A three-day festival celebrating the life and work of Charles Dickens. The festival includes talks, discussions, workshop, readings, concert, quiz, film screenings of adaptations and an exhibition. Films courtesy British Council Division

Charles Dickens: Pictures from Italy

An exhibition of contemporary paintings based on Charles Dickens' 1840 travelogue to Italy and France

Paintings by Livia Signorini

On view in the Foyer outside the Auditorium until 23^rd February 2014

Charles Dickens Collection

An exhibition on posters, frontispiece

On view in the Quadrangle Garden until 23^rd February 2014

At 18:30 in the Auditorium

Dickens and India

Inaugural lecture by Shri Girish Karnad

Chair: Shri Soli J. Sorabjee, President IIC

The Fourth Great Movement of Indian Renaissance

Speaker; Prof. P.K. Mukhopadhyay, formerly Professor of Philosophy, Jadavpur University

Chair: Shri Soli J. Sorabjee, President IIC

Presentation of a status report two months after the flash floods

Presentations by Dr. Chandi Prasad Bhatt, one for the founders of the CHIPKO Movement and Dr. Navin Juyal, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad

Moderator: Dr. Shekhar Pathak 

Presentation of awards to Outstanding Woman Mediaperson

Followed by a panel discussion on
Freedom of Expression: Can We Get it Right?
Panelists: Shri Fali S. Nariman; Shri Shashi Tharoor; and Prof. Nivedita Menon

Moderator: Smt Sevanti Ninan

India's Golden Jubilations
Speaker: Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal

Chair: Shri Soli J. Sorabjee, President, IIC

Is there something, anything or nothing to celebrate about today's India? Do the anniversaries we observe with clockwork regularity"”silver, golden, diamond"”serve any purpose, practical or ideational? Or are jubilees merely exercises in self-fulfilment and self-deception, or what in Hindustani would be called "man-bahlaav"?

GOLDEN JUBILEE LECTURES Origin of the Universe
Speaker: Prof Paul Davies, Regents' Professor and Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Co-Director, ASU Cosmology Initiative, and Principal Investigator, Center for the Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology, Arizona State University

Chair: Prof M.G.K. Menon, Life Trustee, IIC

Cosmologists agree that the universe as we know it began with a big bang about 13.7 billion years ago, but many questions remain. What, if anything, came before the Big Bang? Can a universe appear from nothing? Was the Big Bang also the origin of time and space? Can such an event ever be fully explained scientifically? This lecture will tackle such deep and important topics. It will also review the history of the universe from the first split second to the present epoch, as well as predict the ultimate fate of the cosmos

International Seminar on Mind and Body in Health and Harmony in Asian Systems of Medicine
Organized by the IIC - Asia Project

Keynote Address: Prof P.N. Tandon, President, National Brain Research Centre

Seminar Coordinator: Prof Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, formerly of WHO

Chair: Prof M.G.K. Menon

A three-day seminar on the unique medical systems prevalent in Asia, to create awareness about these in an endeavour to benefit the peoples from the rich heritage available

As part of the conference, two performance-cum-demonstrations will be held:

On 12th December at 18:00 in the Auditorium
The Body-Mind Connect Seen Through the Prism of the Arts - I
Selected examples of shared Asian and Indian practices as both entertainment and healing

Zen Dance and Son Mudo (South Korea)
Thangta - Martial Art of Manipur

Chief Guest: Dr Karan Singh, M.P., President, ICCR
Introduction: Smt Shanta Serbjeet Singh, Vice-Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi and Chairperson, APPAN (Asia Pacific Performing Arts Network)

On 13th December at 18:00 in the Multipurpose Hall, Kamaladevi Block
The Body-Mind Connect Seen Through the Prism of the Arts - II
Selected examples of shared Asian and Indian practices as both entertainment and healing

Kalaripayattu - Martial Art of Kerala
Humour as a Stress Reliever in Pan-Asian Art (Indonesia)

Presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi and APPAN

Unity and Diversity of India: A Genomic Reconstruction from Ancestral Footfalls

Speaker: Dr Partha P. Majumder, Director, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics

Chair: Prof Samir K. Brahmachari, Secretary, Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India, and Director General, CSIR

Providing a synthesis of the findings of studies in genomics theory and technology over the last decade, the talk will explain how these have enabled a scientific estimate of the extent of unity and diversity among the peoples of India, the reconstruction of their origins, and allowed us to trace trails of migration through the length and breadth of India, showing their impact on the population structure

Reading the Human Genome
Speaker: Prof Sydney Brenner, Nobel Laureate, and Senior Distinguished Fellow, Crick-Jacobs Center

Chair: Prof M.G.K. Menon, Life Trustee, IIC