Maati Ki Boli: Essence of Land

Dr. Shailesh Srivastava will be presenting the lyrical beauty of Maharashtra’s traditional folk music, featuring Gan–Gondhal, Vagya–Murli, Jagran (Khandoba), Gaulang (Gopi–Krishna dialogue), and Baithakicha Lavani.

Dr Srivastava, distinguished vocalist and recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2022 for Folk Music (Uttar Pradesh). Trained by Padma Bhushan Pt. Rajan and Sajan Mishra of the Banaras gharana. She is celebrated for her versatility across languages and folk traditions.

Accompanists: Madhav Prasad, Harmonium; Pravin Kumar, Synthesizer; Anil Gawde, Dholki; Aashish Pawar, Naal; Omkar Gawde, Sambal, Chipani; Vishal Kumar, Percussion

(Collaboration: NCZCC, Prayagraj, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India)

The Age of Influence: Thoughts on Communication in Geopolitics, Soft Power and Branding

By Chaitanya K. Prasad, Zoya Ahmad and Vaishnavie Srinivasan (Notion Press, 2025)

Discussants: Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Dean, School of International Studies, Professor and Chair, Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), School of International Studies, JNU; Nitin Gokhale, Author and Senior Journalist; Sidhant Sibal, Assistant Editor Foreign Affairs, WIO News; Capt. Alok Bansal, Executive Vice President, India Foundation and the Secretary General, Asian Eurasian Human Rights Forum; Chaitanya K. Prasad, Head Communication and Outreach, MOE, GOI & Author of the Book

Moderator: Manjari Chaturvedi, Author & Classical Dancer  

Chair: K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

An exhibition of works of Photo Journalists

The exhibition presents the 7th public exhibition showcasing powerful images by 69 photojournalists from across India. The exhibition reflects photojournalism’s role in documenting history, balancing authenticity with evolving technologies, and capturing candid moments that reveal the depth, diversity, and immediacy of life.

Participating photojournalists: Abhishek Pande, Abhisek Saha, Ajay Bedi, Anindya Chattopadhyay, Atul Yaday, Bunny Smith, D Ravinder Reddy, Dheeraj Paul, Dhruv Kumar, Dilip Banerjee, Girish Srivastav, G.N. Jha, Ganesh Shetkar, Gurinder Osan, Harish Tyagi, Hrishikesh Bhatt, Imtiaz Khan, Indraneel Sen, K. Asif, Kamal Kishore, Kamal Narang, Madhu Kaparath, Mahadev Rao, Manish Swaroop, Manvendra Vashist Lav, Mihir Singh, Mukesh Aggarwal, Mukesh Gupta, Mukesh Yadav, Narendra Bisht, Naveen Sharma, Neeraj Paul, Neeraj Priyadarshi, Nitin Rai, Pallava Bagla, Piyal Bhattacharya, Pooja Arya, Prabhas Roy, Pramod Pushkarna, Prashant Panjiar, Pritam Bandyopadhyay, Raghu Rai, Rajat Gupta, Rajesh Bedi, Ramana T.V., Ranjan Basu, Renuka Puri, S.N. Sinha, Sanjay Kumar, Sipra Das, Shome Basu, Sondeep Shankar, Sonu Mehta, Subir Haldar, Subrata Dutta, Sujan Singh, T. Narayan, V. Rajagopalan, V.S. Vijay Bhaskar Rao, Vijay Bedi, and Vipin Kumar.

Inauguration on 20 December at 11:30 hrs 

The exhibition will be on view from 11:00 to 19:00 hrs daily

As part of the exhibition, there will be a workshop on Photography and AI on 24 December in Conference Room-I at 18:00 hrs

(Collaboration: All India Working News Cameramen’s Association (WNCA)

A Book discussion on

Rising India and China: Strategic Rivalry in the Himalayas and the Indo-Pacific

By B R Deepak (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025)

Discussants: Amb. Ashok K Kantha, Former Ambassador of India to China; Dr. Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, ORF, New Delhi; Shikha Aggarwal, Visiting Fellow, India Foundation

Moderator: Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, DU, Delhi

Arundhathi Subramaniam in conversation with Anamika

(Collaboration: Raza Foundation)

Endangered Languages of the Nicobar Islands

By Prof. Anvita Abbi, Shri Rahul Pachori, Shri Vysakh R.

Discussants: Dr Ajay Saini, Assistant Professor, Centre for Rural Development & Technology, IIT Delhi; Shimray Rose, Additional District Magistrate, NW District, Delhi; Prof. Anvita Abbi, Adjunct Professor, Department of Linguistics, Simon Fraser University; Former Professor, JNU & Author of the Book; Rahul Pachori, Research Fellow (Linguistics), Kala Nidhi Division, IGNCA & Co-Author of the Book

Chair: Prof Uday Narayan Singh, Professor of Linguistics, Dean Faculty of Arts Amity University, Haryana

Talk by Brig. Ashok Abbey (Retd), a veteran climber with over four decades of experience across the Karakoram, Himalaya and adjoining ranges. He brings deep field knowledge to the history of the Workman explorations.

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Guest of Honour: Lt Gen Ata Hasnain (Retd.)

Special Invitee: Ms Kokila Sudha, renowned mountaineer

This talk revisits the extraordinary 1911–1912 expedition of Fanny Bullock Workman. Her pioneering exploration of the 76 km long Siachen Glacier—now the world’s highest battlefield—mapped its chief tributaries and placed the glacier accurately within the geography of the Eastern Karakoram.

(Collaboration: Himalayan Club and The Himalayan Environment Trust)

Duration: (55 minutes;2014; English)

Director: Robert H. Gardner

The film follows the life of Noor Inayat Khan, who became a fearless spy during World War II. Recruited into Britain’s Special Operations Executive, she served as a covert radio operator in Nazi-occupied Paris and became the only link to the French Resistance. Betrayed and captured by the Gestapo, she was later executed at Dachau, leaving behind a legacy of courage and sacrifice.

(Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History

By Rohit De and Ornit Shani (Cambridge University Press, 2025)

Discussants: Prof Anupama Roy, Professor, Centre for Political Studies, JNU; Dr Usha Ramanathan, Independent law researcher and human rights activist; Shahrukh Alam, Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Suhas Borker, Editor Citizens First TV (CFTV) ; Dr. Rohit De, Associate Professor of History at Yale University and author of the book and Dr. Ornit Shani Associate Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Haifa and author of the book

 

Children for a Better World

An exhibition of paintings by the students of Vidya Niketan Senior Secondary School, Saket, New Delhi. Through themes such as peace, equality, women’s empowerment, environmental conservation, artificial intelligence, discrimination, and global conflicts, the exhibition reflects children’s empathy, awareness, and creative responses to the world around them.

Inauguration on 17 December at 16:00 by Jatin Das, Eminent Artist

The exhibition will be on view from 11:00 to 19:00 hrs daily