Discussion based on the recent publication of Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India by John Guy

Panelists: John Guy, Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of the Arts of South and Southeast Asia, Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Jyotindra Jain, art and culture historian and renowned scholar and museologist who has authored several books and staged exhibitions on Indian folk arts and cultures; Naman Ahuja, art historian and curator, Professor of the Art and Architecture of Ancient India, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Upinder Singh, historian and Professor of History and Dean of Faculty, Ashoka University and Peter Skilling, specialist in the literary and archaeological histories of South and Southeast Asia, Professor, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

Moderator: Deepanjana Klein, historian and Director of Acquisitions and Development, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art 

Before the appearance of the Buddha image, about 500 years after his lifetime, the visual repertoire used to teach the Buddha’s message was rich in its celebration of the natural world. It was presided over by its personified spirits, the yakshas and nagas. This panel will explore the many dimensions of the early religious landscape that the Buddha encountered as a mendicant, and following his passing, the emergence of the cult of relics centred on the royal tumuli, the stupa.

(Collaboration: Mapin Publishing)

Carnatic Veena Recital

By Saraswati Rajagopalan 
Accompanied by Kumbakonam N. Padmanabhan (mridangam); and Varun Rajasekharan (ghatam)

Followed by
Dhrupad Recital
By Ustad Faiyazuddin Wasifuddin Dagar
Accompanied by Pt. Mohanshyam Sharma on pakhawaj

(Collaboration: Dagar Brothers Memorial Trust)

6 –A Akash Ganga
(80 mins; 2023; Hindi with English subtitles)
Directed by Nirmal Chander who will introduce the film
 
Screening will be followed by a discussion
 
Can a musician exist without an audience? To find an answer, the film enters 6-A Akash Ganga, a flat overlooking the Arabian Sea in Mumbai. Here resides one of India’s most renowned classical musicians, a matchless guru—Annapurna Devi.
 
Maestros have waited for years for her to accept them as disciples. George Harrison, of the Beatles fame, had to seek special permission to listen to her musical practice. But in the mid-1950s, she vowed not to perform for anyone in an effort to save her crumbling marriage to the world-renowned Indian musician, Pandit Ravi Shankar, who had grown insecure with the acclaim she was receiving. Her disciple, Pt. Nityanand Haldipur, cuts through the myths to tell her story. The film has been produced by the Annapurna Devi Foundation.

A solo guitar recital by Deepak Castelino

"Under the Mango Tree" is a solo guitar presentation of original music compositions by Delhi-based musician Deepak Castelino.  Amidst an environment of overwhelming sadness and uncertainty during a severe lockdown, confined spaces, and tragic stories of loss and hardship all over, the confirming shade of the mango tree was a healing balm; a place to rest and escape albeit temporarily.

And against this grey background of gloom, the mango tree stood steadfast and strong, as a beacon of hope and rejuvenation, and gave us over two hundred sweet mangoes too as if to say, 'Don't worry, all will be well.'
 

Phantom Parrot (USA/UK)
(82 min; 2023; English)
Director: Kate Stonehill

The film will be introduced by Apar Gupta, Advocate and Technology Policy Professional

Screening will be followed by a discussion

Phantom Parrot is a feature documentary that follows a British human rights activist as he is prosecuted under terror laws in the U.K. for refusing to hand over the passwords to his electronic devices at the airport. In the process, it unravels a secret U.K. government surveillance programme – named Phantom Parrot – in which the authorities stop people passing through U.K. borders with the purpose of secretly copying their data, using technologies known as ‘Mobile Device Forensic Tools’. 
 

Filmit India: IIC/ Intach Children’s Film Festival

Children’s cultural film festival, a screening of films on heritage made by children across different schools in Delhi
 
(Collaboration: INTACH)

A bouquet of Multilingual Poetry on the eve of Martyr’s Day

Presented by Navtej Sarna; Fouzia Dastango; Satyanand Nirupam; Kasturika Mishra; and Rini Simon Khanna

(Collaboration: Sarvodaya International Trust-Delhi Chapter)

A conversation with legendary poet and writer, Javed Akhtar

Moderator: Prof Alok Rai, writer, poet and formerly with the Department of English, University of Delhi.

Introduction: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Santoor Recital
By Divyansh H Srivastava from Delhi, disciple of Pandit Bhajan Sopori 
 
At 19:00 
Hindustani Vocal Recital
By Devarghya Roy from Kolkata, disciple of Ustad Rashid Khan  

Saga of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Singapore – An Indian Dawn in Singapore (Singapore)
(43 min; 2023; English)
Director: Lakshmi Raman Venkat, Gravitas Media

Produced by Gravitas Media Singapore

The film will be introduced by Partha Chatterjee, film critic and writer

A new documentary on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's "Dilli Chalo" in July 1943 from Padang, a central main event hosting field, from the then Japanese-occupied Singapore. The film captures the battle cry calling on the Indian diaspora to march on to the centre of Delhi and oust the British colonial government from India. Netaji's words galvanised the people in the region (South East Asia), ignited the 'Free India' movement, caused a surge in the ranks of the Indian National Army (INA) that he led and triggered the final push for India's independence which came four years later. The film also commemorates the intertwined histories and strong cultural ties between India and Singapore.