People and Environment

An exhibition based on PAHAR’s Askot Arakot Abhiyan study march and survey treks of the Central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Undertaken every decade, PAHAR now has forty years of recorded changes and comparative study material on the impact of climate change in the Himalaya. The exhibition will also focus on people and environment of the Western and Eastern Himalaya, Nepal Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau through photographs, film and text

 

Inauguration on Wednesday 15 April 2015 at 18:00

By Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Gandhian Environmentalist and social activist who will give an illustrated talk

 

As part of this exhibition, the following programmes will be organised in the Art Gallery

DISCUSSION: 18 APRIL 2015 AT 18:30

Man and Mountain: Conflict or Coexistence

Speakers: Shri Shyam Saran; Shri Sanjoy Hazarika; and Shri Ravi Rawat

 

Chair: Shri Deb Mukharji

 

TALK: 20 APRIL 2015 AT 18:30

Geoscience: Geology and Ecology of the Himalaya

Speaker: Prof. Anil K. Gupta, J.C. Bose National Fellow and Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun

 

TALK: 24 APRIL 2015 AT 18:30

Listening to Women’s Voices in the Garhwal Himalayas: The Song and Its Community

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Anjali Capila, Associate Professor, Dept. of Development Communication and Extension, Lady Irwin College. Dr. Capila is the author of Images of Women in the Folk Songs of Garhwal Himalayas – A Participatory Research and Traditional Health Practices of Kumaoni Women – Continuity and Change

 

Films: 25 April 2015 at 18:30

Following the Rhythms (38 min; 2005; dvd; English/Hindi & with subtitles)

Director: Sanjay Barnela

 

For centuries, the Van Gujjars have herded their buffalo between the forests of Uttaranchal and the high mountain pastures of the western Himalayas following the rhythm of the seasons. Reliant on the buffalo for their livelihoods, these communities with their strong traditions and culture now face the challenge of adjusting to the demands of modern life. Following the Rhythms is an attempt to document the contours of the debate between the Forest Department and the Van Gujjars, between scientific and indigenous modes of conservation

 

A Question of Tomorrow: The Brogpas of Ladakh

(30 min; 2001; dvd; English)

Director: Mohi-ud-in Mirza

 

The story of the vanishing tribe of Brogpas of the Himalayas, descendents of Alexander the Great’s army, the film explores their worldview and perceptions of fragility

 

Apna Aloo Bazaar Becha

(30 min; 2008; dvd; English & with subtitles)

Director: Pankaj Gupta

 

Recipient of the Golden Deer, 1^st Prize, Short Length Film Category, 8^th EcoFilms Festival, Greece 2008

 

What happens when remote, mountain communities come face to face with globalization? Jardhar gaon a village in the Hemval valley of Garhwal, led an isolated, egalitatrian existence until a series of events forced it into joining the market economy

 

Films courtesy: Public Service Broadcasting Trust

 

Films: 27 April 2015 at 18:30

Ambi Jiji’s Retirement

(29 min; 2007; dvd; English)

Director: Nandini Bedi

 

Recipient of the First Prize at Jeevika 2007: South Asia Livelihood Documentary Competition; and Zee News Livelihood Award, 4^th CMS Vatavaran 2007

 

Ambi Jiji one of the caretakers of community owned lands, always planted her crops on soil where forests have been burnt. The jhum field would then be abandoned and left to regenerate into a forest and a new one burnt. But increasingly, jhum fields are being turned into orchards which provide cash and security. Through Ambi Jiji and her daughters, we see the passing of a way of life in a remote village in Meghalaya

 

Reviving Faith – A Himalayan Journey…In Search of the Lost Tradition of Conservation

(60 min; 2008; dvd; English & with subtitles)

Director: Rishu Nigam

 

Recipient of Focus: Natural Heritage Conservation Award, 5^th CMS Vatavaran 2009

 

The film takes viewers into the sacred groves of the Himalayas that are still alive because of the faith of its people. It traces the struggles of the Himalayan people to save their forests from being plundered and raises the critical question – can the modern world restore the faith that conserved nature, before it gets too late?

 

Films courtesy: Public Service Broadcasting Trust

 

The Music Instinct: Science & Song (120 mins; dvd; English)

A film by Elena Mannes

 

Anyone who has been mesmerized by a Bach melody, stirred to dance by a rock rhythm, or taken back in time by the notes of a pop tune from their past, knows the power of music

 

The Music Instinct provides a ground-breaking exploration into how and why the human organism is moved by the undeniable effect of music, and the deep connection between music and our bodies and brains. The programme follows visionary researchers and accomplished musicians to the crossroads of science and culture in search of answers to music’s deep mysteries

 

Sarnath: Recent Excavations and Discoveries

Illustrated lecture by Dr. B.R. Mani, Additional Director-General, Archaeological Survey of India

Chair: Prof. R.C. Agarwal

Speaker: Dr. Anji Seth, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Connecticut, USA.   Her research is on how changes in climate are likely to evolve in the next century in particular regions
 

Chair: Prof. Jatinder Saigal, Dean, Faculty of Planning & Architecture, Manav Rachna International University

Vocal Recital

By Aishwarya Shankar from Chennai, disciple of Sangita  Kalacharya Smt.Suguna Varadachari

With  Delhi R. Sridhar  on  Violin and  Kumbakonam N. Padmanaban  on Mridangam 

 

Vocal Recital

By Master G. Abilash from Chennai, disciple of Sri A.S. Murali

With V.S.K. Chakrapani  on Violin and  Kumbakonam N Padmanaban  on  Mridangam and N. Hari Narayanan on  Ghatam  

 

Stem Cells: Myths And Realities

Speaker: Dr. Jyotsna Dhawan, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad

Chair: Dr. Anna George, National Institute of Immunology

 

Stem cells are the foundation cells of our bodies. Basic research shows that stem cells have the potential to specialize into all the different cell types in the human body, which makes them attractive candidates for regenerative therapies to restore diseased or damaged tissue. This lecture will briefly cover our current understanding of stem cell biology and address the hurdles that need to be overcome for their clinical use. Along the way, I will highlight examples of the myths and realities of stem cell applications, touch on the regulatory issues required to ensure their ethical application and hopefully convey some of the excitement in the field of stem cell science

 

Talk and launch of the book – Kalyana Malla’s Suleiman Charitra, a translation from Sanskrit of a 16th century text by Shri A.N.D. Haksar