Speakers: Dr. Ashis Nandy, political psychologist, social theorist, Trustee, IIC; Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo, Executive Director, Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Nonviolence & Peace Studies, and Vice-Dean, School of Law, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat

Moderator: Rajni Bakshi, freelance journalist and author

Ahimsa Conversations is an online forum for a wide range of reflections on the possibilities of nonviolence. The Conversations feature activists, ecologists, scholars, philosophers, politicians and people from the world of business sharing their experiences and ideas about their experiments with nonviolence. In this Webinar, the eminent scholars will critically contextualize this attempt to widen the space for Ahimsa in the public discourse. Based on their own intensive experiences with the striving for nonviolence, Dr. Nandy and Prof. Jahanbegloo will explore what challenges and difficult questions must be addressed through Ahimsa Conversations going forward.

A Bit of Everything    

A devastating exploration of what it means to lose one’s home, A Bit of Everything lays bare the many ways in which the violence of a land tears apart the everyday lives of its people.

Discussion based on the book A Bit of Everything (New Delhi : Westland Publications, 2020) by Sandeep Raina

Panelists: Ms Anita Nair, Author & High Profile Supporter- UNHCR; Mr Omair Ahmed, Managing Editor, Third Pole (South Asia); and Sandeep Raina, Writer and Author of the Book

Chairman: Ms Janani Ganesan, Editor at Context (Westland Publications)

Supernova | (78 min; 2019; Polish with English subtitles)

Director: Bartosz Kruhlik

Three men, one place and one event that will change the life of each one of them. A universal tale, kept in a realistic style, tells the story of a few hours in the life of a rural community. The film takes a look at the condition of a man in a borderline situation and raises questions about the essence of chance and destiny. A bloody story, oscillating on the edge of drama, thriller and disaster cinema

Winner of the Best Polish Film Association of Polish Filmmakers Critics Awards 2019; winner of the Best Film at Dublin International Film Festival 2020; winner of the Best Debut Director at Polish Film Festival 2019

Organised in collaboration with Polish Institute, New Delhi. The festival presents 8 award-winning feature films from Poland. Screenings will be held every Saturday and Sunday in January 2021  

Of Animals and Men | (70min; 2019; Polish with English subtitles)

Director: Lukasz Czajka

The key aim of every zoo is to protect animal species from extinction. In times of war, the most endangered species was the man. Under the Nazis' noses, about 300 people, mainly Jews, found shelter at the Warsaw Zoo during the Second World War. With the help of re-enacted scenes with animals, interviews with the survivors, and archive footage, we are going to revive the surreal atmosphere of those events

Received the Bei Doc Award at the Italian Bellaria Film Festival 2020; awarded the  Best Arthouse Film at the Chinese GZDOC 2019 Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival 2019

Rembrandt (UK) | (85 min; 1936; b/w; English)
Director: Alexander Korda

With Charles Laughton, Gertrude Lawrence, Elsa Lanchester

NBR Award for Top Foreign Films, National Board of Review, USA 1936

A luminous biopic of the legendary Flemish painter. Alexander Korda considered this to be his finest film. A subtle, touching performance from Laughton as the ageing painter coming to terms with both the death of his beloved Saskia (Lanchester) and an increasing hostility to his work. 

Venice, The City that Should not Exist (40 min)
Illustrated lecture by Ms Caterina BrazziCastracane, historian, author and tour guide

The floating city of Venice, one of the most extraordinary cities in the world was built on 118 islands in the middle of the Venetian Lagoon at the head of the Adriatic Sea in Northern Italy. For travelers who have visited Venice, it seems impossible for such a grand city to be floating in a lagoon of water, reeds and marshland. So how was Venice built? The illustrated lecture uncovers the fascinating story of how the city has been built

Organised in collaboration with Italian Embassy Cultural Centre and Bell’Italia 88   
    

Designing for Heritage

Illustrated lecture by Siddhartha Das, curator, designer and a visual artist

Siddhartha Das will draw upon his experience as a cultural consultant. His practice spans over two decades and his body of work includes curating and designing museums and exhibitions at the Museum Rietberg, Zurich; the Jodhpur Museum, the Crafts Museum and adapting the heritage building of Jal Mahal. He works closely with artisans and craftspeople

Screening of NHK documentary films on Japan’s history, literature, art, culture and heritage. Organised with the support of NHK World and Embassy of Japan, New Delhi 

The Shape of Sound: A piano paints the seasons of Nara | (45 min; 2020; English and with subtitles)

"The 72 Pentads of Yamato" produced by NHK Nara has received more than 2 million views online from around the world. Each pentad, or five-day season, reflects the Japanese ideal of living in harmony with nature in Yamato, the ancient name for Nara. The series created by Nara videographer Hozan Koichi and Kawakami Mine, a pianist and composer paints the 72 seasons of the year through photography and piano. The film follows Kawakami as she prepares for their next project - the pinnacle of the series- a devotional offering at Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

Speakers: Justice(Retd) Madan Lokur, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India; N Ram, Former Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu; Tarunabh Khaitan, Professor and Hackney Fellow, Wadham College & Vice Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford; Menaka Guruswamy, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Moderator: Suhas Borker, Managing Trustee, D.S. Borker Memorial Foundation & Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTV)

The webinar discussion is about finding answers to the following key questions. Does our judiciary function independently? Are our courts able to deliver timely justice without fear or favour? Is the supreme court performing its function to defend the constitution satisfactorily? Has the supreme court become an ‘executive court’ –and what about high courts? Does the collegium ensure independence of judiciary? Are post-retirement benefits for judges compromising our judiciary? What is the influence of the pandemic on the courts? What safeguards are needed to protect our courts from interference of the government of the day?