Recent Archaeological investigations in Tamil Nadu
Illustrated lecture by Dr. K. Rajan, Academic and Research Advisor, Govt. of Tamil Nadu and former Professor, Dept. of History, Pondicherry University

Chair: Dr. B.R. Mani, Director General, National Museum, New Delhi

Recent archaeological investigations carried out in Tamil Nadu provide new insights for understanding various cultural phases and transformations in this region. Excavations conducted at Attirampakkam, Pattaraiperumpudur, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Porpanaikottai, Keeladi, Korkai, Sivakalai, Adichanallur and many other sites have raised several important historical questions. The AMS dates received for the Iron Age and the Early Historic period at these sites have changed our hitherto held perceptions. The dates demonstrate that the existence of Iron Age in South India was contemporary to the chalcolithic age of North India. Other important discoveries include the early dates for the Brahmi script, the development of technology-driven industries such as gemstone, copper, iron, steel, shell and textile industries, and the emergence of trade and trade routes in resource zones. The lecture will highlight these and other results of recent archaeological explorations and excavations.

(Collaboration: Ashoka University, Sonipat)

Conceptualised by Dr. Ashwani Kumar

To Mark World Health Day 2025

Workshop from 10:00 to 13:00
Special session on Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Techniques
A training session on CPR techniques as well as Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a medical device designed to analyse the heart rhythm & deliver an electric shock to the victims of ventricular fibrillation to restore the heart rhythm to normal. The session will also include First Aid in Common Emergencies (F.A. C.E.) – an evidence based first response to acute health emergencies and how to avoid common myths and mismanagement in these situations

Conducted by Dr. Nitish Naik and Dr. Ambuj Roy and associates

Open to IIC members and staff members of IIC

At 16:00
The Ten Commandments for Nurturing Heart
Speaker: Prof. Ambuj Roy, MD, DM, FACC, FAMS, FRCP, FNASI, Professor, Dept. of Cardiology, Head, Skill, e-learning & Telemedicine Facility, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Panel Discussion on Heart Attack: How do we prevent and abort?
Panelists: Dr. Nitish Naik, Prof. of Cardiology, A.I.I.M.S. New Delhi; Dr. Ambuj Roy; Dr. Yashdeep Gupta, Addl. Prof. of Endocrinology A.I.I.M.S, New Delhi; and Dr. Suparna Ghosh Jerath, Program Head,Nutrition, The George Institute of Global Health, India

Chair: Dr. Ashwani Kumar
 

Illustrated lecture by Nandini Purandare, writer and editor, President, The Himalayan Club, editor of The Himalayan Journal; and Deepa Balsavar, writer, award-winning illustrator, Adjunct Professor, IDC School of Design, IIT – Bombay; co-authors of the internationally acclaimed book The Sherpa Trail: Stories from Darjeeling and Beyond (Roli Books) which received the Climbing Writing Award at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festiva, Canada and the Boardman Tasker Award at the Kendal Mountain Festival, UK.

Chair: Brig. Ashok Abbey

The story of a fast-disappearing community of Sherpa climbers without whom any exploration in the Himalaya would have been impossible. Nandini and Deepa set out on an adventure that began in 2012 and culminated on a book ten years later. The book focused on the Darjeeling Sherpas, who, centuries ago, first migrated from Tibet to Nepal and then to the foothills of the Himalaya in northern India, becoming renowned for their skills as expedition porters from the turn of the 20th century

(Collaboration: The Himalayan Club)
 
 

ART MATTERS

Discussion on Cinema and Time
 

Panelists: Anupama Srinivasan; Gurvinder Singh; and Sashikanth Ananthachary

Moderator: Udayan Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)
 

Talk by Rahul Mehrotra, founder principal of RMA Architects; Professor of Urban Design and Planning, and the John T. Dunlop Professor in Housing and &Urbanization, Graduate School of Design,  Harvard University; and Naman P. Ahuja, curator and Professor, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University

A recent volume Marg provides fascinating documentation of the kumbh mela, the largest human habitational space erected every twelve years, alongside grand qanats and shamianas of the Mughals, Deccani sultans and Rajputs. The speakers will focus on how India’s rich history of tents can be positioned within a global context. In fact the characteristics of tents – their lightness, agility, adjustability, reversibility, and ephemerality – can inspire designers, academics, planners and policy makers in crafting an urban future which is more adaptable to negotiate the immense flux we face on the planet

(Collaboration: MARG)
 

In Conversation: Alarmel Valli, Leela Samson and Madhavi Mudgal
Moderator: Archana Sivasubramanian

Organised in collaboration with Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi

India’s National Security Challenges

Edited by N.N. Vohra (Primus Books: 2023)

Discussants: Lt. Gen. Deependra S. Hooda (Retd.), PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM & Bar, former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Indian Army; Prof. (Dr.) C. Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore; Ms Indrani Bagchi, Chief Executive Officer, Ananta Centre; Shri R. Banerji, former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India; and Shri N.N. Vohra, former Governor of Jammu & Kashmir and Life Trustee, IIC

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Beyond Boundaries: New Insights into Bodhgaya’s Ancient Landscape
 

Speaker: Dr. M.B. Rajani, from the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, who specializes in using geospatial data to uncover archaeological features and address heritage preservation amid urbanization. Her methodology integrates satellite imagery with historical data to reveal insights into cultural landscapes. Her book, Patterns in Past Settlements (2021), shares these findings with a broader audience.

Chair: Prof. Upinder Singh, Professor of History, Ashoka University

As cities expand and landscapes evolve, there are new challenges in preserving India's cultural heritage. This talk will explain how combining modern technology with historical analysis helps uncover hidden archaeological features around many iconic sites. Focusing on the sacred landscape of Bodhgaya, the lecture will discuss the many hidden and unknown archaeological features at Bodhgaya -- such as monasteries, stupas and tanks -- and the clues to the ancient course of the Niranjana river. The discussion will show how these new discoveries challenge past assumptions and offer exciting insights into ancient landscapes. Join us to explore how technology is reshaping our understanding of heritage sites.
 

What the West should Learn from India: Insights from a German Diplomat
By Walter J. Lindner (Juggernaut, 2024)

Discussants: Mr. Jawed Ashraf, former Indian Ambassador of India to France and Monaco; Amb. Ronen Sen, former Indian Ambassador to the USA; Amb. Meera Shankar, former Indian Ambassador to Germany and USA; and Mr Walter Lindner, former Ambassador of Germany to India

Moderator: Dr. Constantino Xavier, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy and Security Studies, Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP)

Curated by Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray

The thief who stole my heart: Sacred Bronzes from Chola India
Illustrated lecture by Prof. Vidya Dehejia, Barbara Stoler Miller Professor Emerita of Indian Art, Columbia University, New York, and author of a range of books on the history of Indian art that connect the literary and visual arts in meaningful ways. Her recent publications include The Thief who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes from Chola India, 855-1280 (2021); India: A Story through 100 Objects (2021); The Unfinished. Indian Stone Carvers at Work (2016) among others. Prof. Dehejia served as Chief Curator & Deputy Director, Freer & Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian in Washington DC, and as Acting Director in 2001-2002

Chair: Prof. Parul Dave Mukherji, Professor, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University
 

The talk commences with an introduction to the sacred bronzes created by a master sculptor around the year 1000, and suggests that his inspiration may have been child-saint Sambandar’s opening hymn that hails Lord Shiva as “the thief who stole my heart.” Prof. Dehejia explores this sensuous imagery before moving to ask questions of this material that have not been asked before. Where did the Cholas acquire the copper required to cast the many temple bronzes that are solid heavy pieces of metal? What were the circumstances that permitted the creation of hundreds of temples and vast numbers of sacred bronzes despite the constant warfare that the Chola monarchs were engaged in?