WEBINAR 

About the book:

This book delves deep into the works of Sri Aurobindo to present a compelling and fascinating collage of his multifaceted and multidimensional genius, who is not only one of the greatest political leaders of modern times but a supreme visionary, thinker par excellence, great scholar and writer, spiritual guide and statesman, and a leader of all humanity. The author presents perspectives on his vast oeuvre as a diatonic and share his exalted dream and aspiration for India and humanity, his horizonless ranges that are their own skylines, his lights, and his snow-capped peaks. It gives a glimpse into Sri Aurobindo’s pragmatic integral philosophy that is unique in being Vedantic in essence yet modern in expression and outlook.

Panelists:

Prof. Anand Kumar, MD, FAMS, Former Prof. & Head, AIIMS

Prof. Makarand R. Paranjape, Indian Novelist, Poet, Prof. of English, Centre for English Studies, JNU (Moderator)

Dr. Deepika Chatterjee, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Gargi College, Delhi University

Dr. Pariksith Singh, CEO, Access Health Care, USA, Poet, Translator & Author of the Book

ZOOM LINK  for participating in the event:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P-na5ubwSw2IoYf8_l3QYQ

Youtube link :
https://youtube.com/live/rx2PaSEBpO8

Panelists: Amb. Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and former Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan; and Dr. John Cherian, former Editor, Foreign Policy, the Frontline

Chair: Amb. K.P. Fabian, Professor, Indian Society of International Law

Since the middle of April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting each other with civilians caught in the crossfire. Earlier, the two had collaborated in preventing Sudan from moving towards a democratic destination. It is painfully clear that both sides can do enormous harm to each other and in the process the 46 million Sudanese are the victims. More than a million have been displaced

Spartacus (92 min; dvd)
Ballet by Yuri Grigorovich
With Vladimir Vasiliev, Natalia Bessmertnova, Maris Liepa, Nina Timofeyeva (The Bolshoi Ballet 1977)

Music: Aram Khachaturian 
Conductor: Algis Zhuratis

“The inherent cinematic approach in Grigorovich’s staging of Khachaturian’s score falls perfectly in place. Vladimir Vasiliev, as the slave who leads an unsuccessful revolt against the Romans, dances and acts at a heroic level that is the performance of a lifetime. …. It is also one of the best dance films ever made.” Anna Kisselgoff (The New York Times)

Introduced by Samaresh Chatterji

SCREEING SCHEDULE

WEBINAR 

Bardic Epic to Court Poetry: Theme and Variations

Speaker: Prof. Kesavan Veluthat, formerly, Professor of History, Delhi University, and Director of the Institute for the Study of the Heritage of Coastal Kerala, Kodungallur

Chair: Prof. David Shulman, Renée Lang Professor of Humanistic Studies, Department of Comparative Religion, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Prof. Kesavan Veluthat has taught at Delhi University, Mangalore University, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris; Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam; and at JNU. He was Director of the Institute for the Study of the Heritage of Coastal Kerala, Kodungallur. His books include, The Political Structure of Early Medieval South India (1993), The Early Medieval in South India (2010), and The Buffalo Century: Vāñcheśvara Dīkṣita’s Mahiṣaśatakam: A Political Satire for All Centuries (2020).

This talk seeks to explain the variations in epic themes when they are reworked in the mahākāvyas (“grand poems”) in Sanskrit. It sees the epics as largely products of a pre-state society and the mahākāvyas, as of a state society. Taking up instances from the Kirātārjunīya, a poem from the 5th century CE, it argues that the mahākāvyas adapted and reused themes from the epics in order to suit the new sensibilities and requirements, which were different from that of a lineage-based chiefdom.

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

Registration link:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__jFJD91lReCmRCrY1ucRWQ
 

The Tiger Poet: New and Selected Poems

By Amit Dahiyabadshah (2021)

The poems in the The Tiger Poet implore with an intimate immediacy beyond the borders of a virus and the country of India. The book brings the low growl of the regal tiger, the defiant cry of long-suffering humanity, and the proud heritage of his farmer-warrior Jat people from mountainous northern India to our wide world in this stunning volume.

Speakers : Shri Murad Ali Baig, Writer and Columnist, Ms Vinita Agrawal, Poet & Editor, Prof. Jaibir Singh Hooda, Prof. of Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies & Director, UCCE, M. D. University, Rohtak, Dr Priyanka Lamba, Associate Prof ., Dept of English, Dronacharya Govt PG College, Gurugram,Shri Amit Dahiyabadshah, Poet & Author of the Book

The Extraordinary Life and Times of Harry Belafonte

Presentation by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
 
Born in New York to underprivileged parents with origins in the Caribbean islands of the West Indies, Harry Belafonte was one the world’s most popular and influential singers, activists, and actors. He passed away on 25 April at the age of 96. Some of his most popular songs, including “Jamaica Farewell” and “Banana Boat Song,” have been performed and adapted across the globe from the 1950s onwards. He not only performed in the calypso genre but also sang blues, folk, and gospel songs. Belafonte considered actor and singer Paul Robeson his mentor and was a close confidante of Martin Luther King. He was an outspoken critic of US Presidents George W Bush and Donald Trump, and even described the former as the biggest terrorist on the planet.
 
Moderator: N. Madhavan, music lover and veteran journalist
 
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is a music lover and an independent journalist, author, publisher, documentary film maker and teacher

Varanasi within Varanasi

A collection of poems by Sharmila Ray (Hawakal Publishers: 2022)

Discussants: Prof. Payal Nagpal, Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, poet and critic; Prof. Kalyanee Rajan, Assistant Professor, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi; and Prof. Sharmila Ray, poet, Associate Professor, City College, Kolkata and author of the book

Chair: Dr. Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, former Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and poet

(Collaboration: The Poetry Society, India)

Speaker: Dr. Vivek Venkatesh, filmmaker, musician, curator, and applied learning scientist whose research and research creation programmes focus on community co-creation. He is UNESCO co-chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism and serves as co-director of the Center for the Study of Learning and Performance, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Partisan politics that thrive on highly divisive debates catalyse the abuse and erosion of public trust through various disinformation campaigns, resulting in the dismantling of the democratic functioning of our shared society. At the presentation, the speaker will advance the foundations of a theory of social pedagogy within a framework grounded in humanism and community co-creation. He will present examples of a range of arts and community initiatives that enable people to own and revolutionize their own understanding, as well as our collective understanding, of what it means to create pluralistic platforms for dialogue to combat the rhetoric of division and pave the way for restoring the principles of an inclusive society
 

Presented by Ramchandra Gangoliya and party from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

Ramchandra Gangoliya is a well-known folk singer and musician from Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. He is accompanied by artists on traditional folk instruments – manjira, dholak, timki, and kartal among others
 
Organised to mark World Music Day 2023

An exhibition of works in pen and ink 
By Biswajit Das from Delhi

Curated by Rukmani Chatterjee, Gallerie Ruki

Inauguration by Prof. Biman B. Das, Chairman, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, sculptor and painter on Tuesday, 20 June at 18.00