Chowk University ka Vice Chancellor – Padmabhushan Amritlal Nagar
(90 minutes; 2025; Hindi with English subtitles)
Directed by Savita Sharma Nagar & Rajesh Amrohi
Produced by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)

From the bustling lanes of Chowk to the vast landscape of Hindi literature, this documentary traces the extraordinary journey of Padmabhushan Amritlal Nagar—writer, thinker, chronicler of everyday India. Through rare archival material, intimate interviews, and evocative AI recreations, the film explores his evolution from cinema and journalism to becoming one of the most influential literary voices of the 20th century.

A discussion with directors; Savita Sharma Nagar and Rajesh Amrohi will follow the screening
 

MUSIC APPRECIATION PROMOTION
Aesthetics of Film Music                                                                                                                                                     

 An illustrated presentation by Dr Mrudula Dadhe Joshi

The presentation will demonstrate various aesthetic elements observed in the making of Hindi Film Music. It will further examine the application of various gharanas used in Hindi film music.

Dr Mrudula Dadhe Joshi an expert in film music, singer, writer, and faculty member for Light Vocal Music at Mumbai University 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP 
Goddesses in South Asia: Traditions and Transformations
Edited by R Mahalakshmi, Malavika Binny, Megha Yadav (Bloomsbury, 2025)

Chair: Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Former Prof., Centre for Historical Studies, JNU
 

Discussants: Mahishini Colonne High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, New Delhi ; Prof. Anamika Roy, Department of Ancient History, Culture & Archaeology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj ; Prof. Jaya Tyagi formerly with the University of Delhi ; Prof. Shalini Shah Department of History, University of Delhi; Prof. R. Mahalakshmi Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, New Delhi & co-editor of the book; Dr. Megha Yadav Department of History, SRM University, Amaravati; co-editor of the book ; Dr. Malavika Binny, Dept. of History, Kannur University, Kerala; co-editor of the book
 

Ehsaas-e-Qalam aur Pashm

A Calligraphy solo exhibition by Qamar Dagar along with Pashmina shawls by Ehsaas.

Curated by Manisha Gawade and Hindustani Classical Music by Ustaad Wasif Uddin Dagar (Padma Shree Awardee)

This exhibition brings together calligraphy, music and Pashmina as interconnected art forms, celebrating strokes, sound and craft. Featuring pictorial calligraphy by Qamar Dagar, it reflects shared traditions of dedication, refinement and creative expression.

The exhibition will be inaugurated on 28th January at 18:00 hrs by Chief Guest Sudhanshu Mittal, BJP spokesperson. The Guests of Honour are Raghav Chandra, Managing Director, Audi Delhi South; Jatin Kochhar, fashion designer; and Anurag Chauhan, Founder, Human for Humanity.

(Collaboration: Qalamkaari Creative Calligraphy Trust)

 

THE IIC DOUBLE BILL: MUSIC AND DANCE RECITALS

Sarod Recital
By Reeta Das from Patna, disciple of Pt Sunil Mukherjee; Ustad Aashish Khan and disciple & daughter of Prof Chandrakant Lal Das  

Accompanist: Ustad Akhtar Hussain(Tabla)

At 18:30

Carnatic Vocal Recital
By Anagha Manikandan from Delhi, disciple of Guru Guruvayoor Dr. T V Manikandan
Accompanists: Delhi R Sridhar (Violin), Manohar Balatchandirane (Mridangam)
 

On the Relevance of Gandhi Today
 

by Usha Ramanathan, Law Researcher; and Anil Nauriya, Counsel, Supreme Court of India and Writer

The talks will be on the Relevance of Gandhi Today & Gandhi, Hind ka Dada and the Shaping of the Nation

by Anil Nauriya, Counsel, Supreme Court of India and Writer  

Chair: Justice Madan Lokur (retired), Supreme Court of India

(Collaboration: Sarvodaya International Trust-Delhi Chapter)

Memory, Migration and the Archive: The Transnational Afterlives of Family Photographs

Speaker: Özge Baykan Calafato, an academic, curator, and writer. A lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. She is the author of Making the Modern Turkish Citizen: Vernacular Photography in the Early Republican Era (I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury, 2022).

Moderator: Prof. Sabeena Gadihoke, a scholar, documentary filmmaker, and photo historian, and a long-time faculty member at AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia.

How do photographs travel across borders, lives, and generations, and what forms of personal and collective memory do they invoke? This talk traces the intricate entanglements of transnational memory, migration histories, and photographic archives. 

Voices from the Hills: Re-centring People in the Story of the Himalayas  
 

Speakers: Lalit and Anuradha Pande, Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan, Almora.

Chair: Shyam Saran, President IIC. 

For nearly four decades, Lalit and Anuradha Pande have worked across the Kumaon and Garhwal regions, engaging with education, gender, livelihoods, environment learning in government schools and balwadis, and research rooted in local concerns. They will reflect on their experiences drawn from the lived realities of people in rural Himalayan communities. The speakers invite participants to an open, interactive dialogue that goes beyond a pleasant evening, with the hope that it inspires meaningful engagement with the issues raised.
 

IIC ANNUAL DAY 2026
CONCERT

Nirgun – The Confluence of Sufi and Bhakti 
 

Presented by Sonam Kalra, singer and composer, member of the Grammy Recording Academy. She is the creator of The Sufi Gospel, a critically celebrated musical project foregrounding inclusion and equality.

Accompanists: Ahsan Ali on Sarangi; Amaan Ali on Tabla; Faizan Ali Khan on Keyboard; Amman on Dholak; and Kiran Kumar on flute.

CANCELLED

Still Exceptional? India's Democracy in Comparative and Historical Perspective

Speaker: Ashutosh Varshney, leading political scientist and Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences, Professor of Political Science, Watson School of International and Public Affairs and Department of Political Science at Brown University

Moderator: Ms Yamini Aiyar, former President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research and the founder of the Accountability Initiative at CPR.

India’s democratic experiment has historically defied conventional theories by sustaining robust electoral, institutional, and civic practices despite deep diversity, economic challenges, and periodic stress. Does that democratic exceptionalism still exist? This talk situates India’s democratic evolution in global comparative history, examining its exceptional resilience and emerging fragilities