Of Gods and Men
(122 min; 2010; dvd; English subtitles)
Director: Xavier Beauvois

Recipient of the Grand Prix Award, Cannes Film Festival

Inspired by true events, this powerful and affecting film tells the story of a group of Cistercian monks living in the remote mountains of North Africa. Building to an extraordinarily moving climax, this beautifully directed, immaculately performed and award-winning drama has been acclaimed as a masterpiece

Speaker: Dr Subroto Roy, formerly economic policy advisor to Rajiv Gandhi (1990-91)

Chair: Shri B.R. Singh, IAS (retd.)

The speaker has been a faculty member at the University of Hawaii-Manoa and IIT Kharagpur and was contributing editor to The Statesman. He is the author of Philosophy of Economics: On the Scope of Reason in Economic Enquiry and Pricing, Planning and Politics: A Study of Economic Distortions in India, besides other books, including, as co-editor, Margaret Thatcher's Revolution: How it Happened and What it Meant; Foundations of India's Political Economy: Towards an Agenda for the 1990s; Foundations of Pakistan's Political Economy: Towards an Agenda for the 1990s

Presented by the Capella de Ministrers Ensemble from Spain

Director: Carles Magraner

Unity and Diversity of India: A Genomic Reconstruction from Ancestral Footfalls

Speaker: Dr Partha P. Majumder, Director, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics

Chair: Prof Samir K. Brahmachari, Secretary, Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India, and Director General, CSIR

Providing a synthesis of the findings of studies in genomics theory and technology over the last decade, the talk will explain how these have enabled a scientific estimate of the extent of unity and diversity among the peoples of India, the reconstruction of their origins, and allowed us to trace trails of migration through the length and breadth of India, showing their impact on the population structure

The Smog in Delhi: Causes and Concerns

Speakers: Dr. M.P. George, Scientist - D, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC); Ms Anumita Roy Choudhary, Executive Director-General & Advocacy, Centre for Science & Environment; and Dr. S.K. Chhabra, Head, Department of Cardiorespiratory Physiology, Patel Chest Institute, New Delhi

Moderator: Shri Ravi Agarwal, Director, Toxics Link

The Smog in Delhi: Causes and Concerns

With the onset of winter, each year, like this one, the city is enveloped in smog. This dense air is loaded with toxic particulate matter, chemicals and heavy metals. As the colder air is unable to circulate and stays close to the ground, the pollutants become trapped. O days when there is an absence of wind, the smog gathers and stays.

Speaker: Mr Tilak Samarawickrema, architect, artist and designer from Sri Lanka

Chair: Ms Ritu Sethi, Craft Revival Trust

Chief Guest: H.E. Mr Prasad Kariyawasam, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka

There will be the release of the book A Voyage in Sri Lankan Design by Tilak Samarawickrema

Prof D.P. Tripathi, M.P., Rajya Sabha; Shri Saeed Naqvi, journalist; Major General R.K. Arora, CEO, and Editor, India Military Review, discuss Myths and Realities of Security and Public Affairs by Arvindar Singh (New Delhi: Ocean Books, 2011)

Chair: Sir William Mark Tully, former Head of the BBC, journalist

Round table introduced by Prof R. Govinda, Vice-Chancellor, NUEPA
 
Lead discussants: Dr Madhav Chavan, Co-founder and CEO, Pratham; and Dr Kiran Bhatty, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research

Chair: Ms Vrinda Sarup, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Human Resources and Development