2:00 PM Kshudhita Pashan (The Hungry Stones)

(109 mins;1960; Bengali with English Subtitles)

Director: Tapan Sinha

National Film Award for 2nd best feature film,1960.

8: 30 PM Pride and Prejudice (UK) 

(127 min; 2005; English)

Director: Joe Wright

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Actress (Keira Knightley). Won BAFTA for Best Costume Design.

Curator: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, award-wining filmmaker and Archivist, Director, Film Heritage Foundation

Bhumika(India)

(142 mins; 1977; Hindi)

Director: Shyam Benegal

(Remembering Smita Patil on her 70th Birthday)

Caste Lasts: The Anatomy of a Resilient Hegemony
 

This lecture offers conceptual revisitation of the topic of caste, under the rubric of "resilient hegemonies" i.e. systems of coercion and humiliation which resist efforts to subvert, reform or exit them for significant periods of time. 
Speaker: Prof. Arjun Appadurai, Emeritus Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University and Visiting Professor of Ethnology at Humboldt University in Berlin
Chair: Prof. Rita Brara, Editor, Contributions to Indian Sociology; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi

(Collaboration: Contributions to Indian Sociology; Institute of Economic Growth)

Weaving Water: Feminine Countercultures in Paint and Print 
Curated by Jyoti A Kathpalia  

Participating Author:  Ajeet Cour 
Participating artists: Anupam Sud, Aparna Anand Singh, Aradhna Tandon, Arpana Caur, Bula Bhattacharya, Durga Kainthola, Gogi Saroj Pal, Hemavathy Guha, Jayasri Burman, Kanchan Chander, Manmeet Devgun, Nitasha Jaini, Shivani Aggarwal, Shubhika Lal, Vasudha Thozhur

This exhibition explores the weaving of text and art focussing on how eminent women artists engage with their lived experiences their struggles and societal oppression. Anchored in Ajeet Cour’s autobiography Weaving Water: An Autobiography, the exhibition brings these narratives into dialogue with the visual expressions of leading women artists of India.

Inauguration on 30 October at 17:00 hrs

Annual Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance

(Collaboration: IC Centre for Governance) 

Talk by Prof. Joachim Bautze

Prof. Bautze will speak about the remarkable murals of the Badal Mahal, first brought to light in 1986 and now recognized as the earliest and most innovative of all Rajasthani schools of painting. Dated around 1610–20, these jewel-like wall paintings stand out for their vivid naturalistic depictions and historical significance, often compared to the Sistine Chapel in their importance for Rajasthan’s art history.

Prof. Joachim Bautze, Scholar of Rajasthani wall and miniature paintings, taught Indian art history at the Ruperto Carola in Heidelberg, the Wakō and Chūō Daigaku in Tokyo and the Freie Universität in Berlin. 

Navarasa: Kavya Sankalan 
By Anita Chand and Manoj Krishanan (Novoquill Publications, 2024)

Discussants: Mandira Ghosh, poet, author & researcher; Renu Hussain, author, poet & educator; Manoj Krishnan, poet & founder & The Asian Literary Society & Author of the book; Ms. Anita Chand, Poet, Administrator, Asia Literary Society and author of the book

Chair: Dr. Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary, MEA and DG, ICCR & p

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Nepal 2043: The Road to Prosperity
 

By Sujeev Shakya (Penguin, 2025)
 

The Dirty Sky
(73 min;2025; English)
Director: O.P. Srivastava 
 

A powerful documentary exposing the growing crisis of orbital pollution. Through striking visuals and expert voices, it reveals the dangers of space debris, legal gaps, and militarization, while spotlighting global clean-up efforts. Urgent and thought-provoking, it calls for responsible stewardship of Earth’s fragile orbital commons.
O.P. Srivastava, award-winning filmmaker and author, uses cinema to spotlight urgent cultural and environmental issues.
 

Ancient Mystery A Unique Journey
By Anirudh Kumar
 

"My paintings are made with natural colours and ash, which reminds us of ancient times with a modern twist. This painting will connect you with history and nature."

Inauguration on 28th October at 18:30 hrs by Ram Onkar Shine Shivan, Artist and Virendra Sachdeva, Eminent Politician