Art and Archaeology of Ancient India: Earliest times to the Sixth Century

A discussion based on Professor  Naman P. Ahuja’s book, published by Ashmolean Museum: Oxford, 2018

Professor of Indian Art and Architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and the co-Editor of Marg Publications, Mumbai, Prof. Ahuja was Research Fellow in the Ashmolean’s Department of Eastern Art from 2002 to 2004

 

Followed by a discussion with Prof. Romila Thapar , Emerita Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Prof. Deborah Swallow, Marit Rausing Director of The Courtauld Institute of Art

 

How was the Ashmolean Museum’s rich and representative collection of the art and archaeology of the Indian subcontinent formed? Largely assembled in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, its important holdings of the formative periods of Indian art up to AD 600 are fully presented in this book for the first time. In this talk, Professor Ahuja will lead us through the highlights of the collection. The strength of the Ashmolean’s collection lies in its everyday objects in terracotta or other materials, such as the pots that people used, their small votive offerings, children’s toys or talismanic charms. This lecture provides a vivid insight into the art and material culture of South Asia from the Stone Age to the early post-Gupta period

 

(Collaboration: Oxford and Cambridge Society of India)

 

The Needle Reverence

A story stitched by the thrift of Bengali women

 

An exhibition of Kanthas from the late 19th century till pre-independence; and contemporary Kantha created in the 1990s initiated by the renowned sculptor, the late Meera Mukherjee 

 

From the collection of Siddhartha Tagore and Mahesh Naithani; Meera Mukherjee’s kanthas from the collection of Dolly Narang

 

Inauguration by Smt Jasleen Dhamija, veteran historian on Indian textiles on Wednesday, 3 April 2019 at 17:30

 

Organised to honour the memory of Smt Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay

 

(Collaboration: MATI – Management of Art Treasures of India; with the support of Art Konsult; The Village Gallery; and Art & Deal Magazine)

 

INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

 

Copper Anthropomorphs and Early Indian Sculptures

Speaker: Dr. J. Manuel, Archeological Survey of India

 

Although Brahmanical religion is very ancient, the currently known and acknowledged images are not older than 2500 years. This is because of the general understanding propounded by earlier Vedic scholars that Vedic religion is aniconic despite mention of images in  the Rgveda . The present paper quoting from the Rgveda about the images of Indra being made, alludes to the many verses, as to how the imagery of the Copper Anthropomorphic figures primarily found from the Ganga-Yamuna Doab region are the images of Indra and Vishnu. These copper images datable from as early as 4000 years ago. 

                                                                                                 

The powerful imagery of the copper anthropomorphs in vogue for more than a thousand years, has had a great impact on the transition to stone images wherein the outlines of the earlier figures were copied, albeit with some minor changes across the centuries. This influence of the earlier copper images on the stone images is clearly visible till about the mature Gupta age, when its effect started to become attenuated

 

The Bamboo Princess (60 min)

Based on an ancient Japanese folk tale about the princess of the moon who is cursed and must live a lifetime on the earth. The show uses shadow puppets, dance, Bunraku style puppets and actors. A collaboration between Katkatha Puppets Art Trust and Setagaya Silk of Tokyo

 

Music operator: Shruti Sunder; Puppets by Mohammed Shameem; and Choreography by Avinash Kumar & Honoh Horikawa

Directed by Anurupa Roy and Honoh Horikawa

Finding Radha: The Quest for Love

Edited by Malashri Lal and Namita Gokhale (Penguin India, 2018)

 

Natya Katha on Radha

By Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Padma Vibhushan, classical Indian dance- Guru, Choreographer, scholar and author on Indian socio-cultural traditions and Member of Parliament

 

Followed by 

Discussants: Shri Pavan K. Varma, writer-diplomat;i; Ms Renuka Narayanan, Commentator and columnist on religion and culture; and Ms Namita Gokhale, writer, Festival Director and publisher

 

Chair: Prof. Malashri Lal, formerly with Dept. of English, University of Delhi, and Member, English Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi

Roundtable discussion on the Second Session of the 13th National People’s Congress
 

Speakers: Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty; Prof. Alka Acharya; Prof. Biswajith Dhar; and Ambassador Ashok Kantha

 

(Collaboration: Institute of Chinese Studies)

Monday 25 to 31

 

 

 

Exhibition ■ Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex from 11:00 to 19:00

 

Remember Slavery

 

 

 

Say it Loud - The power of the arts for justice

 

An exhibition of posters featuring the work of 21 architects of African descent that highlights their contributions to the field of design

 

 

 

As part of this exhibition, there will be screening of a film at 12 noon; 15:00; and at 17:00 every day:

 

Slavery Routes – 1620 – 1789: From Sugar to Rebellion (52 min; dvd; English)

 

The film highlights how slavery did not begin in the cotton fields but was rather a much older tragedy that has been happening since the dawn of humanity

 

 

 

(Collaboration: United Nations)

 

 

 

 

Speaker: Padma vibhushan Shri Fali S.Nariman, Constitutional Jurist

Shri N.N.Vohra, President, IIC will preside overthe lecture

 

on 23rd March 2019 at 5.45 pm in the Centre's Conference Room-I

Centenary of the May Fourth Movement of 1919

Revisiting Core Questions ofMay Fourth Movement

Discourse,Narratives and Contestations 

 

 

 

Collaboration: Institute of Chinese Studies and Harvard-Yenching Institute 

 

Roma

by academy award winning director, Alfonso Cuaron

 

In the framework of International Women's Day

 

followed by a discussion

 

"The Other in the Family: A Discussion on Domestic Workers"

 

Speakers: Ms. Renana Jhabvala, activist,SEWA; Ms. Urvashi Butalia, noted Indian feminest, publisher, writer,founder of Zubaan Books

and Ms.Archana Kapoor, filmmaker,activist, founder of Smart NGO

 

on Saturday, 16th March 2019 at 11 am to 2 pm

 

C.D.Deshmukh Auditorium