Theatre Workshop for School Students
Conducted by Feisal Alkazi

As part of Heritage Week there will be a discussion on Thursday, November 22, in Seminar Halls - II & III, Kamaladevi Block, at 18:30

Preserving Heritage: The Socio-Economic Imperative
Panelists: Smt Jaya Jaitly, Founder President, Dastkari Haat Samiti; Dr Geeta Chandran, Bharatanatyam dancer; Dr Lotika Varadarajan, expert on textile history; Dr. Priyaleen Singh, Dept. of Architectural Conservation, SPA

Chair: Chair- Dr. C.T. Misra, Member Secretary, INTACH

Moderator: Dr Narayani Gupta, INTACH Library and Documentation Centre

A discussion on the relevance of cultural traditions today, looking at how resilience of identity and citizenship are enabled by participation in one's culture, and social harmony by respect for other cultural traditions; at how traditions can be made a means of livelihood to be sustained through both supply and demand structures, calling for skills generation and indigenous community development; at the promotion of a wider cultural tapestry among youth; at tapping into synergies with entertainment, tourism, architecture, design; and the compatibility between traditional value systems, beliefs and knowledge on the one hand, and a rapidly-evolving, technology-dependent economy on the other

Illustrated lecture by Dr Yashaswini Chandra, Research Coordinator at Sahapedia (an enterprise to develop an online interactive encyclopedia on the histories, arts and cultures of South Asia), and Guest Faculty at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU

Chair: Dr Gautam Sengupta, Director General, ASI

The talk focuses on the linked topics of local religious practices and shrines in the western Himalayas. It is concerned with the nature of religious belief in the region, which includes both localised forms of Hinduism, and belief in devis and devatas (or male and female deities) associated with specific geographies. The relationship between normative Hindu gods and goddesses and local deities is addressed

Speaker: Dr Rajesh Kumar, Associate Professor of International Business Strategy, Nottingham University Business School, U.K.

Chair: Dr Partha Sen, Professor of Economics, South Asian University

Dr Rajesh Kumar has published widely on international negotiations and the management of alliances, and is co-author of International Negotiation in China and India; Institutional Dynamics and the Evolution of the Indian Economy; and Doing the Business in India: A Guide for the Western Expatriate Manager

The Mystical Brain
(52 min; 2006; dvd; English and with subtitles)
Director: Isabelle Raynauld

This documentary follows the work of a team from the University of Montreal which seeks to understand the states of grace experienced by mystics and those who meditate. The filmmaker presents scientific research that suggests that mystical ecstasy is a transformative experience that could contribute to people's psychic and physical health, treat depression and speed up the healing process when combined with conventional medicine

Secrets of the Mind
(56 min; 2001; dvd; English)
Director: Christopher Rawlence

Explore pioneering brain detective Dr V.S. Ramachandran's breakthrough research into phantom-limb syndrome, and how he discovered that the brain undergoes a massive "re-wiring" when a person loses a limb. Explore the power of the mind in controlling pain. And discover how the study of the impact of brain injuries helps us learn about the normal brain

Speakers: To be announced

Chair: Shri G.C. Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas

Discussion and release of a book written by Pran Nevile

Panelists: To be announced

Lu Xun Culture Week - India: 15th to 20th November 2012
An exhibition of photographs

Inauguration on Thursday, 15th November, at 17:30

Illustrated lecture by Dr Henry Noltie, the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

Chair: Shri Pradip Krishen, ecological gardener and author of Trees of Delhi

The lecture focuses on botanical drawings made by Indian artists for surgeons of the Scottish East India Company in the 18th and 19th centuries

Panelists: Shri Mast Ram Kapoor, socialist thinker, and editor, Ram Manohar Lohia's Collected Works; Smt Aruna Roy, activist, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan; and Shri Sudhakar Reddy, General Secretary, CPI

Moderator: Shri Suhas Borker, Convener, Working Group on Alternative Strategies