Light and Shadows: Poems of Rights, Resistance and Renewal

By Meera Khanna (Hawakal Publishers, 2025)

In the presence of Dr Rashmi Singh, Secretary, Women & Child Development, Delhi

Author in Conversation with Dr Malashri Lal.

Rendition of poems through dance by Rama Vaidyanathan

Vocal Recital by Sounak Chattopadhyay

A Hindustani vocalist with training from Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khansahab and Mubarak Ali Khan Sahab of the Kirana Gharana, semi-classical forms from Smt. Sanjukta Ghosh, advanced training in Rabindra Sangeet and other traditional Bengali songs.

(Collaboration: Impresario India)

Delhi and NCR Zonal Final Round with School students

(Collaboration: Heritage Education and Communication Service, INTACH)

At War with the Single Strand : How Indian Science Fought the Covid-19 Pandemic

Edited By Renu Swarup, Govindarajan Padmanaban and Narendra Kumar Arora

Discussants: Dr. Vinod Paul, Member (Health) NITI Aayog ; Prof. A K Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to Govt. of India ; Dr. Renu Swarup, Former Secretary, Govt. of India ; Prof. G. Padmanabhan, Former Director Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Dr. N. K. Arora, Executive Director, The INCLEN Trust International

A World in Flux: India’s Economic Priorities

Essays in Honour of Shankar Acharya

Edited by Amita Batra and A K.Bhattacharya (Rupa Publications:2025)

Chief Guest: Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Discussants: Shyam Saran, President IIC, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Shankar Acharya, Former Chief Economic Advisor, GoI; Sajjid Z. Chinoy, Managing Director and Chief India Economist, JP Morgan; Amita Batra, Professor, School of International Studies, JNU and editor of the book; and A.K. Bhattacharya, Editorial Director, Business Standard and editor of the book

IN THE MULTIPURPOSE HALL FROM 10:00 TO 13:00
Movement Workshop
Conducted by Tanushree Shankar

Open to all dancers of all classical styles

AT 16:00 IN C.D. DESHMUKH AUDITORIUM
Avatarana – The Story of Natya
A theatrically witty retelling of a 2500-year-old saga, scripted and performed
By Smt Ramaa Bharadvaj

AT 18:30
Young Dancers Festival

Kuchipudi Recital
By Abhinaya Nagajothy

Followed by
Odissi Recital
By Shashwati Garai Ghosh
 

Organised in collaboration with Natya Vriksha; Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India; and with the Support of Friends of Natya Vriksha

IN THE MULTIPURPOSE HALL FROM 10:00 TO 13:00 
Movement Workshop
Conducted by Tanushree Shankar

Open to all dancers of all classical styles

AT 16:00 IN C.D. DESHMUKH AUDITORIUM
Lifetime Achievement Award
The 6th Natya Vriksha Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred upon Dr. Kiran Seth, Founder, SPICMACAY Movement

Talk: Embodying Histories: Dance, Choreography and Narrative
Speaker: Dr. Jeff Friedman, Dance Studies Scholar, Rutgers University, Fulbright Specialist at the Department of Art, Media and Performance, SHSS, Shiva Nadar Institution of Eminence

At 18:30
Young Dancers Festival
Bharatanatyam Recital
By Madhura Bhrushundi

Followed by
Kathak Recital
By Dheerendra Tiwari
 

By Dr. Gaurav Sood, disciple of Pt. L.K. Pandit. Dr. Sood also specialises in songs of the Golden Era of Hindi films

The concert will be preceded with a tribute to K.L. Saigal and Pran Nevile by Shalini Bhargava

Organised to mark  K.L. Saigal’s 121st birth anniversary and Pran Nevile Centenary Celebrations

(Collaboration: K.L. Saigal Memorial Circle)

Speaker: Prof. Krishna Kumar, well-known educationist, Honorary Fellow, Panjab University, Chandigarh

The concept of ‘social change’ has roots in India’s freedom struggle and modernisation theories, with education playing a central role. Traditional inquiry into social change focuses on caste, community, gender, and rural–urban relations, while an educational perspective offers deeper insights based on personal experiences of learning. Prof. Kumar will examine how education shapes individual perceptions of social change, challenging generalised modernisation theories. The lecture will highlight how the state of the education system and personal circumstances influence one’s understanding of societal transformation. By exploring education as both a structural institution and a personal experience, this lecture will provide fresh perspectives on how knowledge and learning shape societal evolution in India.

The 7th Social Change Annual Lecture

(Collaboration: Council for Social Development; and Sage India)

The Zoom Link: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86300571581?pwd=hbMBhHlXaX13PGHUmISx3ODpj0oivf.1

Meeting ID: 863 0057 1581
Passcode: 758957

Exploring the concept of Punjabiyat - beyond class and borders, not limited to a religion, not limited by a singular language and how plurality is germaine to the musical oeuvre of Punjab. 

Recital by Ms Sunaini Sharma,  Punjabi ethnomusicologist and poet, grand-daughter of  the legendary Punjabi singer Surinder Kaur

In conversation with Ms Beeba Sobti, historian and Suhas Borker, Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTV) and Trustee, IIC 

(Collaboration: D. S. Borker Memorial Foundation)