24th and 25th February 2017

 

The first edition of ‘Words in the Garden’ Litfest focuses on four themes which celebrate and explore a city namely Delhi. The quartet of themes – “City, Nature, Love and Loneliness” will be explored and celebrated through words, ideas, expressions, discussions, dialogues, readings, exhibitions and performances. All the sessions, whether of discussion or reading, have their titles picked from the poetic utterance of the great bard, Meer Taqi Meer.

 

AT 18:00

Inaugural Session 

With Shri Ashok Vajpeyi, Shri Muzaffar Ali, Shri Vikram Lall and Sanatan Sangeet Sanskriti

 

AT 19:00

Khayal Gayaki – The Musical Heritage of Purani Dilli

A concert to celebrate the musical heritage of Delhi with Sadarang and Adarang. Interpretations of their bandishes by some of the gharanas will be explored through performances by several artists

Curated by Vikram Lall

 

 

 

 

Discussion around the new book by Ankur Datta (Oxford University Press, New Delhi)

 

Introduction by Dr. Ankur Datta, Dept. of Sociology, South Asian University, New Delhi

Panelists: Prof. T.N. Madan, Professor Emeritus, Institute of Economic Growth; Prof. Roma Chatterji, Dept. of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics; and Prof. Anupama Roy, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

 

Chair: Prof. Sasanka Perera, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Vice-President, South Asian University

 

(Collaboration: Department of Sociology, South Asian University)

 

 

 

 

 

Inaugural Session

 

Speakers: Prof. Ashish Nandy, eminent scholar;  Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi, eminent scholar and author; Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, eminent scholar; Dr. Sitakant Mahapatra, eminent poet;  H.E. Mr. Shaida Mohammad Abadali, Ambassador of Afghanistan; Dr. Selina Hossain, eminent fiction writer from Bangladesh; Prof. Abhi Subedi, eminent scholar and poet from Nepal; Mr. Rinzin Rinzin, eminent poet from Bhutan; Mr. Ibrahim Waheed, eminent poet from Maldives; and  

Mr. Daya Dissanayake eminent scholar from Sri Lanka.

 

Followed by Academic Sessions

 

AT 18:30  

Sobhat (50 mins)

A play directed by Sohaila Kapur, on the encounter between Rumi and his mentor Shams, that changed Rumi's outlook and philosophy completely. The production is a combination of drama and the dastango style, complete with original music

 

The Symposium will be also held on 25 and 26 February  at the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, Siri Fort Institutional Area, New Delhi

 

(Collaboration : Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature)

 

 

 

 

 

Pranay Lal will give an illustrated talk about the making of the Indian subcontinent and the forces that shaped it over the past 200 million years, with glimpses of rocks, soils, fossils and landscapes, and why this knowledge is relevant to us today. 

 

Followed by an open Q & A conversation moderated by Pradip Krishen

 

 Pranay Lal works in public health and is passionate about natural history. He is the author of Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent (Penguin, December 2016) 

 

Pradip Krishen is an ecological gardener who re-wilds large landscapes with native plants. He is the author of two field guides for trees 

 

 

 

Written & Directed by Benoy K. Behl who will introduce the film

Producer: External Publicity & Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India

 

Screening will be followed by a discussion

 

The Ramayana is a great epic story which knows no boundaries of religions or countries, enacted more often than any other story of the world, it is performed by Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims. The film presents performances of the Ramayana in India, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Java and Bali 

 

 

 

 

 

The Burning Forest: India’s War in Bastar

By Nandini Sundar (New Delhi: Juggernaut Books, 2016)

 

Discussants: Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty, Vice-President, Council for Social Development; Dr. Ajay Dandekar, Shiv Nadar University; and Dr. Ajai Sahni, Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management

 

Chair: Dr. Dilip Simeon

 

 

 

 

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Jean Boutier, French historian

Chair: Shri Bharat Wariavwalla

 

Public and Private: Histories of French Wedding Rituals

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Arundhati Virmani, Indian historian who teaches at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Mars

Chair: Dr. Ratna Sudarshan

 

The exhibition traces some of the significant changes and developments in the institution and rites of marriage in France through some select objects: the wedding invitation, the menu of the wedding feast, the changing sites of the wedding: from church to the townhall and some elements of the ceremony, such as the bride’s bouquet of flowers, the wedding dress etc. The exhibition aims to present a reflection on social transformations and values in France since the end of the 19th century

 

Curated by Arundhati Virmani

 

Inauguration Mr. Bertrand de Hartingh, Director, French Institute in India on Tuesday, 21 February 2017 at 18:30

chair: Shri Bharat Wariavwalla

 

As part of this exhibition, there will be two related programmes in the Art Gallery

 

THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2017 AT 18:30

Public and Private: Histories of French Wedding Rituals

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Arundhati Virmani, Indian historian who teaches at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Marseille
Chair: Dr. Ratna Sudarshan

 

MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2017 AT 18:30

Princely Weddings at the French Court in Versailles

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Jean Boutier, French historian

 

(Collaboration: Centre Norbert Elias, Marseille; and MuCern - Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean, Marseille)  

 

 

 

Speakers: Shri Sitaram Yechury, MP; Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, MP; H.E. Mr. Oscar Martinez Cordoves, Ambassador of Cuba; and Professor Prabhat Patnaik

 

Moderator: Shri Sanjeev Prakash