About Samanvay

IHC Samanvay 2023: Celebrating Ideas and Indian Languages

IHC-Samanvay, our literature festival celebrating Indian languages began its journey in 2011.

An exclusive Indian Languages Festival, it was begun to provide a unique and dedicated platform to Indian Literature, a space that was shrinking even as the number of literature festivals were multiplying exponentially.

Unequivocally declaring its vision as a Samanvay to bring together and connect "the many glories and diversities of India as reflected in its plentisome tongues"; it continues to be a seminal space for critical thinking on language, literature, the arts, and other emerging streams of knowledge and creativity.

We are fortunate to have the partnership of publishers and collaborators who share our enthusiasm and are enabling our efforts. They have curated the Samanvay sessions with authors and speakers that bring us multiple languages and voices from across the country.

We are grateful and indebted to Prof. Pushpesh Pant who has generously spared his time. In addition to delivering the keynote address for the opening session he has shared his goldmine of eclectic knowledge and experience to guide and structure the sessions.

Programme Schedule

Nov 24-26, 2023, 11:00 am
Amphitheatre, India Habitat Centre
Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Food

5:00pm - 5:20pm
Swaad Sangam: Keynote Address
5:30 - 6:15pm
Swaad Raag
Every day, at least twice, as we sit down to eat, the task of harmonising different tastes and textures, some contrasting others complementing the foods on the thali or pattal confronts us. This is samanvya akin to composing a melody comprising different notes-that touches our heart and mind. This session invites you to enjoy the Swaad Raag.
6:15 - 7:00pm
Roles and Rebellions
Food impacts all aspects of our existence. Rituals prescribe diets from before a child’s birth through the passage through life.It is an integral part of our identity. We are droned by what we eat, how we eat and how much is our allotted share. Caste, creed, community and class intersect to fetter groups by imposing stereotyped roles. This session strives to briefly review how rebels have challenged man made hierarchies.
    Chef Gunjan Goela, culinary expert, tv show host and judge and owner of a catering business; Shivam Mogha, research scholar, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU & columnist. His interests include, unravelling the intricacies of Caste, agrarian societies, and the dynamics of mobilization and counter-mobilization and Umesh Khaitan, legal expert and gourmet. Moderator: Pushpesh Pant, academic, author, columnist, tv anchor.
7:00pm-8:00pm
Performance: Food for the Soul
Understanding food cultures through Carnatic music. From Shankaracharya’s ode to Annapoorna, Aandaal’s description of Pongal preparation, Purandaradasar’s kriti on the recipe of payasam, and compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar and Thyagaraja, the performance takes one on a musical journey of Indian food history.
    A recital by Carnatic vocalist Sudha Raghuraman. Accompanied by G Raghuraman on Flute, Kumbakonam N Padmanabhan on Mridangam, and Shambunath Bhattacharjee on Tabla.

Exhibition

24 Nov - 26 Nov
Print as Resistance, Proscription as Control. Presented by CSDS in collaboration with University of Hyderabad
Venue: Open Palm Court
  • Posters and Pamphlets banned by the Raj.

Classics and Translation

11:00am-12 noon
Timeless Tales: Sanskrit Classics in Translation.
Supported by A Suitable Agency.
    Amb. A.N.D. Haksar , a well-known translator, noted for translation of several Sanskrit classics into English, in conversation with Madhav Nayar, Archives Associate, Ashoka Archives of Contemporary India. Madhav Regular contributor for The Scroll, Wire, LiveWire, The Hindu and Sahapedia.
12 noon-12:30 pm
Dheeraj dharo, kuchh bajega:
Be patient, something will ring
With Support from Speaking Tiger Books
12:30pm-1:15 pm
Translating Bhakti
Supported by Speaking Tiger Books
    Jerry Pinto, poet, novelist, short story writer, translator, and journalist;Dr. Rita Kothari, Professor of English and multilingual translator. Moderator: Sanchit Toor, Ashoka Centre for Translation.

Lunch

History

2:00pm-3:00pm
History: Contending Perspectives
Where do myths and fantasy end and history begin? Can anything be ascertained with certainty? Must the dominant narrative in history change with regimes? Or is there space in the discipline and prevailing climate to accommodate contending perspectives.
3:00pm-4:15pm
Digital Futures: Scripts, Fonts, Texts, Archives. Followed by a calligraphy demonstration by Rajeev Prakash. Supported by CSDS and Rajkamal Prakashan Samooh.
  • Dr. Rahi Soren , Asst Prof. School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University; Nitin Singh, Head of RekhtaLabs, the RnD wing of Rekhta Foundation; Rajeev Prakash, lettering artist, calligrapher, type designer, and visual artist since 1980. Ashim Ghosh, Founder, shabdkoshish technologies and Hindi SoEasy, India’s first online playway Hindi language learning portal. Moderator: Ravikant, bilingual historian, writer, and translator.
4:15-5:15pm
Classics | Readings & Performance | Sufi Lyrics by Bullhe Shah. Supported by the Murty Classical Library of India and A Suitable Agency.
5:15-6:15pm
Poetry Readings. Three Poets. Six Languages.
Supported by Speaking Tiger Books and Rajkamal Prakashan Samooh.
6:15-7:15pm
आदिवासियत : पहचान और साहित्य
With Support from Rajkamal Prakashan Samooh.
7:15-8:00pm
Performance: Jogathi Nrithya.
Supported by Harper Collins Publisher India

Exhibition

24 Nov - 26 Nov
Print as Resistance, Proscription as Control. Presented by CSDS in collaboration with University of Hyderabad
Venue: Open Palm Court
  • Posters and Pamphlets banned by the Raj.

The Body & Sexuality

11:00 - 11:40 am
'He Ate the Food and the Food Ate Him':
From Edible and Frightening
Females to Human Solidarity.
With Support from Speaking Tiger Books
    Mineke Schipper, scholar and author best known for her work on comparative literature mythologies and intercultural studies.
11:40 - 12:20pm
The Threat of Desire.
With Support from Speaking Tiger Books
    Madhavi Menon, writer & Professor of English at Ashoka University
12:20pm - 1:30pm
Being Trans.
With Support from Speaking Tiger Books, and HarperCollins India

Lunch

02:15 - 3:15pm
Jism: Dard Aur Dawa:
Body Representation in Hindi Cinema.
Supported by Speaking Tiger Books
    Jerry Pinto, poet, novelist, short story writer, translator, and journalist in conversation with Dr. Rakhshanda Jalil, multi-award-winning translator, writer, and literary historian and Founder - Afreen, Hindustani Awaaz
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Jism Ki Kashti Mei Aa: Body and Desire
in Urdu Poetry. Curated and introduced
by Dr Rakhshanda Jalil, Founder Afreen,
Hindustani Awaaz

Traversing The Terrain

5:00pm-6:00pm
Exploring the Himalayas and the Brahmaputra:
A Journey from Mountains to Rivers.
Supported by Rajkamal Prakashan Samooh.
6:30-7:30pm
Performance
    Indian Ocean, pioneering Indian folk fusion band, known for their unique blend of Indian traditional music with rock, jazz, and other genres.

Exhibition

24 Nov - 26 Nov
Print as Resistance, Proscription as Control. Presented by CSDS in collaboration with University of Hyderabad
Venue: Open Palm Court
  • Posters and Pamphlets banned by the Raj.

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IHC Samanvay 2023: Celebrating Ideas and Indian Languages

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