The Future of the Past: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

An exhibition on the history and cultural records maintained and preserved by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. On display are reproductions of archival photographs, facsimiles of rare books, digitised copies of illuminated manuscripts, texts, publications and other digital reproductions from the collection of the Institute
 
Inauguration by Shri N.N. Vohra, Life Trustee, IIC on 18 October at 4 pm

(Collaboration: Bhandrakar Oriental Research Institute, Pune)
 

Colourful Cosmopolitanism: Art and Music in the History of Indian Anti-Colonial Nationalism 

Keynote Address by Prof. Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Department of History, Harvard University

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC 

Manuscripts and the Movement of Ideas across Asia

An exhibition of select manuscripts from SAMHiTA: South Asian Manuscripts Histories and Textual Archives and other digital libraries that show how texts from India travelled to Central, West and East Asia, starting with the 2,000-year-old birch-bark scrolls of Mahayana Buddhism that were discovered in Afghanistan in the 1990s. Translations and illustrated manuscripts reveal the creative interchange between languages, between disciplines like lexicography and poetry, and between painter and scribe

Inauguration by Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC on 17 October 2024 at 4 pm

(Organised by the IIC-International Research Division)
 

Do Courts grant women their inheritance claims?

Speaker: Prof. Bina Agarwal with Shruthi Naik
Chair: Alok Prasanna Kumar, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Bengaluru

Bina Agarwal is Professor of Development Economics and Environment, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, UK. She is also affiliated to and is ex-Director of the Institute of Economic Growth

Bridging economics and law, Agarwal will highlight how despite inheritance law reform, a wide gender gap persists in property transfers by families. Given this, do women use courts to claim their rights? Who opposes them? What kind of property is disputed? What do judgements reveal in terms of outcomes and language? This pioneering research co-authored with Shruthi Naik of Vidhi probes online data on High court judgements over 2005-2020 to address these questions. 

Register at: https://forms.gle/BjhCsbXVWXVVpx2t6

(Organised in collaboration with Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Bengaluru)

Bound by Grammar: Loan Words, Linguistic Borders, and Vernacular Poetry in the Līlātilakam

Speaker: Dr. Sivan Goren-Arzony, Lecturer, Asian Studies Department, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Chair: Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, IIC-International Research Division

The talk will explore the 14th century Līlātilakam, discussing the grammar and poetics of Manipravāḷam from Kerala. The speaker will focus on the ‘theory of semblance’ it offers, advocating the autonomous nature of Kerala’s bhāṣā.

Dr. Sivan Goren-Arzony is a lecturer in the Asian Studies Department at Bar-Ilan University. She specializes in premodern South Asian poetry, particularly Kerala’s Manipravāḷam tradition. She holds a PhD in Comparative Religion from Hebrew University and was a Harvard Society of Fellows member.

Fourteenth in a series of lectures organised by IIC-International Research Division with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs
 
 

Illustrated lecture by Madan Meena, artist and researcher working with the rural, nomadic and tribal communities in Rajasthan and Gujarat to document their lives in a bid to preserve their cultural roots and identities. His doctoral work was on “Art of the Meena Tribe”, which focused on the traditions of his own ancestral community. He is at present Honorary Director, Adivasi Academy, Gujarat 

The Tejaji Gatha or the ballad of Tejaji, describes the heroic life of Tejaj, the snake deity. Though the snake deity was born in western Rajasthan he is celebrated and sung across Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh. Madan Meena will focus on mapping the variations of the ballad with samples of recordings in about 12 languages from Kharnal (Nagaur) in western Rajasthan where Tejaji was born, to villages in Jhalawar and Baran districts bordering Madhya Pradesh and to Jaipur and Dausa in the north


(Collaboration: Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology, American Institute of Indian Studies)

Indian Classical Dances: The Healing Power
By Kanaka Sudhakar (Shubhi Publications: 2023)

Discussants: Guru Rama Vaidyanathan, senior Bharatanatyam artist & Guru, President, Ganesa Natyalaya; Guru Harish Gangani, leading Kathak artist and Guru (Jaipur Gharana); Ms Tripura Kashyap, pioneer of the Dance Movement Therapy in India, dance educator, choreographer and author; and Guru Kanaka Sudhakar, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi artist, choreographer and author of the book

Moderator: Ms Aparajita Sarma, Bharatanatyam artist, Coordinator, Sunaina

Reading Schopenhauer – From Kesarbai through Nine Other Musicians

Speaker: S. Gopalakrishnan, professional broadcaster with long years of association with the central archives of All India Radio. Formerly Director, Content of Sahapedia, an online encyclopaedic resource on South Asian arts and heritage; recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Sabha award for prose in 2012, he has authored several books in English and Malayalam

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)
 

Conceptualised by Dr. Ashwani Kumar

To Mark World Sight Day 2024
Theme: Love Your Eyes
Eye camp and talk

From 10:00 to 13:00
World Sight Day – Eye Screening Camp 
A comprehensive camp which will include screening for Refractive errors; Presbyopia; Cataract; Glaucoma; and Diabetic Retinopathy
The camp will be conducted by a team of doctors, Officers and staff from Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre (RPC) for Ophthalmic Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Jeewan S. Titiyal, Professor and Chief of RPC, AIIMS, New Delhi

Open to IIC members and staff members of IIC

At 16:00
Love your Eyes Kids
Speaker: Dr. Jeewan S. Titiyal, Professor of Ophthalmology and Chief, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences and Dean (Research), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi

Followed by a panel discussion on: How to Protect your eyes from common and serious problems
Panelists from the Faculty of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS – Dr. Jeewan S. Titiyal; Dr. Tanuj Dada; Dr. Praveen Vashist; Dr. Rohit Saxena; and Dr. Rohan Chawla

Chair: Dr. Ashwani Kumar

Eye problems may affect all ages and dramatically affect the quality of life. Poor vision can significantly impact life in various ways by affecting independence of individuals, reduced engagement in activities, negative impact on mental health, limitations to education and increased risk of accidents. The public lecture and panel discussion will focus on eye problems that may affect individuals of all ages with special emphasis on childhood related eye problems