Seminar: Auroville: City for Transformation

Inaugural address: Dr Karan Singh

Guest Speaker: Smt Ambika Soni

Keynote Address by Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, Shri Soli Sorabjee and Mr Shigeru Aoyagi

12:00-13:00 Round Table

14:10-15:30 Session on "World in Transition and Auroville"

15:30-16:30 Session on "Sustainable and Ecological Living"

To participate e-mail auroville.iicevent@auroville.org.in

Screenings of award-winning documentaries followed by discussion with directors, and film-appreciation workshops. Film synopses at www.psbt.org

Friday 7    
The Politics of Freedom
10:00 Whistles and Bullets (54 min; 2012)
Director: Devi Prasad Mishra
11:30 Freedom Song (52 min; 2012)
Directors: Paranjoy Guha Thakurta & Subi Chaturvedi
Discussion moderated by Subasri Krishnan

14:00 Gaur in my Garden (26 min; 2012)
Director: Rita Banerji
14:45 Light on the Dark Side (26 min; 2012)
Directors: Geeta & Avinash Kumar Singh    
15:30 Nirnay (Decision) (56 min; 2012)
Directors: Pushpa Rawat & Anupama Srinivasan
17:00 Much Ado about Knotting (52 min; 2012)
Directors: Geetika Narang Abbasi & Anandana Kapur
18:30 A Farmer from Kuttanad (52 min; 2012)
Director: Santosh Sivan
Discussion moderated by Akanksha Joshi      

Multipurpose Hall at 17:00

Opening of the Festival

Welcome Address: Dr Karan Singh, M.P., Rajya Sabha

Chief Guest: Kumari Selja

Art Gallery at 18:30

Inauguration of Transformation

Exhibition curated by Sebastian Cortes

Special Guest: Kumari Selja

On view 11:00-19:00 till Friday 21

Multipurpose Hall at 19:00

Film: City of the Dawn

Speakers: Dr David Headon, former Director, Centre for Australian Cultural Studies, Canberra; and Prof Christopher Vernon, University of Western Australia

Planned as capital cities within years of each other, New Delhi and Canberra embody the vision of the British Empire at its peak. Hundred years on, we revisit the conception of these cities and reflect on their complex mutations

(102 min; 1992; dvd)
Director: Philip Cayford

The story of extinction on a global scale, from South Dakota's buffalo herds to snake stalls in Taiwan. Philip Cayford interviews conservationists and observes illegal traffickers to bring out the root causes of extinction"”loss of habitat, overpopulation and greed"”even as the film celebrates individual efforts to save species. A visual and musical tour de force, it is narrated by Kenneth Branagh with music by Elton John and David Gilmour 

Presented by the StopGaps Choral Ensemble from Mumbai

The repertoire of the choir, which has won India laurels at choral festivals and competitions, includes all-time favourites from classical and devotional masterworks, numbers from musicals and pop hits. The concert will include Beethoven's "Ode to Freedom", Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus", selections from Cats, Oliver and Chicago

Mehfil with Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana Maestro Pandit Rajshekhar Mansur 
Accompanied by Ustad Faiyaz Khan (tabla) and Ustad Murad Ali Khan (sarangi)

In keeping with the tradition of his gharana, Pandit Mansur will present rare and largely unheard ragas like Jait Kalyan, Malavi, Savani Nat and Khokar

India, her Neighbours and Water
Speaker: Shri Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Honorary Professor, CPR, and formerly Secretary to the Govt. of India (Water Resources)

Chair: Shiv Shivshankar Menon, National Security Advisor

An overview of India's relations with Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China over river waters, the issues that have come up in that context, the reasons for their becoming difficult, and the prospects of constructive cooperation in the future