I’m Kabir and I’m Not, says Kabir
 

Whose Kabir? Which Kabir? Did the historical Kabir actually write “Ud Jayega Hans Akela” made famous by Kumar Gandharva? Is Kabir the most faked signature/chaap/takhallus ever? How is it that a million couplets are aggregated in his name? What kind of Kabir is never sung? How may we read Kabir via the Buddha and Ambedkar? Poet, translator, publisher and musician Anand will try to unwrap the many Kabirs that are wrapped in the diaphanous fabric called Kabir.

Anand is the publisher at Navayana, a student of Dhrupad with Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar, and is the author of the recent book, The Notbook of Kabir: Thinner than Water, Fiercer than Fire.
 

Mandal Dhwani
By Malashri Lal (Hawakal Publishers: 2025)

Discussants: Prof. Anamika, contemporary poet, novelist and academic; Prof. Rekha Sethi, academic, writer, scholar, and translator; Dr. Alka Tyagi, Professor, Dept. of English, Dayal Singh College (Evening), University of Delhi, poet and Editor of the bool; and Prof. Malashri Lal, Convenor, English Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi and author of the book

Moderator: Kriti Sengupta, bilingual poet and translator
 

Humans in the Loop (India)
(74 min; 2024; Hindi with English subtitles)
Written and Directed by Aranya Sahay who will introduce the film

Recipient of the Best Film Award and FIPPRESCI Prize, Bengaluru International Film Festival 2025

Screening will be followed by a discussion

The film follows the journey of an Adivasi woman who begins interacting with AI while working in a data centre in Jharkhand

Disaster Planning and Governance in India: Experts’ Experiences and Insights
 

Edited by Sunita Reddy and Anil Kumar Sinha (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: 2023)

Discussants: Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, Indian Council for Social Science Research; Shri A.K. Mangotra, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary (Border Mgmt.), DG (DGS & D); Dr. Chandrani Bandyopadhyay Neogi, Associate Professor, Dept. of Urban Planning, School of Planning and Architecture; Prof. Ian Davis, Visiting Professor at Kyoto, Lund & Oxford Brookes Universities; Dr. Sunita Reddy, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder Chair, Anthropos India and co-editor of the book; and Shri Anil Kumar Sinha, IAS (Retd.), former Vice Chairman, BSDMA and co-editor of the book

Moderator: Dr. Anshu Sharma, Co-Founder, SEEDS India

Chair: Gen. N.C. Vij, PVSM, UYSM, AVSAM (Retd.), Director, VIF and author

Conversation: Sharat-e-Qatra (The Ecstasy of a Drop)
 

Syeda Hameed, former Member, Planning Commission, author, feminist scholar, and educationist In Conversation with Sujata Prasad and Oroon Das

(Collaboration: Ahad Anhad)
 

The House in the Hills 
(47 min; 2024; English and with subtitles)
Written and Directed by Mekhela Deva

The film will be introduced by Sudeep Sen, well-known poet

What happens when a journalist turned filmmaker volunteers to go to Mussoorie to oversee the repairs to a house that belonged to her grandfather? The film weaves together the restoration of Dil Bahar, a heritage house, along with the story of pre and post-Independent India as seen through the growth and development of a small hill town.    

Curator: Rajiv Mehrotra

A Fly on the Wall
(82 min; 2024; English)
Directors: Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar

The film follows Chika Kapadia’s final eight days, filmed by two of his closest friends, as he chooses assisted dying – un unflinching journey through love, loss and the right to die with dignity

Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

India Inked: Elections in the World’s Largest Democracy
By Poonam Agarwal (Bloomsbury India: 2025)

Discussants: Shri Ashok Lavasa, former Election Commissioner of India; Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder-Member, Association of Democratic Reforms and former Professor, Dean and Director-in-Charge, IIM, Ahmedabad; Shri Pawan Khera, political analyst; Ms Anjali Bhardwaj, activist; and Ms Poonam Agarwal, an award winning journalist who has been covering Indian society and politics for two decades; and author of the book

Moderator: Shri Chirag Thakkar, Associate Publisher