The Fascinating Universe of the Bandish: Saas-Bahu and Beyond
Illustrated presentation by Malini Nair

Chair: Ms Vidya Shah

The bandish is at once critical as well as irrelevant to the khayal. It provides the framework around which the raga unfurls with limitless possibilities. But the poetry is often simplistic, spinning around the themes of domesticity and romance, the concerns stuck in time and place. A look at how gharanas and musicians have dealt with this poetry, some conventional, a few off-beat and how popular culture treats bandishes.

Malini is a senior editor and a feature writer with special interest in how India's classical traditions and how these have evolved over time, and is constantly taking cues from society and politics. She works as a consulting editor with gender platform behanbox.com and is a columnist at Scroll
 

PRESENTING YOUNG ARTISTS FESTIVAL OF CARNATIC MUSIC

Artists: Aditya Madhavan (Vocal), disciple of Smt Radha Namboodiri and Sri Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Accompanists: Delhi R. Sridhar (Violin) and Abhishek Avadhani (Mridangam)

Collaboration: (Ramakrishnapuram South Indian Society)

PRESENTING YOUNG ARTISTS FESTIVAL OF CARNATIC MUSIC

Artists: Ananya Venkatesan (Vocal), disciple of Dr. Prashanth Gopinatha Pai

Accompanists: G.Raghavendra Prasath (Violin) and B. Manohar (Mridangam)

At 7:15 pm

 Adarsh Nair (Vocal), disciple of Guruvaoor Dr.T.V.Manikandan

Accompanists: G.Raghavendra Prasath (Violin) and B. Manohar (Mridangam)

Collaboration: (Ramakrishnapuram South Indian Society)

Climate Change and Low Carbon India

Illustrated lecture by Dr. A.K. Jain, former Commissioner (Planning), Delhi Development Authority, former Member, Committee of the Ministry of Urban Development on DDA (2015), former member of UN Habitat (2007-12), a member of the Editorial Board of International Journal of Environmental Studies (UK), and is the author several books 

Chair: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director IIC
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Bole Koyaliya: Lata Mangeshkar's music and the idea of India

Illustrated lecture by Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of Economics and Director of Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA), Ashok University. Prof. Deshpande occasionally writes articles on Hindi film music and has written specifically about Lata Mangeshkar's music and persona

Chair: Prof. Partho Datta, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University

This lecture will explore the trajectory and key dimensions of Lata Mangeshkar's extraordinary career, focusing on her prolific contribution to Hindi film music. In recent years, Lata Mangeshkar's persona, her role in the music industry and the texture of her voice have been subjected to scholarly criticism and public debate. The lecture will briefly delve into the key issues in this debate and examine the validity of the claims using audio-visual examples from her body of musical work 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

An Evening of Poetry

With poets – Mritunjay Tripathi (Delhi); Vinod Padarg (Rajasthan); Poonam Vasam (Chhattisgarh); and Leena Malhotra (Delhi) who will read from their original work

Moderator: Anu Shakti Singh

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Music of the Renaissance
Masses, motets, madrigals and more – experience and explore the music of the Renaissance 
With Dr. Punita Singh, musicologist, linguist, acoustician, editor and educator based in Delhi

Bridging the Medieval and Baroque periods, the Renaissance brought in seminal innovations in the canon of western music. From one voice to many, from simple homophony to complex polyphony, from unaccompanied a capella singing to the use of instruments, from the liturgical texts to vernacular lyrics – varied forms and styles flourished in European music of the 15th and 16th centuries. In this session, Dr. Punita Singh takes us on an experiential listening journey.

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

HER VOICE: ‘Women at Work’ – Always and Everywhere: The Quest for Dignity, Equity and Freedom

Panelists: Prof. Mary John, formerly Director, Centre for Women’s Development Studies and a leading Women’s Studies scholar who is widely published; Dr. Anita Ghai, Professor, Disability Studies and Dean, School of Humanities, Ambedkar University and is South Asia’s leading scholar on Disability Studies; and Prof. Bijayalaxmi Nanda, Professor of Political Science and Principal (acting), Miranda House

When Work Brings Freedom
Screening of the film Koshish (5 min) that showcases the story of Azad Trainer, Rajrani from a trainee to becoming a driving trainer

Discussion on the work of Azad Foundation in India, a Delhi-based civil society organization that helps provide dignified livelihoods to women from resource-poor communities. It enables women to empower themselves by taking up employment opportunities that have traditionally been unavailable to women, thereby increasing their participation in public life.

Speakers: Soibam Bidya Rani, District Lead, Azad Foundation in India; and Omkari, Azad Foundation trainer 

First in a series of three discussions on ‘Women at Work’ conceptualised by Prof. Krishna Menon

Professor, Gender Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi. Gender intersects with various identities in our society and it resonates in public life, social practices and artistic endeavours. This is the entry point for the three broad themes around which the panels will be arranged – Doing, Feeling, and Seeing. Women have been seen as subjects to whom things are done, or for whom action is taken – the discussions seek to move away from this and celebrate women’s dynamism, and engagement with change.

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Illustrated talk by Anuj Ambalal who has photographed the places, villages, dharamshalas etc. where Gandhiji and his satyagrahies walked and stayed during the Dandi March in 1930

Chair: Shri Ashok Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Khayal Histories: An Exploration

Illustrated lecture by Partho Datta, music scholar

The talk will examine Khayal history by scholars in the past and explore possibilities of fresh approaches. The dominant vocal tradition of Khayal has eclipsed other genres in raga music. Khayal is also identified with 'Hindustani classical' today. The focus of popular Khayal histories has long been the legendary figure of Amir Khusro and the rich legacy of the music repertoire. This talk will contextualise the historical material, focus on social histories and problems that historians of music confront today while approaching this oral tradition.

Partho Datta is Professor, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University