(48 min; 2023; Hindi with English subtitles)                                                                                                                      

Director: Sanjay Sharma
 
A documentary that traces Arvind’s 75-year-long journey in the creative world of words as writer-journalist-lexicographer. A journey that begins as 15-year-old Arvind enters a printing press as a mere typesetter, reaches the pinnacle of journalism, and then, gives up the editorship of the highly-acclaimed film magazine Madhuri to fulfil his long-cherished wish for a thesaurus in Hindi. And after twenty long years of solitary endeavour presents the world with Samantar Kosh Hindi Thesaurus, India’s first modern thesaurus. It is the story of one man’s diligence, dedication and devotion.  
 

A solo theatrical performance 
By Keshav Roy

Concept, Script & Direction: Renu Roy

In a highly charged and entertaining solo performance, the actor renders some of the most striking monologues from Shakespeare’s celebrated masterpieces. The narrative is infused with wit, humour and anecdotes that attempt to provide meaningful insight into some of Shakespeare’s most compelling characters

(Organised with the support of KCT Group)

Conceptualised by Gitanjali Surendran

A God at the Door
 

Tishani Doshi, well-known writer and poet in conversation with Sumana Roy, Associate Professor of English and
Creative Writing, Ashoka University

Tishani Doshi has published seven works of fiction and poetry, the most recent of which are – Small Days and Nights
(Bloomsbury), shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Award and a New York Times Bestsellers Editor’s Choice, and a collection of poems, A God at the Door (HarperCollins), shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize 2021. For fifteen years she worked as the lead dancer with the Chandralekha Group in Madras

Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Sarvashreshtha Mishra from Delhi, son and disciple of Guru Uday Shankar Mishra and Dr. Vineet Goswami

At 19:00
Bharatanatyam Recital

By Deepavali Hazra from Delhi, disciple of Guru Marie Elangovan
 

Sarod Recital

By Chandrima Majumdar from Delhi, disciple of Pt. Narendra Nath Dhar

At 19:00
Odissi Recital

By Anushua Chowdhury from Delhi, disciple of Guru Smt. Priyambada Pattanaik and Guru Kavita Dwibedi

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

The Music Instinct: Science and Song (USA)
(114 min; 2019; English)
Director: Elena Mannes

The power of music: The Music Instinct: Science and Song provides a ground-breaking exploration into how and why the human organism--and the whole ebb and flow of the cosmos--is moved by the undeniable effect of music. This follows visionary researchers and accomplished musicians to the crossroads of science and culture in search of answers to music's deep mysteries.

(Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai)

(96 min/2022/Maithili with English subtitles)
Director & Editor: Pratik Sharma who will introduce the film

Screening will be followed by a discussion

The film portrays the story of a mother and child’s bond by using semiotics at large to convey the message. The film has very few dialogues. It has been shot in the interior parts of Bihar.  

(Collaboration: Shining Muskan Foundation)
 

Two short comedies by the great Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov – The Proposal and The Bear

Directed by Sohaila Kapur

Cast: The Proposal - Arti Nayar, Sunit Tandon, Tarique Hassan 
Cast: The Bear -  Vishaal Sethia, Sonali Sharma, Sohaila Kapur  

Director: Nirmal Chander who will introduce the film
Produced by Delhi Blue Pottery Trust

Screening will be followed by a discussion

“Hands destined to mould a thing of beauty”, the poet James Cousins wrote these lines about a young Sikh potter he met in Japan in 1921. Sardar Gurcharan Singh pioneered studio pottery in India, introducing the undervalued crafty to the imagination of the Indian masses, and striving to make colour and beauty accessible to all. The Lotus and the Swan celebrates his life and legacy
 

Speaker: Prof. Madhavan K. Palat, historian of modern Russian and European History and formerly Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Visiting Professor in Imperial Russian History, University of Chicago in 2006; National Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla 2010-2011; and Editor of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru published by Oxford University Press; 

Chair: Shri Ravi Bhoothalingam

Nehru regarded democracy in India as the product of both the mass nationalism of the 20th century and of the ancient traditions of panchayats; it flourished by contesting the despotism of colonialism and its caricature of British constitutionalism. He was committed to both parliamentary sovereignty and constitutional sanctity; and while he did not define a “basic structure” he had an implied one in mind