Remembering the forest: An exhibition of Himalayan Natural Art
 

Curated by Tejal Shah and coordinated by Ritu-Ngapnon Varuni
This exhibition presents artworks by women artists from Mountainwind Himalayan Ecoversity, created using forest-sourced pigments and handmade tools, highlighting natural art practices, ecological learning, and sustainable creativity.

The exhibition will be Inaugurated on 6th January 2026 at 18:30 hrs. 
 

(Collaboration: The Himalayan Rilung Foundation (THRILF)

Faulad ka Aakash: Performative Readings of Mohan Rakesh’s Short Stories
Script: Purwa Bharadwaj 
Presented by Alka Rajan, Apoorvanand, Purwa Bharadwaj and Raza Haider

Mohan Rakesh is one of the leading names of Hindi fiction and Indian theatre. Generations of Hindi readers have grown on the writings of Mohan Rakesh. His keen observation of the dilemmas of the emerging individual in the post-independence India shaped his fiction. We try to bring out the subtlety of his writing in this presentation
 

What Women Want: Understanding The Female Voter in Modern India
by Ruhi Tewari (Juggernaut, 2025)

Discussants Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister, India; Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha & Assam PCC President; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rajya Sabha MP, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray); Ram Madhav, President, India Foundation & Senior RSS Leader; Ruhi Tewari, Author of the Book

Moderator: Nidhi Razdan, Senior Journalist
 

Looking Back: Writing Women’s History 
 

As the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) branches approaches its centenary in 2027, this symposium highlights pioneering women writers and reformers from the 1920s to the 1970s. Focusing on multilingual narratives. The discussions will foreground contributions to health, education, social reform and women’s rights across India, celebrating voices that shaped and chronicled women’s lives and histories.

Moderator: Manju Kak, Secretary General, AIWC

Panellists: Prof. B. Mangalam. Aryabhatta College, published widely on Dalit literature, theatre studies; Prof. (Dr.) Meenakshi Malhotra, Department of English, Hansraj College, DU; Prof Rekha Sethi, Department of Hindi, Indraprastha College; Dr. Sanju Thomas. Associate Professor, School of Letters, Ambedkar University; Dr. Usha Mudiganti., Associate Professor, School of Letters, Ambedkar University; Dr. Saba Mahmood Bashir Assistant Professor, Department of English Assistant Professor In-charge, RCA, Jamia Millia Islamia. 
 

Photojournalism in the times of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Speaker: Dheeraj Paul, distinguished photographer and mentor

This is as part of the exhibition, The Big Picture 2025, an exhibition of works of PhotoJournalists , on display in the Main Art Gallery from 20th to 30th December 2025

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

Decoding Hate Speech in India - Strategies and Challenges to Curb it
Paper presentations by the Sectoral Policy Group (SPG) on Social Affairs

The papers examine the entire gamut of issues concerning hate speech in India: the legal and constitutional framework and context; misrepresentation of the past; use of divisive narratives for ‘othering’ of religious minorities (primarily Muslims and Christians), Dalits, Adivasis and communities from Northeast India; role of police, civil administration and media; the way forward to curb hate speech.

Opening remarks:  Suhas Borker, Convener, SPG-Social Affairs  

Papers presented by Justice (Retd) Madan B. Lokur; Prof. S. Irfan Habib; Dr Meeran C. Borwankar; Prof. Apoorvanand; Shri S. N Sahu; Shri Jafar Alam; Prof. Y. S. Alone and DrMercy Vungthianmuang.

The paper of Prof Jagdeep S. Chhokar shall be presented posthumously.

Chair: Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari, former Chief Justice, Patna High Court  

(Organised by the IIC’s Sectoral Policy Group on Social Affairs)

Duration: (100 minutes; 2025; English and Hindi)

Directed by Mitul Patel

Produced by Raj Vasudeva / Anuradha Sachdev and an Everclear Films production

Actors: Adil Hussain, Raj Vasudeva, Niharica Raizada, Kunal Bhan, Aparna Ghoshal

On a silent Christmas Eve, Shekhar is forced to face the unthinkable: deciding whether to end his mother’s life. In the stillness of that dark night, as machines beep and hope fades, he’s torn apart by love, guilt, and duty. The choice he makes shatters the fragile ties within his family—and leaves him forever changed, carrying the weight of a decision no one should ever have to make.

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