Gaalibeeja (Wind Seed; Kannada)
(96 min; 2014; dvd; English subtitles)
Written and Directed by Babu Eshwar Prasad who will introduce the film
Screening will be followed by a discussion
The road is the central protagonist which connects the various characters. The film opens with Prakash, a road engineer, leaving for a site visit to an unnamed village. Along the way, he gives a lift to Jaffer, a former seller of pirated dvds from whom Prakash receives a set of road movies from him. The sequences in the films and the people that Prakash meets in life began to resonate with each other. The road is a metaphor for life, for the journeys we make and the transitory relationships that are formed in the process
On the Occasion of K.L. Saigal’s 112th Birth Anniversary
Pran Nevile pays tribute to the immortal legend, K.L. Saigal, poet, composer and singer
Followed by a Concert by Dr. Gaurav Sood
With This Ring (Canada)
(87 min; 2016; dvd; English subtitles)
Directors: Ameesha Joshi & Anna Sarkissian
With This Ring is an independent feature documentary about the women who make up the Indian national boxing team. Filmed over the course of six years, from the jungles of south India to the highlands of north eastern Manipur, the film follows three champion women boxers – Sarita Devi, M C Mary Kom and Chhoto Loura as they rise to the top of their game, and do their utmost to stay in the limelight
Four Paper Theatre Shows
1. Survival
2. The Other Side
3. The Little Red Hen
4. Manjil Meen (Yellow Fish)
Final showing of the Paper Theatre Masterclass led by Alain Lecucq and Narguess Majd
(Collaboration: UNIMA India)
The World of Recycle
A visual interpretation of the world of recycle and waste management
Curated by Aditya Arya
Artists: Cheena Kapoor; Manu Yadav; Monica Tiwari; Rahul Sharma; Saumya Khandelwal; Shweta Pandey; Sidhhartha Behl; Sreedeep; and Swarat Ghosh
Inauguration by Dr. Ashok Khosla, Founder President and Chairman, Development Alternatives on Friday, 1 April 2016 at 18:30
My Family and Other Parsis
An exhibition of photographs by Sooni Taraporevala
Preview on Friday, 29 April 2016 at 18:30
Sooni has photographed people as they go about their daily lives, successfully narrating emotions of her subjects as they make conversation, attend family functions, at home or in the streets of Mumbai, a city which is considered a Parsi bastion
The exhibition has been organized in collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Theme: Parsi Food and Culture
Film: Café Irani Chai (90 min; dvd; English subtitles)
Director: Dr. Mansoor Showghi Yezdi
The film will introduced by Anahita Dhondy, Chief Manager, Sodabottleopenerwalla
A documentary film based on the Irani Chaiwalas who came walking all the way from Iran in the 18th and early 19th century and made India their home and became famous for their Bun Maska and Irani Chai in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. The film has won 14 International Awards, and has had the privilege of being shown at the New York University and a copy of the film has been added to the South Asian Studies Library.
The Many Lives of Homai Vyarawalla: Revisiting a Historical Archive
Illustrated lecture by Dr. Sabeena Gadihoke, Associate Professor, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
India’s first woman press photographer, Homai Vyarawalla is best known for her compelling photographs of political events leading up to Partition as well as the exhilaration of Independence. Vyarawalla who passed away in 2012 left behind a large archive of work that has recently acquired new life through digitization. This illustrated talk revisits Vyarawalla’s interest in everyday urban life and her exploration of the city of Delhi that was her home for 27 years
The Delhi Parsis and the Zoroastrian Diaspora
Speaker: Mr. Rusi Sorabji, historian
The Delhi Parsi community is small in numbers but has had more than its share of prominent people. The Zoroastrian Diaspora is spread all over the world due to migration both from Iran and India right from the colonial period to date. Diasporic groups have made a significant role in the development of the community, and their global success has furthered their philanthropic efforts. The speaker, who has memories of the Delhi of his youth will begin with a brief history of the Parsis of Delhi and then speak about the Zoroastrian diaspora, issues of importance, and historical trends
Panel discussion on Curating Zoroastrianism
Speakers: Ms Pheroza Godrej and Dr. Shernaz Cama
Moderator: Prof. Rustom Bharucha, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Films
(43 min; dvd; English)
Director: Babak Golroz
Chak Chak (drip-drip, also known as The Green Pir) is the most sacred of the mountain shrines of Zoroastrianism, in the desert of Central Iran. Legend has it that Chak Chak is where Nikbanou, the second daughter of the last pre-Islamic Persian ruler, Yazdegerd III of the Sassanid Empire, was cornered by the invading Arab army in 640 CE
Followed by a talk on:
Zoroastrianism and Ecology
Speaker: Dr. Homi Dhalla, founder and President of the Cultural Foundation of the Zarathustra World who has been a leader and featured speaker in numerous international conferences focusing on the Zoroastrian view of peace, ecology, and inter-religious dialogue
Glimpses from the Bahrot Caves (7 min)
Bahrot caves located near Dahanu, Maharashtra is the only Parsi cave temple in India. A heritage site, it is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India
