Dan Zhu on violin; Jean-Frédéric Neuburger on piano

Dan Zhu an internationally acclaimed violinist, he made his Carnegie Hall debut at 18. Performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Festspiele, Marlboro, Marvão, Enescu, Schleswig-Holstein, Prades-Casals, Ravinia and Spoleto. Has appeared with leading orchestras under conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, Neeme Järvi, Zubin Mehta, Jacek Kaspszyk, Alexander Rahbari, Muhai Tang, Long Yu and many more.

Jean-Frédéric Neuburger a distinguished French pianist and composer, performed with orchestras such as NHK Symphony Orchestra, the New-York Philharmonic, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker with conductors as Lorin Maazel, Paavo Järvi, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Zinman, Jonathan Nott.
 

Art Matters
Urdu Poetry with Saeed Naqvi, Senior Journalist

(Collaboration: Raza Foundation)
 

Santoor Recital
By Anoushka Majumdar from Delhi, disciple of Guru Pt. Abhay Rustum Sopori
 
At 18:30
Mystic Meera- Bhajan recital

By Priya Kanungo, Disciple of Guru Pt Vidyadhar Vyas
 

Concert 
 

Piano recital by Kendzsi Tanaka, a Hungarian-Japanese pianist, trained at the Vántus István Music High School in Szeged, the Royal Academy of Music, London under Joanna MacGregor, and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

(Collaboration: Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi, Embassy of Hungary)
 

The Chameli Devi Jain Award 2026

For Outstanding Woman Media Person of the Year, the Vishwa Nath-Delhi Press Award for Fearless Journalism and the Kamla Mankekar Award for Journalism on Gender will also be presented

Followed by BG Verghese Memorial Lecture on 'Freedom of the Purse and the AI of the Affluent'
To be delivered by P Sainath, Journalist and Founder-Editor of People's Archive of Rural India, will deliver the 12th BG

(Collaboration: The Media Foundation)
 

To Mark International Women’s Day 2026
The 21st IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival: 12 to 15 March 2026
 

The 21st edition of the Asian Women’s Film Festival (AWFF) presents films from across Asia and beyond, spanning documentary, fiction, animation and curated regional programmes. The films reflect a wide spectrum of concerns – from labour, ecology, migration, memory, and identity to interior landscapes of desire, belonging, and resistance – articulated through diverse cinematic languages. The festival includes a special focus on animation through collaborations with partner festivals and initiatives such as AniMela, foregrounding women’s creative leadership in a field historically shaped by gendered exclusions. A curated package from Central Asia (Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic). The festival includes workshops, masterclasses, and discussions that address both practice and pedagogy. As the festival enters its third decade, it carries forward a simple yet powerful belief: that women’s stories, images, deserve visibility and celebration – and that feminist film cultures are sustained through shared spaces of watching, thinking, and being together.

Organised in collaboration with the India Chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT); NFDC; Ministry of Information & Broadcasting; French Institute in India; French Embassy in India; Goethe Institut; Japan Foundation.

Screenings will be held in the Auditorium on 13, 14 and 15 March 2026 from 9:30 onwards. Some of the filmmakers will be present for post-screening discussions. The opening film will be I, The Song by Dechen Roder (Bhutan), while the closing film is Shadowbox by Tanushree Das and Soumyananda Sahi (India & France). The leading lady of the closing film, Tilottama Shome will also be present at the screening.  

Highlights of the festival include: Three masterclasses with celebrated Japanese editor, Keiko Okawa sharing insights from her long and influential engagement with cinematic form and editing practice.; Paromita Vohra; the Asanjo Collective, on filmmaking and Animation; one round table on Filmmaking Pedagogy, Discussions with present filmmakers on their films. All masterclasses, workshops, seminars are planned and driven by women.

Registration at the venue on a first come first serve basis.

Nomads under the Stars
(69 minutes; 2026; Ladakhi with English subtitles)
Directed by Stanzin Dorjai Gya

The film is an intimate journey into the heart of Changthang, Ladakh. The film captures the enduring wisdom of the nomadic Changpa as they confront the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods, revealing the vital role of culture in sustaining resilience. The film is made in collaboration with Jungwa Foundation and Korzok Monastery

The film will be introduced by Tara Sharma, Director, Jungwa Foundation. Post screening remarks will be delivered by Special Invitee, Mr Tim Curtis,  Director and Representative, UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia followed by a Q&A with Jigmet Norbu, Chagzod, Korzok Monastery, Tara Sharma, Director, Jungwa Foundation and Stanzin Dorjai Gya, Film Director Tim Curtis
Director and Representative
UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia

 

CARNATIC CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERT

By Sangeetha Rathna, Vid. Mangalam Shankar (Chennai).
 

An A-Grade artiste of All India Radio and a distinguished exponent of the T.M. Thyagarajan (TMT) bani,she has trained under stalwarts including Smt. D.K. Pattammal, Shri D.K. Jayaraman and Shri T.M. Thyagarajan. Performed at The Music Academy, she has also taught at Kalakshetra and the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society, and continues to perform and mentor students internationally.
Accompanying Artists: Dr. Priyasri Rao on Vocal Support; Delhi R Sridhar on Violin; M V Chander Sekhar, on Mridangam
 

(Collaboration: Gayathri Fine Arts)
 

Bharatnatyam Recital

By Aishwarya Harish from Mumbai, disciple of Dr Padma Subrahmanyam and Dr Jayashree Rajagopalan
Accompanists: Guru Dr Jayashree Rajagopalan (Nattuvangam); Sri Harish Venkateswaran (Vocal)
Sri P. Vetri Boopathy (Mridangam); Sri Arvindd Narayanan (Violin)

At 18:30
Chandalika: Rabindranritya 

A Tagore Dance Drama

By Sruti Performing Troupe from Santiniketan, Kolkata
Composition and Choreography: Guru Dr. Sruti Bandopadhay
Scenography: Prof. Dr. Somnath Sinha
 

Dr. Karan Singh with Dr. Shashi Tharoor & Malvika Singh

On his book A Statesman and a Seeker: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Dr. Karan Singh’ by Prof. Harbans Singh. The authorized biography of one of India’s most well-known and admired public figures, whose life journey is inextricably linked to that of Jammu and Kashmir, and of India since Independence.

(Collaboration: Karan Singh Foundation)