Series curated by  Rajiv Mehrotra

The Hidden Art of Islam: Explore the Tradition of Figurative Art at the Heart of Islam
(60 min; dvd; English)
Directed by Faris Kermani
A film hosted by Dr. Rageh Omaar

Muslim belief and tradition specifies that there should be no depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad. In religious contexts, this constraint on what artists can depict extends to human figures and other living creatures as well. These prohibitions have inspired a rich visual culture based on calligraphy, Arabesque floral designs, and geometry, all of which feature strongly in the art and design found throughout the Muslim world, including mosques.

With the help of fine art and religious experts, host Rageh Omaar traces the effect of these beliefs over the centuries on the art and artists of the Islamic world and considers why depictions of pilgrims taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage have become part of the accepted tradition of Islamic art, including in work exhibited at British Museum 

Talk and Readings from the book The 7th Destination: A Journey Unfolding the Law of Seventy times Seven (Partridge Publishing, 2014) by the author, Dr. Benazir Patil
Dr. Benazir Patil is a development specialist by profession and has been working with several social development organisations both in India and internationally. Presently Advisor-Urban Health with Save the Children, India
Khudabakhsh, a wanderer at heart, just knew the destination he had to reach. But not knowing how that was to happen, what was the precise motive for his presence in that place, and why it had to be the seventh one, he travels relentlessly. An engrossing account of a young man’s journey, unfolding at each step the eternal verities of humankind, supremacy of the universal power, the commonness in the different religions, and the numerous mysteries that plague everyone’s mind one time or the other 

Discussion on a book edited by Professor  K. Warikoo and Professor  Khojamahamad Umarov published by Pentagon Press
 
Panelists: Professor Devendra Kaushik, former Chairman, Maulana Azad Institute of Asian Studies; Ambassador (Rtd). Vivek Katju;  Prof. Riyaz Punjabi, former Vice-Chancellor, Kashmir University;  Prof. Khoja Umarov of Tajikistan; and Prof. K. Warikoo, Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Secretary General (Hony.), Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation
 
Chair: Dr. Lokesh Chandra, Chairman, Indian Council of Cultural Relations
 

Recitation of Tagore’s Poems
By Bisakha Mukherjee from Kolkata
 
Chandalika
Tagore’s well-known dance drama presented in Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance styles
Choreographed by Anita Mullick, Saraswati Sanskriti Kendra, Kolkata
 

By Sanjay Deshpande from Pune, disciple of Late Pt Vishnupant Dharmadhikari

Talk by Suhas Borker
 
Discussant: Prof Amar Farooqui, Professor of History, Delhi University 
Chair: Prof. Sucheta  Mahajan, Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU
 
In 1912 the British had shifted the Imperial Capital from Calcutta to Delhi. On 23 December 1912 as the inaugural procession of the Viceroy Lord Hardinge passed through Chandni Chowk a bomb was hurled at the viceragal howdah. Lord Hardinge was wounded and a howdah attendant was killed. The blast also killed a boy and wounded several onlookers in the crowd. Amir Chand and Avandh Bihari, who had both been students of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and were teachers at a Nationalist School in Kinari Bazar, Chandni Chowk were arrested in February 1914 and charged with the conspiracy to kill Lord Hardinge in the Delhi Conspiracy Case. Both were hanged on 8 May 1915 at Delhi Central Jail (presently the Maulana Azad Medical College Campus)
 
To Mark the 100^th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Amir Chand and Avadh Bihari: Two Freedom Fighters from Delhi
 

Harappan Town Planning and Architecture
Speaker: Shri R.S. Bisht, formerly Joint Director-General, Archaeological Survey of India who has excavated at several Harappan sites including Dholavira
 
Chair: Shri B.M. Pande

Maldives: An Imperiled Democracy
Speakers: Amb. (retd.) Kuldeep Sahdev; Shri Sumon K. Chakrabarti, journalist and founder of Focus Maldives news site; Ms Devyani Srivastava, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative; Dr. Niranjan Sahoo, Observer Research Foundation; and Dr. Anand Kumar, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
 

Khayal
By Kamla Dhyani
With Shanti Bhushan (tabla); and Chetan Nigam (harmonium)
 
Followed by
Dhrupad Vocal
By Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar
With Pt. Mohan Shyam Sharma on the pakhawaj

An exhibition of paintings – acrylic on canvas
By L. Meena Devi from Manipur
 
Preview on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 at 18:30
 
L. Meena Devi’s oeuvre of feminine portraits, reflect an insider’s view of a world un-spoilt by consumerism. Delicate, ethereal and fragile, the paintings unfold a personal biography of a particular time and space