Earth Witness: Reflections on the Times and The Timeless

(60 min; 2011; dvd; English subtitles)

Director: Akanksha Joshi

 

Film courtesy: Public Service Broadcasting Trust

 

Winner, 8th Developmental Film Festival on Climate Change and Food Security, Dhan Foundation, Madurai 2013; Best Film Award, Climate Change and Sustainable Technologies and Best Cinematography, 6th CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wild Life Film Festival 2011; Jury Special Mention, 5th International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kerala 2012

 

Four common people – a teacher, a farmer, a shepherd, a father – find themselves in the front line of the earth’s biggest, most complex crisis: climate change. Belonging to India’s ancient tribes, they bear witness to the science behind the changes that affect their day to day life. Living in diverse climatic regions – the mountains of Nagaland, the grasslands of Kutch, the Gangetic delta and the forests of Central India – they use this challenge as part of their art with nature. Their live’s journey through the dark labyrinths of the multidimensional crisis, reflecting stories of our times – of trees, mining, monkeys, logging, rivers, seeds, waterfalls, flowers – and the spirit of the timeless

 

CANCELLED

Speakers: Shri Deb Mukharji, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh; Mr. Tariq Karim, former Bangladesh High Commissioner to India; Dr. C. Raja Mohan, Director, Carnegie India; and Maj Gen. (Retd.) Dipankar Banerjee

 

In recent days Bangladesh has been the focus of international attention and comment following the killings of foreigners and Bangladeshi Muslim youth seen to be non-conformist in an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka. There are questions as to whether this and other recent killings of secular/liberal Muslim intellectuals and members of Hindu/Buddhist minorities may be linked to the influence of the Islamic State. Some analysts have wondered if the surge in such violence may be linked not be linked to the stern action taken by the Bangladesh government against fundamentalist elements and the execution of those convicted and sentenced in the ongoing War Crimes Trial. Even as social and economic indicators in Bangladesh continue to mark a healthy trend, politics seems to be mired in unresolved issues from the past. The round table discussion will discuss these and allied issues

 

Songs of yearning – the Mando of Goa 

Illustrated lecture by  Shubha Chaudhuri,  Associate Director General (Academic) Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology American Institute of Indian Studies

 

The Mando is a musical genre of Goa which is unique in many ways. It is a product of Portuguese Goa which traces its beginnings to around 1840 as a music and dance genre of the elite. However what makes it interesting is that it is not an import nor does it rely on borrowed melodies. Mando or Mandde were composed in Konkani by Goan composers.The Mando also provides a fine example of the influence of liturgical training through the use of harmony.  The origins of the Mando are sometimes linked to the Ovi, a genre of wedding songs in Goa. There are also obvious connections to Fado, with the underlying themes of love, longing, and “saudade”. Then again these themes are not uncommon in love songs or in other genres of music in India. 

 

The Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology carried out a project in Goa which included the Mando, through interviews, interaction and recordings of performances. The talk will include recordings from the archival collection to introduce and illustrate the various aspects of the Mando 

 

As a run up to Hiroshima Day there will be a dramatic reading of the play 'The Gift' written by Sagari Chhabra, award-winning author, film-maker and poet

 

'The Gift' is situated in a capital city when a nuclear device is detonated. Almost everyone is jubilant at going nuclear.Then one day the nuclear siren rings. Everyone rushes into the underground shelter...

 

Dramatic reading by Sagari Chhabra (playwright) and Oroon Das (actor)

 

The Jumpstart Alchemy Lab

Jumpstart and Pratham Books cook up some new theories on how children learn science in middle school. Panel discussions, activity workshop by experts and an open house

 

(Collaboration: German Book Office, New Delhi; Frankfurt Book Fair; Embassy of Austria; EdTech Review; Scholastic; and Pratham Books)