PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

Happiness Class (51 min; 2021; English & with subtitles)
Directed by Samina Mishra

Screening will be followed by a discussion with: 
Abha Adams, educationist, writer and former Education Adviser, Step by Step School, NOIDA; Dr. Manish Jain, Assistant Professor, School of Education Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi; and Samina Mishra, documentary filmmaker, writer and teacher

The film is a journey into the unique and fascinating world of children: their preoccupations, their worries, and their idea of happiness. It is set in the context of the Delhi Government’s efforts to curate a Happiness Curriculum in its schools, inspired by HH the Dalai Lama’s commitment to nurture social, emotional and ethical learning amongst the young. In a world challenged by competition, conflicts and polarization, the film asks what the pursuit of happiness really means and what role education can play

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

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Celebrating Guru-Shishya Parampara

Dhrupad Recital
By Santosh Kumar

Dhrupad Recital
By Harinath Jha and Mudit Jha

Dhrupad Recital
By Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar
Accompanied by Pt. Mohan Shyam Sharma on the pakhawaj

(Collaboration: Dagar Brothers Memorial Trust)
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

(122 min; 2000; German/English & with subtitles)

Written and Directed by Mark Jonathan Harris
Narrated by Judi Dench

Multiple award winner including Oscar Award for Best Documentary, Features, Academy Awards, USA 2001; Audience Award for Best Documentary Film, Terezin Fort Film Festival 2001; Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Documentary, Evening Standard British Film Awards 2001; among others 

Film on the extraordinary British rescue operation known as the Kindertransport which saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish and other children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. These children, or Kinder, as they came to be known were taken into foster homes and hostels in Britain, expecting to be reunited with their parents. The majority of them never saw their parents again. The film uses rare and extensive footage, photographs, and artefacts, and is told in the words of the child survivors, rescuers, parents, and foster parents
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME
 
Bharatanatyam Recital

By Rahul Dev Mondal from Kolkata, disciple of the late Guru Tusher Dey and Prof. Khagendra Nath Burman
 
 

At 19:00
 

Kuchipudi Recital

By Abhinaya Nagajothy from Delhi, disciple of Smt Seetha Nagajothy and Shri P. Nagajothy
 
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Concert presented by the Slovenian duo Aritmija - Tilen Stepišnik & Šemsudin Džopa, guitarists from Ljubljana with Indian artists, Sabiha Khan on vocals and Vinayak Netke on tabla

The concert marks 30th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Slovenia

(Collaboration: Embassy of Slovenia)
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

FILMS ON ARTISTS – DANCE ENGAGEMENTS

Two films on dance by Sandhya Kumar
The films will be introduced by Justin McCarthy, well-known Bharatanatyam dancer and Guru

The filmmaker Sandhya Kumar and  dancer-musician Justin McCarthy will initiate a discussion after the screenings

Light Falling on White Flowers (India)
(14 min; 2009; English)

Many years ago, a young girl was born with one dream – to trace back the sacred root of dance and restore it to the highest place in the arts. Isadora Duncan came to invent the ‘Modern Dance’. Where dwells this poetic spirit today.

O Friend, This Waiting! (India)
(32 min; 2012; Telugu & English with subtitles)

Could a song be full of love, and yet banal and trifling? Such were the padams of Kshetrayya. A wandering poet-musicians, Kshetrayya wrote for devadasis, the dancing courtesans at the courts of the 17th century Nayaka kings. His padams became the most cherished of her songs of love. O Friend, This Waiting! Reflects on the entwined fortunes of the padams and the women they were written for, from the 17th to the 20th century, while dwelling in the performance spaces of temples and courts of the Nayaka period.

Screening will be followed by a discussion with Justin McCarthy and Sandhya Kumar 
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Tales of an Explorer – Five Decades of Adventure Travel, Expeditions and Environmental Concerns Across 7 Continents
Illustrated lecture by Shri Mandip Singh Soin

Chair: Amb. Manjeev Singh Puri, former Indian Ambassador to Nepal and Distinguished Fellow, Earth Science and Climate Change, The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) 

Mandip Singh Soin, well-known explorer, mountaineer, environmentalist and adventure travel professional will reflect back on five decades of adventure, expeditions and eco concerns across 7 continents.  His journeys range from climbs and treks in the Himalayas to the Arctic, camels across the Thar to mapping ecotourism in the Andamans, from Madagascar, Peru, Costa Rica, Antarctica and beyond. 
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

Dhun Mein Dhyan: Meditations in Music, in the Guru Granth Saheb | (51 min; 2017; English)

A film by Meera Dewan who will introduce the film

A weaver, a barber, a cobbler, a butcher, a blind writer, a king, Sufis, 6 Gurus…these are some of the 36 visionary poets of the anthology, Guru Granth Sahib. Living centuries and geographies apart, their verses - a shared message –

“The Creator created many forms from the same clay
Flawless is the clay pot; flawless, the Potter.” 
 
The film attempts to unravel the birth, lineage, ancestors and life message of this Living Guru. When the believers bow to the Granth, set to 31 raagas, it is to knowledge they bow. When they sing to it, it sings right back to them.  

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

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Madhavi Mudgal, renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher and prime disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatr presents her students, trained at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, in a traditional Odissi repertoire. The evening features rare pieces of choreographed by her Guru more than half a century ago, to highlight the continuity of the Guru-Shishya Parampara even in today’s world.

Dancers: Shalakha Rai, Shobha Bisht, Deepika Bisht, Chikirsha Mohanty, Ishita Mohanty, Akankshya Padhi, Ketaki Pasricha, and Arnaaz Zaman

First programme in a new series focusing on the Guru-Shishya Parampara in different Indian classical dance forms   
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Introduction: Samina Mishra and Shikha Jhingan

Hopefully! (34 min)
Curated by Nina Sabnani and Anitha Balachandran

The films will be introduced by Nina Sabnani

A bundle of animated shorts by students and recent graduates, A rich and beguiling collection of little gems, reflecting on the pleasures, dreams, desires and reflections of young women animators from across India. Created during the pandemic, these works embody the spirit and artistry of filmmakers who found original, creative ways to rise to the challenges of working from home.

Screening will be followed by a discussion with Nina Sabnani, Shaibani Azam and Atul Sinha moderated by Aaradhana Kohli

Aruna Vasudev – Mother of Asian Cinema (65 min)
Director: Supriya Suri
The film will be introduced by Shikha Jhingan

Aruna Vasudev, Founder of Netpac, Cinemaya and Cinefan Film festival has touched the lives of many in the world of cinema. This documentary traces her roots from her humble origins in an undivided British India, to corridors of cinematic universe. It brings together her journey as a film critic, cinema activist and an impresario, weaving a tapestry that connects the dots that make the large canvas that we know as Asian Cinema Renaissance

Screening will be followed by a discussion with Supriya Suri and Aruna Vasudev moderated by Paromita Vohra

(Collaboration: International Association of Women in Radio and Television, India Chapter)