The House of Spirits
Memory and Magic: Literature as familial and historical testimony now. 

On the novel by Isabel Allende, Chilean-American writer

Moderator: Prof. Noorin Khan, Professor and In-Charge, Spanish and Latin American Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia

Discussants: H.E. Mr. Juan Angulo, Ambassador of Chile to India, with concurrent accreditation to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives; Mani Shankar Aiyar, Indian politician, former diplomat, and public intellectual; Dr. Vibha Maurya retired as a professor of Hispanic Studies in the Department of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of Delhi; Omair Ahmad, writer and journalist.

A story where the magical and the political intertwine. In ‘The House of the Spirits’ by Isabel Allende, we follow the Trueba family across several generations in a country shaped by social and political changes. The novel portrays inequality, power struggles and the rise of a dictatorship. Through magical realism, the everyday coexists with the supernatural: spirits, premonitions and unexplained events create a world where the extraordinary feels natural. 
 

The First Ascent of Shahi Kangri (6934 M) and Silver Peak (6871 M)

Through Grit, Skill and Leadership

Speaker: Brigadier SS Shekhawat, KC, SC, SM, VSM (retd)

Chair: Brigadier Ashok Abbey (retd). Experienced veteran climber. He has climbed, led, and participated in many International, and Indian Mountaineering Expeditions successfully.

An illustrated talk on the never-heard-of or seen-before climb of the enigmatic Shahi Kangri and Silver Peak by an Indian Army expedition, unravelling the majestic mountain’s mystery. Located in the majestic Eastern Karakoram Range lies the massif of Shahi Kangri. Connected to Shahi Kangri by its west ridge is Silver Peak, at 6,871 meters. Silver Peak has to be scaled before an attempt on Shahi Kangri. In June 2022, a team of soldier mountaineers, under the leadership of Brigadier Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, attempted to climb this challenging peak. Despite rapidly changing weather conditions, the crack Aksai Chin Warriors scaled Shahi Kangri and Silver Peak, thus recording a first ascent of this formidable mountain. Undoubtedly, this was one of the finest climbs undertaken by Indian climbers in recent times!

(Collaboration: Himalayan Club and the Himalayan Environment Trust)
 

The Body as Method: Dance Research and Writing in India
Speaker: Dr Sreenath Nair, University of Lincoln, U.K.
Chair: Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, IIC-International Research Division

Dr Sreenath Nair is a leading UK academic who earned his PhD from the University of Wales in 2006. His research explores embodied methodologies in Kerala performance, examining corporeal links between medical, martial, spiritual, and performance traditions. He has lectured widely across the USA, UK, Russia, Germany, Prague, Finland, and Sweden, and has held international academic posts and collaborations. He received the Leverhulme Trust International Fellowship and served as Scholar-in-Residence at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Dance research and writing in India have largely relied on Cultural Studies and postcolonial theories to examine questions of identity, representation, and power. While these frameworks offer valuable critical tools, they remain limited in their ability to address embodied and kinaesthetic practices. Grounded in textual and discursive methods, such approaches struggle to engage with tactile experience, rhythm, breath, muscle memory, and the physical intelligence through which the dancing body itself becomes both method and site of knowledge.
 

                         CANCELLED

A Symphony of Discordant Notes: Navigating Evolving Technologies, Copyright Law, and Age-Old Indian Music

Discussants: Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Counsel, Supreme Court of India; Mr. Ameet Datta, Founder, ADP Law Offices; Neel Mason, Counsel, Delhi High Court and Supreme Court of India; Adarsh Ramanujan, Counsel, Delhi High Court and Supreme Court of India; others: TBC

Moderator: Saikrishna Rajagopal, Managing Partner, Saikrishna & Associates

This discussion fosters a cross-disciplinary dialogue involving Indian music and legal experts to deconstruct the friction between modern studio practices and the demands of the evolving copyright framework. By examining the journey of a track from creation to commercialisation, the panel will attempt to identify, simplify, and possibly solve for the complexities of copyright law when dealing with the uniqueness and centuries old heritage of Indian music.

(Collaboration: Saikrishna & Associates)


 

Book Discussion Group

Q In The Garden of Grammar Learn Grammar: Learn Grammar through this Amazing Story!
By Amal Fabian (Konark Publishes, 2025)

Discussants: Mr. Anil Kumar Author of English Textbooks for Schools;   Swati Rai, English language teacher; Neelesh Kulkarni, Author of & In the Footsteps of Rama: travels with the Ramayana’; Amal Fabian, Author of the book
 

LIVING LANDSCAPES
An Ecosystem Approach for Restoration of Riverine floodplains

Speaker: Dr. Faiyaz A. Khudsar, Senior Scientist, Biodiversity Parks Program, CEMDE, University of Delhi

Discussants: Mr R. Srinivas, Former Town and Country Planner, TCPO, MoHUA; Prof. Meenakshi Dhote, Professor, Department of Environment Planning, SPA, New Delhi.

Moderator: Anuj Srivastava, Architect, Writer and Photographer

Rivers have supported human civilization for centuries and continue to shape our lives. Urban river ecosystems suffer from unplanned development, floodplain encroachment, and sewage discharge, turning many rivers into open sewers. Restoration efforts now prioritize ecosystem approaches, such as the Yamuna Bio-diversity Park. Dr. Faiyaz Khudsar leads this initiative, sharing his expertise in treating rivers as living landscapes.

(The sixth talk in the Series on Living Landscapes)
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Gender Discrimination at Work in Urban China: The Paradox of Equality and Difference in the Women's Liberation Movement
By Usha Chandran (Routledge India; 2025)

Discussants:  Prof. Patricia Uberoi, Emeritus Fellow and Former Chairperson, Institute of Chinese Studies; Govind Kelkar; Executive Director, GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation, Gurgaon; Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Vice Chairperson & Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi; Dr. Ritu Agarwal, Associate Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Dr. Usha Chandran, Assistant Professor, Centre for Chinese Studies, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi & Author of the Book.

Chair:  Prof. Sabaree Mitra, Professor, Centre for Chinese Studies, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Editor, China Report (Sage), Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi
 

To Mark the 90th anniversary of Lodhi Garden (1936-2026)
Aravalli - Sentinel of Delhi NCR Ecosystem

Inaugural Address: Taranjit Singh Sandhu (TBC), Lieutenant Governor of Delhi

Chair: Suhas Borker, Founder Member, Green Circle of Delhi

Speakers: Ashok Lavasa, Former Union Secretary of Environment; Prof. C. R. Babu, Professor Emeritus, Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, (CEMDE), University of Delhi; Dr. Ghazala Shahabuddin, Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Ashoka University; Prof. C. P. Rajendran, Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru; Neelam Ahluwalia, Founder Member, Peoples for Aravallis; and P. K. Tripathi, Former Chief Secretary of Delhi

On the occasion NDMC Horticulture Department shall present a sapling to each participant; please bring a cloth/jute carry bag.

(Collaboration: Green Circle of Delhi)

The War in West Asia: The March of Folly

Discussants: Ambassador Ranjan Mathai, former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to Israel; Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Kapil Kak, AVSM, VSM, veteran of the 1971 war, distinguished strategic affairs expert and former senior fellow at leading defence and policy institutions; Professor Achin Vanaik, former Professor of International relations and Dean of the faculty of social sciences, Delhi University.

Chair: Amb K P Fabian, Professor, Symbiosis, and World Peace University, Pune.

Poetry Recital by Sagari Chhabra, Writer and film director
 

The war on Iran initiated by Israel on 28th February, and joined by the U.S. immediately shows no sign of ending though President Trump has claimed that his military objectives have been more or less met. India has 10 million nationals in the region, including more than a lakh in Israel and about 9000 in Iran. The rise in oil and gas prices will adversely impact India and others in the region and the rest of the world. How soon can we expect the end of the war?

Law and Ethics of Right to live , Right to Die with Dignity :A Step Toward Dignified End-of-Life Care

Speakers: Prof Rajinder K Dhamija, Director IHBAS and Board member INPCS; Dhvani Mehta, Advocate Supreme Court of India and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy; Dr R K Mani, eminent Pulmonologist

Chair:  K N Shrivastava, Director IIC

Co-Chair:  Dr N Subramaniam, Urologist, Apollo Hospital, New Delhi

Recently, the Supreme Court allowed the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in the case of a 32-year-old man in an irreversible vegetative state for over 13 years. This has focused the nation’s attention on the right to live and the right to die with dignity. The culturally-sensitive issue involves complex medical, legal, and ethical considerations concerning patient autonomy and dignity. As India continues to grapple with the ethical challenges of modern medicine, the conversation on end-of-life rights has begun. This session will address some of these issues.