Soul of Sarode: the Journey of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan   
A Centenary Tribute 
A presentation by Gaurav Mazumdar

This year we celebrate the birth centenary of the legendary Sarod maestro, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan of Maihar Gharana. The noted sitarist, Gaurav Mazumdar will be discussing the significant features of this illustrious Gharana and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s association with this gharana.

Gaurav Mazumdar is an internationally acclaimed Sitar virtuoso, composer, teacher and a Grammy Nominee whose music brings in global harmony and understanding.
 

HER VOICE – Simhika: Daughter of the Forest
 

Geeta Chandran presents a performance inspired by a character from Kathakali repertoire

Accompanists: Sharanya Chandran (nattuvangam); K. Venkateshwaran (vocal); Manohar Balatchandirane (mridangam); Varun Rajasekharan (ghatam); and G. Raghavendra Prasath (violin)

In this performance-dialogue, Geeta Chandran raises issues of rights of forest dwellers and their quest for justice alongside gender justice and equality

FULL PROGRAMME

Forest Mighties (48 min/2020/English/Poland) – directors: Mateusz Matysiak, Tomasz Ogrodowczyk, Michał Ogrodowczyk
The film follows the trail of the great forests of Poland

Farmer Collectives in North Bengal (18 min/2022/English/Hindi/India – director: Radhamohini Prasad
The film probes the benefits reaped by farmers as a collective

What Have we done (5 min/2022/Hindi/India) – director: Beno Pothen Kuruvilla
Soil, visualized as a young lady, tries to frantically convey her plight

Behind the Garden Gate (48 min/2021/English/UK) – director: Nick Hayman
In the 1970s, Guus Lieberwerth and friends cleared a path of agricultural wastelands to care for rare and endangered plants and animals. Now 50 years later, nature is thriving within a hidden paradise

Plastic Age – Forever? (18 min/2022/English/Austria – directors: Sebastian Posti, Sebastian Pichelhofer
Film on the problems of plastic waste, especially microplastics in the oceans

The Call from the Sea (16 min/2016/English/USA) – director: Taylor McNulty
Film on the Bajau, a nomadic sea group who have lived on the ocean for centuries in Indonesia

From 14:00 to 20:00
At the Bottom (23 min/2022/English/Kyrgyzstan) – director: Tamara Kubaeva
Each year a group of volunteer divers organises expeditions to collect garbage from the bottom of Lake Issyk-Kul

Moving Upstream: Ganga (105 min/2021/Bengali/Hindi/English/India) – directors: Shridhar Sudhir, Veditum India Foundation
The film follows the 3000 km walk by Siddharth Agarwal along the river Ganga over a 6 month period

Droughlands (28 min/2021/English/UK) – directors: Omkar Khandagale, Aditya Thakkar
Film on the sugarcane industry in Maharashtra

Toxic Neighbour (23 min/2021/English/Canada) – director: Colin Scheyen
The film showcases a farmer’s efforts to push his nuclear neighbor to greater transparency and accountability

The Round Lake (11 min/2022/English/Hindi/Pakistan) – director: Zayan Agha
The film is about two sisters who live in a community without running tap water

Lantana Management and Grassland Development (9 min/2020/English/Hindi/India) – director: Imrana Khan
The film showcases the successful restoration stories of lantana management and grassland development in Corbett Tiger Reserve

The Clocks (5 min/2020/English/Turkey) – directors: Ecem Aslanay, Yiĝit Tanel Kaçar
The film deals with climate crisis through the concept of time and acts as a poetic warning

Sherni (130 min/2021/Hindi/India) – director: Amit V. Masurkar
A forest officer captures and contains a man-eating tigress in a remote village
 

The 9th edition of the Biennial Festival organised in collaboration with Toxics Link. The festival showcases 30 films categorized into four broad themes, Environmental Justice, Water, Conservation and Sustainable living along with a discussion with filmmakers present. The films are a mix of documentaries, animation and features from Austria, Canada, Greece, India, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, and Venezuela. The festival will also include a panel discussion with eminent journalists, environmentalists, academicians, filmmakers, policymakers, and personalities from civil society organisations.

FULL PROGRAMME

FROM 10:00 TO 11:25
Inauguration
Welcome Address by Ravi Agarwal, Founder-Director, Toxics Link
Chief Guest: Rahul Ram, well-known singer/songwriter 

Followed by 
Cultural programme
Presented by The Shri Ram Millenium School, Gurguram

FROM 11:45 TO 13:40
Manas and People (26 min/2020/Assamese/English/India) – director: Dip Bhuyan
Film on the Bodo indigenous ethnic group and their association with the natural landscape

Save our Species (2 min/2020/animation/India) – director: Delwyn Jude Remedios
Stop-motion animation film on the harm done to our planet’s species

Wildfire (10 min/2022/Nepali/Hindi/English/Nepal) – director: Shyam Karki
A little red panda, a rare species has become homeless due to a 16-day wildfire in the Nepali mid-hills

Changing Landscape (57 min/2022/Tamil/English/India) – director: Pravin Selvam
The film focuses on the plight of the wetlands in Tamil Nadu

From 14:00 onwards
The Last Tribe (45 min/2020Hindi/English/India) – director: Amit Goswami
A study of the environmental crisis in one of India’s war zone through the lens of a wildlife biologist

Between Hell and Paradise (15 min/2017/Ukrainian/English/Ukraine) – director: Slavik Bihun
Film on the holding the state responsible for the industrial activities that directly impact the environment

Svalbard in Plastic (40 min/2020/English/Norway) – director: Ivonne Salo
The film is a “wake up call” for the protected Arctic Life of Svalbard where vast amounts of plastic litter have been spotted

Green Wars (28 min/2021/English/UK) – director: Joel Elias
The film showcases the battles for land, livelihood, and climate justice in Idukki district of Kerala

The Sea’s Guardian (23 min/2021/Urdu/English/UK) – director: Sidra Altaf
Documentary on the rich and unique ecosystem of the mangroves in Karachi, Pakistan

Bleeding Gold (15 min/2022/Spanish/English/Venezuela) – directors: Thaelman Urgelles, Juan Urgell
An unprecedented ecocide in the southeast region of Venezuela, officially known as the Orinoco Mining Arc

Sensual Pill (4 min/2021/animation/English/Greece) – director: Sam3
While the human race tyrannizes the planet, nature begins a quiet dialogue that gradually increases in intensity

The Last Seed (80 min/2022/English/South Africa) – director: Andrea Gema
Film on the state of food and agriculture in Africa in the 21st century
 

Manipuri Dance – Duet

By Sovanabrata Sircar and Nutan Sircar from Delhi, disciples of Guru Bipin Singh and Kalavati Devi

AT 19:00
Kuchipudi Recital

By Ayana Mukherjee from Delhi, disciple of Guru Jayarama Rao

The programme juxtaposes 17th century harpsichord music and poetry in several languages (Punjabi, Tamil, English…) with occasional contemporary dance interventions. The pieces for harpsichord and the poetry recall the seasons, joy, melancholy and death. The dance here exists in fragmentary and elusive phrases

Performers:
Harpsichord: Justin McCarthy
Punjabi poetry: Navtej Singh Johar
Dance and Tamil poetry: Abhinaya Penneswaran

Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Ghulam Hasan Khan from Delhi, grandson and disciple of Ustad Ghulam Sadiq Khan and son and disciple of Ustad Ghulam Abbas Khan

Accompanists: Zaheen Khan (tabla); and Lalit Sisdia (harmonium)

AT 19:00
Bharatanatyam Recital

By Marie Elangovan from Delhi, disciple and daughter-in-law of Guru K.J. Govindarajan

Accompanists: Elangovan Natarajan (nattuvangam & vocal); Jayan P. Das Elanthoor (mridangam); Shambhu Nath Bhattacharjee (tabla); and Raghavendra Prasath (violin)
 
 

Violin and piano duet presented by Wojciech Proniewicz (violin); and Alesia Kizil (piano) from Poland and Ukraine

The artists will present sonata for violin and piano by Ignacy Jan Paderewski; works by Frédéric Chopin, Henryk Wieniawski and Miroslav Skoryk

(Collaboration: Embassy of Poland; and Polish Institute, New Delhi)

Showcasing the dance heritage of Jharkhand with performances of Seraikela chhau, masked dance; Paika, the indigenous martial arts of the Adivasis; and Kathputli puppet traditions

Presented by artists of the Department of Tourism, Art Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs, Govt. of Jharkhand

(Collaboration: Govt. of Jharkhand) 

Poems by Vikram Seth and stories by James Thurber presented by Motley

Recitations by Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Heeba Shah and Kenny Desai

Produced by Jairaj Patil

This presentation is an indicator of the direction in which Motley has been moving for the last fifteen years – to perform on stage without trappings and to depend on words alone to convey character and story. These “fables of our times” draw amusing, perceptive and sometimes scary parallels between the best and worst of both animals and humans. It hopes to show to audiences of all ages especially school children that there is more to poetry than just rhyming couplets and more to stories than just happy endings