BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
 

Aesthetic Textures: Living Traditions of the Mahabharata

Edited by Molly Kaushal and Sukrita Paul Kumar (New Delhi: D. K. Printworld, 2019)

 

Discussants   Prof. Radha Vallabh Tripathi, Sanskrit scholar, writer, translator and educationist, former
Professor of Sanskrit, Dr. Hari Singh Gour University; Prof. Molly Kaushal, Professor & Head of Janapada Sampada,
Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts; and Dr. Sukrita Paul Kumar, poet, critic and academician

Chair: : Prof. Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

 

Metal ware of Tamil Nadu

Illustrated lecture by Pradeep Chakravarthy, author of several books on Tamil Nadu’s heritage and art who
regularly presents heritage tours of Tamil Nadu; and curator of the Sarasvati Mahal Library exhibition presented as
part of the IIC Experience 2015

 

Chair: Ms Ritu Sethi, Chairperson, Craft Revival Trust

 

From 2000 years ago till date, metal touches our lives in many different ways. The talk will delineate the history of
metal ware in Tamil Nadu and present an array of different metal objects – from the humble object of daily use to
grand objects in palaces, many of which have not been seen for several generations

 

Book Discussion Group

The Odyssey of a Diplomat: Through the Corridors of Time

By Lakhan Mehrotra (New Delhi: Heritage Publishers, 2020)

 

Discussants: Shri Shyam Saran, Life Trustee, IIC and former Foreign Secretary; Amb. K.P. Fabian, former Diplomat and Foreign Policy Analyst (Moderator); and Amb. Lakhan Mehrota, author of the book

 

Chair: Shri K. Natwar Singh, former Union Cabinet Minister

To Register, kindly please click on the link below:
http://webcast.streaminglive.in/iicdiscussions2/signup.php
 

 

Debate: Political Courage is Political Suicide (71 min)

Moderator: Ms Seema Mustafa 

 

Against the Motion: Amb. K.C. Singh, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs; Shri S.Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner; and Amb. Pavan K. Varma, author, and diplomat 

 

For the Motion: Shri Saeed Naqvi, senior journalist and author; Shri Jehangir Pocha, Editor-in-Chief, NewsX; and Shri Sajad Lone, Chairman, Jammu & Kashmir People’s Conference  

 

Organised in collaboration with Centre for Policy Analysis 

 

Webcast recording of the IIC programme held on 9th July 2013
 

 

Past Remains Hazrat-i-Dehli, 1857-1947-1957 (84 min)

Speaker: Prof. Shahid Amin, A.M. Khwaja Chair in Social Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia

Chair: Prof. Sunil Kumar

 

Collaboration: Department of History, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

 

Webcast recording of the IIC programme held on 11 May 2017
 

 

Focus Japan

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 People and Their Emperor (50 min; English)

Japan’s Imperial system is considered to have a 2,000 year old history. A series of esoteric rituals accompany an Emperor’s ascension to the Chrysanthemum throne. The film presents a re-enactment of one such ritual where the Emperor is believed to dine with Shinto deities. At a time when there are only 3 heirs to the throne, the film also takes a closer look at what this could mean for the people of Japan and the Imperial system

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/4001340/

Contemporary Films from Spain 

Organised in collaboration with Cervantes Institute, New Delhi

 

A selection of contemporary films from Spain will be presented every Friday in September 2020. Made by young filmmakers, the selection presents two works of fiction and two documentaries, reflecting the creative versatility of the directors and also the way in which society has shaped their imagination.

  

Screenings will be held every Friday in September 2020 from 11:30 pm onwards. Vimeo links of the films will be made accessible for a period of 48 hours 

 

Friday, 4th September 2020 from 11:30 pm onwards

The Invisible Hand (La mano invisible)

(80 min; 2017; Spanish with English subtitles)

Director: David Macián

 

Recipient of the Best Film Award, Toulouse, Cinespaña 2017

 

An industrial warehouse is turned into a stage. Eleven ordinary professionals are hired to do their work in front of an audience with apparent normality: a mason, a butcher, a seamstress, a telephone operator, a waiter, a mechanic, a computer operator, and a cleaner. Meanwhile, from the darkness of the auditorium, dozens of visitors observe the ‘wonderful’ work show.

 

With impeccable performances, and a surprising ending, the adaptation of the novel by Isaac Rosa is an astonishing parable of work in contemporary society.

Link: https://cultura.cervantes.es/nuevadelhi/en/la-mano-invisible/135380
 

Archaeology and Heritage

 

National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome (40 min)

A virtual tour of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome conducted by Angelina Jimbo

 

The museum, located on the edge of the magnificent park of Villa Borghese, houses the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Italy.

 

An initiative of the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New Delhi and Bell’Italia 88

Botanical Paintings of Indian Flowering Plants

An online exhibition by Siddhartha Das Studio

 

Two centuries ago, the British botanists began a visual study of Indian flora. Indian artists were commissioned to make botanical paintings which were sent back to Britain where it survives in collections at some of the Royal botanical gardens.

 

Siddhartha Das Studio has recently commissioned skilled miniature artists to create a series of botanical paintings of Indian flowering plants to celebrate this legacy

 

From India to Auschwitz – Remembering the Roma and Sinti lost in the Holocaust

Panelists: Prof. Dr. Hristo Kyuchukov, linguist and educator, specialist on Romani language and education of Roma, he is Professor of Intercultural Education and Psycholinguistics, University of Silesia; Ms Karolina Mirga Danek, Roma activist working on the issues of Roma youth, Roma women and empowerment and one of the founders of Ternype International Roma Youth Network and Dikh He Na Bister (Look and Don’t Forget) – Roma Genocide Initiative and of the Ride of Happiness organisation

 

Moderator: Dr. Punita Singh, communication scientist, musicologist and Educator based in Delhi. She has worked with the Romani community for several decades and currently serves as a Vice President of International Romani Union

 

India is considered to be the original home of the Roma and Sinti. Multiple reasons, routes and timelines have been proposed for their migration and their retention of Indian linguistic and cultural traits. Their long journey out of India did not always lead to hospitable new lands. Some roads led to Auschwitz-Birkenau where on 2nd August 1944, several thousand Roma and Sinti perished in the ‘liquidation’ of the ‘Zigeunerfamilienlager’ (Gypsy family camp). It is estimated that over half a million Roma and Sinti were lost in the mass murder (Samudaripen) and brutal devouring (Porrajmos) organised by the Nazi regime and their World War II allies

To register, kindly please click on the registration link below:
http://webcast.streaminglive.in/iicwebinar2/signup.php