By Pt. Satish Vyas

In memory of Shri Vasant Sathe

(Collaboration: Sarvajanik Utsav Samiti, New Delhi; and Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial National Committee)
 

A Passage to India

A Spanish diplomat in India, Guillermo Nadal Blanes (1954-1975)

Seven years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Spain in 1956, Guillermo Nadal arrived in 1961 to serve as Chargé d’Affaires at the Spanish embassy and was later promoted as Ambassador, remaining in India continuously until 1975. His Indian epoch was extraordinarily intense, not only in how it influenced the forging of a relationship between the two countries, but also perhaps due to his profound dedication to various facets of Indian thought, its history, politics and culture.

Dr. Gonçal Artur López Nadal, nephew of Amb. Guillermo Nadal will present an illustrated lecture using footage from the original films made by his uncle to give a glimpse of this intimate communion, unusual between a diplomat and the country in which he carried out his mission

Remarks by H.E. Mr. Jose Maria Ridao Dominguez, Ambassador of Spain; and Dr. Òscar Pujol, Director, Cervantes Institute, New Delhi

(Collaboration: Cervantes Institute, New Delhi)

If I Could Tell You (70 min; 2022; English)

Directed by Niharika Popli who will introduce the film

Mentored and Supported by Film SouthAsia

Screening will be followed by a discussion

Charu, a deaf woman and her hearing friend Surbhi share two very distinct relationships with Indian Sign Language (ISL). Surbhi, a child of deaf adults (CODA), learnt signs even before she learnt any spoken language while Charu, raised in a hearing family, learnt ISL much later in life. Through the story of Charu and Surbhi, the film embarks on a broader inquiry into the significance of language in our shared human experience. Interspersed with performances and interviews with a dancer, a drag queen, an actor and an ISL poet, the film explores how these various manifestations of visual language help us understand agency, autonomy and care.

(Collaboration: Brotherhood and We Care Film Festival)
 

Sitar Recital

By Supratik Sengupta from Kolkata, disciple of Pandit Buddhadeb Das Gupta
 
At 19:00 
Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Shubham Kumar from Delhi, Disciple of Ustad Tanveer Ahmed Khan
 

Kathak Recital
By Nisha Kesari from Delhi, disciple of Guru Rani Khanam       

At 19:00 
Odissi Duet Recital 
By Rudraprasad Swain and Ananya Parida from Orissa, disciple of Guru Aruna Mohanty and Guru Gangadhar Pradhan
 

Fireside Chat

Amb. Shyam Saran, President IIC and Cecile Fruman, Director, South Asia Regional Integration and Engagement, The World Bank

15:20 – 15:30

Presentation on “Good Neighbours”, a World Bank Report

By Nikita Singla, Consultant, South Asia Regional Integration and Engagement, The World Bank and Editor, The Good Neighbours

15:30 – 16:30

Panel discussion moderated by Mandakini Kaul, Regional Coordinator, South Asia, The World Bank (and Editor, The Good Neighbours Report)

Panelists: Swarnim Wagle, Member of Parliament, Nepal; Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairperson, India Sanitation Coalition; Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal; Jyoti Malhotra, senior journalist

(Collaboration: The World Bank)

Noted photographer, Raghu Rai in conversation with Sujata Prasad and Oroon Das

(Collaboration: Ahad Anhad)
 

Sitar Recital
By Adnan Khan, son and disciple of Ustad Saeed Khan, Dilli Gharana
Accompanied by Zuheb Khan on tabla

At 19:00
Hindustani Classical Vocal Recital
By Manjusha Patil, disciple of Pt. D.V. Kanebuva, Dr. Vikas Kashalkar and presently, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar
Accompanists: Pt. Vinay Mishra (harmonium); and Prashant Yadav (tabla)

(Collaboration: Navras School of Performing Arts, Patna)
 

Listening Session on the artistry of Vilayat Khan

This listening session makes available NCPA’s archival recordings to lovers of Hindustani classical music. The session is based on rarely heard recordings of the sitar maestro, Ustad Vilayat Khan (1927-2004), which were specially recorded for NCPA’s archives during 1976-79, where, prompted by his senior most disciple, Arvind Parikh, the maestro speaks at length about his forefathers and their style, and chronicle his own journey with ample demonstrations.

This session will cover Ustad Vilayat Khan’s great heritage of seven generations, detailing the musical artistry of Imdad Khan (1848-1920), as narrated and demonstrated by him

(Collaboration: National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai)

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)