Illustrated lecture by Dr. Stephen Huyler, well-known cultural anthropologist and art historian who has spent the past fifty-one years traveling the length and breadth of India conducting field research in almost every district.

Dr. Huyler’s areas of expertise are rural Indian arts and crafts, Hindu devotional rituals, and Indian women’s identity and art. He has served as a guest curator for thirty separate exhibitions of Indian art in museums in the United States, Britain and India, among other countries

Introduction: Minhazz Majumdar, author, Curator and Art Activist
 

Vichitra Veena Recital
By Gianni Ricchizzi

Followed by
Dhrupad Recital
By Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar
With Pt. Mohan Shyam Sharma on the pakhawaj

(Collaboration: Dagar Brothers Memorial Trust)

Shilpanatanam is a style of movement and choreographic vision conceived by Dr. Maya Kulkarni that departs from the structures of classical dance technique and conventional dramaturgy. Shilpanatanam taps into the wider world of literature and poetry.

Dance presentations by Mesma Belsare and Dr. Kaustavi Sarkar
 

Bhavai of Gujarat: Traditional Theatre of India
(138 min; 2025; English)
Directed by Dr. Svetlana Ryzhakova who will introduce the film

Screening will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Ryzhakova, leading research fellow in the Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow. She is a life member of the Indian Anthropological Society and a member of European Association of Social Anthropologists

Bhavai is one of the traditional folk theatres of India, performed in rural areas of northern and central Gujarat by troupes of artistes who belong to the Targala community. This ethnographic documentary is based on Dr. Ryzhakova’s long term research and field material collected from 2014 to 2023 in the villages and cities of Gujarat. The film is richly illustrated with interviews, conversations, songs and dance that make this documentary a unique tapestry of Bhavai theatre

(Collaboration: Russian House of Culture)
 

Shilpanatanam is a style of movement and choreographic vision conceived by Dr. Maya Kulkarni that departs from the structures of classical dance technique and conventional dramaturgy. Shilpanatanam taps into the wider world of literature and poetry. 

Dance presentations by Mesma Belsare and Dr. Kaustavi Sarkar

Children’s cultural film festival, a screening of the best films on heritage made by children across different schools in Delhi-NCR

(Collaboration: Heritage Education and Communication Service, INTACH)
 

Hindustani vocal recital by Meeta Pandit who will present compositions intrinsic to the Gwalior Gharana

Showcasing rare and exquisite genres such as tapp-khayal, tappa, ashtapadi, tapp-thumri, tapp-tarana, chaturang, the program offers a glimpse into the profound beauty and versatility of this illustrious musical heritage and its relevance today.

Accompanists: Pt. Shailendra Mishra on tabla and Ustad Kamal Ahmad on Sarangi

To Commemorate Martyrs Day 2025

(Collaboration: Sarvodaya International Trust-Delhi Chapter)

Kathak Recital
By Mayukh Bhattacharyya from Delhi, disciple of the late Guru Pt. Birju Maharaj

At 19:00
Bharatanatyam Recital
By Jhinook Mukherjee Sinha from Kolkata, disciple of Dr. Guru Smt Thankamani Kutty
 

 Indian Constitution @75: A Federal Democracy Perspective

Speakers: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan Lokur, Judge, Supreme Court of Fiji, Chairperson, United Nations Internal Justice Council and former Judge, Supreme Court of India; Shri Rajeev Dhavan, Senior Advocate, human rights activist, and Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists; and Prof. Neera Chandhoke, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Equity Studies, and former Professor of Political Science, University of Delhi 

Introduction: Prof. Balveer Arora, Chairman, Centre for Multilevel Federalism and Convener, IIC Programme Planning Group on Federal Democracy

 Chair: Shri N.N. Vohra, Life Trustee, IIC