SRK receives autographed copy of Coelho's 'The Alchemist'

EFT Report, Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was elated to receive an autographed copy of acclaimed writer Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist".

"&,when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping u to achieve it.Thx @paulocoelho This is so special," SRK posted on Twitter along with images of his signed copy of the book. 

Coelho's autograph read, "Dear Shah Rukh Khan, a master of acting. With my admiration". 

Earlier this month, SRK sent across a collection of his films to the Brazilian author, who has written several books such as "Brida" and "Eleven Minutes" and "Adultery", to introduce him to the world of Hindi films. 

"What a Monday morning gift, @iamsrk! Now I need to know where to start," Coelho had tweeted, along with an image.

In the photograph, DVDs of Shah Rukh's films like "Swades", "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna", "Ra. One" and "Om Shanti Om" were seen sprawled on the floor.

Earlier this year, Coelho praised Shah Rukh's 2010 film "My Name is Khan", saying it is the best film that he has watched this year.

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China's Han Meilin designated as Unesco Artist for Peace

EFT Report, Paris: Chinese painter, sculptor and designer Han Meilin was designated as Unesco Artist for Peace here.

Han was chosen "in recognition of his commitment to promoting art and artistic education, his support to providing quality education to young people," Xinhua quoted Unesco director-general Irina Bokova as saying on Tuesday.

Bokova said, "Unesco wants to cooperate with Han Meilin in the future, especially in supporting and helping promising talented artists."

Han's designation, which coincided with Unesco's 70th anniversary, would "contribute greatly to sustainable development and world peace", Hao Ping, president of the 37th session of the organisation's general conference, said.

Han in his acceptance speech said: "Being designated as Unesco Artist for Peace is not only an honour, but also a mission and a responsibility." He noted that "he would support Unesco's activities notably in the fields of culture and education".

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Marlon James wins Man Booker Prize 2015

EFT Report, London: Jamaican author Marlon James has won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for his book 'A Brief History of Seven Killings'.

The prize awarded on Tuesday, promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year, The Man Booker Prize foundation said.

"This is the riskiest novel I have ever written. Not just in subject matter but in form also," Marlon said.

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World’s largest handicrafts and gifts fair in Delhi from Oct. 14

EFT Report, New Delhi: The 40th edition of world’s largest handicrafts and gifts fair, IHGF Delhi Fair Autumn 2015 (earlier known as IHGF) will be held from October 14–18, 2015 at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi.

Over 2,700 exhibitors of handicrafts drawn from all over the country will be exhibiting a wide range of products spread over 14 halls covering around 1,90,000 sq. m.

          

The fair will be inaugurated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Textiles. Shri G. Ganga Raju, Member of Parliament from Narsapuram, Andhra Pradesh; Smt. Vimla Batham, MLA of Gautam Budh Nagar; Dr. S. K. Panda, Secretary (Textiles), Government of India; Shri J. K. Dadoo, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Textiles; Shri Rama Raman, Chairman – GNIDA; and  Shri Alok Kumar, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) will also be present during the inaugural ceremony.

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts [EPCH], organizer of this fair, have so far organized 39 editions of the IHGF in series, which has come to be recognized as “one stop sourcing event” amongst the overseas buying community and as a very effective marketing medium amongst the Indian exporting community.  

The product categories on display will be i) Houseware, tableware, kitchenware, hotelware, ii) Home furnishing, home textiles, linens and made ups, iii) Festive décor, Christmas, Halloween, valentines, birthdays, anniversaries celebrations, iv)Fashion jewellery, bags, scarves, ties, fashion compliments, v) Luggage, leather bags, and cases, vi) Furniture & Furniture accessories, vii) Carpets, rugs and floorings, viii) Bathroom accessories, ix) Spa and wellness, candles, incense, made ups, burners, potpourri and aromatics, x) Stationery, handmade paper items and greeting cards, xi) Lamps and lighting, chandeliers, lampshades, lanterns, xii) Decorative articles & giftware, xiii) Garden ornaments, lawn accessories, xiv) Sustainable products, jute, cane, bamboos, natural fibres, handwoven mats, xv) Educational games, trophies, games, toys. 

As per the indications received, more than 5,000 overseas buyers from leading international departmental/chain stores, wholesalers, distributors and major brands like Bloomingdale's, Macy, K-Mart, Walmart, Pier 1, Marks and Spencers, Restoration Hardware, Karstadt, Carrefour, Hobby Lobby etc. are expected to source their requirements at this fair.  These volume buyers will be from countries like USA, UK, Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, China, Australia and many more. Buyers from Latin American region particularly Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Chile, Central Asia, Africa and Middle East will also be sourcing their requirements at this fair, said Shri Dinesh Kumar, Chairman-EPCH. 

The show, apart from offering opportunity to the exhibitors and buyers to transact business under one roof at the show venue, will also host a series of activities including fashion shows, informative seminars and discussions on various relevant topics, cultural performances by Indian artists, live demonstration by artisans etc. 

Online business offers immense potential to exporters.  Keeping this in view, the Council has set up an e-hub where e-commerce portals like eBay, Flipkart, Shopclues and others will offer their services to the exhibitors.  Further, the Council has also extended invitation to Indian volume retail buyers to source their requirement from the exhibitors at the show. Some of the well known retailers have confirmed their visit such as Urban Ladder, Pepper Fry, The Furniture Republic, Craftvilla, West Side, Keeper Furnishing and many more, as elaborated by ED–EPCH.  

Handicrafts exports have been growing on an average annual growth rate of 15% during the last decade.  However, the exports of handicrafts during the year 2014-15 has been Rs. 18,639.14 crore registering a growth of 7.96% in rupee terms and 6.82% in dollars terms as compared to previous year.  The exports of handicrafts during the first five months of 2015-16 is Rs. 7227.46 crore registering a growth of 8.57%, informed Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director – EPCH. 

EPCH is a nodal agency for promotion and development of handicrafts; EPCH has been organizing the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair for the past 21 years.   IHGF-Delhi Fair Autumn 2015 is expected to generate huge amount of enquiries and on the spot orders.

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Delhi International Arts Festival 2015 from Oct. 16

EFT Report, New Delhi: The national capital is all set to host national and international artists for the ninth edition of Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) starting on Friday.

The fortnight long cultural carnival would be held at the Purana Quila to celebrate music, dance, theatre, films, art exhibitions and children’s events by troupes and artists from around the globe. 

Organized by the Prasiddha Foundation, with the support from the Indian government, this entry to the festival would be free for the public. 

The opening gala is expected be a visual treat with ‘Vande Mataram’ – a breathtaking multi-style dance production directed by dancer Prathibha Prahlad, the DIAF founder and festival directo.

This would be followed by a cross-cultural fusion between the ‘The Taiwan Bamboo Orchestra’ and Kerala's ‘Bamboo Symphony’. 

Also at the festival are shows by musicians from Africa, the Middle East and Israel along with whirling dervish performers from Egypt.

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Belarus' Svetlana Alexievich wins Nobel Prize for Literature

EFT Report, Stockholm: Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich was on Thursday named the winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for literature.

Announcing the prize, Swedish Academy's permanent secretary Sara Danius, called her writing "a monument to courage and suffering in our time", BBC reported.

The award is worth 8m kronor (691,000 pounds).

Alexievich, 67, is the 14th woman to win the prestigious prize.

Her works include "War’s Unwomanly Face" (1988) book based on interviews with hundreds of women who participated in the Second World War, the first in a "Voices of Utopia" cycle that depicted life in the Soviet Union "from the perspective of the individual", the academy said.

Her other works available in English include "Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices From a Forgotten War" (1992), "Voices From Chernobyl: Chronicle of the Future" (1999) and "Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster" (2005).

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India's first Bengali literary festival in Kolkata on Oct. 10

EFT Report, Kolkata: India's first Bengali literary festival to be held here on Saturday (October 10) will bring together litterateurs from West Bengal and Bangladesh, the organisers said on Tuesday.

Curated by the Oxford Bookstores in association with PatraBharati publications, the day-long Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob (ABSU) will explore trends and changes in Bengali literature through debate, discussions and poetry sessions.

"Though there are three literary festivals held in Kolkata each year, there is no festival dedicated to Bengali literature," said Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay, managing director, PatraBharati Group of Publications.

"Not only will it help to widen visibility but also bring controversial writings to the limelight," he added.

Participants include eminent authors Shirshendu Mukherjee, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Samaresh Majumdar, Sankha Ghosh, Imdadul HaqMilon (Bangladesh), Bani Basu, amongst others.

To highlight the connect between cinema and literature, filmmakers Goutam Ghose, Suman Mukhopadhyay, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Mainak Bhaumik as well as Bengali musicians Nachiketa, Surojit Chatterjee and Kalika Prasad will engage in interactive sessions.

Themes of discussion include "Epar Bangla Opar Bangla. Sahityer Bhasa Ki Bodle Jacche"(Is the language of Bengali literature changing across the border?), "Bitorko Na Holey Sahitya Jonopriyo Hoena!" (Literature has to be controversial to be popular!) and "Barshik Pujor Phosol! Ete Ki SahityaSamriddhaHoye? (Do the Novels, stories and poems published every year during the festive season contribute to enriching Bengali Literature). 

This apart, topics such as adaptations to movies and vice versa, modern-day Bengali poetry and lyrics will also be debated upon at the event to be held at the bookstore.

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Scandinavian Noir author Henning Mankell died at 67

EFT Report, London: Swedish author and playwright Henning Mankell, whose best-selling mystery series featuring the dour Inspector Kurt Wallander were among the first in what is now famous as Scandinavian crime fiction or Nordic Noir, and revealed his country's dark side, has died. He was 67.

"Henning Mankell is dead. He died in his sleep early this morning in Göteborg. He was 67 years old," said a post on the author's official website on Monday. 

Mankell, who divided his time between Sweden and Mozambique where he was the artistic director of a local theatre, was suffering from cancer, BBC reported. He had announced he had the disease in a newspaper column in January 2014 and had also written about his experiences in the recently published "Quicksand: What It Means To Be A Human Being".

The son-in-law of famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, Mankell was also a committed activist right from his youth and was also on board a flotilla that had tried to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza in 2010.

He also wrote books for children, but was mostly known for his 40 novels that have been translated into 40 languages and of which the best-known were the dozen-strong Wallander series, all starring the Inspector but the last one, which had his daughter Linda, who has also joined the police, in the lead. 

Beginning with "The Faceless Killers" (1991, English translation 1997), they were mostly set in Ystad in south Sweden, but the second "The Dogs of Riga" (1992, English 2001) takes Inspector Wallender to the newly-free Latvia and "The White Lioness" (1993, English 1998), which has a plot to assassinate then South African president F.W. De Klerk, is also set in Africa. 

Like the iconic Martin Beck series of the husband-wife pair of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall, it attempted to understand what had gone wrong with the Swedish welfare state and why crime was gaining ground in a relatively prosperous society. 

Mankell's other fiction includes "Kennedy's Brain" (2007) which deals with the HIV epidemic in Africa, and - like John le Carre's "The Constant Gardener" - on the cupidity of multinational pharmaceutical companies, and "The Man from Beijing" in which the unearthing of a massacre in a Swedish settlement leads a dogged prosecutor into international intrigue.

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One of world's oldest Quran manuscripts on display in Britain

EFT Report, London: Britain's University of Birmingham will put on display next month one of the world's oldest Quran manuscripts, which has been radiocarbon dated to the period between AD 568 and 645 with 95.4 percent accuracy.

The exhibition will be held from October 2 to 25 in the Bramall Music Building of the university's Edgbaston campus, according to the varsity.

Consisting of two parchment leaves, the Quran manuscript contains parts of Suras (chapters) 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijazi.

For many years, the manuscript had been misbound with leaves of a similar Quran manuscript, which is datable to the late 7th century.

The manuscript is part of the Birmingham university's Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held in the Cadbury Research Library.

The radiocarbon dating, carried out in a laboratory at the University of Oxford, places the leaves close to the time of the Prophet Muhammad, generally believed to have lived between AD 570 and 632.

"The announcement of our radiocarbon dating result generated huge excitement and an overwhelmingly positive response around the world," said Susan Worrall, director of special collections at the University of Birmingham.

"The manuscript is a global treasure, and we hope people will enjoy being able to view such an important document here at the University of Birmingham," Worrall added.

"The result of the radiocarbon dating of the Birmingham Quran manuscript is tremendously exciting and has clearly stimulated wider academic debate. However, at this stage we cannot draw any conclusions beyond the fact that the manuscript appears to be among the oldest in the world," said David Thomas, professor of Christianity and Islam at the University of Birmingham.

According to Muslim tradition, the Prophet Muhammad received the revelations that form the Quran, the scripture of Islam, between AD 610 and 632, the year of his death.

The age of the manuscript, as ascertained by the radiocarbon dating technique, places it to less than two decades after Muhammad's death.

The tickets for the exhibition can be booked online at the university's website.

Visitors will be allocated time slots to view the manuscript.

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Indo-Pak designers exhibit their craft at Shaan-e-Pakistan

EFT Report, New Delhi: A confluence of myriad colours, fabrics, hand-made embroidery and exquisite designs from across the border marked the second day of the 'Shaan-e-Pakistan', a three day fashion and cultural extravaganza in the capital which aims to the bring India and Pakistan closer through fashion, food and music.

The event's curator Huma Nassr says the aim of 'Shaan-e-Pakistan' is to forge newer ties between the two nations with fashion and culture.

"We aim to bridge the gap between the two nations with this event. We have come here with a lot of expectations and are happy with the reception which we have received thus far. It's a display of talent and workmanship. We are bartering food, aesthetics and crafts through this initiative," Nassr said.

Held at Hotel Grand, Vasant Kunj here, the second day of the cultural extravaganza on Friday saw Indian and Pakistani designers exhibiting their work for visitors.

Pakistani designer and actress Sanam Agha exhibited an intriguing mix of traditional and western wear through her designs. 

"My collection is a fusion of east and west. I use pure fabrics for my designs. They are mostly made of chiffon and pashmina. I had launched the first western wear collection in Pakistan during 2009," Agha told IANS about her exhibition. 

While Agha's designs were quirky, modern and highlighted a sense of fusion, Sahar Atif exhibited a beautiful bridal collection made of exquisite hand-made and nourished embroidery. 

"Embroidery is slowly becoming a dying art. Many designers are turning from artists to entrepreneurs. But I believe in the essence of art being art. So, I am keeping the tradition of embroidery alive," Atif said. 

Atif also said that due to the nature of the work, which is purely hand-made and doesn't involve machine-work, it takes "one year to make a bridal collection". 

"I use chiffon and printing on polyester fabric for printing designs. It is highly experimental," Atif said. 

Among the Indian designers, Raakesh Aggarwal displayed quirky, modern-themed bridal wear, which will be a part of the fashion event on the final day of the three-day fashion gala.

"This is for the first time I am foraying into bridal wear. My collections have been mostly couture and exquisite party wear. But now I am displaying a new bridal collection," Aggarwal said. 

Aggarwal's work was centered on Indo-western designs, with heavy embellishments to give it a chic, modern feel while still highlighting the essence of modern bridal wear. 

The three-day fashion gala will come to a close on Saturday with a fashion show by all participating designers. 

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Mandy Moore to visit Taj Mahal on Sept 12

EFT Report, New Delhi: Hollywood actress-singer Mandy Moore, who has been sampling tastes of India during her trip, is now looking forward to a trip to Agra.

"I am travelling to Taj Mahal tomorrow (Saturday), and I am so excited about it," Moore, who is on her debut visit to India, said.

Known for movies like "A Walk To Remember" and "Tangled", she landed in the capital on September 5 for a purpose -- as the ambassador of NGO Population Services International (PSI).

After visiting Patna and Lucknow, she is eager to see what Agra has to offer.

"It's the easiest destination for us -- not too far from Delhi, and doesn't require getting on another plane... but there's so much more we could have done had we had the time... Next time," exclaimed the 31-year-old, who has been gorging on Indian delicacies during her trip.

She will return to the US post the weekend.

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Obama to award National Humanities Medal to Jhumpa Lahiri

EFT Report, Washington: Pulitzer Prize winning Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri is one of the 10 distinguished recipients of the 2014 National Humanities Medal, to be presented by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony on September 10.

Lahiri has been awarded the medal "for enlarging the human story", according to the White house citation. "In her works of fiction, Lahiri has illuminated the Indian-American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging."

The medal honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens' engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources.

The White House citation is accompanied by an article on Lahiri written by Elizabeth Word Gutting, a writer based in Washington and the programme director of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.

Lahiri's novel "The Lowland" was among the books Obama took with him while vacationing in Martha's Vineyard, an island summer resort in Massachusetts, last month.

"The Lowland" is a story about two brothers who grew up in Calcutta in the 1960s. After one is killed, the other marries his pregnant widow and moves to the US. The New York Times calls the premise of this novel "startlingly operatic".

Other awardees include historians, writers, a philosopher, scholar, preservationist, food activist and an education course.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) manages the nominations process for the National Humanities Medal on behalf of the White House.

"The National Endowment for the Humanities is proud to join President Obama in celebrating the achievements of these distinguished medalists," said NEH chairman William Adams.

"The recipients of this medal have sparked our imaginations, ignited our passions, and transformed our cultural understanding. They embody how the humanities can serve a common good."

The first National Humanities Medal was awarded in 1996. Since then, 175 have been bestowed to 163 individuals and 12 organizations inclusive of this year's recipients.

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Google celebrates Joan Aiken's 91st Birthday

EFT Report, London: An author who 'won the hearts of a generation with her historical fantasy books has been honoured with a Google Doodle.

The search engine is today celebrating what would have been the 91st birthday of Joan Aiken, who died aged 79 in 2004.

The Doodle commemorates her best known novel the The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, which imagines and England in which Catholic James II was not deposed and replaced with William and Mary.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Part alternate history, part fantasy, her novels played with geography and magic to capture the hearts of adults and children alike.

The Doodles team wrote: "Every so often an extraordinarily prolific author comes along to win the hearts of a generation. Writer Joan Aiken was one of those authors. At the age of 16, she finished her first full-length novel. She was destined for great things.

"Born into a family of writers, Joan emerged with a voice all her own, publishing more than one hundred books over the course of her career. Her stunning volume of writing includes children’s books, thrillers, and literary works modeled after the fictional world created by Jane Austen. It’s hard enough to write for a single audience, but Joan was comfortable writing a range of stories that everyone could enjoy.

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21st Delhi Book Fair to begin on Aug. 29

EFT Report, New Delhi: The 21st edition of the Delhi Book Fair will be launched on August 29 with skill development as the theme of the event.

The Federation of Indian Publishers in association with India Trade Promotion Organisation will be organising this edition of the book fair at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

The fair will be held in the national capital till September 6.

This year's fair largely focuses on inculcating the idea of skill-based professions and career interests of the youth, a statement from the organizers said.

In view of this year's theme, books that are solely focused on skill development -- hard and soft skills -- would be available at the fair for all age groups.

Debates, discussions, workshops and seminars are also to be organised to shed light on the importance of skill development among the youth.

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Events at India Habitat Center, Delhi on Aug. 10

Sunday, August 10, 2014

11:30am|IHC WALK|Wander through A Passionate Eye- Textiles, Paintings And Sculptures From The Bharany Donation at the National Museum. Walk led by co-curators Dr. Giles Tillotson &Mrinalini Venkateswaran. Please contact the Programmes Desk for registration and details. 7:00pm|MUSIC|IHC LOK SANGEET SAMMELAN- Folk Songs For Children Dogri folk songs by Rakesh Singh Slathia Followed by Awadhi folk songs by Malini Awasthi 7:00pm|FILM CLUB SCREENING|Waapasi (Punjabi/2013/24mins) Dir. Deepak Sharma After being away from home in Australia for five years, Hardeep decides to come backhome forever. But upon his return, he realizes that he has now become a guest for his family and not a member who has been missed. His family and dear ones have become used to his absence, perhaps even desiring it. Will Hardeep stay back home to become a member of his family… or does he go away to return as guests do..? Waapasi is the journey of Hardeep’s return. Winner of Best Actor Award & Jury Award for Best Short Film at the 3rd Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2013. Also, screened at the67th Cannes Film Festival 2014. Screening followed by an interactive session with the cast & crew of the film.

Visual Arts Gallery

August 8 – 15   The Forgotten Frames- A photographic voyage with the people of Bastar. Solo exhibition of Photography byManoj Kumar Jain

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Events at India Habitat Centre, Delhi on Aug. 2

Today’s  Events at India Habitat Centre:

Saturday, August 02, 2014

7:00pm|THEATRE|CINEPLAY- A new genre of cinema. Prod. An initiative of Chhoti Productions. Screening of Bombay Talkies (Hindi/English/77mins) Dir & Wri. Vickram Kapadia The play depicts the lives of seven people living in Mumbai, all with their own uniquely moving story. It tries to capture the essence of people living in the city through seven characters who have been strung together in a series of monologues. Stories about the ambitions of a child artiste, the escape of a ridiculed wife into art, a single mother’s sacrifice of her life for the sake of her children, child abuse, a TV reporter’s regret of the media’s inability to celebrate positivism rather than sensationalism and negative news, a hilarious take on corruption by a broker and the west beckoning today’s youth are all interwoven. Each character, marked by failure and doubt are clearly self –censored. While they may communicate through candid expression, they subtly allude to greater truths. Tickets at Rs.500, Rs.300 & Rs.200 available at the Programmes Desk. An Old World Culture presentation. 7:00pm|MUSIC|Week-End Melodies Immortal songs of Hemant Kumar & Kishore Kumar from Hindi and Bengali Films by Soumitra Banerjee & Indranil Banerjee. Collab: Impresario India 7:00pm|TALK|Heritage Series. Srinagar: The Architectural Legacy by Feisal Alkazi, writer and director Collab: Youth for Heritage Foundation

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New Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum to Open for Public From Aug. 1

EFT Report, New Delhi: The new Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum will open for public viewing from August 1, 2014 (Friday). 

The Museum will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 0900 hrs. to 1600 hrs. except on Gazetted Holidays. 

Entry and exit for visitors will be through Gate No. 30 on Mother Teresa Crescent Road. 

Visits can be booked on-line at the website www.presidentofindia.nic.in. Contact details of the Visitors’ Management Cell are 011-23013287, 23015321 Extn. 4662, Fax No. 011-23015246 and email: reception-officer@rb.nic.in for any further assistance which may be required. 

Visits to the Museum will be completely free from August 1, 2014 to October 30, 2014. 

From November 1, 2014, there will be nominal registration charges of Rs. 25/- per head (Children below the age of 12 years will be exempt from these charges). 

Visitors in group of 30 persons will be charged Rs. 600/- lump sum per visit. Visitors in a groups more than 30 persons will be charged Rs. 600/- for 30 visitors and Rs. 25/- per visitor for additional persons. 

These charges are meant to enable Rashtrapati Bhavan maintain and improve services to public. 

The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum is established in an erstwhile stable of the Rashtrapati Bhavan which housed horses and ceremonial coaches. It is a story telling Museum which will narrate the story of the Rashtrapati Bhavan using sound-light-video animations. It has a simulated battlefield with arms mounted on warriors, examples of furniture designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Viceroy’s residence, ceremonial coaches, photographs and memorabilia of the President’s Body Guard, paintings of the 19th Century, sketches and gifts received by successive Presidents from national and foreign dignitaries etc. 

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Events at India Habitat Centre, Delhi on July 27

Today’s  Events at India Habitat Centre:

Sunday, July 27, 2014

8:00am|IHC WALK|Rain walk in a beautiful Mughal garden tomb with its setting rejuvenated in the monsoons! At Safdarjung Tomb with Swapna Liddle. Please check with the Programmes desk for registration and details.  10:00am-5:00pm|WORKSHOP|Appreciating Sufi Literature and Qawwali Workshop on the poetry and music of the Sufi Bhakti tradition of India conducted by Ektara, concludes. Check panel for details. 7:00pm|MUSIC|Pt.Gama Maharaj Smriti Samaroh Hindustani Vocal recital by Nitin Sharma, disciple of Pt. Krishna Kant Jha & Pt. Ajay Pohankar. Followed by Hindustani Vocal recital by Madhumita Saha, disciple of Vidushi Sumitra Guha Collab: Society for Action Through Music 7:30pm|THEATRE|Stand Up- Papa CJ presents An Evening with The Godfather: Harith Iskander In Concert (Eng/70mins) From hosting the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games to multiple TV shows and films, Harith Iskander - the Godfather of Malaysian stand-up comedy - has done it all! He now comes to our shores to show his best. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to catch him on his international tour and at the top of his game. Tickets at Rs.350 & Rs.100 available at the Programmes Desk July.4 onwards for IHC members only. Open to all July.7 onwards. An Old World Culture presentation

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Events at India Habitat Center, Delhi on June 22

Sunday, June 22, 2014

7:00pm|THEATRE|Repeat of Mouse (Eng/65mins) Dir. & Wri. Neel Chaudhuri. Prod. The Tadpole Repertory. Tickets at Rs.300, Rs. 200 & Rs. 100 available at the Programs Desk June.4 onward for IHC members only. Open to all June.7 onward. An Old World Culture presentation 7:00pm|MUSIC|An evening of contemporary jazz by The Shubh Saran Presentation- Shubh Saran (Guitar), Pranoy Praveen (Drums), Rohit Gupta (Piano) & Jayant Manchanda (Bass) and Kitchensink- Adhir Ghosh (Guitar), Siddharth Jain (Drums), Rohit Gupta (Piano), Jayant Manchanda (Bass) & Smiti Malik (Voice).

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Events at India Habitat Center, Delhi on June 15

Sunday, June 15, 2014

7:00pm|THEATRE|Stand-up Comedy- Aisi Taisi Democracy (Hindi/English/90 mins) By Sanjay Rajoura & Varun Grover. We are a nation of idiosyncrasies and permanent hysteria. Our reaction to a cricketer retiring is more vocal than the science community's was to the discovery of God particle. We are traveling the world but not without our prejudices & theplaas. And in this crazy transition phase, from 3rd world to 2nd, we are the proverbial Gawaachi Gaay (lost cow) of the times. And to make sense of these confusing times where a fairness cream is cheaper than water & Rahul Dravid retired before LK Advani, Sanjay Rajoura & Varun Grover come together with their outrageously irreverent comedy special Aisi Taisi Democracy. Expect pointed barbs at all that is weird, funny, surreal, and downright doped-out in our Bhaarat-varsh. Politically incorrect, full of personal stories of growing up in the pre-and-post liberalization era, and a no-holds-barred look at the idea of India- Rajoura and Grover jam to make you laugh non-stop, just that it'll be an uncomfortable laugh. Tickets at Rs.350, Rs.250 & Rs.100 available at the Programs Desk June.1 onward for IHC members only. Open to all June. 4 onward. An Old World Culture presentation. 7:00pm|TALK|Nashist featuring Sham Kahani- An evening of dramatized story telling with music and graphics. Artistes: Shamir Abadan, Saravjeet 'Sarw', Ankita Gusain & Amit Bajaj. Concept:K.K. Kohli Collab: Impresario Asia THEATRE- Asmita  summer Theatre Festival 2014 - Swadesh Deepak’s “Court Martial”; Venue:- Amphitheatre (Open-air venue);  Contact details:- Arvind Guar : 9899650509

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