Scent of Rain: Remembering Jayanta Mahapatra
Edited by Ashwani Kumar (Red River: 2024)

Discussants: Shri. Ashok Vajpeyi, poet, critic and essayist; Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar, academic, poet and critic; Shri. Jatin Das, artist and poet; Prof. Anamika, poet and  novelist and academic; Prof. Savita Singh, feminist poet and political theorist ,Professor and the founding director of the School of Gender and Development Studies, India Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU); and Prof. Ashwani Kumar, , poet, academic and Editor of the book

An evening of conversation, music and drama based on the new book by Rami Chhabra, media veteran

The author will engage in a conversation with Dr. Shashi Tharoor, eminent author and Member of Parliament; and Amb. Veena Sikri, former diplomat and Convenor, South Asia Women’s Network

 Smt Sarita Vohra, theatre-director and members of Living Room Theatre will read extracts from Becoming the Storm and present an opening musical overture

YouTube: https://youtu.be/GRJ7EvDXv_o

Lead presentation by Ms Emily Drabinski, former President, American Library Association

Remarks by Grace Banu

Special Remarks: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Panelists: Ms Rituparna; Ms Saba Khan; Ms Banu Priya and Shri Sumit Parewa

Moderator: Shri Jatin Lalit Singh

Rabb Di Awaaz

(77 min; 2023; Hindi with English subtitles)
Director: Ojaswwee Sharma

Rabb di Awaaz follows R.J. Karan, a radio jockey whose perspective on life undergoes a profound transformation after an
interview with Shiv, a visually impaired individual

Followed by
The Steps of One Hand (Iran)
(39 min; Farsi with English subtitles)
Director: Kioumars Samadi Tari

Film about Mohammad Gomar, a differently abled athlete with no feet nor a left hand, who climbed to the top of Milad tower in Tehran using only one hand in a record time of 39 minutes, 50 second and 91 hundredth setting a new Guinness record. Milad tower is the sixth highest tower in the world

(Collaboration: Brotherhood; and Iran Culture House, New Delhi)

A Tapestry of Ecology, Culture and Food Traditions in Talla Ramgarh (Kumaon Hills)
Co-authored by Anju Khanna, Anjali Capila and Vijayluxmi Bose (Sri Aurobindo Ashram: 2024)

Discussants: Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar, Guest Editor, Indian Literature, poet, critic, and academic; Dr. Ramesh Bijlani, Trustee, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, Medical Scientist and Inspirational Speaker; Dr. Anjali Capila, former Associate Professor, Department of Development Communication and Extension, Lady Irwin College and an Independent Consultant, Himalayan studies and research; Dr. Anju Khanna; and Ms Viyaluxmi Bose, co-authors of the book

Chair: Dr. Sachidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

Sunset in a Cup: Poems

By Santosh Bakaya (Authorspress: 2024)

Discussants: Prof. Radha Chakravarty, writer, critic and translator; Dr. Satbir Chaddha, author and poet; Dr. Payal Nagpal, Professor, Dept. of English, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; and Dr. Santosh Bakaya, poet academic, essayist, novelist and author of the book

Chair: Amb. Amarendra Khatua, author and poet, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs

Panelists: Stephane Hallegatte, Senior Climate Change Advisor, The World Bank, Washington DC; E. Somanathan, Professor of Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi; Radhika Khosla, Associate Professor, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, Oxford University, UK; and Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of Economics, Ashoka University, Sonipat 

Chair: Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics and Environment, University of Manchester, UK and former Director, Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi

Economic resilience is essential for sustainability.  A resilient economy is one that can recover (even emerge stronger) from shocks, be they economic, climatic, technological, or health-related. The impact of these shocks and recovery from them, however, tends to be unequal for individuals, households, firms and communities; formal and informal sector workers; village and city dwellers; and spatially, due to pre-existing socio-economic inequalities. The policy challenge is to build an economy that is resilient in diverse contexts, and where shocks do not exacerbate inequalities but provide an opportunity to ‘build back better’? A distinguished panel of experts will discuss these key issues, drawing on Indian and global experience. 

(Collaboration: Institute of Economic Growth)
 

Presentation of paper by Dr. Seema Bathla, Professor of Economics, Centre for Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Dr. Anjani Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), New Delhi

Chair: Shri Siraj Hussain, former Secretary Agriculture, Govt. of India

The lecture is based on the paper titled ‘Doubling of farmers’ income in India by 2022-23: Insights on Attainment from NSS Situation Assessment Surveys’ prepared as part of the IIC Sectoral Policy Group on Agriculture under the Convenorship of Shri Siraj Hussain

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/f-Z9TjYhGGs

Programme Details

The tenth biennial edition of one of the oldest environmental film festivals organised in collaboration with Toxics Link. The two-day festival includes a screening of 36 films on diverse environmental issues like climate change, water, waste management, conservation, sustainable living and environmental justice 

At 09:45
Inauguration of the Festival

By H.E. Ms May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway

Welcome Address: Shri Ravi Agarwal, Founding Director, Toxics Link

Address by Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Followed by a cultural programme

Boond – Every Drop Matters

Presented by artists of Tapaswini Nav Sadhna

The dance emphasizes the critical need for water conservation

Nukad Natak

Presented by Bal Bhawan School, Mayur Vihar

An exhibition of photographs by Eklavya Prasad

This exhibition is part of The Visual Katha series of photographs that captures the untold resilience of North Bihar’s communities as they confront the cyclical devastations of annual flooding. The collection will take viewers on a journey that unfolds the intricate dimensions of floods, beginning with the varies typologies, from flash floods to the riverine floods, engulfing rise of river waters, each with unique implications for the region’s landscape and lives

Inauguration by Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment on Thursday, 5 December 2024 at 18:00

Guest of Honour: Dr Krishna S. Vatsa, Member, National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi.