A four – part series. Historian Michael Wood travels the globe seeking evidence of four of the world's most famous myths. He begins his quest in Jerusalem, travelling to Egypt and Africa as he hunts for evidence of the fabled Queen of Sheba. His search for the lost kingdom of Shangri-La takes him through India, Nepal and Tibet. He roams the Celtic world from Cornwall to Wales, Ireland and Scotland in search of the legendary King Arthur. And finally, he heads to Greece, Turkey and Georgia as he tracks the legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

Episode 1: The Queen of Sheba ( Click here to watch )
(60 min; 2005; English)
Michael Wood begins his quest with an exotic and mysterious woman of power — the Queen of Sheba. Immortalized in the Hebrew Bible, the Muslim Koran and in many Christian traditions, the tale of the Queen's journey to Jerusalem to meet (and sleep with) King Solomon has been told and retold for nearly 3,000 years. 

(56 min; 2015; English)
Director: Domingo Rodes

Film on Ruperto Chapi y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909), one of the most important and acclaimed Spanish composers of the nineteenth century. Chapi is best known for the music he composed for zarzuelas (Spanish musical theatre). He wrote zarzuelas in all shapes and sizes, including the three-act zarzuela grande and the one-act género chico (short/light) forms. His most celebrated work is La revoltosa.  

The film features the Orquestra Sinfonica de Alicante conducted by Joan Iborra.

Notes on Blindness | ( Click here to watch ) | (90 min; 2016; English)

Directors: Peter Middleton, James Spinney

Acclaimed documentary by Peter Middleton and James Spinney dramatising the life-changing experiences of theology professor John Hull, whose audiotape diaries of his journey into blindness formed the basis of his 1990 book Touching the Rock. Notes on Blindness is built upon the voices of John and his family (from audio diaries, taped letters, domestic recordings and interviews). The result brilliantly blurs the boundary between drama and documentary. Middleton and Spinney have created an immersive film worthy of Hull’s end-quote declaration that “to gain our full humanity, blind people and sighted people need to see each other”.

(70 min; 1995; English)
A film by Francis Gerard 

Filmed on location at the famous Imperial Palace complex in Beijing, the documentary dramatizes scenes of daily life at the palace during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Using footage of palace interiors, period paintings, archival material, and readings from over a thousand years of diaries to present a dramatic portrayal of the “Forbidden City”, the symbolic heart of Imperial China. The film focuses on the last 150 years, concluding with Pu Yi, the last emperor in the 1920s.  

(69 min; 2002; English)
Director: Ian MacMillan

Written and presented by renowned art critic Robert Hughes, Crazy Like A Genius explores the world of Francisco Goya: charting his achievements as a court painter, satirist and war reporter, as well as a topographer of the inner self - of madness, fear and despair. The film offers a detailed visual and intellectual analysis of Goya masterpieces, including Witches in the Air, The Third of May and The Dream of Reason, as well as examples of his early work and portraiture such as The Duchess of Alba, The Nude Maja and The Clothed Maja. Hughes gives an insight into the enormous changes that took place in Goya’s work in the course of his life: the shift from light to dark.

A talk by Ranjit Hoskote, poet and author, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator

Organised in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi’s Through My Window series of programmes

Speakers: Ravish Kumar, Senior Executive Editor, NDTV India; Anand Sahay, Consulting Editor, The Asian Age; and Vandita Mishra, National Opinion Editor, The Indian Express

Moderator: Suhas Borker, Convener, Jan Prasar and Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTV)

This discussion marks the 31st Anniversary of the Presidential Assent to the Prasar Bharti Act. 1990 and is the 28th discussion in the annual series

(Collaboration: Jan Prasar)

Ikebana demonstration by Ms Koka Fukushima, senior Master Instructor, Sogetsu School

Introduction: Smt Veena Dass, Director, Sogetsu School, New Delhi

During the demonstration, Ms Fukushima will explain the various kinds of Japanese baskets and the different types of weaves used.  

(Collaboration: Sogetsu School, New Delhi)

Article 282, Fiscal Federalism and Centrally Sponsored Schemes: Scratching the Surface
Presentation of Vidhi’s Report on Article 282 and Fiscal Federalism by Ritwika Sharma, Lead, Charkha and Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy

Followed by a discussion with
Panelists: Shri N.K. Singh, Chairman, 15th Finance Commission of India and President, Institute of Economic Growth; and Ms Yamini Aiyar, President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research

Chair: Dr. Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy

Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs), which are designed by the Centre and implemented by the States, form a substantial proportion of the total fiscal transfers from the former to the latter. According to the Budget Estimates for 2021-22, CSSs account for nearly 23% of the total fiscal transfers from the Centre to States. 

The panel will deliberate over the tensions that have been propelled into the scheme of fiscal federal relations between the Centre and States. The discussion will examine questions surrounding the constitutional scheme of intergovernmental transfers, fiscal federalism, and the practice of implementing CSSs.

A new year-long series of monthly conversations jointly curated and presented with Charkha, the Constitutional Law Research Centre, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The conversations have been envisaged to spark thoughtful, nuanced discussions on some of the most significant constitutional challenges of our times. The conversations will focus on three broad themes – understanding Indian democracy, unpacking Indian federalism, and unearthing civil liberties

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