1

diary exhibitions

Everlasting FlameFESTIVAL: Threads of Continuity: Zoroastrian Life and CultureCollaboration: Parzor; IGNCA; IIC; IHC1 April to 27 May

The Everlasting Flame exhibition from London, showcased in the National Museum—a panorama on the history of the Zoroastrian faith—has acted like a magnet for other exhibitions at Jaipur House and IGNCA, primarily through the efforts of Parzor and Dr. Shernaz Cama. Exhibitions on Parsi painters entitled ‘No Parsi is an Island’ curated by Ranjit Hoskote and Nancy Adjania, another on Parsi trade with China in the nineteenth century, at Jaipur House, and ‘Threads of Continuity’ at IGNCA completed this constellation.

The IIC came to the party on 1st April, with the film Ferrari ki Sawari through Bollywood celebrity Boman Irani speaking on the film. The film stretched both imagination and verisimilitude a bit, but so what, so does the Parsi community in any case!

On 2nd April, we again had Boman Irani singing away splendidly, and later the Iranian choir on the Fountain Lawns. It was a great evening and both the choir and Irani were given vociferous ovations.

On 8th April, an excellent documentary Outlines of Persian History—the Achaemenian and Sassanian Empires, was screened at the Multipurpose Hall, followed by a talk by Justice Rohinton Nariman.

A photographic exhibition by Shantanu Das on Udvada, which houses ‘Iranshah’ the sacred fire of the Parsis, was on show at the Annexe Art Gallery.

On 15th April, a film from the Parzor Archives entitled Pir-e-Chak Chak was screened at the Multipurpose Hall, highlighting the legendary lost princess of the last Zoroastrian Emperor Yezdezard, who vanishes into some caves. A festival is held there with Iranian Zoroastrians congregating and having fun at the caves. The screening was

March—April 2016volume XXX. No. 2

preceded by a talk by Dr. Homi Dhalla on Zoroastrianism and Ecology. He spoke at more than considerable length on the state of ecology, stressed the fact that over fifty per cent of the world's wildlife has disappeared in the last fifty years. He emphasised the references to ecology in the Zoroastrian scriptures, for instance the Vayu Yashth, a hymn to the winds, and the Avan Yashth, a hymn to the waters.

Professor Rustom Bharucha of JNU moderated a panel discussion on the curating of these exhibitions on 23rd April. The other panelists were Dr. Shernaz Cama whose efforts on behalf of Parzor were pivotal in bringing the exhibitions to Delhi, and poet Ranjit Hoskote and wife Nancy Adjania, both famed art curators from Bombay. Bharucha gave an erudite talk on curating exhibitions—an assemblage of performances and exhibits, and its multiple narratives. He talked of the Parsi communitarian identity with Zoroastrianism. Dr. Shernaz Cama talked of a movement to bring back Zoroastrian discourse into world discourse, and resurrecting eminent photographers and artists in the last twenty years.

On the 26th of April, Professor Sabeena Gadihoke (Jamia Milia) gave a crisp and excellent account of the career of the photographer Homai Vyarawalla who had snapped the historic 1947 changeover and much else—the lives of the colonialists. This was followed by a long loose unstructured talk on Delhi Parsis by Rusi Sohrabji. But it brought out how people lived in the first half of the 20th century.

� KEKI N. DARUWALLA

Udvada

2

diaryexhibition

A Flashing WeaveEXHIBITION: Painted Weaves—Tapestries by S.G. Vasudev1-9 March

Woven tapestry’s graphic pictorial role has been long-established in that five hundred years ago, the art was already extremely sophisticated in its development—esthetically, technically and in its diversity of purpose.

S.G. Vasudev is a multifaceted artist who has explored various mediums and art forms. Exposed to tapestry art during his travels in Europe, he wanted to do it in India.

After meeting master weaver Subbarayalu in 1995, there was no looking back. Yarn dyes are watched scrupulously to maintain colour integrity with the original paintings. Works for Painted Weaves at the Kamaladevi Complex were picked from—Tree of Life, Maithuna, Humanscape, Earthscapes and Theatre of Life.

The first impression of the tapestries was of life bustling, and yet a sense of languid co-existence, with equal rights for all! This inclusive stance of the artist, his all embracing propensity for treating flora, fauna, human life, and the universe with equal empathy remained the hallmark of

Paintings about RanikhetEXHIBITION: Ranikhet State of MindPaintings by Manju Kak23 to 29 April

Manju Kak's exhibition Ranikhet State of Mind comprised a series of oil and watercolour paintings inspired by the north Indian hill station where she has lived over the years. As the title suggests, the show isn't literally about paintings of Ranikhet, but rather a serene worldview that shapes Kak's vision of other cities.

In an opening note, Kak describes her family home Knock Fierna, that shares its name with a holy hill in Ireland, suggesting Ranikhet’s similarities with a quaint English village.

This translates into a series of abstract landscapes of two very different places, Delhi and Hong Kong. There are paintings of the vast open barren spaces near the Yamuna riverbed and the Jahanapanah forest in Delhi, while an oil painting captures the movement of a peacock’s fluttering feathers. In contrast to these arid scenes, her waterscapes of

Painted Weaves

Ranikhet State of Mind

the series. Collectivism, equality, acceptance and harmony marked the entire gamut of works.

Each work exudes a collectivism replete with an imagery that is commensurate with the artist’s open-armed acceptance of all beings, different cultures, and varying strata of life.

Camaraderie of man and beast in Elephant & Man, the saffron and green hues perhaps underlining the Indianness of Vasudev’s faith, the Blue Tree as a symbol of the universe, the feminine Prakriti, sustainer of life, pervasive and embracing, a vestibule of propagation, are the simple but profound truths that power S.G. Vasudev’s creations.

� ARUNA BHOWMICK

the seas surrounding Hong Kong have a considerably more soothing effect.

Towards the end, a set of paintings of colourful chrysanthemums, poppies, dahlias and lotuses portray flowers from her garden in Ranikhet.

The exhibition evokes the spirit of Ranikhet with a video of the sounds and silences from Kak’s garden in Ranikhet, and flower pots placed underneath it. Yet, the inclusion of a few paintings of the actual Kumaon hills surrounding Ranikhet would have been a fitting conclusion to the artist’s visions of the town.

� SONAM JOSHI

diary

3

There is an interesting medley of wall adver-tisements, showing a variety of fonts and other graphic elements that make for interesting viewing. There were photographs of stairs which had such strong graphic elements… converting the mundane to a different point of view.

There was one particularly beautiful photograph that looked as if it had been taken when it was raining. Monica explained that early mornings in a Goan winter are often foggy and the photograph was a result of that fog!

There was technique, there was experimentation, drama and the mundane. I wonder where Monica will take us next.

� POONAM SAHI

exhibition

A Festival of Bimal Roy FilmsFILM FESTIVAL: Re-visiting Masters of Cinema: Bimal RoyCollaboration: IIC Film Club, Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. And Anupam Productions, Delhi11-22 April

Five films by Bimal Roy were screened, thanks to the collaboration between Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Anupam Productions, Delhi and IIC Film Club.

Do Bigha Zamin (1953) influenced by Italian neo-realism is about the pauperisation of a poor farmer Shambhu and his family by a powerful village landlord. The film rings true even now because the lot of the Indian farmer remains tragic and Bimal Roy’s probing, humane camera brings alive the film despite a somewhat sketchy script.

Devdas (1955) based on Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s eponymous 1915 novel does not fall into the pit of narcissism thanks to the director’s humanity, intelligence

Vignettes of GoaEXHIBITION: ResiduesPhotographs by Monica Bhasin6 to 12 April

Monica Bhasin is a filmmaker, amongst other things. In this exhibition, appropriately titled Residues, some photographs certainly are reminiscent of stills from a film of yesteryears. I am referring in particular to an old abandoned truck and an old seat in a park with an overgrowth of vines and creepers…. giving it a melancholy, yet romantic old world feel. I felt I had been transported to the sets of a Guru Dutt film!

This exhibition showed us a Goa that we perhaps have never noticed! The doors that have been photographed are not extraordinary, and yet just in that, lies the extraordinariness. What a lot of character here. It is here that you see residues of Goa…. of Goa hitherto unnoticed. There are no beaches, no shacks, no Portuguese architecture, in fact nothing that characterises the ‘regular’ Goa.

Residues

and controlled technique. Dilip Kumar (Devdas), Suchitra Sen (Paro), Vyjanthimala (Chandramukhi), Motilal (Chunni Babu) all excel in their roles.

Sujata (1959), taken from a Subodh Ghosh story, addresses the theme of untouchability most poignantly. Nutan as Sujata shines and Roy holds his audience through superior technique despite the film’s inordinate length.

Madhumati (1957), written by Ritwik Ghatak, is a delightful piece of hokum featuring a rapacious landlord, a lovelorn hill maiden and an honest, romantic estate manager. It is a tale of rebirth and reincarnation and grips the viewer with its expressive photography and lilting music.

Bandini (1964), based on a Jarasandha novel, Tapasi, is about the tragedy of an innocent postmaster’s daughter let down by a revolutionary during the Independence struggle in the 1930s. Its reading of a stunted, hide-bound, male-dominated society is spot on and relevant today—more so! Nutan as Kalyani, the wronged woman, is unforgettable. This is Bimal Roy’s most perceptive film.

� PARTHA CHATTERJEE

diaryfilm

Mixed FareFILM FESTIVAL: IAWRT Asian Women’s Film FestivalCollaboration: International Association of Women in Radio & Television, India Chapter; Max Muller Bhawan/Goethe Institut; Korean Cultural Centre; Sanat South Asia; UNESCO, New Delhi Office; and others3-5 March

The 12th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival was held at the India International Centre from March 3-5, 2016 to mark International Women’s Day.

The festival is organised by the members of the India chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television who take time out from their busy professional schedules to put it together every year. From a two-day festival of documentaries, it has today grown into a four-day event across multiple venues, showcasing the works of women directors of Asian origin on diverse themes and in a range of genres. The country in focus this year was Palestine. In addition, the third edition of the innovative segment Soundphiles, a curation of sound works was presented.

On the evening of 5 March, there was a felicitation ceremony organised to honour nonagenarian Dr. Vijaya Mulay, who is an educationist, documentary filmmaker and writer. She was felicitated by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, and the ceremony was followed by a conversation with Dr. Uma Chakravarti on her filmmaking experience. Two of her films, Ek Enek aur Ekta and Tidal Bore, were screened.

Thirty-five films and sound works from 13 countries and a special package of 11 films, Voices from Palestine were presented. 24 filmmakers and sound artists attended the

festival resulting in many lively and thought-provoking post-screening Q and A sessions.

Some of the highlights of this edition were Haunted, a powerful documentary from Syria by Liwaa Yazji on the plight of people who have had to abandon their homes to avoid being killed; Song of the Horned Owl (by Manju Borah), a gentle film about Assamese people caught between the militants and the army; Daughters of Cordillera (by Ilang-Ilang Quijano from Philippines), a film that looks at three generations of women who have voiced their protests; Till then the Roads Carry Her, a poetic film on the women living in Kashmir; The Deer, Tree and Me (by Teenaa Kaur Pasricha), a brilliant film on the Bishnois in Rajasthan and Mod, a wonderful documentary on boys by Pushpa Rawat. There were some films of shorter duration too.

In addition to film screenings, there were two short seminars. Documenting the Women’s Movement on film—a seminar on recovering the history of the women’s movement that began to address the structural violence of patriarchy that had been assuming new forms in the 1980s and 90s. The seminar showcased a few films made during those decades and was followed by a panel discussion with Deepa Dhanraj, Sheba Chhachhi, Saba Dewan and Pallavi Paul. Conflict, Gender and Media was the second seminar that considered Women Living in Conflict and Women Reporting from Conflict. There were two panels with Pamela Philipose, Iffat Fatima, Patricia Mukhim, Shahd Al Hindi, Samah Al Khwaja, Nupur Basu, Aunohita Mojumdar, Ellen Barry, Maya Mirchandani and Suhasini Haidar contributing.

At the IIC Annexe gallery, there was an exhibition titled Healings by Dr. Iris Odyuo. Her paintings attempted to put faith in goodness in each one of us and try to heal each other’s worlds.

� UMA TANUKUHealings

Healings

Healings

Healings

4

5

diary culture

of handicrafts. Usha Malik, current Chair of the Srinivas Malliah Theatre Crafts Museum illuminated the audience on another of Kamaladevi’s passionate interests—that of the performing arts. Herself an actress in film and theatre, Kamaladevi championed the cause of performers; her persistent advocacy resulted in the setting up of a number of institutions and the rejuvenation of several performance forms that owe their existence to her today.

On 22nd April, as part of the programme, the IIC hosted a Round Table that included

eminent speakers from across India. The morning session moderated by the feminist economist Devaki Jain had the former Governor of West Bengal, Gopal Gandhi speak on the broader philosophical notion of the deep underlying difference between the use

of power and the concept of strength and how the latter lay not in positions and titles but in underlying beliefs, principals and ideals. Titled ‘Power as Food’ — Bhojanam Bhokta or the eater and the eaten, he laid the foundation for the talks that followed. In the same session, Professor Mridula Mukherjee, former Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library provided an erudite perspective on Kamaladeviji’s place in the firmament of the struggle for freedom.

Tribute to KamaladevijiFESTIVAL: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and The Making of Modern India17 to 26 April

The seminal and ground-breaking contribution of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay to the building of modern India was presented at the Centre through a series of programmes and events that extended over a ten-day period. This much-needed acknowledgement of Kamaladevi’s pivotal achievements was elaborated through an excellent exhibition, scholarly papers and personal reminiscences. Performances that would not have survived without her vital focus enlivened the evenings.

At the exhibition, thoughtfully curated by Birad Rajaram Yajnik, archival photographs, newspaper reports and writings by scholars and in Kamaladevi’s own pen were presented. Historian Dr Aparna Basu introduced the audience to the many avatars of one of the most notable women of the times. Gurupada Chitrakar, a national award-winning Patachitra narrative scroll artist-performer delighted the audience at the inauguration with a poetic rendering in Bangla of his interpretation of Kamaladevi’s eventful life. Padmashree Gulshan Nanda, former Chairperson of the Central Cottage Industries Emporium spoke of Kamaladevi’s post-Independence involvement with the Indian Cooperative movement and the setting up of the iconic store and the role it played in the revival of crafts and empowerment of craftspeople.

In the days that followed, a keen audience was regaled by eminent textile historian Jasleen Dhamija’s reminiscences of her early working years at the All India Handicrafts Board under the Chairpersonship of Kamaladevi. Travelling across the length of the country, Kamaladevi met with craftspeople, negotiating uncharted waters in her service to the cause of crafts to be titled by them their Hastkala Mata—the mother

Contd…

6

diaryculture

The second session of the Round Table moderated by journalist Pamela Philipose had Dr Radha Kumar, the present Director-General of the Delhi Policy Group, talk about the seminal influence of Kamaladeviji on her life and the continuing significance of her work and the relevance of her ideals in today’s world in spite of generational differences. Senior journalist and former Chair, Prasar Bharati, Mrinal Pande spoke about the many other women involved in the freedom struggle whose lives remain unwritten and unsung and the need to tell their stories and the part they played in the fabric of the movement for Independence.

The post-lunch session chaired by the educationist Professor Karuna Chanana had Dr Varsha Shenoy expand on her doctoral thesis on the Saraswat Brahmin community that Kamaladevi belonged to. The community’s liberal, forward-looking approach created other outstanding women who made their mark in the fields of education, politics, literature and medicine. The former CEO of the National Culture Fund, Dr Shobita Punja’s deeply moving reminiscences about her personal experiences of working with Kamaladevi in the formative years of the setting up of

the Centre for Cultural Resource and Training brought a lump to the throat of many in the audience.

In his summing up, Ashoke Chatterjee, former Executive Director, National Institute of Design invoked Gandhiji and Tagore with a stirring call to the audience to continue to ensure that the spirit of creativity, innovation, discussion and debate as represented by Kamaladevi and others remain alive for as he said ‘if we destroy that we strike at our very civilisational roots’. The seminar’s conclusive statements about the colossal force that was Kamaladevi, her strength and larger than life persona and her many dimensions that continue to live on through the institutions she set up and the many whose lives she helped were by Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, Trustee IIC.

The evening programme set in the Gandhi-King Plaza was a solo presentation in Hindi by Bhagirathi Bai from the Seagull Theatre in Guwahati. The play based on Bharathiya Mahileyara Swathanthra Hortala, a translation of ‘Indian women’s freedom struggle’ written by Kamaladevi was a tour de force.

The IIC and all those involved are to be congratulated on an excellently articulated series of programmes on one of the makers of modern India.

� RITU SETHIKamaladeviji

Gurupada Chitrakar

7

diary literature

Poetry and Dissent COLLOQUIUM: Palestine in India: A Writer’s ColloquiumCOLLABORATION: Women Unlimited11 to 13 March

Palestine in India was a colloquium of writers like Ahdaf Soueif, Mourid Barghouti; and Suad Amiry who in her imitable tongue-in-cheek style did a hakkawati or storytelling performance as the grand finale with Soueif as the mistress of ceremonies

The opening event was a film, The Time That Remains by the director Elia Suleiman who through the stories of his father and mother and his own life explores Palestinian life and society through the lens of a ‘present absentee’, those Palestinians who had to leave or were expelled during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

The film was followed by a discussion on living under occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, and on writing back to subvert the oppression. Laila El-Haddad and Adania Shibli read from their works as Ritu Menon of Women Unlimited introduced us to the challenges of publishing and selling Palestinian writing. Susan Abulhawa read from her new book The Blue Between Sky and Water which is a story of women, of relocation, separation, endurance and love carrying within the turmoil of four generations of a Palestinian family. Susan depicts how from the politics of daily life, feminism is a force that always punches as it

comes from the women but expands beyond them into a collective wound, which needs to be redeemed.

Sunday brought with it a mesmerising poetry reading jugalbandi between father and son poets, Mourid Barghouti and Tamim Albarghouti, ‘My Country: Distant as My Heart from Me.’ The iconic Mourid Barghouti needs no introduction; it’s important however to listen to him and try and grasp his description of the Palestinian identity as that of lost meanings, lost land, lost belongings, lost rights and lost freedom. Mourid Barghouti had a moving voice which could in very few words take you to intimate spaces like the pillow of a child who will never return to it again to convey the human tragedy of war. He said that the answer to injustice is to be perfect in what you create, despite restrictions around you. Resistance and freedom are not abstract words, they lie scattered in details of life where with the deaths and jail-living—loving, generosity, beauty, friendship in themselves become dissent.

Tamim Albarghouti, the son of Mourid and Rudwa, an Egyptian writer, commands huge popularity today. Tamim says he wishes his poetry, even when it reflects the harsh realities and turmoil of the Middle East, can give his compatriots a message of hope for which they are desperate. He recited from his much lauded poem ‘In Jerusalem’ about his last visit to the occupied land with apartheid walls and soldiers denying Palestinians their basic freedoms and rights. The poem ends on a jubilant note as Tamim points at the crowd and recites in Arabic :

‘You shouldn’t cry, are you mad? have you forgotten the book’s text?

In Jerusalem they have whoever is there in Jerusalem

But I young Arab, have eyes for no one but you!’

� SABA HASAN

8

diarymusic

Celebrating Spring through Guru’s ShishyaFESTIVAL: Passing on a Tradition: Guru and Disciple—IIC Spring Festival of Dance6 and 7 April

The clamour for originality may have dimmed the halo around the time-honoured Guru/Shishya transmission in traditional art. Even so, established dancers as teachers transmitting to the next generation what was imbibed from legendary Gurus, have ensured a measure of continuity, preserving core art identity. Saluting tradition’s teacher/taught pravaha, while celebrating spring, IIC’s two-day festival provided a platform for promising young talents being groomed under dancer/ teachers.

The curtain-raiser Odissi duet featured disciples of Madhavi Mudgal, Deepika and Shobha Bisht. Their fast-paced performance to recorded music, comprised Jagannath Ashtakam set to Sunanda Patnaik’s music, followed by nature’s spring effulgence describing Manmatha’s eloquent entry with his flower-bedecked armoury, woven round Kalidasa’s Ritusamhar verses set to Vasant. Pure nritta represented in the Pallavi and concluding Moksha in drut laya saw the tastefully attired winsome twosome, epitomise through movement silhouette and rhythmic correctness, the Madhavi trademark of technical perfection. The

Ashtapadis Lalitalavangalata and Chandanacharchita portraying respectively spring effervescence and Krishna frolicking with Gopis, also glimpsed Radha and sakhis watch with mixed feelings.

Trained under Jaya Rama Rao and Vanashree, Reddy Lakshmi’s Kuchipudi recital showed true quality, evident right from the opening Annamacharya Keertanam Vandeham Jagat Vallabham in Hamsadhwani. Expressional elegance underlined vignettes from the ever-green Bhama Kalapam. Lekha in Arabhi visualised Satyabhama penning a passionate love letter to Krishna, in lilting poetry Srimat Ratnakara putrika... expressing anguish at separation from him. As the messenger departed, Satyabhama was overjoyed by scenes she read as good omens. Quality accompaniment was a feature, led by Rama Rao’s nattuvangam with vocalist Venkateshwar’s melodic prowess combining clarity of diction. The dancer excelled as the bitingly sarcastic jilted khandita nayika rejecting the errant lover, in the Javali in Saveri Mutta voddu ra. Swara Pallavi in Vasant concluded with the Tarangam brass plate rhythm.

Geeta Chandran’s fast-evolving Bharatanatyam disciple, Sneha Chakradhar, entered welcoming spring’s bounty, based on Suryakanthi Tripathi Nirala’s Sakhi Vasant Aya, set to Basant Bahar score by Sudha Raghuraman, followed by a spirited nritta/abhinaya suite with convincing sancharis interpreting Swati Tirunal’s Karnataka Kapi varnam Sumasaya. The sakhi, pleading with Lord Padmanabha the case of her lovelorn friend waiting in vain for him, urges that he join her. Leading with authoritative punch was Geeta’s Nattuvangam in cymbal talam and Jati recitation. More leisurely paced singing sans flourishes in the abhinaya item Indenduvaccitivira in Surati, with the dancer savouring gestural interpretation, would have created more music/dance coordination. The finale saw a Tillana in Rageshwari.

Now training under Prerana Shrimali, Shivalika’s well-groomed, slim form, with clean ang, made for a quiet presentation of Jaipur gharana’s Kathak intra-forms, her upaj and footwork showing impeccable laya. The gharana’s specialties of Kavit, Chakradhar, Gat, Paran Amad, Parmelu were all rendered with a beautifully straight stance. Naturally shy, the dancer’s quietly charming abhinaya, needs more assertion in the understated ched/chad in Chado chado Bihari dekhi Nari. Music with SamiullahKhan (vocal) and Yogeshgangani (tabla) and Prerna’s padhant needed better sound balancing.

� LEELA VENKATARAMANSpring Festival

9

diary music

Heritage Series ConcertsPERFORMANCE: MehfilWith Smt. Apoorva GokhaleCOLLABORATION: Shri Harshvardhan Neotia, Jnana Pravaha and Naadsaagar Archives & Documentation Society for South Asian Music18 March

The concert of Apoorva Gokhale, under the Heritage series of concerts, was a portrayal of true classicism, where the strains of the gharanas of Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur, exuded right from the curtain-raiser madhyalaya composition at the start. Indeed her talim as the granddaughter of the late Pandit Gajananbuwa Joshi, was a recall of memories for the connoisseurs in the audience. Making comparisons and cherry picking gharana tenets sprinkled across her singing, was easy as her presentation had blue-blood links with her heritage. Besides possessing a melodious singing style,

American Dance StylesTALK: Bojangles to Ballanchine and Beyond: A Century of American Dance American Social DanceSPEAKER: Sharon Lowen16 March

Traditions of dance over the centuries have always been a forum for purposeful social activity, wherein elaborate balls and private parties allowed friends and family to share the new trends in music and dance. In the political sphere, dances provided a setting for politicians to exhibit their wealth and standing by their knowledge of the most fashionable dances. The social institution of dance provided an arena for people to communicate with each other through the use of non-verbal and culturally acceptable movements and gestures.

As a cultural melting pot, America welcomed a variety of dances. The stately and ceremonial minuet came from France, freewheeling country-dances arrived from England, and lively hornpipes and reels flooded in from Scotland and Ireland. Countless other dances were the

which brought to mind a violin-like timbre to the concert, the artist presented an explorative array of taans that ranged from the oft heard sargam taans to the more intricate ‘aadha’ tans, all of which was fused in a seamless integration. Her immense tayyari was visible in the taut exactitude of her compositional flair, contrasted with an alluring and relaxed range of notes, all of them homing on to the ‘sam’ note with charming alacrity.

Perhaps what made this concert so special was the singer’s capacity to exploit the core notes of her chosen ragas as engines of moods so that the innate emotions of the lyric were integrated into the music through innovative behlawa. The concluding tarana proved that the artist had worked towards making the evening’s presentation a complete concert experience. The accompanists did full justice to the presentation, giving listeners a chance to savour what is integral to the music of her forebears.

� SUBHRA MAZUMDAR

products of cultural mixing; some dances originated in one country and travelled through several others before infiltrating American culture. Some dances now considered characteristically ‘American’ can be traced back to European roots.

Eminent Odissi dancer Sharon Lowen’s talk on a century of American social dance brought alive the wide varieties of American dance forms, and their historical influences. In an extensive audio-visual presentation entitled ‘Bojangles to Ballanchine and Beyond: A Century of American Dance,’ Lowen’s detail of American dance forms was interspersed with sepia-toned, black-and-white archival video footage of a variety of different American dance styles—from the tap dance, tango, and Charleston to modern day hip-hop and pop. She explained how these dances evolved, keeping in mind the influences of rapidly changing social and environmental conditions in the early 20th century in America. The effects of the Great Depression, and mass migrations of different cultures to the United States also resulted in a curious mix of varying dance styles, forms and techniques. It was an enjoyable evening when one couldn’t help but ‘shake a leg!’

� DEEPAK CASTELINO

10

diary

Piano MedleyPERFORMANCE: Piano RecitalBy Dr. Raul M. SunicoCOLLABORATION: Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines22 March

On 22 March, a packed auditorium enjoyed a brilliant piano recital by Dr. Raul M. Sunico, a pianist and composer from the Philippines.

The artist began his recital with three preludes by Rachmaninoff. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 2 no. 3 is perhaps the best known and was given a superb rendering by the pianist.

In the three pieces by Chopin, in the Waltz in Eb, op.18, the pianist was in his most rhythmic element. Two pieces by Debussy followed. The first one was slow and

Sufi Traditions in a New FormatPERFORMANCE: Sounds of the SufisPresented by the Looking Glass, Mumbai19 March

The many-sidedness of Sufi mysticism has been an inspirational take-off point down the centuries. The experimental look at Sufi traditions at the IIC platform under the ‘Sounds of the Sufis’ programme was a charming take on this theme. The artists, who were dressed perfectly for the part, had gelled together a dialogue of the teachings of the ‘‘who’s who’’ of Sufism. Using a fictional ‘Dr Pande’ as the sutradhar, the presentation bore a hugely innovative appeal. That this ancient cult has modern relevance was brought forth by their choice of accompaniments, as a guitar replaced the rabab, or single-stringed ektara that was used by the Sufis of yore. The tabla exuded the spiritual mood through a plethora of beats that harked back to ancient drum beats.

The compositions chosen for the evening were the oft-heard ones of these saint-composers sung with a fervour that had the audience foot-tapping and clapping, giving the evening a participatory flair. Introductions given by the narrator, linking the historicity of each saint bore authenticity. Had

languorous, but the second one, L'isle Joyeuse, was full of joy and delight.

After the intermission, the recital began with three preludes by Gershwin. Here, the pianist showed his mastery over the jazz idiom and was appreciated by all. Dr. Sunico has composed piano arrangements of folk songs from the Philippines and the audience was presented with a sampling of this music.

The recital concluded with music by Liszt. The most famous and well-loved of his works, the Liebestraum, was given a sensuous rendering by the artist. The final piece of the evening was the Vallee d'Obermann by Liszt. This was a brilliant piece of music with the pianist pulling out all the stops of his artistry.

The thrilled audience clamoured for an encore and Raul Sunico treated us with a stunning medley from the musical My Fair Lady and was given a standing ovation.

� R.P. JAIN

the lead singer chosen the lesser known lyrics of these saints, he would have veered away from comparisons with the renditions of the master musicians and professionals of the same numbers, with élan. This downslide in the quality of the singing began to show through towards the end of the concert, particularly with the Mira bhajan. However, the overall performance was laudable and the attempt to bring philosophy, history, musical traditions on a common platform in a popular garb, was ably achieved by the trio.

� SUBHRA MAZUMDAR

Sounds of the Sufis

music

diary

11

Media and SAARCDISCUSSION: Covering South Asia: Media and the SAARC RegionPANELLISTS: Deb Mukharji, Nirupama Subramanian and Suhasini HaiderCHAIR: Kishalay Bhattacharjee13 April

It’s a sad fact that though we belong to South Asia, the average Indian neither knows enough about our neighbouring countries nor is interested enough in acquiring that knowledge. When we’re not navel-gazing, we’re usually gazing at the stars and stripes. And if our hyperopic westward focus shifts at all, it is to a brief and profoundly myopic glance at the neighbourhood. Our occasional peek through the printed page or the pixellated window at our fellow South Asians is largely India-centric, and limited for the most part to those who form a contiguous parikramā of the motherland (for the rest we have a remarkably resilient indifference).

Environment of the EnvironmentTHE MEDIA FOUNDATIONS’S B.G. VERGHESE MEMORIAL LECTURE 2016: The Environment for India’s EnvironmentSPEAKER: Jairam RameshPANEL DISCUSSION: Darryl D’Monte; Bahar Dutt; and Dr. Shibani GhoshCOLLABORATION: The Media Foundation17 March

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture titled ‘The Environment for India’s Environment’ was organised by the IIC and the Media Foundation on 17 March. Mrinal Pande introduced the panellists Shekhar Gupta, Smita Gupta and Apoorv Anand. Shri Jairam Ramesh, former Union Minister for Environment, spoke on the subject of the environment of the environment. Fondly recalling his first meeting with B.G. Verghese, he mentioned the need for any growth and development process in India to incorporate the following :

-the Indian populace is exploding demographically. It is also a youthful populace. This has consumption and emission consequences,

-the economic environment must push for high economic growth policies to support the above,

We look daggers (albeit sometimes with good reason) at those who appear to be hostile, and revel in ill-concealed schadenfreude or condescending sympathy when misfortune strikes them. Even our occasional gifts of assistance tend to be wrapped in the unsightly paper of self-congratulation. When such episodes and the transient titillation they offer conclude, we return to our favourite serial: India. This is of course a somewhat exaggerated portrait, but only somewhat, and the media are partly to blame. Revenue trumps responsibility and reporters stationed in other South Asian countries and bringing us general, informative news about them are the first to get the axe. We don’t have a truly South Asian news agency and depend on Western feeds. And thralldom to Foreign Office guidelines is a sad reality. When you hear all this from experienced journalists and distinguished diplomats, it’s time to take notice.

� MAHADEVAN RAMASWAMY

-there is a cost of development in the social environment and the pollution, contamination and degradation of air, water and land and its effects on morbidity and health,

-there is an increasingly deregulatory political environment.

All of the above have a profound impact on the physical environment. Trade-offs are inevitable in balancing the pressures of economic growth and development with conserving the physical and social environment. He spoke of the fact that the lobbies supporting growth and development which mine the natural resources and displace tribal and rural peoples are frequently pitted against those lobbies supporting the environment which are against growth and development. No easy solution to this, it has allowed a general apathy to persist towards India’s environment from both the society at large and the administration in power.

The same occasion marked the 35th Chameli Devi Jain awards in memory of the veteran freedom fighter. The Media Foundation awarded women journalists Priyanka Kakodkar and Raksha Kumar. The finalists were selected from among 41 women journalists for their excellence in journalism and unbiased and independent reporting. Mention was made of the pressures facing an independent journalist today, the threats and coercion coming from various corners.

� MEKHALA SENGUPTA

media

12

diary

Bengal and Popular CultsTALK: The Construction of the Hindu Identity in Medieval Western Bengal: The Role of Popular CultsSPEAKER: Jawhar SircarCHAIR: Dipankar Gupta29 March

Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati gave an interesting and very informative talk on the proliferation of certain Hindu religious cults in medieval Bengal and the perceived reasons for their existence. The well-known political scientist Dipankar Gupta was in the Chair.

Sircar’s talk embraced history, anthropology, sociology and to a degree, statistics. He explained reasons for why ‘the Muslim identity in Bengal, after a time was a constructed one’, and how the Hindu identity there was a ‘response to it’.

The eastern part of Bengal had a largely Muslim population and the western part, Hindu. The reasons were many, including rivers changing course over centuries, the quality

Pakistan’s DilemmaBOOK DISCUSSION GROUP: A State in Denial: Pakistan’s Misguided and Dangerous Crusade by B.G. Verghese (New Delhi: Rupa, 2016)PANELLISTS: Shashi Tharoor, Shivshankar Menon, Vijay Varghese, Prem Shankar JhaMODERATOR: Shekhar Gupta28 March

Though the book was the posthumous work of veteran journalist B.G. Verghese, it differs from others on the subject and is ultimately optimistic in outlook and has some radical out-of the-box solutions on how the two countries can dismantle and bury over six decades of acrimony.

During the discussion, MP Shashi Tharoor introduced the book as a first-person observation by veteran journalist B.G. Verghese who suffered the effects of partition and tells the story in a very critical and emotional manner.

He further added, “the book A State in Denial is not incomplete, rather a well put together coherent volume. It’s very clear and readable as it goes through history, a certain amount of personal awareness and judgment. It’s a

of land fertility and proliferation of jungles and marsh lands. The attitude of the Sultans too played a role in the first 300 years. In the east, in Sylhet, the sword was used, and inducement in the west through sufi pirs, who ironically, were at logger heads with the state.

Different Sufi orders of the Chistiyas, Kadariyas, Suhravardis flourished, as did various Hindu cults like the version of Vaishnavism as propagated by Sri Chaitanya in Nabadweep. ‘Chaitanya’s impact on a carnivorous race of Hindus is terrific’. The followers of Chaitanya were very largely from the upper castes.

How a community of fishermen, pastoralists over time, were absorbed into an agricultural society over 3 centuries; how their lives were transformed due to changed political and natural conditions which affected the population density of each community in the East and West, and impacted thus on the cultural and political climate of the time was the central idea of Sircar’s talk.

� PARTHA CHATTERJEE

marvelous commentary on Kashmir going right back to an ancient age and to the present and brought up to a point where he ends with some prescription.” While recalling the days of 2014 with Verghese, Shashi Tharoor found author B.G. Verghese a visionary with a robust common sense about Pakistan who accommodated concerns about climate change in which he had become very interested in the last 10 years of his intellectual life.

However, another prominent speaker Shivshankar Menon found this book very rational and powerful, which reflects the integrity and passion of veteran journalist and author B.G. Verghese. After an uncompromising introduction about the (mostly self-inflicted) malaise Pakistan finds itself in, he took us through a quick but incisive overview of historical events.

Even while analysing Pakistan’s present-day plunge into internal dissent, provincial rivalry and military rule in the book, Verghese offers a gentle way out of the nation’s self-made dilemmas by encouraging Pakistan to become more than the Indian ‘other’, and urging it to move away from fundamentalism and embrace the syncretic, Sufi-infused Islam it once knew.

� M SHAHID SIDDIQUI

discussion

diary

13

The Man and his WorksDISCUSSION: The Structure: Works Of Mahendra RajPANELLISTS: Dr. Kirit Parikh; Professor Ram Sharma; Shri Rajeev Lochan; and Professor Mahesh TandonCHIEF GUEST: Dr. Kapila VatsyayanGUEST OF HONOUR: H.E. Dr. Linus von Castelmur15 March

The release of the book —The Structure: Works of Mahendra Raj, was followed by a discussion with a disparate set of people about the man and his works, and the larger context of structural design, architecture and the built environment. The monograph emerged through eight years of collaborative effort by his son Rohit Raj Mehndiratta and daughter-in-law, Vandana Mehta along with Ariel Huber.

Rohit shared the challenges of curating 28 projects out of a vast body of work that could suitably represent the evolutionary history of man and his vision. Besides the selection of archival drawings, the book is supported by technical perspective and collaborative processes that are presented though essays and reproduction of conversations with architects. Many of Raj’s buildings were constructed in the 60s and have changed over time, and Ariel presented the challenges to identify the structural character behind

Preservation of MemoryTALK: Lost Heritage—The Sikh Legacy in PakistanIllustrated lecture by Amardeep SinghINTRODUCTION: Dr. J.S. JunejaCHAIR: Kuldip Nayar7 March

Yearning for the preservation of heritage is innate in every community. The visit to and reverence for such sites confirms the urge to retain ties with the past. But first of all, one has to identify objects with which one is connected. It was this quest for rootedness that propelled Amardeep Singh to search for the spots visited by the Sikh Gurus and saints whose compositions are included in the holy texts of the Sikhs. He was conscious of the fact that the generations succeeding those who migrated to India after the partition would be deprived of their heritage with the passage of

the accumulated usage and change. Vandana highlighted both the aesthetic and technical quality of the 120 hand-made drawings selected for the book.

Dr. Linus von Castelmur paid tribute to M. Raj referring to his work as humanistic engineering at its best and affirmed the commitment of the Swiss embassy towards possible areas of collaboration between Switzerland and India.

Kirit Parekh highlighted that through good judgement and sound engineering, M. Raj has elevated architecture. Ram pointed out that besides providing strength to the building, M. Raj is a rare engineer who studies the aesthetic quality of spaces and forms by conceiving his structural design in 3D. Rajiv Lochan admired the sensibility of art and the embedded nature of artistic expression in the works of M. Raj. Mahesh Tandon noted the numerous awards to Raj from professional bodies of structural engineers.

Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan highlighted the critical importance of the relationship between architect and engineer which leads to creative transformation by drawing an analogy between singer and accompanist or a Bharatanatyam dancer and Mridangam player. She concluded the discussion by complimenting the book and its drawings that present both the technical and aesthetic dimensions of M. Raj’s works.

� VIKRAM LALL

time. The artifacts, places of worship, memorabilia, forts, frescoes, buildings, memorials, etc., would be obliterated with the passage of time, and if these were not resuscitated now, they would be lost forever with the fading of memory.

So in the best of traditions set by explorers, record-keepers, and chroniclers, Singh set upon his peregrinations through Pakistan and covered the extreme regions of the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and POK. It was a journey of curiosity, devotion, and commitment to keep the revered sites forever fresh in memory. He could visit the most remote parts of the country being a national of Singapore, a luxury denied to Indians who do visit some holy sites annually. His labour of love culminated in a well-documented book, Lost Heritage—The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan. The book has sixty chapters, over 500 photographs with a passionate narrative and makes a case for preservation of memory either by state support or through adoption.

� P.S. BAWA

discussion

14

diary

Women and Monastic LifeINDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: Women and Monastic Buddhism in Early South Asia: Rediscovering the Invisible BelieversSPEAKER: Dr. Garima KaushikCHAIR: Dr. Himanshu Prabha Ray21 April

Dr. Garima Kaushik’s fresh book deploys a ‘gender framework to offer insights into the socio-cultural foundations of Buddhism.’ She aims at ‘‘reaffirming [women’s] agency’’ by re-reading inscriptional and archaeological data from South Asia.

What were the structures associated with women? Were stupas erected for women? Who enjoyed this privilege? She answers these questions examining the proportion of male vs. women donors, finding women outnumbering men at certain sites. She examines nuns (bhikshunis) and lay women practitioners (upasikas) and ‘real women’ and ‘legendary women’ (Vishakha, Sujata, Amrapali, Mahaprajapati etc).

Keeping the Bandung Spirit AliveDISCUSSION: To Mark Bandung Day 2016: Symposium on Bandung Legacy and Global FutureSPEAKERS: Professor Muchkund Dubey; Professor Deepak Nayyar; and Dr. Kapila VatsyayanINTRODUCTION: Professor Manoranjan MohantyCOLLABORATION: Council for Social Development23 April

The slides of the first Bandung Conference of 1955 shown at the beginning of the symposium brought home the reality of how much the dynamics of the world have changed since.

The very erudite and eloquent former Indian diplomat Professor Muchkund Dubey held forth on the importance of the UN reinventing itself in an increasingly dystopian world. He mapped a very comprehensive overview of modern history and the events that led to the formation of an alliance between formerly colonised Asian and African nations to promote democratisation and peace. The audience sat enraptured as the professor emphatically

Sculptural representations extolling the roles of women as mothers and wives co-exist with the sole representation of a bhikshuni (Soma) and also of Kujuttara, a lay patron who is the only woman to have orally transmitted a text in its entirety. Only 27.7 per cent of the women identify themselves as mothers or wives; the others by native place and personal names.

Kanishka’s rule saw Nagadutta bhikkhu himself raising a staff for the lay upasika Balanandi and her mother, showing the active participation of the monk fraternity in honouring women patrons of the sangha. Stupas were erected for Buddhist women such as Mahamaya and Sujata and the house of Amrapali was commemorated. Drawing upon monastic rules to interpret architectural features (need for security, privacy, segregation), she reads them as gendered spaces.

The talk did not convince all in the audience, though feminist historians will find the work interesting as it claims to correct ideas about women as ‘polluters’ in Buddhist narratives.

� MAYA JOSHI

reiterated that problems like climate change and nuclear disarmament could only be resolved through dynamic multilateralism in the world underpinned by a strengthened UN.

These thoughts were ratified by Professor Deepak Nayyar who spoke to an enthralled audience on the need of a multipolar world and global governance through the UN, as economics and trade become more global. He explained how the Third World became autonomous during the Cold War leading to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement and, before that, the Bandung Conference.

Mr. Dalton Sembiring from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia enumerated the 10 Point Declaration (Dasa Shila) and reminded us of the pressing need to take the Bandung Spirit forward to keep the legacy alive and relevant.

From Mr Mohanty’s introduction to the conclusion by Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, the refrain was that if the future of the world was to be made safer, then democratisation is urgently needed, particularly to fight terrorism because terrorism thrives in failed states. And, this can be achieved by making the UN stronger and more respected again.

� RIMA ZAHEER

discussion

diary

15

Germany’s Refugee CrisisTALK: A Rude Awakening: Germany,the Refugee Crisis, and the Question of IdentitySPEAKER: Dr. Alexander GoerlachCHAIR: Ronen SenCOLLABORATION: Federation of Indo-German Societies in India; and Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi 31 March

Dr. Alexander Goerlach, founder and publisher of the debate magazine, The European was aptly introduced by Ronen Sen, President, FIGS, as a scholar of eminence. Goerlach, who is currently teaching in Harvard, delved deep into the twin crises confronting Germany and Europe in entirety, that of the refugee influx and related fallouts such as increasing xenophobia, political and social divisiveness, several prejudices and most importantly, the problem of social identities plaguing Europe at present.

Dr. Goerlach traced Germany’s current identity crisis to 6 September last year, when 250,000 refugees arrived from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan on trains from Hungary. Chancellor Merkel was applauded for this. But the mood soon changed in Germany. Merkel’s views during a popular

Miracle, Myths and MagicPOETRY: Celebrating Legendary Poets: Narsinh MehtaSPEAKER: Dr. Rajendra MehtaCHAIR: Devkumar TrivediCOLLABORATION: The Poetry Society, India22 April

The programme ‘Celebrating Legendary Poets: Narsinh Mehta’ dealt with the poet saint of Gujarat, notable as Abhakta, an exponent of Vaishnava poetry. He is especially revered in Gujarati literature, where he is acclaimed as its Adi Kavi. The programme began with the invocation of the bhajan, Vaishnava Jana... written by Narsinh Mehta and sung by Suparna Nandy on the occasion of the 602nd Anniversary of the legendary poet.

Shri Dev Kumar Trivedi spoke about the legends surrounding Narsinh Mehta. He was a devotee of Krishna.

television show were interpreted as Germany not being able to secure its borders.

Though the conservative parties had enough ammunition to pose a serious challenge to the Chancellor’s politics, her popularity rankings were up again, after she sealed a deal with Turkey on the refugees in the future. In fact, the preferred Balkan route has been closed by all countries.

But nothing has changed in Germany after this and the insecurity continues as AfD party (Alternative for Germany) started in 2013, a right-wing party which is anti-European Union, is exploiting the refugee problem for xenophobic purposes and reasons.

Dr. Goerlach stated that globally the same phenomenon existed as there is a growing fear in the middle class. He fielded questions from eminent journalists and thinkers regarding the right-wing opinion shaping across Europe, whether liberal democracies were under threat, and also commented on Washington Post columnist, Anne Applebaum’s recent article talking of the end of the West as a concept.

To conclude, perhaps, former Ambassador Lambah very rightly commented that Dr. Alex Goerlach has given a very good account of the Europe of today.

� GAURIKA KAPOOR

He was invited by the Harijans in his village to sing bhajans. His own caste shunned him, but he said that being a Vaishnav meant being with anyone. He got married, had children, his son passed away. He got his daughter married. Her in-laws asked him for gifts. He invoked Lord Krishna and a chain of gifts and two stones of gold materialised.

Narsinh Mehta wrote padas, prabhatiyas, akhyans and bhajans. He created an amalgam of feeling and meaning that touched the hearts of the listeners. He gave many philosophical insights. He understood the language of shabda or primal sound.

Rajindra Mehta spoke about the miracle, magic and myths of Narsinh Mehta. He moved from poetry to politics. The term Harijan he used was recovered by Mahatma Gandhi. He has a very important role in Gujarati life.

� RACHNA JOSHI

review

16

diary

Remembering Zohra FESTIVAL: The Zohra Segal Festival of the Arts23 and 24 April

The Zohra Segal Festival of the Arts this year featured, among others, two traditional forms of art: Dastango, story-telling in Urdu, and a play with Nacha in Chhattisgarhi. Dastangoi is a Persian word which means to tell a tale (dastan). The stories are more often than not epics and speak of adventure, magic and warfare. Among the many stories recounted by the Dastangos, the story of Amir Hamza stands out early on. Originally recounted in Arabic, the Persian version of the story narrated the life and adventures of Hamza, said to be an uncle of Prophet Mohammed. The centre of attraction of a dastangoi is the storyteller (dastango) who sits on a divan and modulates his voice to narrate the story.

Poonam Girdhani and Ankit Chadha recreated the story of Chouboli. The Dastan-e-Chouboli is based on the version created by noted Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha and centres on a princess named Chouboli who has vowed that she would only marry a man who can make her speak four times in one night. After twenty-four princes failed, a chauvinist Thakur, famed for shooting 108 arrows through his wife’s nose ring each day, tries his luck. With hints of contemporary feminist overtures, this Dastangoi, weaving

a story within a story, highlights social reality in a comic and entertaining fashion.

Charandas Chor, a play in Chhattisgarhi also drives home the evils prévalent in today's society. The play was originally directed by Habib Tanvir and presented by his group, Naya Theatre of Bhopal. Habib Tanvir, in his quest for a realistic and convincing play, brought in rural actors from Chhattisgarh which ensured a great deal of spontaneity and innovation, and the villagers were easily able to improvise and adapt wherever and whenever required. This play used the technique of Nacha, a chorus that provided commentaries through songs. After Tanvir’s demise in 2009, Naya Theatre continues with his daughter Nagin Tanvir stepping into his shoes.

Charandas Chor is a folk tale about a thief who goes to a guru for his blessings. He does not accept his Guru’s demand of reforming himself, saying that thieving is his only source of livelihood. He offers instead to take four other pledges: never to eat off a golden plate, never ride an elephant at the head of a procession, never marry a queen, and never consent to become the king of any country. But he does however promise to give up his bad habit of lying.

A paradoxically honest thief with a strong sense of integrity, a havaldar who accepts bribes from thieves, sadhus lusting for money, the poor helping other poor villagers while the rich turn a blind eye, bumptious politicians and rulers who penalise honest citizens if they dare disobey orders, Charandas Chor has it all, satirically highlighting the evils of contemporary society.

� SWATI DASGUPTA

focus

Zohra Segal

Zohra Segal

17

diary exhibitions

A Mother’s HeartEXHIBITION: An Ethereal Journey of Five Decades—Paintings and Sculptures by Sheila ThadaniINAUGURATION: Dr. Karan Singh17 to 29 March

Who would not like to see an exhibition that showcases one artist’s journey over five decades? This painting exhibition included bronze images and many other wonderful creations that captured the intimate love between mother and child. An opportunity was presented for viewing eminent artist Sheela Thadani’s long artistic journey, at India International Centre’s Kamaladevi Complex. The exhibition included bronze images made by the artist, along with her paintings.

In this exhibition titled ‘Journey of 5 Decades’ (1961 to 2016), Sheela had displayed her collection of art works that included pottery, batik, glass, mirror, wood and brass creations. She showcased a woman’s beauty in a wonderful

manner. Her collection showed a mother in different moods and poses. It displayed the various stages in a mother’s life. Sheela said that she loved children a lot. This love shows up in her artistic oeuvre. The artist felt that India was a heaven for artists and that is why despite being eighty she had not given up being an artist. In 1964, she had held her first exhibition. Many more exhibitions have been held by her after that. The dominant theme in her art has been ‘women’. An Indian background and the influence of its people was clearly shown in her art works.

18

diarymembership

NoticesMembers who have not paid the annual subscription so far are requested to immediately pay their annual subscription along with all previous dues.

An extract of Rule 9 of the Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations is given below for information:

“Subscriptions towards membership are payable in advance for each financial year and shall be due for payment on the 1st April of each year. It shall be the responsibility of the members to ensure due and timely payment of subscriptions.”

Do please write your Membership number and ‘Annual Subscription for the year 2016-2017’ on the back of the cheque. In case you choose to deposit cash or make electronic/online payment, please inform accounts department that amount deposited is towards annual subscription for the year 2016-2017.

Please keep your mailing address/email and mobile numbers updated.

Annual payment for IIC Quarterly 2016-2017The IIC Quarterly (two single and one special double issue) addresses vital contemporary issues relating to governance, civic and international affairs, ethics and society, education, law, environment, indigenous knowledge systems, literature, cinema and the arts.

The annual rates for the IIC Quarterly for the financial year 2016-2017 are:

India (INR) Abroad (USD)

Members (Individual) Rs. 350.00 $35

Non-Members (Individual) Rs. 500.00 $45

Member/Non-Member (Institutions) Rs. 750.00 $55

Bank charges for outstation cheques Rs. 50.00 $15

(*Note: Euros and GBP equivalent to US $ are accepted)

Obituary

A-3093 Mrs. Kailash Ohri

A-5497 Smt. Madhavi R. Vyas

M-1964 Shri Sanat M. Mehta

M-1350 Shri B. Sen

M-3866 Shri Suresh Kohli

M-3950 Shri Dev Raj Sharma Rai

M-2655 Shri P.A. Sangma

M-3460 Mrs. Vimal Issar

19

diary futures

Highlights for May-June-July 2016Lectures

27 May 2016 at 6:30 pm in the Multipurpose Hall, Kamaladevi Complex

Threads of Continuity

Valedictory Address

By Amitav Ghosh, well-known author

1 June 2016 at 6:30 pm in Conference Room I

IndIan archaeoLogy

Harappans and Their Contemporary Cultures

Illustrated lecture by V.N. Prabhakar, Visiting Faculty at the Archaeological Sciences Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar.

The Harappan Civilization is one among the four Bronze Age Civilizations of the third millennium BCE that flourished nearly 700 years (c. 2600-1900 BCE) in the river valleys of the Indus-Ghagger-Hakra in Modern India and Pakistan. In order to cater to their economic prospects, the Harappans interacted with different cultures all around the Greater Indus Valley. The lecture focuses on some of these contemporary cultures of the Harappans using illustrations and supported by distribution maps.

6 June 2016 at 6:30 pm in Seminar Room II, Kamaladevi Complex

The World Heritage Temples of Southeast Asia: The Bhadreshvara Linkage

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Sachchidanand Sahai, Adviser to Angkor Archaeological Park and Preah Vihear under the Royal Government of Cambodia. Author of the recently published book Bhadreshvara: A Forgotten Form of Shiva in India and Southeast Asia.

Prof. Sahai will present the temple art and architecture of Southeast Asia on the basis of his past ten years of field work in the region. Intricately designed world heritage temples of My-s’on (Vietnam), Wat Phu (Laos), Angkor

and Preah Vihear, and the temple region of Prambanan in Indonesia will be presented as an inter-linked chain of temples, responsible for cultural cohesion between India and Southeast Asia. The presentation will travel through Southeast Asia, along its rivers and mountain chains to appreciate millennia of vibrant artistic traditions.

14 July 2016 at 6:30 pm in Conference Room I

IndIan archaeoLogy

Archaeology of Buddhism in Northeast India Illustrated lecture by Dr. S.S. Gupta

North East India comprising of seven states also called the Seven Sisters is a vast geographical terrain. The region is home to a large number of ethnic groups and in the religious beliefs, Buddhism has played an important role which is reflected in their living and extant Buddhist remains including stupas, chaityas, monasteries, temples and sculptural art as revealed in a number of archaeological excavations at Surya Pahar in Assam, Shyam Sundar Tila and Boxanagar in Tripura; and Bhaitbari in Meghalaya.

20

diary

Patachitra Paintings From BengalAn exhibition of traditional Patachitra scrolls by Sahajan Chitrakar.

Sahajan Chitrakar will be present at the gallery to demonstrate and narrate the stories depicted in the paintings.

17 to 26 June 2016 at the Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, 11am to 7 pm

Kumarajiva: Philosopher and SeerThrough photographs, texts, copies of manuscripts and pen and ink drawings, this exhibition presents the life and legacy of Kumarajiva.

Researched and curated by Dr. Shashibala

1 to 8 July 2016 at the Annexe Art Gallery, 11 am to 7 pmInto the DarknessAn exhibition of photographs by Cyril Lucido Kuhn.

The exhibition presents photographs of the night skies across India.

futures

Performances

4 June 2016 at 6:30 pm in C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Odissi Recital

By Sujata Mohapatra, senior artist and disciple of the late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

Recipient of the Margaret Dhillon Annual Spirit of India Award 2016.

Summer Festival of Music and Dance: 15 and 16 June 2016 at 6:00 pm in C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

15 June 2016 at 6:00 pmAn Evening of Carnatic MusicKeyboard DuetBy R. Narayanan and R. Arjun Sambavisan from Chennai, disciples of Shri Chitraveen N. Ravikiran.

At 7:00 pmVocal RecitalBy Charanya Lakshmikumaran from Delhi, disciple of Dr. K. Vageesh.

16 June 2016 at 6:00 pmAn Evening of DanceMohiniattam DuetBy Manjula Murthy and Vinaya Narayanan from Delhi, disciples of Guru Bharati Shivaji.

At 7:00 pmSattriya and Kathak DuetBy Anita Sharma from Guwahati, disciple of Guru Jatin Goswami; and Vidha Lal from Delhi, disciple of Smt Geetanjali Lal.

Exhibition

8 to 14 June 2016 at the Annexe Art Gallery, 11 am to 7 pm

This issue of the Diary has been assembled and edited by Omita Goyal, Chief Editor; Ritu Singh, Deputy Editor; Rachna Joshi, Senior Asstt. Editor. Published by Ravinder Datta, for the India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi-110 003. Ph.: 24619431. Designed and printed by Shivam Printographics Private Limited, 163, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Phase I, New Delhi-110020; Phone: +91-11-26816964