Speakers: Shri Ashok Vajpeyi, poet, critic and essayist; Prof. Harish Trivedi, writer, translator and academic; Prof. Radha Chakravarty, writer, critic, translator and academic; and Prof. Swati Pal, Principal, Janki Devi Memorial College (JDMC), University of Delhi

Chair: Amb. Navtej Sarna, author, historian and former Ambassador to USA

Life and Loss in Shahjahanabad

A Talk by Ashok Mathur, a long-time resident of Shahjahanabad. The talk will explore the connections between the architecture of Shahjahanabad and its characteristic way of life -- through his primary experience and his family memories of living in a haveli constructed by his great-grandfather over 120 years ago in the Nai Sarak area of Shahjahanabad. What are the tangible and intangible implications due to the degradation and loss of that architecture -- and what may be done to arrest that loss?

The talk will be followed by a dialogue with Anuradha Chaturvedi, HoD Department of Conservation, S.P.A. Delhi;  Shama Mitra Chenoy, Professor, Department of History of Shivaji College, University of Delhi; and Anisha Shekhar Mukherji, Conservation Architect, Author and Visiting Faculty at School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi 
 

Presentation of awards to young crafts persons 

Chief Guest: Ms Amrit Raj, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India

Awards will be presented to Zainab Bano from Jammu & Kashmir (pashmina kani shawl weaving); Abhijit Sutradhar from West Bengal (Purulia chhau masks); Jadav Sneha from Gujarat (tangaliya hand weaving); Kalyani Behera from Odisha (dhokra craft); Om Soni from Uttar Pradesh (nakkashi on lota); Ira Fatima from Uttar Pradesh (moonj craft); and Jayshree Ajit Bhati from Gaujarat (soof embroidery)

(Collaboration: Delhi Crafts Council)
 

Speaker: Reverend Myosen Sato, Chief Priest and Representative Director, Mitsuishi Fudoson Temple

Chair: Prof. Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya, Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Delhi

Zen and yoga in a broad sense are the basis of Buddhism as the Buddha attained enlightenment through yoga and preached his teachings based on that state of enlightenment. The contemplation method handed down at Mount Koya in Japan includes a distinctive method of meditation. The talk will touch on the commonalities between the meditation methods of the Buddha and Kobo Daishi, and the distinctions between Zen and meditation in Zen Buddhism. The talk will also share the deep ties between India and Japan
 

Speakers: Ms Mohua Moitra, Member of Parliament; Dr Ajay Gudavarthy, Associate Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Ms Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, National Affairs Editor, The Wire

Moderator: Suhas Borker, Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTV) and Trustee, IIC

This is the 19th edition of the annual discussion started in 2006
 
(Collaboration: Working Group on Alternative Strategies)
 

Curator: Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray

Kamakshi’s Temple at Kanchipuram

Illustrated lecture by Ms Renuka Narayanan, former Arts Editor, The Indian Express and former Director, Indian Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Bangkok who writes a weekly column on religion and culture for the Editorial Page of The New Indian Express

Chair: Prof. Nilima Chitgopekar

According to Indian metaphysics, Kanchipuram is the sole ‘mokshapuri’ or ‘salvation city’ in South India, the other six being wellnorth of the old boundary between the north and the south, the river Narmada. In this salvation city, the Kamakshi temple, dated variously to the Pallavas and the Cholas, is the physical and cultural hub and the only space focused on the Ambal or Devi, the sacred feminine energy. The talk introduces how this ancient monument lives through notions of sacred geography at ‘the court of the love-eyed goddess’, its animating concepts of ‘mokshapuri’, ‘shaktisthalam’ (space/sanctuary of the goddess) and ‘ghtika sthanam’ (seat of leaning) etc.  

Speaker: Shri Kamal Malhotra, Non-resident Senior Fellow, Global Economic Governance Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, USA; former U.N. Secretary General’s Representative and Head of the U.N. in Malaysia, Turkey and Vietnam (2008-2021). Shri Malhotra received the President of Vietnam’s ‘Order of Friendship’ in 2021

Chair: Dr. Harish Khare, political scientist, senior journalist and public commentator

The Republic of Turkiye sits at the geographic and geo-political crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and West Asia, and is both a regional power and a global middle power. For more than two decades since 2002, President Erdogan has attempted to reshape it politically, economically, socially and in terms of its foreign policy which has sought to assert Turkiye as the leader of the Muslim, especially the Sunni Muslim, world.

The talk will explore the results over the last two decades in all these dimensions, both in terms of their policy and institutional impacts as well as more broadly for Turkiye's democracy and for its
secularism, a hallmark of the preceding Kemal Ataturk era. It will also seek to provide some pointers to the future of both democracy and secularism in Turkiye.
 

The Future of the Past: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

An exhibition on the history and cultural records maintained and preserved by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. On display are reproductions of archival photographs, facsimiles of rare books, digitised copies of illuminated manuscripts, texts, publications and other digital reproductions from the collection of the Institute
 
Inauguration by Shri N.N. Vohra, Life Trustee, IIC on 18 October at 4 pm

(Collaboration: Bhandrakar Oriental Research Institute, Pune)
 

Illustrated lecture by Madan Meena, artist and researcher working with the rural, nomadic and tribal communities in Rajasthan and Gujarat to document their lives in a bid to preserve their cultural roots and identities. His doctoral work was on “Art of the Meena Tribe”, which focused on the traditions of his own ancestral community. He is at present Honorary Director, Adivasi Academy, Gujarat 

The Tejaji Gatha or the ballad of Tejaji, describes the heroic life of Tejaj, the snake deity. Though the snake deity was born in western Rajasthan he is celebrated and sung across Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh. Madan Meena will focus on mapping the variations of the ballad with samples of recordings in about 12 languages from Kharnal (Nagaur) in western Rajasthan where Tejaji was born, to villages in Jhalawar and Baran districts bordering Madhya Pradesh and to Jaipur and Dausa in the north


(Collaboration: Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology, American Institute of Indian Studies)

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Anu Jindal on the continuing engagement with the culture of “kawaii” in multiple areas of fashion, design and lifestyle in Japan. The Japanese word kawaii translated as cute or adorable, characterizes a segment of Japanese popular culture. Designers and artists draw inspiration from its aesthetic, while some young people practise it prolifically often gathering in groups, at favoured spots like Harajuku, to exchange fun ideas of their personal style statements. 

Chair: Amb. Amarendra Khatua, author and poet, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, former Director General, ICCR

 Dr. Jindal is an artist, scholar, curator who holds a Ph.D. in Japanese Art History from the National Museum Institute, New Delhi