Fifty Year Road: A Personal History of India from the Mid-Sixties Onward

By Bhaskar Roy (Jaico Publishing House: 2024)

Discussants: Prof. (Dr.) Anuradha Ghosh, Dept. of English, Jamia Millia Islamia; Amb. Navtej Sarna, former diplomat, author and columnist; Shri Prakash Singh, former Director General, Border Security Force; and Shri Bhaskar Roy, author of the book

A preview exhibition on the performing arts, focussing primarily on the popular and most viewed field of cinema. Indian cinema was the workplace of industrious women artistes, producers, singers, music composers and filmmakers who played unique roles in telling transformative stories through the medium of cinema, leaving an indelible mark on the artistic heritage of the Indian subcontinent. The selection on display is only an indicative one of those who represent early beginnings – these include the first recording star Gauhar Jaan and the founder of one of the first urban professional companies of independent India, Qudsia Zaidi. Pioneering actresses in Indian cinema Durgabai Kamat and her daughter Kamlabai Gokhale; the first woman director-producer Fatma Begum, the earliest women music composers Ishrat Sultana (Bibbo) and Jaddan Bai; dancer par excellence and crusader for the art form Azurie; the transnational model and actress Jahanara Kajjan; the highest paid superstar of her time Ruby Myers (Sulochana); and the actress who paved the way for women from elite backgrounds to take up the acting profession Durga Khote are those featured in the exhibition
 
Inauguration on Thursday, 18 April 2024 at 18:30

 
(Collaboration: Muslim Women’s Forum; Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav; and Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India)
 

Speaker: Prof. Baladas Ghoshal, former Professor of Southeast Asia and South-West Pacific Studies, and Chairman, Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was ICCR Chair in Indian Studies, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow 2013; Honorary Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies; and Visiting Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research

Chair: Amb. Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Studies Programme, Gateway House

Over the course of the last year and a half, four national elections were held in countries of Southeast Asia, namely in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and in Indonesia. Each one of them were consequential bringing about regime and policy changes. While the priorities in each of these countries were distinct, the common focus was political stability, economic development in the post Covid-period and foreign policy directed towards preservation of national sovereignty and balancing the major relations that were in turmoil due to the breakdown of understanding between the United States and China. The change in the political developments of these countries will have a major impact not only in the domestic politics of these countries, but also on regional developments as well as their approaches to the United States and China. More importantly, new challenges will emerge in India’s engagement with the region and will require calibrating and fine-tuning of strategies to deal with them.

Plastics & The Sustainability Paradox

Talk by Shri Swapan Ray, Senior Executive Vice President, Reliance Industries Ltd.

Introduction: Dr. Malti Goel, President and CEO, Climate Change Research Institute World Earth Day Science Campaign and Climate Change and Net Zero Lecture Series

Special Remarks: Dr. S. Nand, Chairman, Indian Institution of Chemical Engineers, Northern Regional Centre

(Collaboration: Climate Change Research Institute; and Indian Institution of Chemical Engineers, NRC)

Dust-Decked Rainbow Quilts

By Laksmisree Banerjee (Penprints;2023)

Discussants: Prof. Swati Pal, Principal, JDMC; Ms. Deepa Agarwal, author and poet; Ms. Satbir Chadha, author; Prof. (Dr.) Laksmisree Banerjee, poet, editor, critic and author of the Book

Chair: Shri Amarendra Khatua, Former Secretary, MEA and DG, ICCR, and poet