By Aiswaria Warrier from Vadodara, disciple of Dr. Sucheta Chapekar, Kalamandalam Saraswati and      Shri K.N. Panikkar

Speaker: Professor Ian Lipkin, Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and Director, Center for Infection and Immunity, Columbia University, New York, USA.
 
Chair: Prof. G.P. Talwar, former Director National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi
In 1944, Oswald Avery together with Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty made the landmark discovery that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and not proteins carry genetic information and are therefore the basis of inheritance.  In the 70 years since Avery’s discovery, DNA has come a long way. Besides being the basis for major discoveries in biomedicine, the genomes of humans and many other species have been fully sequenced providing many fascinating insights into evolution and behavior. DNA is now being developed as a medium for computing, nanorobotics and nanoelectronics. The technologies developed to sequence DNA have also provided a powerful platform to discover new life forms, especially new pathogens that mysteriously cause disease in human and other species
(Collaboration: The Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance)

Monk with a Camera (90 min; 2014; dvd; English)
Directors: Tina Mascara & Guido Santi
 
Nicholas Vreeland walked away from a worldly life of privilege to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Grandson of the legendary Vogue editor, Diana Vreeland, and trained by Irving Penn to become a photographer, Nicholas’ life changed drastically upon meeting a Tibetan master, one of the teachers of the Dalai Lama.  Soon thereafter, he gave up his glamorous life to live in a monastery in India, where he studied Buddhism for fourteen years.  In an ironic twist of fate, Nicholas went back to photography to help his fellow monks rebuild their monastery.  Recently, the Dalai Lama appointed Nicholas as Abbot of the monastery, making him the first Westerner in Tibetan Buddhist history to attain such a highly regarded position

Approaches to Social History of Delhi
Speakers: Prof. Narayani Gupta , well known historian; Dr. Mahmood Farooqui , historian and theatre personality;   Mr. Sohail Hashmi  a writer,  history enthusiast & cultural activist and  Ms Navina Jaffa, heritage consultant  

Brihadeshwara Temple
Illustrated lecture by Dr. S. Dayalan, Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai
 
Chair: Shri B.M. Pande

Speaker: Shri K.L. Pandey, Additional Member, Railway Board and who is working on a book, Hindi Cine-Sangeet Rangopaedia
 
Chair: Shri S.K. Jha, GM (Corporate Communications), ONGC

Curated and introduced by Dr. R.P. Jain
 
Cinderella (102 min; 1969; dvd; English subtitles)
Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet
Production: The Royal Ballet
Conductor: John Lanchbery
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
 
With Antoinette Sibley (Cinderella); Anthony Dowell (The Prince); Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann (The Ugly Sisters)

Prof Pushpesh Pant, noted Indian academic; Shri Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, journalist; and Ms Seema Chishti, journalist will discuss An Undocumented  Wonder: The Making of the Great Indian Election by S. Y. Quraishi (Rupa; New Delhi,  2014)

 Chair: Dr. Subhash C.  Kashyap, former Secretary-General of Lok Sabha

By Madhumita Chattopadhyay from Kolkata, disciple of Smt Purnima Choudhury