The Bard and The Balladeer 
A Musical tribute to Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika 
Presented by Mayukh Hazarika, singer, songwriter and music director from Assam and Laili Dutta.

The occasion marks the centenary year of Dr. Hazarika, being celebrated across Assam and the country. The artists have carried forward the bard’s legacy through performances in India and abroad. Their repertoire will be interwoven with personal anecdotes and lesser-known stories behind his iconic songs.

(Collaboration: Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)

THE IIC DOUBLE BILL: MUSIC AND DANCE RECITALS

Sarod Recital
By Reeta Das from Patna, disciple of Pt Sunil Mukherjee and Ustad Aashish Khan and disciple & daughter of Prof Chandrakant Lal Das  

At 18:30

Carnatic Vocal Recital
By Anagha Manikandan from Delhi, disciple of Guru Guruvayoor Dr. T V Manikandan
Accompanists: Delhi R Sridhar (Violin), Manohar Balatchandirane (Mridangam)
 

IIC ANNUAL DAY 2026
CONCERT
Nirgun – The Confluence of Sufi and Bhakti 
Presented by Sonam Kalra, singer and composer, member of the Grammy Recording Academy. She is the creator of The Sufi Gospel, a critically celebrated musical project foregrounding inclusion and equality.

Commemoration of the 97th Birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. 
and the 56th anniversary of the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza 
 
Celebration of the Power of Non-Violent Action
& the Life of Martin Luther King Jr, [15 January 1929 – 4 April 1968]
& Commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza

Assembly and Briefing from 10:15 am to 10:30 am at the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza

Commemoration Service from 10: 30 am to 11:00 am at the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza
Songs by Choirs of Schools from Delhi NCR

Interactive Session from 11:15 am to 12.15 pm at the C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Interactive Session Theme:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." - Matin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.

During the Interactive Session a short film on Martin Luther King's Life shall be screened.

Moderators: Suhas Borker (Working Group on Alternative Strategies); Ramesh Sharma (Gandhi Yuva Biradari)

Students from Schools of Delhi NCR to participate.

This programme is part of the Taking Children to Gandhi series, launched in 2008, that brings children closer to the enduring legacy of Gandhi’s non-violent struggle for equity, justice, pluralism and sustainable development.

Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza was inaugurated on 21 January 1970 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and commemorates two iconic figures of our times: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

(Collaboration: Gandhi Yuva Biradari and Working Group on Alternative Strategies)
 

DR. C.D. DESHMUKH MEMORIAL LECTURE 2026
India in a New Asia
Speaker: Mr. George Yong-Boon Yeo, former Cabinet Minister in Singapore Government and currently Visiting Scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, Singapore

Chair: Shyam Saran, President, IIC

In the coming decades, there is a fair chance that Southeast, East, Central and West Asia will all see major transformation for the better. South Asia with India at its core should do well too. By 2050, India’s economy in PPP terms will likely be the second largest in the world. The lecture will discuss the hopes and challenges of this future.
 

The Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture
 

Speaker: Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister of India. Previously, he was a noted policy maker, has served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He was also a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India's Sherpa to the G20.

The inaugural Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture honours the life, work, and legacy of one of India's foremost intellectuals, the Sanskrit scholar, economist, and policy expert, the late Dr. Bibek Debroy (1955-2024).  Awarded the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri for his work, Bibek Debroy's last held position was chair of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. Dr. Debroy wrote and translated more than 100 books including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. 
 

THE IIC DOUBLE BILL: MUSIC AND DANCE RECITALS

Kathak Recital
By Neelakshi Khandker-Saxena from Delhi, disciple of Pt. Rajendra Gangani    

At 18:30

Odissi Recital
By Krishnendu Saha from Udaipur, disciple of Sharmila Biswas   
 

Faulad ka Aakash: Performative Readings of Mohan Rakesh’s Short Stories
Script: Purwa Bharadwaj 
Presented by Alka Rajan, Apoorvanand, Purwa Bharadwaj and Raza Haider

Mohan Rakesh is one of the leading names of Hindi fiction and Indian theatre. Generations of Hindi readers have grown on the writings of Mohan Rakesh. His keen observation of the dilemmas of the emerging individual in the post-independence India shaped his fiction. We try to bring out the subtlety of his writing in this presentation
 

Duration: (100 minutes; 2025; English and Hindi)

Directed by Mitul Patel

Produced by Raj Vasudeva / Anuradha Sachdev and an Everclear Films production

Actors: Adil Hussain, Raj Vasudeva, Niharica Raizada, Kunal Bhan, Aparna Ghoshal

On a silent Christmas Eve, Shekhar is forced to face the unthinkable: deciding whether to end his mother’s life. In the stillness of that dark night, as machines beep and hope fades, he’s torn apart by love, guilt, and duty. The choice he makes shatters the fragile ties within his family—and leaves him forever changed, carrying the weight of a decision no one should ever have to make.

Maati Ki Boli: Essence of Land

Dr. Shailesh Srivastava will be presenting the lyrical beauty of Maharashtra’s traditional folk music, featuring Gan–Gondhal, Vagya–Murli, Jagran (Khandoba), Gaulang (Gopi–Krishna dialogue), and Baithakicha Lavani.

Dr Srivastava, distinguished vocalist and recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2022 for Folk Music (Uttar Pradesh). Trained by Padma Bhushan Pt. Rajan and Sajan Mishra of the Banaras gharana. She is celebrated for her versatility across languages and folk traditions.

Accompanists: Madhav Prasad, Harmonium; Pravin Kumar, Synthesizer; Anil Gawde, Dholki; Aashish Pawar, Naal; Omkar Gawde, Sambal, Chipani; Vishal Kumar, Percussion

(Collaboration: NCZCC, Prayagraj, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India)