INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE

“CONTINENTAL DELIGHT”

Thursday, 17 February 2022

Members will be delighted to know that this weekend (Friday, 18 February to Sunday, 20 February 2022), We bring you our popular continental fare. On offer is a truly ‘Continental Delight’, featuring the Centre’s signature dishes the Chicken Vol-au-Vent and Corn Fritters as starters, and Roast Chicken with Orange Sauce and Vegetable Steak as mains. Sumptuous desserts and special bakery items add sweetness to the delight. These items shall be served in addition to the regular take away/dine in menu.

Take away services with prior booking will be available from 1100 hrs to 2100 hrs. Last order can be placed at 2030 hrs. Kindly Place order at: 011-24609359, 24609449, 24609375

Kanwal Wali
Secretary

MEMBER’S LUNCH:  “CONTINENTAL DELIGHT”
Saturday & Sunday, 19th and 20th FEBRUARY 2022

Gender, Presence and Representation

Speaker: Prof. Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics and Environment, University of Manchester, UK

Chair: Prof. Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for Social Development

One of the earliest demands of women’s organisations in pre-Independence India was the right to be elected to legislative bodies. Yet almost a century later, a vast gender gap persists in terms of women’s presence at all levels of governance. Why is it important to include women in political and policy decision-making bodies, beyond the issue of equality? Do women representatives necessarily represent women’s interests? Indeed, how do we define women’s interests and how can they be represented best? The lecture will address these questions, both conceptually and empirically, drawing on her many decades of research and policy engagement.

(Collaboration: Council for Social Development; SAGE Publications; and Anthropological Survey of India)

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME
  

Underwater Archaeology

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Alok Tripathi, Additional Director General, Archaeological Survey of India

Chair: Shri B.M. Pande

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME
    

Ray between the Covers
An exhibition of digital reprints of book jackets, illustrated and designed by Satyajit Ray, beginning with his early work for Signet Press. Included in the exhibition are book jackets for his own fiction and non-fiction work; examples of his calligraphic covers; word play with titles; buoyant and cheerful covers for children’s fiction, among others

This exhibition is part of the year-long celebrations marking the centenary year of Satyajit Ray, legendary filmmaker, writer, illustrator and music composer.

The exhibition will continue online from 2 March to 13 March 2022. To access the exhibition, please visit www.iicdelhinic.in
 

Introductory Text

Satyajit Ray, the artist:
Satyajit Ray was a multifaceted genius who will be remembered as much for his graphic designing and illustrations as for his storytelling prowess.  He was a great artist first, well before he made his name as a filmmaker. He designed book covers, film posters, illustrated children’s books and had a mastery over calligraphy and typography creating numerous new fonts in Bengali and four Roman fonts, receiving an award for designing the typeface for Ray Roman. Ray’s artistic work reflects a sophisticated experimentation with various artistic styles and traditions, both local and foreign, without compromising on aesthetic or authenticity. Throughout his career, sketching, graphic design and calligraphy merged seamlessly with his filmmaking. 

From early childhood Ray was acquainted with the process of printing blocks, block printing and block carving techniques that he picked up at the family owned printing press U Ray and Sons. In 1940, he joined Santiniketan to study art under Nandalal Bose and Binode Behari Mukherjee who instilled in him a love of Indian classical art, reinforced by a tour he took in 1941 to see the great masterpieces for himself. Ray visited Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta, Sanchi and Khajuraho, assimilating the qualities that distinguish Eastern from Western art. Critics note that this awareness sharpened his perception of the way very small details in Indian art could be used to express something much greater.

As a graphic illustrator, Ray started his career in 1943 as a junior visualiser at D.J. Keymer (now Ogilvy), a British-run advertising agency where he established a strong reputation as an art director and designer. His advertisements often reflected his familiarity with different folk motifs, traditional day-to-day rangolis (in Bengal, alpana) or the patachitra style of painting. At the same time, Ray ventured out as a book cover designer for the newly opened pioneering publishing house, Signet Press where he designed some of his best book covers revolutionising book jacket designs in Bengali literary traditions. At Signet a significant early assignment was the entire responsibility of layout, illustration and cover design of the abridged version of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s immortal Bengali classic Pather Panchali with far-reaching consequences.

With an impressive portfolio of 5,500 book covers, posters, advertisement layouts and film titles and innumerable illustrations for Bengali fiction, both his own and others, Satyajit Ray encapsulated a fine blend of functionality and aesthetics of illustrations.

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME
  
Presentations by Ven. Olande Ananda from Sri Lanka; Dr. Subhadra Desai, well-known vocalist; and Sonam Rinchen, flautist from Thailand

Introduction: Lama Doboom Tulku

(Collaboration:  World Buddhist Culture Trust)

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME
 

Sitar Recital
By Lakshay Mohan from Delhi, disciple of Pt. Balwant Rai Verma, Pt. Uma Shankar Mishra and Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar

Accompanied by Pt. Vinod Lele on tabla

At 19:00

Bharatanatyam Recital
By Pavitra K. Bhat from Mumbai, disciple of Kumari Vasantha and Guru Deepak Mazumdar
 

A Haunting Tragedy: Gender, Caste and Class in 1866 Famine of Orissa

By Bidyut Mohanty (Routledge Taylor & Francis, New Delhi: 2022)

Discussants: Shri P. Sainath, Founder Editor, PARI (People’s Archives on Rural India); Prof. Tim Dyson, Emeritus Professor, London School of Economics, UK; Prof. Sanjay Sharma, Professor of History, Ambedkar University, Delhi; Prof. Pritish Acharya, Regional Institute of Education (NCERT), Bhubaneswar; Prof. Jean Dreze, Visiting Professor of Economic, Ranchi University, Jharkhand; and Dr. Bidyut Mohanty, Head, Women Studies, Institute of Social Sciences and author of the book

Chair: Prof. Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of Economics, Ashoka University, Sonipat 

(Collaboration: Social Science Research Community; Institute of Social Sciences; Development Research Institute; Bandung Network India; and Manohar Publishers)

To access the webinar: 
https://meet.google.com/vmf-ryfa-www 

Krishna Sobti: Classic Litterateur

A discussion with Anamika, Geetanjali and Sanjeev Kumar

Moderator: Ashok Vajpeyi

Organised to mark Krishna Sobti’s birth anniversary

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

The Only Son (Netherlands) | Click here to watch
(78 min; 2013; English and with subtitles)
Director: Simonka de Jong

The Only Son is the story about the challenges of keeping Dolpo’s ancient culture alive as the area becomes less isolated. The film is primarily shot in Karang, a village at 13,000 feet in Upper Dolpo, one of the most remote areas of Nepal. 

The film centres on Pema’s parents’ expectation that Pema will return to Dolpo, Nepal, when he completes his education, marry a Dolpapa woman, and manage the family’s land. As the only son, this is his role in Dolpo’s traditional culture. Pema is torn between his duty to the family and his desire to live the modern life that he now prefers. 

https://www.documentarytube.com/videos/documentary-on-arranged-marriage…