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INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE volume XXIII. No. 1 January-February, 2009

U.S. patent granted to two America-based Indians on Annual Lecture 2009 the use of turmeric powder for wound healing. This was strongly contested by , leading to a revocation. LECTURE: Traditional Knowledge of Plants in India Plants are integral to the Indian way of life. The tulsi Illustrated Lecture: Professor H.Y. Mohan Ram plant offers a cure for coughs and colds, and the tulsi Chair: Professor M.G.K. Menon, January 14 syrup is effective against motion sickness and jet lag. Sarpagandha (Rauvolffia serpentina) cures hypertension, while The subject of this fascinating illustrated talk and the gum (guggul) can control obesity and lipid disorders. The erudition of the speaker, H.Y. Mohan Ram, former coconut is drink, food, source of oil, fibre, shell, Professor of Botany, University of and INSA shampoo, thatch, broom, charcoal, while the banana is a Honorary Scientist, made the annual Dr. C.D. Deshmukh most wholesome fruit. Not surprisingly, these plants are Memorial Lecture a special occasion. Mohan Ram traced deemed sacred. Our traditional knowledge about which India’s extraordinarily rich tradition of botanical wood is suitable for construction, boat-building and knowledge to the Vedas, specifically the Atharvaveda. He musical instruments, is also astonishing, he said. also stressed the need for the bio-diversity rich countries When concluding, he reminded his audience that what of Asia, Latin America and Africa to work closely to attracted the Europeans to India was not gold or silver, ensure that their enormous pool of traditional but its plant wealth in the form of spices. knowledge is recognized as innovation, not swamped by galloping globalization. He cited the example of a  KIRAN SAHNI

Professor H.Y. Mohan Ram delivering the Deshmukh Lecture media diary

With reference to the terrorist attacks in , Naqvi Television and the People said it was a common refrain that ‘we are under attack’. He posited the question: ‘Who are we?’ and ‘Who was DISCUSSION: The Terrorist and the Citizen – How attacked in Mumbai?’ In UP, for example, Maoism or Television Transforms Political Life terrorism is not an issue in politics, pointing to ‘a certain Panelists: Jawed Naqvi, Ashutosh, Harinder seamlessness in Indian society’. Baweja, Professor Dipankar Gupta Senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta drew attention to a Chair: Arindam Sengupta certain class bias in T.V. coverage. He felt that as far as Collaboration: Sociology Unit, Institute of the Mumbai terror attacks were concerned, there was Economic Growth, January 10 no evidence of any basis to the accusation. Ashutosh (Aaj Tak) defended his turf by saying the channels have The huge public outrage at the near-hysterical media brought a different kind of accountability in the country, coverage of the Mumbai incident triggered off this and this change is visible most in the Hindi channels. As interesting panel discussion. In his presentation, Jawed regards what happened in Bombay, he said T.V. channels Naqvi (Friday Times) said at the very outset that journalists were never late in responding to whatever instructions were a political people. Sitting in Delhi, one would not came from the authorities. Charges of elitism can easily know which journalist is close to the B.J.P., or who is be answered if one looks at the content of the T.V. close to the Congress. Naqvi made an additional point medium, though some parts of the country have a that T.V. is not a creature of democracy. Had it been so, predominance over others in what channels cover. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan would have been the Senior journalist Sengupta summed up the discussion greatest democrat because most of the T.V. channels soberly by pointing out that since T.V. is an evolving mushroomed during his tenure. medium, it deserves to be treated with consideration.

Rai and Devika Rani’s Bombay Talkies early ventures in silent black and white cinema, LECTURE: Devika Rani and Himansu Rai – A Throw of Dice and Light The Globalization of Early Indian Cinema of Asia, proved to be Illustrated lecture: Lady Kishwar Desai quite successful financially Chair: Urvashi Butalia, January 13 in the West, particularly in England and Germany in Based on her book on Devika Rani and Himansu Rai, the Weimar period. Kishwar Desai’s illustrated lecture on the early years of After their last successful Indian cinema was both informative and entertaining. silent film, Shiraz, they The footage accompanying the talk threw light on the found themselves being Devika Rani most glamorous, western-educated, upper-class couple forced to make films for in the history of Hindi, indeed Hindustani cinema. a predominantly Indian market. Bombay Talkies produced such hits as Jawani Ki Hawa and Achhut Kanya which Himansu Rai was the scion of a prominent feudal Bengali launched Ashok Kumar to stardom. Together Himansu family and married to an English stage actress when he met Rai and Devika Rani produced two other interesting films, Devika Rani in in the early 1920s. Devika Rani was Jeevan Naiyya and Janambhoomi, both in 1936. The talkies herself from a similar background, being a grand-niece of they made together were more substantial in theme and poet Rabindranath Tagore. Himansu Rai fell head over content than their exotic silent films. An animated heels in love with her, ditched his wife and daughter, and discussion followed the lecture. the two embarked on what seemed at that time a reckless 2 adventure: to make Indian films for an international market.  PARTHA CHATTERJEE diary lectures

reflected on the intertwined character of demos and ethnos— Democracy and Violence a fact that sometimes resulted in violence. Often, the process of democratization itself generated considerable PANEL DISCUSSION: Democracy, Violence and Voice violence and, as Professor Taylor suggested, certain kinds Panelists: Professor Charles Taylor, Professor of violence were inherent in some democracies. Ashish Nandy, Dilip Gaonkar, Professor Akhil Bilgrami, Professor Mahmood Mamdani, and According to Mahmood Mamdani, one alternate approach would be to understand the way violence can Professor Gananath Obeyesekere be addressed within a democratic framework by taking Moderator: Professor Rajeev Bhargava the lead from some African countries. A long-term Collaboration: Centre for the Study of response to the problem of violence and terror was Developing Societies, January 2 possible only when those who addressed it did not lose sight of the issues, and de-globalized the issues by The idea behind the panel discussion, as Professor Taylor suggested, was to try and understand why terrorism was situating them within a particular context. Another key considered by some scholars as a legitimate act of violence argument that emerged from the discussion, particularly in the present times, was the problem within democracy within a democratic process. It also considered how to construct an alternate vocabulary to understand those to give terrorism a legitimate status. present acts of terror that had moved beyond the For the most part, the discussion was centered on terror understanding of a ‘war on terror’. and terrorism as particular acts of violence in The discussion began by focusing on the complex a democracy. relationship between democracy and violence. The panelists  RAJESHWARI BALASUBRAMANIAN

emerged as an alternate ‘religion’ with ‘secularists’ on one Competing Perspectives side, and ‘believers’ on the other. Professor Gole discussed the evolution of secularism DISCUSSION: Religion, Secularism and within Turkey, linking it with the larger issue of European Democracy identity. The secular model that developed in Turkey was Panelists: Professor Charles Taylor, Professor different from India in that the nation-building process Linell Cady, and Professor Niloufer Gole was accompanied by a cultural homogenization. In India, Moderator: Professor T.N. Madan on the other hand, pluralism was respected. She Collaboration: Centre for the Study of highlighted that the headscarf issue and the controversy Developing Societies, January 8 over Turkish membership of the E.U. shows how Europeans define themselves in relation to Islam. Turkish candidacy is perceived as a threat to the The main focus of this timely discussion was examining European identity. the competing perspectives on secularism, and mapping their different trajectories. Earlier, people were not In conclusion, it can be said that there are western and concerned with the complexities involved in multi-cultural non-western models of secularism, and it would be liberal societies as it was believed that religion had ceased inappropriate to consider the western model as the to exert much influence in modern polities. standard, because then the non-western countries would be seen as always lagging behind. There are many Reflecting on the notion of secularism in the United ‘secularisms’ as shown in the case of the U.S. and Turkey. States, Professor Cady discussed the separation of the Thus, it would be interesting to understand the nuances state from the church. However, on deeper analysis, it of individual countries before we tackle the problem becomes clear that this strict separation has become a of dealing with conflicts in multi-cultural societies. complex issue because religion has come to dominate the public sphere rather strongly. In fact, secularism has  SRUTHI MURALEEDHARAN 3 polity diary

of pluralism of values is a powerful philosophical Beware of Utopias weapon against fanaticism of all kinds. While explicitly rejecting relativism, Berlin held up pluralism as the beacon of wisdom. As a concept, PANEL DISCUSSION: Isaiah Berlin’s Vision of pluralism is far more subtle and profounder than strategic Pluralism and Dialogue of Cultures tolerance of other cultures. This is why Berlin’s ‘value Speaker: Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo pluralism’, as basic to the human condition, is of intrinsic Chair: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, January 7 rather than instrumental worth. For us, as human beings, choice is a necessity—even a ‘tragic necessity’—but moral anarchy is unacceptable. Berlin’s call for a ‘decent society’ which categorically rejects cruelty and violence and his In a tribute to Sir Isaiah Berlin whose centenary falls this rejection of ‘monism’, were elaborated by Jahanbegloo. year, Dr. Jahanbegloo began with a focus on the For Berlin, Jahanbegloo stressed, there is no Utopia, nor word hamdili, striking a chord of instant communication. does life have a pre-established purpose. ‘The goal of Pluralism, properly understood, is the willingness life is life itself’. to engage with the other, while empathy is the human Jahanbegloo concluded by asking, ‘How do we cope context in which Berlin’s idea of pluralism can be best with Gaza, the Mumbai attacks and so much else?’ leaving understood. Both provide the common ‘human horizon’ the audience with much to ponder over. of dialogue, no matter how diverse our choices. Jahanbegloo’s lecture showed how Isaiah Berlin’s concept  SIMA SHARMA

Despite the 2001 delimitation of constituencies that Transformative Politics sought to redress the intricate issue of interstate and intrastate population-state ratio balance, all LECTURE: Alternatives to Achieve the constituencies are monstrously large, contravening the Objectives of Women’s Reservation Bill constitutional sanctity envisioned by our founding Speaker: Smt. Rami Chhabra fathers. To keep territorial constituencies intact, Chhabra Chair: Dr. E.M.S. Natchiappan suggested that either all constituencies universally Collaboration: Streebal, February 29 became double member, or we effect a pro rata increase that did not disturb the existing equilibrium. She then An unfinished political agenda, the Women’s Reservation discussed the historical precedence to double-member Bill has languished for twelve long, bitter years. Its rough constituencies and put her weight behind the ‘magic passage through Parliament has seen it politically deadlocked of the fifty per cent increase’, that worked out to 33 on many issues such as OBC reservations, and dissenting per cent—the charmed figure. Those numbers would voices that camouflage the reluctance of our male M.P.s to secure justice in every way by ensuring total gender cede power. Chhabra asked: Can we not displace, not rotate, parity, citizen equality and a completely level playing not fragment and yet provide for women? field. This can be effected by amending Articles 81 Women’s ‘critical mass’ is vital to transform politics, and 170. improve governance and to ensure inclusive, more By the next delimitation in 2026, Chhabra was confident socially-sensitive development. Chhabra’s concise yet that women would be fully independent players. The detailed presentation identified and provided eminently bottom line is that women must get their due now, and workable solutions to the two major issues that without delay. undermine Indian democracy: the women’s deficit and 4 hugely bloated constituencies.  RITU SINGH diary culture

has been singing Fado for the last five years. She has Sonia’s Fado enthralled her audiences in spectacular performances all over the world. Her voice—rich, clear, and perfect in IIC ANNUAL DAY: An Evening of Indo– pitch and timbre—effortlessly transported the Portuguese Music – Fado and Mando imagination to lands far away amidst visions of peace Presented by Sonia Shirsat and tranquillity. Collaboration: Embassy of , January 22 Accompanied superbly by Dinesh Khundrakpam on the Fado (translated inadequately as destiny or fate) is a music Portuguese guitar and Dr. Allan Abreu on the viola, genre that can be traced from the 1820’s in Portugal, but Sonia’s unassuming rendition of Fados and Mandos both probably with much earlier origins. In popular belief, Fado in Portuguese and Konkani drew enthusiastic applause is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and from the audience, many of whom knew neither lyrics, often about the sea or simply the life of the poor. language. The climax of the evening was her brilliant The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word presentation of the original version of the evergreen saudade, which has no equivalent match in the traditional Goan folksong ‘Ge English language but could be understood Ge Ge Ge Ge, Ge Re Sahiba’ as nostalgia felt while missing someone. immortalized in the Bollywood Sonia’s Fado was a manifestation of classic Bobby which brought the this sentiment to the core. house down with ardent and repeated requests for an encore. Rated as the best Fadista (Fado singer) in India of all time, Sonia Shirsat Fado and Mando  DEEPAK CASTELINO

Other than the fantastic landscape and the animal life Animal World (amazing photographs of ‘elephant eating a branch’ or ‘bearded vulture taking off’), the photographs focus on EXHIBITION: Visions of Wild Africa the Himba people of the North-West corner of Namibia Photographs by Go Yamagata, February 1–6 that borders with Angola across the Kunene River. Known as the ‘red people of Africa’ because of the ‘Wilderness draws out the spiritual in me, it gives me an peculiar mixture of butter and hematite (a red mineral) insight into how things are made alive!’ says Go that they smear all over their bodies, even hair, the Himba Yamagata, the Tokyo based photographer who has are a pastoral people who tend cattle and sheep. They travelled far into Central America and various parts of ‘build’ a village and live in it till it serves the purpose of Africa since childhood because of his father’s assignments providing pasture and then abandon it and move on. in those countries. He has focused more on the Namibian Go has captured the lifestyle and the character of the desert as the South African game parks are more people as he has spent extended time mingling with managed and controlled, he finds. the people. The luminous russet landscapes (resulting from the iron oxide content in the soil) hosting these bronze coloured people make for a spectacular setting. The lifestyle—a woman decorating herself with the red mixture and numerous ornaments, another squeezing milk from the udders of a cow—makes for memorable pictures. Go does not use any mechanism to add to or modify the colour. Nature in his work, he says, is natural even though the medium he works with is artificial!

People of Southern Africa  VEENA SHARMA 5 miscellany diary

Furthermore, what was the leverage that enjoyed India and Nepal in the present context which it may not have had prior to the Jana Andolan II? LECTURE: India and Nepal – Towards New Partnerships Commenting on India-Nepal relations in the age of new Speaker: Shri Shyam Saran partnerships, Maj. Gen. Dipankar Banerjee focused on Chair: H.E. Durgesh Mansingh the impact as well as ramifications of the relations between the two neighbours on the SAARC process. Collaboration: WISCOMP, January 24 Focusing on Nepal and the International Global Order, As Nepal stands at a crucial crossroads, it attempts a Sarita Giri drew attention to the imperatives of foreign massive restructuring of its state apparatus to reflect a aid for infrastructure building and realization of the new vision that will incorporate the goals of social Millennium Development Goals, and its impact on revolution, political change, and peace-building. This panel foreign policy choices. The problem of stateless people discussion focused on the new tools and strategies that in Nepal, in particular the Jhapa, status of Tibetan Nepal would employ in peace-building and refugees, as well as the impact of the Madhesi movement developmental projects, to redefine international relations on Indo-Nepal relations was also foregrounded by and the effects of these numerous changes on its foreign Chitralekha Yadav during the course of her presentation. policy. It further explored the manner in which the The Indo-Nepal Treaty also came up for discussion. compulsions of economic rebuilding and aid for infrastructure may impact the foreign policy of Nepal.  NAVANITA SINHA

money, blocking our alternatives. He proposed ‘peace audits’ Gandhi Today that compel arms manufacturers to share the costs of supporting bereaved families. PANEL: A Future for Ahimsa Keynote Address: Nandita Das For Dilip Simeon, a combination of theodicy and Participants: Dr. Krishna Kumar, Dr. Dilip Simeon nihilism underlies the normalization of violence in the Chair: Father Gispert Sauch name of an (ever-receding) future where violence will Collaboration: World Ahimsa Campaign, January 30 cease. He urged another vision of time—where we are answerable in the present, the gift of eternity—and of On the anniversary of Gandhi’s martyrdom, presentations truth—as dialogic, and not disjunct from virtue. Ahimsa at once concentrated, impassioned, and flexibly responsive is a non-absolutist imperative, the unanticipated event in to one another and to the audience recovered imaginative history: the Russian Revolution was precipitated by space for the future of ahimsa. soldiers refusing to fire at women workers. Disturbed by the broad strokes characterizing discussions Arguing that language represents the possibility of refusing of violence today, Nandita Das described how in Firaaq recourse to violence when it is used as a means to be heard she avoided ‘strong, cinematic stories’ lest they polarize (not just to express), Krishna Kumar deplored the media’s viewers. We cannot afford not to believe ahimsa has a deployment of it, not for dialogue between public figures, future, but it requires us to expand our realities, to engage but their ‘mutual brutalization’. In primary classrooms one with hostile viewpoints, also with other people’s suffering. observes how peace, always temporally fragile, must be constructed daily for children, who are most vulnerable to The discussion explored creativity in the non-verbal arts violent sights, and, as the media conquers the space of the as attenuating destructive impulses, examples of nations family, to shrill speech. He urged the value of appointing moving beyond conflict, the viability of ahimsa for people who ‘listen and speak with care’ to mediate disputes. Palestinians, and for sustained social revolution (Sampat Devi). Technology is implicated in violence: by exacerbating 6 divisions or encouraging centralization, and, by blocking  NIHARIKA GUPTA diary art

Subsequent sessions on ‘Narratives of the Nation’ and Macaulay’s Children ‘Revolt and Resolution’ were most interesting. Professor Satchidanandan drew attention to several Indian words that have entered Indian English. Again, the Hindi CONFERENCE: Contemporary Indian Writing in translation of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy, into Ek Accha English – Assimilation and Denial Sa Larka, led Seth to see the translation as an act of Collaboration: IGNOU, IIC Asia Project, retrieval, since the cultural subtext of the original really Federation of Indian Publishers, and Penguin India belonged to the Hindi milieu. In a session entitled ‘Revolt January 19–20 and Revolution’, there were ruminations on Hinglish, on female narratives of revolt and of jouissance as evidenced in Githa Hariharan’s novels. Writer and columnist This international conference on a subject of great Gurcharan Das spoke on how India is changing, and contemporary interest had several eminent speakers. the space now occupied by Hinglish. In his address, Professor Om Prakash Mishra, Pro- In addition, there were poetry readings and special Vice Chancellor of IGNOU, mentioned that Indian sessions on e-publishing and on the work of Kamala English writers have belied Macaulay’s words that one Markandaya, also attended by Markandaya’s daughter, shelf of English books is better than all the literatures Kim Oliver. Professor Charles Larson, an authority on of India and Arabia. Guest of honour, Dr. Kapila Markandaya, was the keynote speaker. He spoke of how Vatsyayan, reiterated that there is no getting away from Nectar in a Sieve and the Hut of the Nine Peasants were the Minutes which made Indians feel that their whole published after great struggle and provided interesting culture was less valuable than European. Yet, as she insights into Markandaya’s life and works. pointed out, the English language gave a new shape to the sensibility of educated Indians.  RACHNA JOSHI

sourced primarily from the Metropolitan Museum of Sepia Studies Art (New York), chronicling the lives of Lord Charles and Lady Charlotte Canning (an avid photographer SEMINAR: Possibilities from the Archive – herself), along with the personal narrative of Captain 19th Century Photography in India John Constantine Stanley, aide-de-camp to the first Collaboration: The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, Viceroy of India. A slight departure from these talks New Delhi, February 20 was the discussion on the creation of an archive of photography at the City Palace in Udaipur. This delightful seminar was as insightful as it was refreshing. The second half of the seminar consisted of four talks: It covered a broad range of topics, beginning with a talk looking at the links that connect photography to painting about one of the most celebrated patrons of photography in colonial India; the use of photography as an early in India, H.H. Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali anthropological endeavour into the Khan of Hyderabad (1869-1911). The slides evolution of something more than passive of the photographs accompanying the talk illustration; a discussion on the topic of traced his life and times, showing the Nizam’s women as subjects of studio photography, fascination for and ease with the camera, as and finally, a talk on painted photography. depicted by a series of formal as well as The insightful seminar elicited extended poignant and casual photographs of the audience discussion, with many hoping to Nizam with his children. see more treasures from the Alkazi This was followed by a fascinating talk on Collection of Photography to be displayed. Maharana Fateh Singh the Canning Album, with photographs Photo credit: I. Cowell  NANDITA JAISHANKAR 7 focus diary

Over several plenary and concurrent sessions each day, Gandhi’s Legacy Hind Swaraj became the vantage point for evaluating contemporary social, political and economic affairs. The SEMINAR: Hind Swaraj text itself was also examined in the light of its significance Collaboration: CSD, Regional Countries Research a century after it was written. Centre, University of Delhi; Centre for Political Studies, JNU; Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace The multi-faceted activity, in terms of participants and and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Milia University; issues, from Asia, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa Institute of Social and Health Sciences, University was the sui generis achievement of the seminar. The Indian of South Africa; REGGEN, Federal Flomenance participants (academicians cum activists) comprised University of Brazil; and Orfalea Centre for Global myriad social, political and geographical landscapes. and International Studies, University of California, Although the engagement of the participants with Hind Swaraj was heterogeneous, the underlying concern was Santa Barbara, February 12–14 categorical: namely, that for any emancipatory vision, This important centenary international seminar on ‘Social Gandhi is still the most admirable moral voice. Development and Human Civilisation in the 21st Century’ The seminar also resolved to struggle for the adoption was a step towards rekindling the vitality of Gandhi’s Hind of Ubuntu (‘I am because you are’). One’s development is Swaraj or Indian Home Rule. Written by Mahatma Gandhi imbued with that of others, therefore growth is possible in November 1909, during his voyage from England to mutually. The equal recognition of this concept is vital South Africa, this significant text needs to be remembered for true development and attainment of Swaraj; Mahatma today for several reasons. These were spelt out by a panel Gandhi averred it many a time while suggesting that in a of distinguished speakers at the inauguration itself, true Swaraj no one would possess unjust rights. The when Professor Muchkund Dubey, President of the seminar echoed this sentiment unambiguously and Organising Committee, Professor Manoranjan Mohanty, vouched for the attainment of an egalitarian order. convenor of the seminar and several prominent Gandhi scholars spoke.  DHANANJAY RAI

many a bind that had long plagued the Russian intelligentsia. Alexander Solzhenitsyn According to him, Russia should give up the role of the saviour of the West and be at peace with herself. On the LECTURE: Alexander Solzhenitsyn – other hand, he found ‘foreign’ influence undesirable. He Historian of Decline and Prophet of Resurrection thus resolved the classic double bind of the traditional Speaker: Professor Madhavan K. Palat nationalist. In order to ‘purify’ Russia, one just had to do Chair: K. Raghunath, February 16 away with the non-Russian population by way of giving up these territories—a solution that does not sit comfortably Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) is arguably one of with the ‘nationalist’ agenda of defence of territory. the defining figures of twentieth-century Russian Among other significant points raised by Professor Palat literature. A Nobel Laureate in literature, he went on to were Solzhenitsyn’s critique of modernity; his preference acquire prophetic eminence among some with his vision for local democracies to mass democracies; his tragic of a Russian redemption. It was an opportune time to portrayal of incarcerated man (Gulag); his ambivalent remember him here in India as the intellectual concerns relationship with Marxism; and the central question of raised by him are not particular to Russia alone, but are Solzhenitsyn being a ‘revolutionary’ or a ‘reactionary’, pertinent for any society that intends to come to terms with evidence pointing to the direction that though he with modernity and its moral and political implications. professed to hate revolution, he was ‘revolutionary’ in According to Palat, Solzhenitsyn is important for the his own way in the radical departures he made in the startlingly new answers he provided to Russia’s eternal terrain of Russian thought. 8 quest for self-identity. His formulations seemed to resolve  SAROJ JHA diary notices

IIC Notices

CDs and DVDs in the Library Occasional Publications, January-February 2009 As part of the efforts to modernize the library, (Available at IIC Information Counters, Main and Annexe, members are now offered a selection of DVDs and IIC Hostel Reception desks, and IIC Publications Office). CDs of some outstanding talks, concerts and The Magic of Prithviraj, Padmini and Pratap in the Vernacular performances held during 2004–2006 at the Centre. Imaginaire: Revisiting the Interface of Colonialism, Orientalism, These can either be heard/viewed at the library, or and Nationalism by Shail Mayaram, Senior Fellow, Centre borrowed for private viewing. For further details for the Study of Developing Societies, OCCASIONAL of this facility and the DVDs and CDs on offer, PUBLICATION NO.3. see attached list or contact the staff at the Reading Manuscripts: Observations on Emergence of Medieval Library Counter. Society in South India as Revealed from the Change in Imprecations in Tamil Inscriptions by Noboru Karashima, Professor Programme Planning Emeritus, University of Tokyo, OCCASIONAL The Board of Trustees meeting held on December 8, PUBLICATION NO.4. 2008 discussed names for the Advisory Council and the functioning of the Programme Planning Advisory Challenges to Democracy in Europe by David Marquand, Groups (PPAGs). The Board was of the view that Fellow of the British Academy and Former Principal for the reduced groups in the defined areas of focus, of Mansfield College, Oxford, OCCASIONAL the four PPAGs should be called ‘Organizing and Co- PUBLICATION NO.5 ordinating Committees.’ These Committees should IIC Membership look after the focus areas, and actively contribute to Members are requested to inform the IIC Membership organizing meaningful programmes, so that they Department (E-mail: [email protected]) of any change not only design the programmes, but also help in in address/telephone numbers/mobile/email. This will implementing them. help us to update our records.

Obituary

A-0664 Shri Y.P. Dhawan M-1377 Shri J. Sharma A-1177 Miss Encarnacion De Lora M-1492 Justice Y.V. Chandrachud A-1521 Shri Sat Prakash Gurwara M-1756 Justice Mangi Lal Jain A-3034 Prof. Suhash Chakravarty M-1910 Dr. Balachandra Rajan A-4855 Shri Bodhishwar Rai M-3363 Dr. Parmanand HM-007 Shri R. Venkataraman M-3656 Shri G.D.J. Malani L-0169 Dr. R.T. Doshi OA-315 Mr. Trayambkeshwar P.N. Sinha M-1086 Shri M.M. Lal

9 futures diary

Highlights for March–April 2009

FESTIVAL 27–30 March 2009: Exhibitions and Demonstrations (IIC Annexe – 10:30 – 6:30 daily) 50 YEARS IN EXILE: TIBET EXPERIENCE Tibetan Artifacts and Old Manuscripts 26–30 March 2009 India International Centre, Department of Information and International Relations and Bureau of His Holiness The Dalai Lama will present a five-day festival to commemorate 50 years of exile of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet. During these 50 years, the inspiring leadership of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the hard work and dedication of the Tibetan people has resulted in the re-building and preserving the fabric of a community away from their homelands. The festival has been organised to express the Tibetan people’s gratitude and appreciation to the Government of India and its citizens. 26 March 2009 (Fountain Lawns at 6:30) Inauguration of the Festival By Professor Samdhong Rinpoche, Kalon Tripa and Professor M.G.K. Menon, President IIC EXHIBITIONS

26–30 March 2009: Exhibitions and Demonstrations (Gandhi–King Plaza – 10:30 – 6:30 daily) On view from 5:30 onwards on 26 March

Thangkha Paintings; Thangkha in Appliqué From the collection of Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Work; Metal Craft; and Wood Carving Studies, Sarnath and Tibetan Cultural Printing Press Exhibition of works and live-demonstrations by artisans from the Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan Arts and Craft Sand Mandala and Butter Sculpture Carpet Weaving by Tibetan Women’s Centre, Rajpur Monks from Gyuto Tantric University will create a The Art of Apron Weaving by Dekyiling Tibetan sand mandala and butter sculptures on site which will settlement be completed during the festival Contemporary Art Tibetan Medicinal Herbs and Products Paintings by Sonam Lhundup, Kalsang Diki, Tenzin An exhibition by Men-Tsee-Khang, Tibetan Medical Namgyal and Tsering Gonpo and Astrological Institute, Dharamsala depicting the traditional Tibetan medical systems. 26–30 March 2009 Tibetan doctors and astrologers will be present at the (Conference Room I – 10:30 – 6:30 daily) exhibition for consultations Tibet’s Journey in Exile Musical Instruments, Traditional Costumes and An exhibition of photographs from the collection of Tibetan Dolls from the three different regions of Tibet Tibet Museum and Vijay Kranti From the collection of the Tibetan Institute of 10 Books on Tibet from Paljor Publications Performing Arts and Tibet House diary futures

26–30 March 2009 PANEL DISCUSSIONS (9:00 – 5:00 daily) Exhibition at Tibet House 28 March 2009 (Auditorium – 4:30 – 5:45) Living Tibetan Buddhism Tibet and the Tibetan People’s Struggle A photographic journey by Tibet House 29 March 2009 (Auditorium – 6:00 – 7:45) Re-building in Exile 30 March 2009 (Auditorium – 3:00 onwards) Tibet’s Environment

FILMS

27–29 March 2009 (Auditorium) Documentary and Feature Film Screenings There will be screenings of eight seminal documentary and feature films which take up as subject, different aspects of life in exile such as in Robb Bradstock’s The Tibetans: A Life in Exile and Harshwardhan Varma’s Diaspora in Refuge. Distorted Propaganda by Jeff Lodas captures the rarely seen world of Tibetans in Tibet while Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s A Stranger on My Native Land poignantly delineates a personal account of Tenzing Sonam’s first-ever visit to his homeland. Other films to be screened include Tom Piozet’s award-winning Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion brings to the fore a richness of imagery from rarely seen rituals in remote monasteries, to horse races with Khamba warriors; and Rajiv Mehrotra’s biographical film on His Holiness The Dalai Lama in Ocean of Wisdom. LECTURES 27 March 2009 (Conference Room III – IIC Annexe at 4:30) PERFORMANCES Two Phases of Buddhism: Acquiring and Sharing Ancient Indian Wisdom 28 March 2009 (Fountain Lawns at 6:30) Speaker: Professor Geshe Nawang Samten, Vice- Monastic Chanting Chancellor, Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath By monks from Gyuto Tantric University 29 March 2009 (Auditorium at 3:00) Cham - Masked Dances Harmony of Head and Heart Presented by artists of the Tibetan Institute of Speaker: Ven. Geshe Lhakdor, translator to His Performing Arts Holiness The Dalai Lama for over 16 years, and 30 March 2009 (Fountain Lawns at 5:30) presently, Director, Library of Tibetan Works Dances from the Roof of the World and Archives Presented by artists of the Tibetan Institute of 29 March 2009 (Auditorium at 4:15) Performing Arts World Peace and Youth Traditional Tibetan cuisine will be served in the Speaker: His Eminence Gyalwa Karmapa Gandhi-King Plaza from 27–30 March 11 Reg. No. 28936/77 literature diary

French Ambassador Bonnafont, awed by the writing and Understanding Levi-Strauss research of Levi-Strauss since student days, spoke about his principles on the rights of all living entities, which are SEMINAR: My Favourite Levi-Strauss challenging and relevant today. These are incredible lessons Collaboration: Embassy of , on modernity to a world which needs to reorganize itself to respect all cultures and have collaborations among Centre de Sciences Humaines, and IFAN cultures. Sociologist Andre Beteille set the tone for carrying January 12–13 forward the celebration of the living presence of Levi- Strauss, as a great anthropologist, moralistic philosopher, The presence of a large number of scholars, students, a man of letters. He drew attention to the way in which dignitaries from India and abroad at the conference Levi-Strauss tried to understand society differently and clearly indicated the reputation and charisma of recast anthropology by being versatile, incisive, and by Professor Claude Levi-Strauss, well known for his novel showing that human thought is inexhaustible and complex. explication of structuralism. Dipankar Gupta, who Yet, as Dileep Padgaonkar commented Levi-Strauss had organized the seminar, pointed out that the influence devised no method to understand societies. and inspiration from Levi-Strauss’s work has changed the thinking of many social scientists. Over several Presentations over the two days reiterated Levi-Strauss’ interesting sessions, scholars explicitly stated how Levi- conviction for new ways of looking at culture and at Strauss influenced their research and teaching when social facts not as things but as representations. presenting their ‘favourite’ text in his work.  MALA KAPUR SHANKARDASS

transcends boundaries and writes about the bio-sphere Journeys of Two Poets so important for us to which all denizens belong. She has proved through her poems that the animal world is as READINGS: Maya Khosla – Web of Water and important as ours and the earth is a home for all of us. Other Poems Rachna Joshi, a disciple of Sri Sri Madhava Ashish, took Chair: Professor G.J.V. Prasad, January 16 fourteen years to come up with her second book. Readings: Rachna Joshi – Crossing the Vaitarani Though the poet has jumped continents and has taken Introduction: Dr. H.K. Kaul different journeys, yet her mind and ethos/feet are deeply Comments: Dr. Kavita A. Sharma and rooted in the Indian soil. Keki N. Daruwalla Chair: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, February 6 According to Keki N. Daruwalla, ‘The diaspora has affected her but she is not a diasporic poet and writes in Collaboration: The Poetry Society, India detail what she sees. There is a twist at the end, and an extremely free flow of images and sketches.’ I am poised An Indian poet living in California, Maya Khosla is trained between two continents and ready for change. She read from all as an ecologist, and is interested in the interaction between sections of her much acclaimed work, Crossing the restoration, ecology, creativity, and art. The cultures of Vaitarani: Journeys. According to Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, many countries as well as her background in biology ‘She writes very honestly about her experiences and delves strongly shape her writing. She demonstrated a keen eye courageously into herself.’ Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan for observation and provided a splendid description of summarized her verses by saying, ‘A very gentle but very birds. In saving the snake, she demonstrated awesome insightful poet. She writes from experiences of reality.’ courage. According to G.J.V. Prasad, ‘Her environmental concern goes beyond South Asian literature’—she  MANDIRA GHOSH

This issue of the Diary has been assembled and edited by Ira Pande, Chief Editor; Rachna Joshi, Senior Asst. Editor; and Ritu Singh, Asst. Editor. Published by Ravinder Datta, for the India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi-110 003. Designed by Poonam Bevli Sahi at FACET Design, D-9, Defence Colony, New Delhi - 110 024, Ph: 24616720, 24624336 and printed by Mastan Singh at I.G. Printers, 104, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Phase-I, New Delhi - 110 020 12