The Great Indian Poverty Debate: Has Poverty been almost banished?

Speaker: Prof. Himanshu, Associate Professor, Centre for Economic Studies & Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Discussant: Dr. Shyma Jose, Assistant Professor, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi

Chair: Shri Siraj Hussain, former Union Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture

Speaker: Dr. Girija Borker, Economist and Gender Lead, Development Impact  (DI), The World Bank, Washington DC

Chair: Dr. Meeran Chadha Borwankar, former Director General of Police

I’m Kabir and I’m Not, says Kabir
 

Whose Kabir? Which Kabir? Did the historical Kabir actually write “Ud Jayega Hans Akela” made famous by Kumar Gandharva? Is Kabir the most faked signature/chaap/takhallus ever? How is it that a million couplets are aggregated in his name? What kind of Kabir is never sung? How may we read Kabir via the Buddha and Ambedkar? Poet, translator, publisher and musician Anand will try to unwrap the many Kabirs that are wrapped in the diaphanous fabric called Kabir.

Anand is the publisher at Navayana, a student of Dhrupad with Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar, and is the author of the recent book, The Notbook of Kabir: Thinner than Water, Fiercer than Fire.
 

Mandal Dhwani
By Malashri Lal (Hawakal Publishers: 2025)

Discussants: Prof. Anamika, contemporary poet, novelist and academic; Prof. Rekha Sethi, academic, writer, scholar, and translator; Dr. Alka Tyagi, Professor, Dept. of English, Dayal Singh College (Evening), University of Delhi, poet and Editor of the bool; and Prof. Malashri Lal, Convenor, English Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi and author of the book

Moderator: Kriti Sengupta, bilingual poet and translator
 

Humans in the Loop (India)
(74 min; 2024; Hindi with English subtitles)
Written and Directed by Aranya Sahay who will introduce the film

Recipient of the Best Film Award and FIPPRESCI Prize, Bengaluru International Film Festival 2025

Screening will be followed by a discussion

The film follows the journey of an Adivasi woman who begins interacting with AI while working in a data centre in Jharkhand