Talking Architecture

28 March 2025, 06:30 pm
Talking Architecture
Programme Type
Talks
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Conceptualised and Curated by Anisha Shekhar Mukherji

Learning from Jaisalmer

A talk by Professor Vinod Gupta: architect, designer and teacher, founder member of Gubbi Alliance for Sustainable Habitat, and founder member of GRIHA Council, Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects, member of the Institute of Indian Interior Designers, Indian Society of Ergonomics. Professor Gupta has taught at SPA Delhi and Sushant School of Art and Architecture. As partner in Space Design Consultants (SDC) and as CEO of Opus Indigo Designs Pvt. Ltd., he works on environment friendly architecture, interior design, furniture design, and sustainable planning. Jaisalmer was the subject of his PhD research at IIT Delhi on building physics completed in 1984. The talk, Learning from Jaisalmer will present his work on aspects of cities in the desert, and alternatives to the wholly unsuitable Western models that have replaced traditional Indian tools and methods of working and learning.

The talk will be followed by a dialogue with Snehanshu Mukherjee, architect, educator and writer, Adjunct Professor, Indian Institute of Art & Design, New Delhi. Snehanshu is one of Professor Gupta's former students at SPA and was part of the research students group on Professor Gupta's Jaisalmer field trip.

Moderator: Anisha Shekhar Mukherji, Conservation Architect, Author and Visiting Faculty at S.P.A. Delhi.

 

India in the Global Climate Agenda: Baku and Beyond

19 March 2025, 06:30 pm
India in the Global Climate Agenda: Baku and Beyond
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Speakers: Amitabh Sinha, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express; Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Founder Trustee and Chief Functionary (CEO), Vasudha Foundation; and Dr. Manish Kr. Shrivastava, Associate Director, Earth Science and Climate Change, TERI

Moderator: Shri Ravi Agarwal, Founding Director, Toxics Link

At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, India expressed its displeasure that the focus of the climate talks is on mitigation and not enabling less developed countries to take measures for mitigation. However, if recent reports are to be believed, India has improved its Climate Risk Index (CRI) from 7th in 2019 to 22nd in 2022, implying the country is in a better place now with regard to mitigation. While there is a buzz around climate change, the issue and its impacts are perceived and understood differently by communities. The discussion is an attempt to inform citizens about the science of climate change, its impacts and our preparedness.

(Collaboration: Toxics Link)

History and Heritage: The Afterlife of Monuments

24 March 2025, 06:30 pm
History and Heritage: The Afterlife of Monuments
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Curator: Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray

 Follow the River: Maps, Cartographic Truths, and Imperial Frontier-making in the Himalayas in the Long Nineteenth Century

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Sayantani Mukherjee, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Ashoka Centre for China Studies, Ashoka University 

Chair: Prof. Madhu Bhalla, former Professor at Delhi University

 

How were the Eastern Himalayas constructed as a cartographic “truth”? When did the geography of this region become politicised? The spatial constitution of this region as a “frontier zone” emerged through imperial mapping projects that developed as socio-technological discourses in British India and Qing China, transforming how these empires asserted their territorial claims over land. Imperial surveys largely claimed that natural features such as mountains and rivers marked the “traditional” boundaries of the imperial state, against local knowledge productions that framed those same topographical features as connectors rather than dividers. Therefore, this talk foregrounds the deconstruction of the epistemic regime governing the production of geo-knowledge about the Eastern Himalayas by investigating the appropriation and rejection of the interlocuters of local and indigenous knowledge, networks, and actors—exploring whose knowledge(s) could be considered authoritative, and when we might begin to think of the geography of this region as political.

Hannah Arendt’s Lessons for our Times

22 March 2025, 06:30 pm
Hannah Arendt’s Lessons for our Times
Programme Type
Talks
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Speaker: Prof. Ramin Jahanbegloo, Iranian-Canadian Political Philosopher and Vice Dean, Jindal Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat

Chair: Prof. Neera Chandhoke, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Hannah Arendt’s death. The talk will cover Arendt’s definitions of politics, violence and power, while showing the relevance of her political thought for the understanding of our present world. Hannah Arendt’s multifaceted work that deals with a range of issues has established her as one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century.

 

The Battle of Haifa: A catalyst for the Indian officers in the British Indian Army

21 March 2025, 06:30 pm
The Battle of Haifa: A catalyst for the Indian officers in the British Indian Army
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Introduction: Col. (Dr.) D.P. K. Pillay, Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

Panelists: Shri Yaduveer Wadiyar, MP; Lt. Gen. Raja Subramani, Vice Chief of Army Staff; Dr. Kazem Samandari, Founder-Chairman, L’Opera and Senior Member, Baha’i community; and Brig. M.S. Jodha, third-generation army officer, author and grandson on Col. Aman Singh Jodha

Chair: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

The Battle of Haifa (1918) is a pivotal event in military annals as it marked the last major cavalry charge in history. The Battle saw the Jodhpur, Mysore, and Hyderabad Lancers (part of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade) overcome Ottoman, Austrian, and German forces, liberating Haifa as well as Abdul Baha. This daring victory defied expectations, echoing the famous Charge of the Light Brigade but with a triumphant outcome.

 

Book Discussion Group

18 March 2025, 06:00 pm
Book Discussion Group
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Vasna Ek Nadi ka Naam Hai
By Savita Singh (Vani Prakashan: 2024)

Discussant: Prof. Rohini Agrawal, poet and author; Prof. Sudha Singh, Professor of Hindi, University of Delhi; Ms Aditi Maheshwari, Executive Director, Vani Prakashan; and Prof. Savita Singh, Professor and founding Director, School of Gender and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University (Delhi) and author of the book

Chair: Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar , Guest Editor, Indian Literature, poet and academic 

(Collaboration: The Poetry Society, India)
 

Confluence of India and Central Asia through the Ages

12 March 2025, 05:30 pm
Confluence of India and Central Asia through the Ages
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Launch of the IIC-IRD book edited by Syed Akhtar Husain (New Delhi: Primus Books, 2025)

Shri N.N. Vohra, Life Trustee, IIC will release the book and preside over the discussion

Panelists: Amb. T.C.A. Raghavan, historian, former High Commissioner to Pakistan, and former Director General, Indian Council of World Affairs; Prof. Siddiq Wahid, Distinguished Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Senior Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiva Nadar Institution of Eminence; Dr. Meena Singh Roy, Head, West Asia Centre, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi; and Prof. Syed Akhtar Husain, volume editor, Professor, Centre of Persian and Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and President, Institute of Indo-Persian Studies
 

Book Discussion Group

11 March 2025, 06:00 pm
Book Discussion Group
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Genome to Om: Evolving Journey of Modern Science to Meta-science
By Bhushan Patwardhan and Indu Ramchandani (BluOne Ink: 2024)

Discussants: Dr. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Ayurveda physician, former Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH and former Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Ayurveda University, Jamnagar; Prof. Santishree Pandit, Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS); Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, former President, South Asian University; Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, National Research Professor— Ayush and co-author of the book; and Smt Indu Ramchandani, editor, transcriber, compiler, and book publisher, and co-author of the book
 

A FABRIC OF NARRATIVES: THE MANY FACETS OF NORTH EAST INDIA

10 March 2025, 06:30 pm
A FABRIC OF NARRATIVES: THE MANY FACETS OF NORTH EAST INDIA
Programme Type
Talks
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

A Place Called ‘Home’: Identity and Belonging


Speaker: Shri Sanjoy Hazarika, well-known columnist, author and policy analyst

Chair: Ms Preeti Gill, independent editor and literary agent

Second programme in a new series ‘The Fabric of Narratives: The Many Facets of North East India’ will focus on different aspects of the region and apart from talks and discussions, include seminars, exhibitions, performances and cuisine. Organised in collaboration with Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)

 

 

In Memoriam: Humra Quraishi – A Poetry and Prose Tribute

08 March 2025, 06:00 pm
In Memoriam: Humra Quraishi – A Poetry and Prose Tribute
Programme Type
Cultural
Venue
Conference Room I, IIC main building

Readings and recitations by Ms Jayshree M. Tripathi, poet and former International Educational Consultant; Amb. Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and poet; Prof. Swati Pal, Principal, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi and author; Ms Sahana Ahmed, poet and novelist; Ms Deepa Agarwal, author and poet; and Shri Mustafa Quraishi, photo journalist