Paintings and sculptures by Sheila Thadani, senior artist

 

Inauguration by Dr. Karan Singh, MP on Wednesday, 16 March 2016 at 18:30

 

A series of three lectures by Sharon Lowen, well-known exponent of Odissi who will provide a panoramic visual overview of 20th century American dance genres through film and video clips encompassing folk to broadway, ballet to Pilobolos

 

Wednesday 16th March  

American Social Dance 

Origins of the American vernacular: tap, swing, and clogging along with Early 20th century Modern and Ballet

 

Thursday 31st March

Broadway and Concert Dance

Mid-century transitions in Ballet and Modern

 

Monday 11th April 

Abstract Expressionism

Post Modern, Dance Theatre and Contemporary Dance

 

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

 

What Darwin Never Knew (60 min; 2009; dvd; English)

Directors: John Rubin, Rushmore Denooyer, Serena Davies, Sarah Holt

 

What Darwin Never Knew offers answers to riddles that Darwin couldn't explain. Breakthroughs in a brand-new science - nicknamed "evo devo" are linking the enigmas of evolution to another of nature's great mysteries, the development of the embryo. The film takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today. Scientists are finally beginning to crack nature's biggest secrets at the genetic level. The results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin's insights while revealing clues to life's breathtaking diversity in ways the great naturalist could scarcely have imagined

 

 

 

Reading Latin America: Afro Caribbean Poetry From Cuba – The Work of Nicolas Guillen and Nancy Morejón

A discussion series on well-known literary figures of Latin America

 

Conceptualised and coordinated by Dr. Vibha Maurya, Dept. of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi

Introduction: Prof. Vibha Maurya

Speakers: Dr. Sonya S. Gupta, Jamia Millia Islamia will speak on Nancy Morejón: Women’s Voice from the Caribbean; Prof. Kedarnath Singh, well-known Hindi poet and former Professor, School of Indian Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi will speak onTranslating Guillen; and Ashwani Kumar, University of Delhi will speak on Comparing the Poetry of Nicolas Guillen with Dalit Poetry

 

CANCELLED



Study of Pune Metro Project: A Heritage Conservation Perspective

Speaker: Ms Prajakta Panshikar who has trained in anthropology and demography and has worked in diverse field of socio-cultural research before her work in heritage consultancy. She is presently, Deputy Director at Janwani – a Pune based NGO working in the issues of urban development. Her field of expertise lies in designing Heritage Walks, including the National Award winning Pune Heritage Walk and a unique Muthai River Walk to reconnect people with Mutha River in Pune city

 

Ms Panshikar’s talk is based on her study which explores the urban transportation project vis-à-vis urban planning through a historic urban landscape approach with a case in point of Pune Metro

 

A discussion on the book that unravels the oeuvre of Mahendra Raj’s sixty prolific years as a structural engineer, edited by Vandini Mehta, Rohit Mehndiratta and Ariel Huber

Panelists: Dr. Kirit Parikh, Civil engineer from MIT, Chairman, IRADe, former Member Planning Commission, and Economic Advisor, UNDP; Prof. Ram Sharma, Chairman, Executive Council and Founder Alumni, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Shri Rajeev Lochan, Artist, Art Educator and scholar, Director of National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; and Prof. Mahesh Tandon, Structural Engineer, President IAStructE, Distinguished Visiting Professor, IIT Kanpur & Roorkee

Chief Guest: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson IIC-International Research Division

Guest of honour: H.E. Dr. Linus von Castelmur, Ambassador of Switzerland 

 

Mahendra Raj’s inventive and intuitive work reveals bold and pioneering engineering solutions for buildings in exposed concrete over the years. Most of his structures are artefacts that narrate the energetic period of nation building in post-Independence India. The book presents 28 structures, explored through a rich collection of archival drawings, diagrams and photographs

 

CANCELLED
 

INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

 

Zinc Production in Ancient India

Speaker: Dr. J.S. Kharakwal, Acting Director, Sahitya Sansthan (Institute of Rajasthan Studies), JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur

 

 

 

 

Reading from In a Land Far from Home -- a translation of Syed Mujtaba Ali's 'Desh Bideshe' 

 

Followed by 

A Conversation between Prof Tanika Sarkar with the translator, Shri Nazes Afroz

An intrepid traveller and a true cosmopolitan, the legendary Bengali writer Syed Mujtaba Ali from Sylhet (in erstwhile East Bengal and now Bangladesh) spent a year and a half teaching in Kabul from 1927. Drawing from his experience, he later wrote Deshe Bideshe, which was published in 1948. His account gives a first-hand insight into events at a crucial point in Afghanistan’s modern history, when the reformist King Amanullah tried to steer his country towards modernity by encouraging education for girls and giving them the choice of removing the burqa. Through a humorous narrative and a most fascinating cast of characters, Mujtaba Ali turns Deshe Bideshe into more than a memoir or a travel book  

Nazes has worked as a journalist for more than 34 years, 15 of which for the BBC World Service, covering news, features and current affairs spanning South, Central and West Asia. Currently he is based in Delhi, writing in English and Bengali and doing photography 

 

Nazes is also a keen photographer for decades. He held his first photography exhibition, ‘From Kabul to Kolkata/Of Memories, Belonging and Identity’, with Moska Najib, in four cities across South Asia – Kabul, Delhi, Dhaka and Kolkata – in early 2015. The Alliance Francaise, Delhi hosted a solo exhibition with Nazes’ photos from his trips to Afghanistan  since 2002 – ‘Behind the Veil/The Other Afghanistan’ – as part of the 3rd Delhi Photo Festival in October 2015 

 

An exhibition of photographs by Chitvan Gill

 

Opening on Thursday, 10 March 2016 at 18:30

 

Buland Masjid and the bowl of land, the putrefying remains of a landfill, that abuts it, are on first sight a world of slums and squalor. Yet what one encounters is Almadovarian excess: life, laughter and madness spill out into the maze of streets and gallis. There is tragedy here, and there is triumph