Disaster Planning and Governance in India: Experts’ Experiences and Insights
 

Edited by Sunita Reddy and Anil Kumar Sinha (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: 2023)

Discussants: Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, Indian Council for Social Science Research; Shri A.K. Mangotra, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary (Border Mgmt.), DG (DGS & D); Dr. Chandrani Bandyopadhyay Neogi, Associate Professor, Dept. of Urban Planning, School of Planning and Architecture; Prof. Ian Davis, Visiting Professor at Kyoto, Lund & Oxford Brookes Universities; Dr. Sunita Reddy, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Founder Chair, Anthropos India and co-editor of the book; and Shri Anil Kumar Sinha, IAS (Retd.), former Vice Chairman, BSDMA and co-editor of the book

Moderator: Dr. Anshu Sharma, Co-Founder, SEEDS India

Chair: Gen. N.C. Vij, PVSM, UYSM, AVSAM (Retd.), Director, VIF and author

Conversation: Sharat-e-Qatra (The Ecstasy of a Drop)
 

Syeda Hameed, former Member, Planning Commission, author, feminist scholar, and educationist In Conversation with Sujata Prasad and Oroon Das

(Collaboration: Ahad Anhad)
 

The House in the Hills 
(47 min; 2024; English and with subtitles)
Written and Directed by Mekhela Deva

The film will be introduced by Sudeep Sen, well-known poet

What happens when a journalist turned filmmaker volunteers to go to Mussoorie to oversee the repairs to a house that belonged to her grandfather? The film weaves together the restoration of Dil Bahar, a heritage house, along with the story of pre and post-Independent India as seen through the growth and development of a small hill town.    

Curator: Rajiv Mehrotra

A Fly on the Wall
(82 min; 2024; English)
Directors: Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar

The film follows Chika Kapadia’s final eight days, filmed by two of his closest friends, as he chooses assisted dying – un unflinching journey through love, loss and the right to die with dignity

Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

India Inked: Elections in the World’s Largest Democracy
By Poonam Agarwal (Bloomsbury India: 2025)

Discussants: Shri Ashok Lavasa, former Election Commissioner of India; Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder-Member, Association of Democratic Reforms and former Professor, Dean and Director-in-Charge, IIM, Ahmedabad; Shri Pawan Khera, political analyst; Ms Anjali Bhardwaj, activist; and Ms Poonam Agarwal, an award winning journalist who has been covering Indian society and politics for two decades; and author of the book

Moderator: Shri Chirag Thakkar, Associate Publisher

Kathak Recital
By Niharika Kushwah from Delhi, disciple of Guru Prerana Shrimali  

At 19:00 
Bharatanatyam Recital
By Shruthipriya Vignesh, from Chennai, disciple of Smt Nithyakalyani Vaidyanathan and Smt Bragha Bessell 
 

A bit of joy and pleasure: Songs – Classical and Broadway
Presented by R. Excelicia Cunville (soprano- alto)

Accompanied by Varun Kumar on the piano

The artist will present a concert of works by Handel, Mozart, Saint-Saëns and others
 

In Her Footsteps: Women who made India
By Mandira Ghosh (Parchment Publications: 2025)

Discussants: Dr. Rita Malhotra , mathematician, essayist, poet and translator; Dr. Amarendra Khatua, former Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs , Govt. of India; Amb. Reena Pandey, former Ambassador to Armenia and Georgia; Shri Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee, Editorial Director, Niyogi Books; and Smt Mandira Ghosh, poet and author of the book

Chair: Shri B.P. Singh, eminent author and former Governor of Sikkim

The Indian Way: Constructing norms in Indo-Pacific
 

Speakers: Dr. Rahul Mishra, Associate Professor, Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Dr. Pooja Bhatt, Associate Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal Global University and South Asia Visiting Fellow 2025, Stimson Centre, Washington DC

Moderator: Prof. Rajiv Ranjan, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi

Chair: Prof. Harsh Pant, Vice President, Observer Research Foundation, Delhi
 

Speaking Stones: The Rock Art of Ladakh
By Ahtushi Deshpande (Ahtushi Deshpande: 2024)

Discussants: Dr. Alka Pande, art historian; and Ahtushi Deshpande, photographer, writer, curator and independent researcher and author of the book

Chair: Shri K. N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC