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. 

Speaker: Prof. Michael Grubb, Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University College of London. Since leading the Energy and Environmental Programme at Chatham House in the 1990s, his career has combined a wide range of energy systems and climate change research with half-time implementation roles. He is Strategy Director for a major international research programme on the Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition. Prof. Grubb is the author of eight books, over sixty journal research articles and numerous other publications

Introduction: Prof. Shreekant Gupta, Professor, Dept. of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Michael Grubb will summarise some of the key insights from the IPCC Mitigation Report published earlier this year, drawing on his experiences as Convening Lead Author for the first chapter.  After briefly setting the scene on climate change, he will focus on new insights in the IPCC report, highlighting areas of progress, and continuing challenges in national and global responses to climate change - including relationships between climate mitigation and sustainable development in the context of continuing deep inequalities.  Drawing also on debates amongst the IPCC authors, he will argue that we are in the midst of a major transition in our understanding of the climate change problem, and potential solutions – including some implications for international cooperative approaches.

HER VOICE – Simhika: Daughter of the Forest
 

Geeta Chandran presents a performance inspired by a character from Kathakali repertoire

Accompanists: Sharanya Chandran (nattuvangam); K. Venkateshwaran (vocal); Manohar Balatchandirane (mridangam); Varun Rajasekharan (ghatam); and G. Raghavendra Prasath (violin)

In this performance-dialogue, Geeta Chandran raises issues of rights of forest dwellers and their quest for justice alongside gender justice and equality

Speakers: Amb. Ajay Bisaria, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan; Dr. Shalini Chawla, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi; and Dr. Happymon Jacob, Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Chair: Amb. T.C.A. Raghavan, former Director General, Indian Council of World Affairs and former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan

The discussion will assess Islamabad’s attempts to navigate the deepening conflict between Beijing and Washington. For many decades, Pakistan’s foreign policy benefitted from simultaneous good relations with both China and the US. As the Sino-US rivalry reshapes the regional landscape in Asia, Pakistan is finding ways to adapt. The discussion will examine the extent of Pakistan’s room for manoeuvre and the domestic consensus in favour of a diplomatic reset with two of its most important strategic partners

(Collaboration: Asia Society Policy Institute)