancing the imagery of the monsoon, they convey a valuable message on ecology. Water was harnessed and displayed in a manner where with a small amount of water, all the waters of the world could be brought to mind. The presentation will expand on the above and through a few conservation projects illustrate how it is still possible to evoke the sounds and scents of monsoon in these neglected historic gardens 

Negotiating India’s Landmark Agreement
By Avtar Singh Bhasin (Penguin: 2024)

Discussants: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC; Amb. Harshvardhan Shringla, former Foreign Secretary and Chief Coordinator, India’s G20 Presidency 2023; Shri Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor, Indian Express; and Shri A.S. Bhasin, former Head of Historical Division, Ministry of External Affairs and author of the book

Chair: Amb. Navtej Sarna, author, historian and former Ambassador to USA
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Time of Monsters, Time of Possibilities: Reflections on an Interstitial Era

Speaker: Dr. Amitav Ghosh, well-known writer, recipient of the Jnanpith Award in 2018, the Erasmus Prize in 2024 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Ours is an era of multiple intersecting crises and transitions - of geopolitics, financial structures, and, perhaps most importantly, of environmental and ecological regimes that are slowly but surely pushing the planet towards catastrophe. And yet, the paradox of this interstitial era is that it has also made it possible to contemplate, and even embrace, possibilities that were denied or rejected during the age of high modernity. This lecture explores some of these paradoxes and possibilities. 
 

Illustrated lecture and discussion by Prof. Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, cultural historian, Professor of Global History, University of Sheffield, UK

Prof. Lambert-Hurley will speak about the intrepid Muslim women travellers, especially of the last centuries who travelled the world for adventure, exploration, pilgrimage and more 

(Collaboration: Zubaan Publishers)

Looking at Delhi

An exhibition of paintings in oil and mixed media
By M. Sanghapal from Lonar, Maharashtra

Preview on Friday, 10 January 2025 at 18:30 hours

Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Speaker: Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology and Under-Secretary General

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC
 

Delhi: A Nature Journal
By Anuradha Kumar-Jain (Rupa Publications: 2024)

Discussants: Prof. (Dr.) Harinder M Sandhu, Associate Professor Department of Psychology, Mata Sundri College, Delhi University; Shri Atul Bagai, Former Country Head for United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), India Office and Dr. Anuradha Kumar-Jain, nature lover, writer and author of the book

Moderator: Shri Dibakar Ghosh, Editorial Director, Rupa Publications