Changing Times-Changing Lives: Voices of Women Poets in India

Poetry reading by Dr. Sukrita Paul (English); Dr. Savita Singh (Hindi); Smt Tarannum Riyaz (Urdu); Dr. Vanita (Punjabi); Dr. Rumki Basu (Bengali); Dr. J. Bhagyalakshmi (Telugu); and Dr. Rita Malhotra, international poet

Chair: Dr. Mridula Garg

Ms Sagari Chhabra, poet, playwright and filmmaker

Focusing on Qawwali, not just as a traditional art form but as a cultural symbol to represent the essence of unity in diversity of India

 

8^th March at 18:30 in the Rose Garden

Qawwali

Live demonstration by traditional Qawwals

 

What is Mathematics

Speaker: Shri Balkrishna Shetty, IFS (Retd.), former Indian Ambassador and currently Guest Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi (IIITD) who is teaching Number Theory and is the author of What is Mathematics (National Book Trust India, 2013)

Chair: Prof. Parvin Sinclair, Director, NCERT

A discussion on the Kashmiri and Urdu editions of P.A. Nazareth's book

Chief Guest: Shri N.N. Vohra, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

Speakers: Shri Yogendra Narain, former Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha; Shri B.G. Verghese, senior journalist; and Shri Prabhat Kumar, former Cabinet Secretary

Opening remarks: Shri Syed Shahid Mahdi, former Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia

Panelists: Ranjit Lal, author; Sayoni Basu, publisher, Duckbill; Paro Anand, author; and Roshani Jain, student of Shri Ram School, Gurgaon

Moderator: Anita Roy, publisher, Young Zubaan

Some of the toughest, and most exciting writing in the world today is to be found in the "˜YA' (Young Adult) section in book stores - novels on sex, drugs, suicide, racism, cancer, broken homes"¦Is this a trend to be applauded? Should YA authors in India be following suit? What are the dangers - as well as the pleasures- of YA fiction? These and other issues will be raised in the discussion

I am Micro (15 min; 2012; experimental; India)

Director: Shai Heredia & Shumona Goel

An experimental film portrait of an anonymous filmmaker struggling to make films against innumerable odds

 

Grandmother (7 min; 2011; experimental; India)

Director: Oorvazi Irani

A portrait of a grandmother sans a realistic treatment

 

My Grandfather's House (14 min; 2013; documentary; Myanmar)

Director: Shunn Lei Swe Yee

Thaktin Htein Win's granddaughter reminisces about the old wooden house which was once a meeting place for the architects of the country's independence movement

 

Madly in Love (5 min; 2013; animation; Japan)

Director: Ikue Sugidono

A woman wants to decorate herself with a cute cake"¦

 

Hint (17 min; 2012; short fiction; Israel)

Director: Adi Bar Yossef

Sharona's dance partner at the weekly folk dancing session is the clumsy Micha"¦

 

Truelovestory (20 min; animation; India)

Director: Gitanjali Rao

Where does Salim, a 17 year old orphan living in the streets of Bombay, learn to woo a woman?

Followed by a discussion with filmmaker

 

At 12:15

Such a Girl Like Me (15 min; 2012; short fiction; Hong Kong)

Director: Man Uen Ching

Yin is a mortician who does make-up for the dead"¦

 

My Fancy High Heels (55 min; 2010; documentary; Taiwan)

Director: Ho Chao-Ti

Filmed over a period of two years, the film rigorously traces the journey of a pair of branded high-heeled shoes, and looks at the dreams of the people involved

 

At 14:30

Jaadui Machchi (37 min; 2013; short fiction; India)

A film by Ektara Collective

On the banks of a flowing river, Jyotika and her friends meet an old woman who tells them a story of a fish that spreads happiness in the world

Followed by a discussion with crew members Maheen Mirza and Hassath

 

Aabida (26 min; 2013; short fiction; United Kingdom)

Director: Maaria Sayed

Aabida is a recently widowed woman who chooses to look upon life as a fresh opportunity to indulge in the little pleasures her strict husband would not permit her

Followed by a discussion with the lead actress, Lubna Salim

 

At 16:30

Voices of Orchid Island (73 min; 1994; documentary; Taiwan)

Director: Hu Tai-Li

The film explores the complex and often troubled relationship the Yami community of Orchid island has with the outside community

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

 

At 18:30

My No-Mercy Home (77 min; 2013; documentary; South Korea)

Director: Aori

A courageous story of a young woman who sues her father for sexual abuse

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

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Womb on Rent (49 min; 2013; documentary; India)

Director: Ishani Dutta

The emotional journey of a surrogate mother

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

The Bamboo Grove (19 min; 2011; short fiction; Myanmar)

Director: Khin Khin Hsu

A naïve young city doctor on his first job out of medical school comes into conflict with traditional Kayin ideas about medicine

At 12:15

Soundphiles: Many Echoes, Many Worlds

A celebration of listening

Followed by discussions with sound artists

At 14:30

An Almost Perfect Day (12 min; 2012; short fiction; Bangladesh)

Director: Humaira Bilkis

Masud Rana, a young tourist guide meets a girl one day and proposes"¦

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

At 15:00

Have you Seen the Arana? (74 min; 2012; documentary; India)

Director: Sunanda Bhat

A journey through Wayanad in South India that is witnessing drastic transformation in the name of "˜development'

At 16:30

Panel discussion on Through the Looking Glass: Post Conflict Sri Lanka and Its Dilemmas

Panelists: Sumathy Sivamohan; Anomaa Rajakaruna, Leena Manimekalai; and Priya Thangarajah

Watermelon, Fish and Half Ghost (11 min; 2013; short fiction; India)

Director: Payal Kapadia

A fable about life in a chawl where superstitions, relationships and crisis unify families into a community

Haze (6 min; 2013; experimental; India)

Director: Kanika Gupta

A journey from the concrete to a space without well defined forms

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

Bandish (7 min; 2013; experimental; India)

Director: Adwaita Das

A young woman observes herself through the camera seeking a deeper truth

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

For You and Me (11 min; 2013; experimental; India)

Director: Tanushree Das

A film about yearning and the struggle to sustain relationships in a society of technological proximity and physical distance

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

At 11:30

Ingirinthu (114 min; 2013; feature fiction; Sri Lanka)

Director: Sumathy Sivamohan

Combining multiple genres and narrative forms, the film is an epic narration of the minority Tamil tea plantation community's struggle to survive

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

At 14:30

Crossings Love (83 min; 2012; documentary; Taiwan)

Director: Kuo Shiao-Yun

An exploration of domestic violence and how such an experience would influence the abused children when they grew up

Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker

At 16:45

The Breadfruit Tree (22 min; 2013; short fiction; India)

Director: Priyamvada Narayanan

Complex layers of love, loss and meaning unfold in a Bandra home

Followed by a discussion with the production designer, Jenny Pinto

A Summer Flu (17 min; 2013; short fiction; India)

Director: Priyanka Chhabra

A young girls reminisces a childhood spent in the summer in Delhi

At 18:30

Sleepless Nights (128 min; 2012; documentary; Lebanon)

Director: Eliane Raheb

Through the stories of former high ranking intelligence officer and the mother of a young communist fighter who is missing, the film asks if redemption and forgiveness are possible