Intimate Theatre

Director: Dilip Shankar; Producer: Mrinalini Chawla; Lights: Mukesh Chaudhary; Actors: Gauri Saxena, Dilip Shankar

A tentative woman shares her journey of realizing the power 'within her' through situations and relationships. She explores visualization as a way to navigate life! And practices her power of choice in her journey. Life triggering the 'power within' and the 'power within' translating into life.

(Collaboration: Centre for Creative Expressions)

(60 minutes; English/Hindi)

Director: Sujata Soni Bali

Artistes: Sunit Tandon, Charu Shankar & Sahiba Bali

Its Only Words brings you an entertaining mix of dramatic readings by renowned stage and screen artists, where stories sparkle with life and emotion. From rib-tickling humour and witty banter to gripping suspense and heartfelt moments, each short play and story offers a fresh mood and flavour. The carefully curated selection spans diverse genres brought alive through voice, expression and powerful performances. So, sit back and let the magic unfold!

(96 minutes; English and Hindi; subtitles in English)

Directed by Mita Vashisht

The film takes a journey with a young actress and a young Dhrupad musician, into the landscape of an iconic film director's ideas of what acting in cinema is, or should be....

A profound insight into the deep engagement that film maker Mani Kaul had with the Natyashastra (the 2500-year-old treatise of the performing arts), and his practise of it, in crafting the actors' performance, in his cinema.

The discussion will explore Delhi’s layered histories—its water bodies, landscapes, and colonial transitions. It will examine how water, land, and power have shaped Delhi’s textured pasts. They will also help us rediscover Delhi—its terrains, its rivers, its people, and its memories.

Inaugural Remarks: Shri K.N.Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Panelists: Prof. Amar Farooqui, historian and former DU professor and author; Sohail Hashmi, a Delhi-based historian and documentary filmmaker and writes on Delhi’s heritage; Shubham Mishra, an urban planner trained at the International Institute of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (University of Twente) and the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.

Moderator: Dr Shashank Shekhar Sinha, Publishing Director, Routledge (South Asia) Taylor & Francis Group

(Collaboration: @Crossroads)

Caste Lasts: The Anatomy of a Resilient Hegemony

This lecture offers conceptual revisitation of the topic of caste, under the rubric of "resilient hegemonies" i.e. systems of coercion and humiliation which resist efforts to subvert, reform or exit them for significant periods of time.

Speaker: Prof. Arjun Appadurai, Emeritus Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University and Visiting Professor of Ethnology at Humboldt University in Berlin

Chair: Prof. Rita Brara, Editor, Contributions to Indian Sociology, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi

(Collaboration: Contributions to Indian Sociology; Institute of Economic Growth)

Conceptualised in 2011 by Manjari Chaturvedi, Founder of Sufi Kathak Foundation

I Am A Qawwal, is an innovative ground breaking self-documentation initiative aimed at empowering Qawwals across India to represent themselves through photography to increase their visibility and create new livelihood opportunities.

“You don’t document us. We will document ourselves.”

The tag line for this project, reflects the pride and agency these artists feel in taking control over their own representation in history.

This is a part of the Qawwal Project, an initiative to archive and preserve the form of Qawwali and work towards the spiritual music associated with Sufism.

Inauguration on Friday, 31st October 2025 at 18:00 hrs.

(Collaboration: Ganga Jamuna Culture Foundation)

At 10:30

The seventh edition in the series on ‘Understanding Qawwali’ conceptualised by Manjari Chaturvedi. It is a symposium on the traditional artform of Qawwali.

At 18:30

Venue: Fountain Lawns

Qawwali Mehfil Traditions & Experiments - A curated evening performances

Saiyan Sajilay – Celebrating Basant & Krishna in Qawwali (60 minutes)

Sawaal Jawaab - Mian Samat Bin Ibrahim and Gopal Naik 13th Century (15 minutes)

Qaul - Khanqahi Qawwali (75 minutes)

Moderated by Radio Jockey Sachin Sahani

For detailed schedule please click here

(Collaboration: Ganga Jamuna Culture Foundation)

Sonia Singh, Author, Visiting fellow, Cambridge Judge Business School and former Editor, Anchor, NDTV with Amish Tripathi, renowned author and former Director, Nehru Centre, London and Minister (Culture and Education) at the High Commission of India in the UK.

A relaxed yet thought-provoking fireside chat with bestselling author Amish Tripathi, following the release of his latest book. The conversation will delve into the inspirations, research and creative processes behind his works, while also exploring his broader literary journey- from mythology to philosophy, from ancient India to modern storytelling.

FOOD FESTIVAL: CELEBRATING THE WOMEN CHEFS

Baghar-e-Magadh- Culinary tour of flavourful Bihar

Curated by: Shacchi Anand

Venue: Rose Garden

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Booking Policy: Reservations can be made using the details below. Payment gateway information for advance payments will also be provided for confirmed bookings.

Cancellation Policy: 30% retention will be charged for cancellations made less than 24 hours before the event.

For reservations, please call 011-24609485/487 (Timings: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM) or email to festivalbooking@iicdelhi.in.

Nangiar Koothu: Emancipation of Ahalya by Usha Nangiar

Accompanists: Rajeev PP; Vineesh; Unnikrishnan PP; and Athira Hariharan

Chief Guest: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC