Empathy, Intelligence and Love: Sita and Rama in a Miniature Painting from the Chamba Ramayana Folio (1760–1800)
Speaker: Prof. Alok Bhalla, critic, academic and poet
 
The speaker will 'read' one painting from the Chamba folio of Valmiki’s Ramayana in the Bhuri Singh Museum. The painting depicts a sublime incident that has rarely been imagined or interpreted. It offers a complex interpretation of the conversation in Panchavati Forest between Rama, Sita and Jatayu about the relation between kingship, nature and the sacred.
 
Thirteenth in a series of lectures organised by IIC-International Research Division with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs
 

Illustrated lecture by Edric Ong, President of the Atelier Society, Kuching, trained architect and artist. Ong is the author of Pua-Iban Weavings of Sarawak and Woven Dreams – two seminal books on the warp-ikat weaving. He is also the Hon. Secretary, World Batik Council and a consultant to UNESCO in its Award for Excellence for Handicrafts program

Noted photographer, Raghu Rai in conversation with Sujata Prasad and Oroon Das

(Collaboration: Ahad Anhad)
 

Programme Details

A four day festival organised in collaboration with Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hindi). The festival focuses on the city of Delhi which has evolved continuously for four thousand years or so; the capital of kings and emperors from the ancient past, through its many avatars, from Indraprastha to Qila Rai Pithora, Lal Kot, Firozabad, Tughlaqabad, Shahjahanabad, Dilli, Dehli, Delhi and New Delhi. The festival includes talks, discussions, and performances.

The Choreographic Imagination

 Rachna Yadav (Delhi); Sanjukta Wagh (Mumbai); and Aranyani Bhargav (Bengaluru) 

Moderator: Udayan Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

Warrior Heart: The Story of Arjuna and Mahabharata 
By Santa Acharya Chawla (Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House: 2023)

Discussants: Dr. Geetesh Nirban, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Kamla Nehru College; Dr. A.K. Merchant, General Secretary, Temple of Understanding India Foundation ( a global interfaith association); Dr. Santa Acharya Chawla, Chief Scientist & Associate Dean (Retd.), CSIR National Physical Laboratory and author of the book

Chair: Shri Shyam Banerji, musicologist, lead designer and architect, Swanubhooti Vatika

An exhibition of watercolour and gouache on paper by Ruchira Gupta

Forbesganj is a small agricultural town in Bihar on the border of Nepal in the Himalayan foothills. The paintings tell the tales of everyday life inside a family home and in the village outside during Covid

A conversation between the artist, Ruchira Gupta and Sumant Jayakrishnan on Wednesday, 14 February 2024 at 18:00

Sitar Recital
By Adnan Khan, son and disciple of Ustad Saeed Khan, Dilli Gharana
Accompanied by Zuheb Khan on tabla

At 19:00
Hindustani Classical Vocal Recital
By Manjusha Patil, disciple of Pt. D.V. Kanebuva, Dr. Vikas Kashalkar and presently, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar
Accompanists: Pt. Vinay Mishra (harmonium); and Prashant Yadav (tabla)

(Collaboration: Navras School of Performing Arts, Patna)
 

The Crossroads: Kashmir-India's bridge to Xinjiang
By Kulbhushan Warikoo (Rupa Publications: 2023)

Discussants: Amb. Rajiv Sikri, former Indian Ambassador to Kazakhstan and former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs; Prof. Uttam Sinha, Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; Prof. Kulbhushan Warikoo, Founder Editor, Himalayan and Central Asian Studies; formerly Professor, Centre for Inner Asia Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and author of the book

Chair: Amb. Shyam Saran, President, IIC 

Speaker: Dr. Swapna Liddle, historian who works to popularise history and the cause of heritage protection through talks, heritage walks, and social and mainstream media. Her most recent books are The Broken Script: Delhi Under the East India Company and The Fall of the Mughal Dynasty 1803-1857; and Shahjahanabad: Mapping a Mughal City

Chair: Dr. Jutta Jain Neuebauer

Human history is intimately tied to water and its management. In a place with such a richly layered history as Delhi has, this relationship with water has manifested itself at many levels. The presence of water and waterways has determined the location of cities and localities. The management of water and construction of water works has been an important function of powerful rulers, as well as landed magnates and even religious teachers. This illustrated talk will discuss some of the ways in which the people of Delhi through history have connected to water