Buddhist Dances: Movement and Mind

By Joseph Houseal (Motilal Banarsidass;2025)

Discussants: Navtej Johar, performer, activist, scholar & somatic practitioner; and Joseph Houseal, Director, Core of Culture Dance Preservation NFP and author of the book

Moderator: Sharon Lowen, performing artist, dance guru and writer

The Silent Whispers: Voice of the Muffled Melodies
Poems by Misna Chanu (Authorspress)

Discussants: Malashri Lal, Convenor, English Advisory Board, Sahitya Academy; Payal Nagpal, , Professor, Dept. of English, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; and Misna Chanu, author of the book

Chair: Dr. Amarendra Khatua, Former Secretary, MEA, and Dg, ICCR ; Poet & Diplomat 
 

Re-cast(e) ing the State Policy: Ascription, Identities and Democratic Politics
 

Speaker: Prof. Surinder Singh Jodhka, Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University and recipient of the ICSSR-Amartya Sen Award for Distinguished Social Scientist.

Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Nitya Nanda, Director, Council for Social Development

Vote of Thanks: Prof. Biswajit Dhar, Vice President, Council for Social Development

The post-independence Indian state has had a rather ambivalent attitude towards caste. Caste could not enter the imaginations of India’s development establishment and found no place in the vocabulary of economic growth spelt out in the planning models of the Nehruvian state.
The announcement to enumerate caste in the forthcoming national census marks an important turning in the attitude of the Indian state towards caste. Through his presentation, Prof. Jodhka will attempt to provide a political journey of caste and its changing relationship with the state policy.

(Collaboration: Council for Social Development)
 

By Rahul; Sangeetha ; Nandita Krishna Kumar and Arti Mehta ; Shreyas Hariharan; Poornima Gopal
Disciples of Vid Swarnalatha Subramanian

Followed by recital of Vid Swarnalatha Subramanian and her disciples.

Accompanists: E S Ashwini, Sowmya Kannan and Kiran Pandey (violin); Ratul S Kumar, G Swaminathan (Mridangam); M Sriram (Kanjira ); and Shounok Bannerji (Ghatam)

(Collaboration: Gayathri Fine Arts)
 

‘Echoes of Worker and machines: Capturing the Resilience, Identity, and Psychological Depth of Indian Workers Through the Rhythms of daily life and machine repair”

Monochromatic drawings, with the use of dense cross-hatching and textured shading by Shubhendu Sarkar, creating a sense of movement and tension, echoing the rhythm of work itself.

Inauguration of the exhibition on Friday, 11 July at 18:30 hrs by Vijender Sharma (eminent artist) , Guest of honour: Sanjay Kumar

Yoga Beyond the ‘Branding: Reclaiming the Sacred
 

Dr Ananda Bhavanani and Dr Sangeeta Biagi in Conversation with Rajiv Mehrotra.

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

A unique two-day immersion with Yogacharya Dr. Anand Balayogi Bhavanani, Director, Institute of Salutogenesis and complementary medicine, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry; and Yogacharini Dr Sangeeta Biagi, Director, International Studies and Research, Gitananda Nada Yoga, Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry.

At 9:00 AM

The workshop integrates breath, sound and stillness to cultivate resilience, compassion, and inner clarity, drawing from traditional lineages and contemporary therapeutic practices

Due to limited seats, we would request you to kindly please register in advance should you wish to attend the workshop. The link for registration is given below: - https://forms.gle/LQZZViyxpUQttrnZA

At 18:30

Yoga Beyond the ‘Branding: Reclaiming the Sacred

Yogacharya Dr Ananda Bhavanani and Yogacharini Dr Sangeeta Biagi in Conversation with Rajiv Mehrotra, Trustee/Secretary, Foundation for Universal Responsibility

Welcome Remarks: K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

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

By Brajeswar Mukherjee, disciple of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty
 

Accompanists: Durjay Bhaumik (Tabla); Sumit Mishra (Harmonium); and Debjani Das (Tanpura)

(Collaboration: ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata)

A Fireside Chat with Prof. Vijay Padaki, Trustee Emeritus, Bangalore Little Theatre Foundation

Prof Padaki, besides being part of the founding faculty of IIM Bangalore and a tenured Professor there, is an internationally recognized theatre educator, having written over 50 original plays in English. He will talk about the challenges in writing and performing in the English language in India, based on the long experience of Bangalore Little Theatre in new play development. The talk, illustrated with excerpts from plays, will be of interest to all followers of original writing in the English language in India.

Chair: Dr Anuradha Kapur, former Director, National School of Drama
 

Badariya Baras Rahi : Songs from Eastern UP

A celebrated exponent of Kajri from Mirzapur, Padmashri Urmila Srivastava will present an evocative evening of monsoon songs. With a repertoire of over 10,000 folk songs and a legacy spanning five decades, she brings the soulful traditions of eastern Uttar Pradesh to the stage.

(Collaboration: NCZCC, Prayagraj, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India)