A three part BBC series

In this series, mathematician Dr Hannah Fry explores the mystery of maths. It underpins so much of our modern world that it is hard to imagine life without its technological advances, but where exactly does maths come from? Is it invented like a language or is it something discovered and part of the fabric of the universe? It's a question that some of the most eminent mathematical minds have been wrestling with. Dr Eleanor Knox from King's College London believes it is discovered, Prof Hiranya Peiris from University College London believes it is invented, while Prof Jim Gates from Brown University believes it is both, and Prof Brian Greene from Columbia University has no idea. The jury is very much divided.

Episode III

Weirder and Weirder (59 min) | Click here to watch

Hannah explores a paradox at the heart of modern maths, discovered by Bertrand Russell, which undermines the very foundations of logic that all of maths is built on. These flaws suggest that maths isn't a true part of the universe but might just be a human language - fallible and imprecise. However, Hannah argues that Einstein's theoretical equations, such as E=mc2 and his theory of general relativity, are so good at predicting the universe that they must be reflecting some basic structure in it. This idea is supported by Kurt Godel, who proved that there are parts of maths that we have to take on faith.

Hannah then explores what maths can reveal about the fundamental building blocks of the universe - the subatomic, quantum world. The maths tells us that particles can exist in two states at once, and yet quantum physics is at the core of photosynthesis and therefore fundamental to most of life on earth - more evidence of discovering mathematical rules in nature. But if we accept that maths is part of the structure of the universe, there are two main problems: firstly, the two main theories that predict and describe the universe - quantum physics and general relativity - are actually incompatible; and secondly, most of the maths behind them suggests the likelihood of something even stranger - multiple universes.

We may just have to accept that the world really is weirder than we thought, and Hannah concludes that while we have invented the language of maths, the structure behind it all is something we discover. 

(60 min; 2010; English)
Director: Chris Malone

In this travelogue, actor David Suchet journeys across Europe abroad the world famous Orient Express Train, as he prepares to play Poirot in an adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express."

A 4-part series directed by David Wallace for BBC2/PBS with the English historian and broadcaster, Michael Wood. The Spanish conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth century was one of the most important and cataclysmic events in history. Spanish expeditions endured incredible hardships in order to open up the lands of the ‘New World’, and few stories in history can match these for drama and endurance.

In Conquistadors, Michael Wood follows in the footsteps of some of the greatest of the Spanish adventurers travelling from the forests of Amazonia to Lake Titicaca, the deserts of North Mexico, the snowpeaks of the Andes and the heights of Machu Picchu. He experiences the epic journeys of Cortes, Pizarro, Orellana and Cabeza de Vaca, and explores the turbulent and terrifying events surrounding the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires.

Conquistadors: The Fall of the Aztecs (49 min) | Click here to watch
Director: David Wallace

The story of the conquest in 1519-21 of the Aztec empire in Mexico by Hernan Cortes and five hundred intrepid Spanish conquistadors. In this film Michael Wood follows the womaniser and gambler Cortes from his home in Spain to the Mayan pyramids on the shores of the Yucatan, and on through the tropical forests of Tabasco to the snow-capped volcanoes of Mexico.

The Secret World of Lewis Carroll (UK) | Click here to watch
(60 min; 2015; English)
Director: Clare Beaven

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a timeless classic and one of the most quoted books in English only preceded by the Bible and Shakespeare. To mark the books 150th anniversary this film explores its extraordinary appeal and the life of the man who wrote it, the Reverend Charles Dodgson or better known as Lewis Carroll. Martha Kearney a radio broadcaster and journalist examines biographies of the author himself and of the girl who inspired his most famous creation, Alice Liddell.
 

By Ghulam Hasan Khan from Delhi, disciple of Ustad Ghulam Sadiq Khan

Accompanied by Mahavir Chandrawat (tabla); and Satendar Verma (harmonium)

The artist will present Raga Nand

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

The Ninth Flower: Best of Amrita Pritam
Translated by Jyoti Sabharwal (Stellar Publishers: 2021)

Discussants: Prof. Malashri Lal, Professor, University of Delhi; Academic, Writer and Editor; Mr. Pratik Kanjilal, Editor, The India Cable, Publisher, The Little Magazine; Ms. Jyoti Sabharwal, Editor, Writer & Publisher, Stellar 

Moderator: Dr. Gauri Shankar Raina, Broadcaster ; Translator & Member, Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts
By Kapila Vatsyayan 

Discussants: Prof. Radha Vallabh Tripathi, former Vice-Chancellor, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi; Dr. Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, IIC-International Research Division; Prof. Deepti Omchery Bhalla, Head, Department of Music and Dean, Dept. of Music & Fine Arts, University of Delhi; and Shri Shekhar Shastri, poet, musician and dramatist

Chair: Shri N.N. Vohra, President, IIC