Sita’s Voice in the Assamese Ramayana

Selected verses from the Ramayana of Madhava Kandali and the Uttarakanda of Sankaradeva

Translated and Edited by Tilottoma Misra (Zubaan Books: 2024)

Discussants: Dr. Uma Chakravarti, historian and filmmaker; and Ms Tilottoma Misra, critic and translator/author of the book

Moderator: Dr. Pankaj Jha, Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi

By Sunil R. Gargyan

With N. Madan Mohan (violin); Abhishek Avadani (mridangam); and Varun Rajasekharan (ghatam)

(Collaboration: Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha)

Poetry Readings

By Hindi poets – Keshav Tiwari (Banda); Vijay Rahi (Dausa); Hare Prakash Upadhyaya (Lucknow); Aamir Hamza and Satyavrat Razak (Delhi)

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

Appreciating Form and Structure in Baroque and Classical Music                                                                              

 An Illustrated presentation by R. H. Duncan Lyngdoh

Chair: Ms. Anjli Mata, a noted music teacher associated with Trinity College London and was earlier a faculty at the Delhi School of Music 

The 18th century is noted for the prominence attached to form and structure in painting, architecture and music. Baroque and classical music flourished during this period. Composers like J. S. Bach raised the structural complexities of polyphony and counterpoint to their apex, in a grand synthesis of the intellectual and the emotional. It was a genius like Mozart who took the evolution of melody and form to an incomparably beautiful level of perfection. Some aspects of how form and structure gave enduring shape and significance to Western music are discussed here, with some recorded examples being presented for illustration.

Prof. Richard Duncan Lyngdoh retired last year from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, after 35 years of teaching and research in chemistry. His interest in music has inspired him towards piano playing, studying music theory, and composing some 240 pieces of music in various genres. He teaches music theory at the Harmini Preparatory Music Academy, Shillong 

Speakers: Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, PVSM, AVSM (retd.), former Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command; Maj. Gen. Jagatbir Singh, VSM (retd.), Distinguished Fellow, United Services Institute; and Dr. Meeran Chadha Borwankar (IPS retd.), Member of the ‘Core Advisory Group on Criminal Justice System Reforms’ constituted by the National Human Rights Commission

Welcome: Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, Director, Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP) and Life Trustee, IIC

Moderator: Ms Rita Manchanda, Gender, Peace and Security Specialist and Research Director, South Asia Forum for Human Rights

Launch of Jubilee Edition of Peace Prints: A South Asian Journal of Peacebuilding

Following the legally driven 2020 policy directive on gender parity in the armed forces, the pathway was cleared for equal participation for Indian women in all streams, except the mechanized infantry and armored corps. From the initial uncertain experiment with batches of a few hundred in the 1990s, swelling to nearly 5000 today, women officers have traversed quite a distance, pushing past prejudicial stereotypes and gender barriers to become squadron leaders of combat units, deployed on war ships, command units, and UN Peacekeeping Operations. The panel seeks to explore the implications and challenges of these developments in the security sector.

(Collaboration: Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace)
 

Bound by Grammar: Loan Words, Linguistic Borders, and Vernacular Poetry in the Līlātilakam

Speaker: Dr. Sivan Goren-Arzony, Lecturer, Asian Studies Department, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Chair: Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, IIC-International Research Division

The talk will explore the 14th century Līlātilakam, discussing the grammar and poetics of Manipravāḷam from Kerala. The speaker will focus on the ‘theory of semblance’ it offers, advocating the autonomous nature of Kerala’s bhāṣā.

Dr. Sivan Goren-Arzony is a lecturer in the Asian Studies Department at Bar-Ilan University. She specializes in premodern South Asian poetry, particularly Kerala’s Manipravāḷam tradition. She holds a PhD in Comparative Religion from Hebrew University and was a Harvard Society of Fellows member.

Fourteenth in a series of lectures organised by IIC-International Research Division with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs
 
 

Illustrated lecture by Mr. Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan writer and activist, born and raised in India

A presentation on the geography, culture, language and sub-dialects, herbs, architecture, livelihood, trade and the traditional relationships of the five Indian Himalayan states with Tibet using slides and storytelling

(Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness The Dalai Lama)
 

Thank you, Gandhi!
By Krishna Kumar (Penguin; 2024)

Discussants: Dr. Syeda Hameed, social activist, educationist, writer and former Member, Planning Commission and women’s rights activist; Prof. Narayani Gupta, historian and former Professor, Jamia Milia Islamia; and Prof. Krishna Kumar, well-known educationist, former Director, NCERT and author of the book

Chair: Prof. Mrinal Miri, philosopher and educationist, former Chairman, Indian Council of Philosophical Research

Masculinity, Consumerism and the Post-national Indian City: Streets , Neighbourhoods, Home
By Sanjay Srivastava (Cambridge University Press: 2022)

Discussants: Dr. Manisha Sethi, sociologist, Associate Professor, Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia; Ms Madhu Mehra, feminist lawyer, founder and former director of Partners for Law in Development (PLD); Prof. Krishna Menon, Professor, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi; and Prof. Sanjay Srivastava, Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and author of the book

Chair: Ms Urvashi Butalia, feminist writer and publisher

Speaker: Shri G.K. Pillai, former Home Secretary of India

Opening Remarks: Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, Director, WISCOMP and Life Trustee, IIC

Special Remarks: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

The second in the series WISCOMP Dialogues: Conversations on Mediation, Shri G.K. Pillai will reflect on his experience of working in India’s North East, outlining possible roadmaps for mediation and restoration of community ties in Manipur.  

(Collaboration: Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace)