Illustrated talk by Prof. Ajay Sinha, Julie ’73 and Helene ’48 Herzig Professor, Art History and Architectural Studies Department, Mount Holyoke College. 

Chair: Dr. Yaamniney Mubayi, Culture and Community Development

The talk is based on an art historian’s discovery of over one hundred black and white photographs of Ram Gopal, pioneer of Indian classical dance, taken in New York City in 1938 by an American photographer, Carl Van Vechten. The unpublished and extensive record shows the dancer taking on a variety of poses wearing gorgeous costumes, while the photographer changes fabric backgrounds and studio lighting for full views, mid-shots and close-ups. Examining the stunning record closely, Sinha will build a story of a layered conversation taking place between the Indian dancer and the American photographer, who encounter each other in New York for the first time

Speakers: Dr. Rakesh Batabyal, Associate Professor, Centre for Media Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University;
Bharat Bhushan, South Asia Editor, 360 info; N. R. Mohanty, Senior journalist; and  Bhasha Singh, Senior journalist and writer
 
Moderator: Suhas Borker, Managing Trustee, D. S. Borker Memorial Foundation, Editor Citizens First TV (CFTV) and Trustee, IIC

This is the ninth annual seminar in the series 'Keys to Governance'; the earlier eight seminars in the series were on 'Compliance and Delivery' (2016), 'Political Will' (2017) , 'Constitution as Ideology' (2018), 'Education as Empowerment' (2019)  'Steel Frame' (2020), Independence of Judiciary (2021), Constitutional Morality (2022) and Social and Communal Harmony (2023).
 
The annual seminar is held in remembrance of Shekhar Borker, 'Banana Boy' on the Indian postage stamp, private sector administrator, citizen environmentalist and advocate of empowerment of persons of disabilities who passed away in 2015 on 7 January.       
 
(Collaboration: D. S. Borker Memorial Foundation)
 

A conversation with Charmaine O’Brien, author of Eating the Present, Tasting the Future: Exploring India through her changing food (Penguin Random House India, 2023); and Suvir Saran, renowned Chef and author

What we eat is more than what is on our plates; in this conversation, O’Brien and Saran will explore the evolution of India’s contemporary foodscape and how the myriad forces transforming what and how the country eats reflect broader changes in the country’s economy, social structure and place in the world. The influence of global media and ideals of so-called ‘wellness’ and global trade will be a particular focus
 

Panelist: Shri Kallol Bhattacherjee, Senior Assistant Editor, Foreign Affairs, The Hindu and author of The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi, General Zia and the Unending War

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

Frankenstein
 

By Mary Shelley (Maple Press; 2020)

Discussants: Dr. Karen Gabriel, Head, Dept. of English & Director, Centre for Gender, Culture and Social Processes, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University; Dr. Abhinav Gupta, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University; and Dr. Alphy Geever, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University

Chair: Amb. K. P. Fabian, Professor, Symbiosis University, Pune and Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi

Count Every Breath: A Climate Anthology

Edited by Vinita Agrawal (Hawakal Publishers: 2023)

Discussants: Dr. Sukrita Paul Kumar, poet and critic; Shri Kinshuk Gupta, bilingual writer, poet and translator; Ms Sahana Ahmed, poet, novelist and publisher; and Shri Kiriti Sengupta, poet, translator, Editor and publisher

Moderator: Prof. Vinita Agrawal, poet and Editor of the book

Panelists: Prof. Parth Sen, former Director and Professor, Delhi School of Economics; Prof. Surajit Mazumdar, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Prof. Siddhartha Mitra, Professor of Economics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata; Prof. Vikas Rawal, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Dr Zakaria Siddiqui, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia; and Dr Pooja Sharma, Economist and Independent Researcher

Moderator: Suhas Borker, Convener, Working Group on Alternative Strategies and Trustee IIC
 
Discussion on the State of the Indian Economy (SoIE) is an annual event and is jointly organised by IIC and the Working Group on Alternative Strategies in December each year. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the Working Group on Alternative Strategies.
 
(Collaboration: Working Group on Alternative Strategies)

Multidimensional Poverty (MPI) as an Input for Strategic Intervention

Chief Guest: Shri Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog
 

Panelists: Dr. Hyun Hee Ban, Chief of Social Policy, UNICEF India; Dr. Amee Misra, Senior Economist and Head of Policy, UNDP India; and Dr. Amitabh Kundu, Distinguished Fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)

Chair: Dr. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog; Fellow, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Indian Society of Agricultural Economics

The panel discussion will analyse various conceptual and operational issues pertaining to measurement of multidimensional poverty and its application in designing, implementing and monitoring various government missions and their outcomes

(Collaboration: Egrow Foundation)

Panelists: Sukumar Muralidharan, columnist and journalist educator; R. Srinivasan, columnist and former Editor, The Hindu Business Line; Sanjay Kapoor, Editor, Hardnews; Suhas Borker, independent filmmaker, Convenor, Jan Prasar and Trustee, IIC; Poornima Joshi, Political Editor and Chief of Bureau, Hindu Business Line; and Bharat Bhushan, South Asia Editor, 360info

Moderator: Anant Nath, Editor, Caravan

We live in times when media ownership has become corporatised, the role of the editor has changed beyond recognition, media is unable to hold the State to account, its access to the government and legislature has shrunk, investigative journalism seems to have become extinct and the threat to both journalism and journalists has increased. At a time of low trust in news and widespread misinformation, how does one understand the changes taking place in the media? This dialogue with media practitioners on the subject will examine what can be done and what needs to be done.

Programme organised as part of the IIC’s Sectoral Programme Group on Media 

Curator: Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray

Early Buddhist Art at Sanchi: Power and Piety in Uruvela Narrative Cycle

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Seema Bawa who specializes in the History of South Asian Art and Culture, Department of History, University of Delhi. Books written by her include Gods, Men and Women: Gender and Sexuality in Early Indian Art and Religion and Art of the Chamba Valley, A.D. 700-1300. The areas of research focus on Indian Art, Ancient Indian Art and Iconography; Western Himalayan Art and Religion and Modern and Contemporary Indian Art. She was a recipient of DAAD Fellowship at the University of Bonn

Chair: Prof. Y. S. Alone, Jawaharlal Nehru University

This presentation focuses on the physical and imagined landscapes and locale within the visual narratives in early Buddhist art at Sanchi. The Uruvela or Uruvilva cycle, depicted on the pillar of the Eastern gateway at Sanchi Stupa 1, illustrates the interaction between the Kasyapa brothers and the aniconic presence indicating the Buddha. The fact that this is also a story that is based on the contestation between the established ideology of yajna and the emergence of Buddha as a proselytizing force makes nuanced reading of this visual even more interesting.