The Maverick’s Palette
By Atanu Roy
Opening/preview on Friday, 16 May 2014 at 18:30
Commerce and the Cult of Khizr: The Sacred Geography of Healing in the Indian Ocean World
The talk specifically focuses on the spaces of long-standing commercial production and trade in the wider Indian Ocean world to illuminate the presence of an expansive healing cult dedicated to Khizr, an enigmatic water saint and patron of the Sufis. The talk considers how Khizr’s cult suggests possible ways to rethink the global rise of scientific medicine by foregrounding a vast trans-regional network of institutions that promoted empirically-grounded knowledge about the body and the environment, and that aimed to set the ritual conditions necessary for ensuring the health of those engaged in commercial activities of production and exchange
MUSIC APPRECIATION PROMOTION
By Sudha Raghuraman
Accompanists: Shri G. Raghuraman on flute and Shri P Padmanabhan on mridangam
Her lec-dem will look into how music for dance is an art by itself and how musicians accompanying dance form are trained especially for this purpose
Sudha Raghuraman hails from a family of distinguished musicians. She is a sought after singer of Delhi and is recipient of the noted Ustad Bismillah Khan Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Liking Progress, Loving Change – A Literary History of the Progressive Writers’ Movement in Urdu
Discussion around the new book by Dr. Rakhshanda Jalil
Chief Guest: Shri Javed Akhtar
Discussants: Shri Mahmood Farooqui; and Dr. Rakhshanda Jalil
Followed by Songs by Parcham: The People’s Songs Squad carrying forward the legacy of IPTA
FILMS ON SPIRITUALITY AND FAITH
Sama – Muslim Mystic Music of India (52 min; dvd; English subtitles)
Director: Shazia Khan
The film explores Islamic music traditions in India and portrays how they have borrowed and taken inspiration from the culture of India, in both form and content, to become a truly magnificent sound. It discovers that connection which allows the artist to become one with the creator and experience peace, calm,, serenity and joy
One Day With Rinpoche (30 min; dvd; English)
Directors: Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam
The story of 20-year-old Phara Khentrul Rinpoche – an insight into what it means to be a young incarnate Lama living in exile at the dawn of the 21st century
Devotion and Syncretism: Pattini – Kannaki Devotion in Sri Lanka
An exhibition of photographs and text
By Sharni Jayawardena and Malathi de Alwis
Inauguration on Tuesday, 13 May 2014 at 18:30
Devotion to Kannaki-Pattini is an inspiring example of Hindu-Buddhist syncretism in Sri Lanka. Tamil Hindus know her as Kannaki and Sinhala Buddhists as Pattini. However, a large number of Sri Lankans, even devotees, are unaware that she is a shared deity. While some beliefs and rituals of veneration are shared, there are also significant variations between and across the two religions, and regionally. This photographic exhibition attempts to capture that diversity and complexity
As part of this exhibition, there will be a talk on Monday, 19 May 2014 at 18:30 in the Art Gallery on
Devotion and Syncretism: Pattini-Kannaki Worship in Sri Lanka
Illustrated lecture by Dr. Malathi de Alwis, Consultant Socio-Cultural Anthropologist
The Tender Side of Partition
Chair: Prof. Mushirul Hasan
The 1947 Partition of India resulted in huge mass massacre resulting in massive human exodus in search of security. They left their marks on almost all spheres of life including cultural as expressed in creative efforts in the fields of literature, music, cinema, drama, painting, architecture and food. This lecture will discuss some of these creative expressions
Hindustani Vocal Recital
BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Chair: Prof. Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for Social Development
Yadgar Wa Jashn-i-Manto – ‘A Greater Story Writer Than God!’
Followed by
Mantoiyat (120 min)
The dastaan of Manto by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain
Chair: Shahid Amin
Readings: from "The dastaan of Manto" by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain