Speaker: Prof A.K. Ghatak, Professor Emeritus, IIT Delhi

Chair: Prof Bimal Buti, Director, Centre for Science and Society

An account of Einstein's life as governed by his credo"”contempt for affluence and luxury, a passion for social justice which often led him into conflict, and the perception of privileges of position and property as pernicious. The speaker will also describe the impact of his remarkable contributions in 1905, his year of miracles

Freedom of Expression and Communication: Challenges in the Age of the Internet

Speaker: Dr Shashi Tharoor, M.P.

FRIDAY 27

18:00

Bharatanatyam Recital

by Seshadri Iyengar from Bengaluru, disciple of Guru Smt. Padmini Ravi

Odissi Recital                                               

By Sharmila Mukerjee from Delhi, disciple of Late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
 

MONSOON FESTIVAL     THURSDAY 26 - FRIDAY 27

18:00

Mohan Veena Recital 

By Poly Verghese from Chennai, disciple of Pt. Viswa Mohan Bhatt

19:00
Hindustani Vocal Recital                                
By Lakshmi Sreeram from Chennai, disciple of Pt Vasantrao Kulkarni and Pt Srikrishna Babanrao Haldankar
                                                                                                             

Speaker: Prof Subhadra Mitra Channa, Dept. of Social Anthropology, University of Delhi, specialist on gender, religion and ecology with anthropological theory and methodology

Chair: Dr A.K. Merchant, General Secretary, the Temple of Understanding, India

Ecology as a concept originated in the West and defined a relationship between humans and nature which assumes that the two are on different axes and explicitly states that humans are superior. However, for many other worldviews including the ancient wisdom of the East there is no such essential difference: all of nature encompasses the human, soul as well as body. As depicted in the Jataka tales and for Hindus, who believe in the atman and paramatman, the soul or spirit that inhabits every life form is essentially the same. There thus is no ecology as such, it is only various forms taken by one spirit

Convened by Shri Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Centre for Policy Research

Bringing to a conclusion a series of monthly meetings on Indian rivers, directed towards understanding what has gone wrong in many cases, what has gone right in some, and what needs to be done to revive and restore dying or sick rivers, stop further decline in the case of rivers showing early signs of distress, and keep living rivers alive and in a state of good health. The focus will be on rivers/states not covered earlier

10:00 - 10:30      Registration and Tea
 
10:30 - 10:40      Introduction 
                               Shri Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Honorary Professor, CPR

10:40 - 10:55     Living Rivers, Dying Rivers: Experience of West Bengal
                              Dr. Kalyan Rudra

10:55 - 11:10    Mahanadi: Common Property, Uncommon Interests
                             Dr Ranjan K. Panda, Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha

11:10 - 11:25   Indus Water System Under Threat: Study of Jhelum Basin
                             Prof Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, University of Kashmir

11:25 - 11:40  Rivers of the North East (participation to be confirmed)
                           Shri Sanjoy Hazarika, C-NES, Jamia Millia Islamia

11:40 - 11:50  Comments   
                           Prof Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, IIM, Kolkata

 11:50 - 13:00  Discussion

Speaker: Dr Jitendra Nagpal, Head, Dept. of Psychiatry, Moolchand Hospital

Chair: Dr Raman Kapur, Head, Dept. of Acupuncture, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

The speaker, an expert in child and adolescent psychiatry, will address the personal, social and occupational dimensions of people's well-being within the family and in urban life

Panelists: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President, CPR; Dr. Cao Haijun, Secretary, Economic & Commercial Counsellor's office, Embassy of China; Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU; Prof. Guo Bin, National Institute for Innovation Management,Zhejiang University; Dr. Stephen McGurk, International Development Research Centre - South Asia Regional Office

Chair: Prof. Abhijit Sen, Planning Commission

The villages of China and India have largely been unable to avail of the opportunities of rapid economic growth, while development is often framed in terms biased against "low-tech" rural sectors. The discussion addresses how to harness innovation for inclusive development, and involve policy-makers and scientists in knowledge-based rural transformation. Appraising the uses made of knowledge capital and new initiatives to increase productivity, the panel will also discuss how best the state might enable innovation

Delving into the art of the first choreographer to use dance for contemporary social commentary

Panelists: Prof Arun Kumar, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU, and author of Black Economy in India; Prof Jagdeep S. Chhokar, former Dean, IIM-Ahmedabad and Founder-Member, Association for Democratic Reforms; and Dr Saumen Chattopadhyay, Associate Professor, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, JNU

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