Conversations on Education: India and Indonesia

Speakers: Professor Anita Rampal, Professor and former Dean of Faculty of Education, Delhi University; and Dr. Iwan Pranoto, Education and Cultural Attache, Embassy of Indonesia

 

Through this discourse, we will explore the common challenges in education facing two big democracies, with immense diversities and disparities. We will examine attempts to provide quality public education for all children and the possible shared learnings for the two fast growing nations in the Indian ocean

 

(Collaboration: Embassy of Indonesia)

 

Legend of the Loom (42 min; dvd; 2017; Bangladesh)

Researched and scripted by Saiful Islam, author of the book ‘Muslin. Our Story’, produced by Drik

 

This ground-breaking film is about the history of muslin. It takes the viewer on a breath-taking 2000-year-old journey; from the herbariums of the world, the rivers of Bengal where the plant (Gossypium Arboreum Var. Neglecta) grew, to the famous museums of Europe where the best examples of this fabric are stored.  It covers the story from the first foreigners to come to Bengal in search of its fine textiles, the establishment of empires and the opening of trade routes connecting the subcontinent to the wider world. Along the way, weavers, farmers, experts, designers, scientists and artisans give their views, and display techniques which make the story come alive

 

The Third Edition of the Discussion on the State of the Indian Economy

 

 

 

 

 

DELHI MATTERS: TALKS & DISCUSSIONS

 

Delhi and NCR. How’s Life?

Lead presentation by Pallavi Aiyar, award winning Indian journalist and author, most recently of “Choked! Everything You Were Afraid to Know About Air Pollution”. Pallavi will speak on How Beijing Reduced Air Pollution And How Delhi Can Do It

 

Speakers: Keshav Chandra, Environment & Forest Secretary and CEO of Jal Board, Government of Delhi who will speak on Status of Delhi’s Air, Water & Sewerage;  and Jagan Shah, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs who will speak on Making Cities That Are Worth Living And Leaving Behind for Future Generations

 

Chair: Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, ICRIER and former Chairperson of the High Powered Expert Committee on Urban Infrastructure and Services

 

Beyond Boundaries: Peace is My Dream

A concert by Nirupama Rao (vocal) accompanied by Soundarie David Rodrigo (piano) 

 

The concert is organised on the occasion on the release of their CD, Peace is My Dream by Peninsula Studios and Universal Music and the programme will include some songs from the CD

 

Annapurna – Land of Lhobas, Khampas and Gurungs

Vignettes from a recent trek to Upper Mustang and Annapurna Base Camp

 

Illustrated lecture by Sudha Mahalingam, intrepid traveller and prolific writer ever in quest of the extraordinary, the exceptional and the exotic who trekked to Lo Manthang and Annapurna Base Camp along with two other Indian women

Chair: Ms. Latha Jishu

 

FILMS ON WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT

 

Chilika Banks – Stories from India’s Largest Coastal Lake 1970-2007

(60 min; dvd; English)

Director: Akanksha Joshi

 

 

Recipient of the Best Film Award- Livelihood, 5th CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival 2009; and First Prize, Jeevika: South Asia Livelihood Documentary Film Festival 2008

 

In a canvas spread over four decades, a banyan tree on the banks of the lake Chilika silently whispers tales of the lake and her fisher folk. From the times when there was no export bazaar to the time when there may be no lake

 

(Collaboration: World Wide Fund for Nature-India)

 

 

 

Hindi Kavita aur Urdu Shayari ki Beech ki Ghat ti Dooriyan (Diminishing Differences Between Hindi and Urdu Poetry)

Speaker: Bal Swaroop Rahi, well-known writer, journalist and dramatist

 

Chair: Shri B. L. Gaur

 

(Collaboration: The Poetry Society, India)

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

 

Strategic Vision 2030: Security and Development of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

By P.K. Roy and Aspi Cowasji (New Delhi: Vij Books, 2017) who will introduce the book

 

Panellists: Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhyaya, former Indian Ambassador to Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar; and Shri Nitin A. Gokhle, journalist, author and media trainer & researcher

 

Chair: Shri Shakti Sinha, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library

 

MUSIC APPRECIATION PROMOTION

 

Nilina's Song: The Music of Naina Devi

We celebrate Naina Devi and her music in this, her centenary year. The importance of music, and very particularly forms such as thumri, chaiti, kajri, barahmasa, is discussed with some excerpts from recordings to highlight ? the quality of her voice and exposition style. There will also be detailed references to her life and the extraordinary social and musical paths it followed 

 

Illustrated lecture by AshaRani Mathur, writer and music lover and has been fortunate enough to work in both fields. She has written and edited books on a variety of topics, and was the Producer, for seven years, for the record label Music Today

 

Chair: Partha Chatterjee, music and art critic