September - October
2013

26.09. - Essen

27.09. – Aachen

28.09. – Kiel

29.09. – Hannover

01.10. – Adelsheim

02.10. – Nürnberg

04.10. – Heidelberg

05.10. – Kassel

06.10. - Frankfurt

DIG Chain Tour
KATHAK LIVE

DIG Chain Tour
KATHAK LIVE
Classical Indian Music and Dance tour
Organised by Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft (DIG)
Sponsored by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR, New Delhi)
With:
Ms. Gauri Diwakar – Kathak dance
Shri Yogesh Gangani – Tabla
Shri Amiullah Khan – Vocals & Harmonium
Shri Ayub Khan - Sarangi

Gauri Diwakar is a promising dancer whose performance makes a striking impression. Fortunate to have studied under the tutelage of several doyens in the field of Kathak, she initially trained by Ms. Sumita Chowdhary in Jamshedpur and received the Sangeet Prabhakar from Prayag Sangeet Samiti Allahabad.She was also traineded by Pandit Birju Maharaj and Shri Jai Kishan Maharaj and achieved a excellence at Kathak Kendra, New Delhi.
Recently, Gauri Diwakar has been awarded “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” for the year 2008.
A versatile performer, she has performed in several national as well as international dance festivals. she has given a number of solo performances and danced for choreographies of many eminent Gurus. She is an \'A\' Grade artist of Doordarshan, New Delhi and an empanelled artist of ICCR.
Gauri also imparts training to young students - helping to keep the age-old tradition alive.

Gauri Diwakar ist eine vielversprechende Tänzerin, deren Leistung einen markanten Eindruck hinterlässt. Sie hatte das Glück, unter mehreren Altmeistern Kathak studieren zu können: Frau Sumita Chowdhary in Jamshedpur, Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad und sogar Pandit Birju Maharaj und Shri Jai Kishan Maharaj.
Sie ist eine vielseitige Künstlerin, die bei mehreren nationalen und internationalen Tanz-Festivals auftrat.
Durch ihre Lehrtätigkeit hilft sie, die uralte Tradition des Kathak-Tanzes lebendig zu halten.

07 October
2013
18:00 hrs

Auditorium
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Lecture
RELIGION AND VIOLENCE

Lecture
RELIGION AND VIOLENCE
PowerPoint lecture and discussion
Dr. Harbans L. Chandna, Leverkusen

Whether it is the so called “holy war”, Jihad, martyrdom or forceful missionizing – the efforts to explain religious violence are on the upward trend. Is it a “clash of cultures” according to Samuel Huntington? Is the tendency towards violence a typical characteristic of only monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam)? What about violence in other religions (Hinduism, Buddhism)? Why is religion still a political factor? Can religions play an active role in establishing “peacemaking efforts”?
This lecture will try to analyze the different aspects of violence and try to find out some solutions to promote interreligious tolerance and world peace.

Gewalt und Religion
PowerPoint Vortrag mit anschließender Diskussion

Ob "Heiliger Krieg", Dschihad, Martyrium oder gewaltsame Missionierung – Erklärungsversuche zu Phänomenen religiöser Gewalt haben Hochkonjunktur. Geht es hier nach Samuel Huntington um einen „Kampf der Kulturen“? Ist die Gewaltbereitschaft selektiv in den monotheistischen Religionen (Judentum, Christentum und Islam) vorhanden? Wie steht es mit der Gewalt in anderen Religionen (Hinduismus, Buddhismus)? Warum ist Religion immer noch ein politischer Faktor? Können Religionen bei der Vermittlung des Weltfriedens eine aktive Rolle spielen?
Der Vortrag wird die unterschiedlichen Ansätze zum Gewaltbegriff analysieren und Wege zu interreligiöser Toleranz und Weltfrieden aufzeigen.

08 October
2013
18:00 hrs

Auditorium
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Lecture,
Dance and Poetry
BHAKTI

Lecture, Dance and Poetry
BHAKTI
By Dr. Guillermo Rodriguez (lecture) and Monica de la Fuente (dance)

“Bhakti tradition and St. John of the Cross”
Dr Guillermo Rodriguez holds a doctorate degree in Philology from the University of Valladolid, Spain, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kerala with a dissertation on A.K. Ramanujan´s Poetic and Aesthetic Theory. After returning to Spain from India, he has held the post of Indian Studies Coordinator at the Centre for Asian Studies of the University of Valladolid (2000-2003) and has taught in the “Postgraduate Course on India” at the University of Valladolid. He is an expert in Indian Writing in English, Indian literary criticism and contemporary culture. As promoter of the Casa de la India (India House in Spain) founded in Valladolid in 2003 by the Government of India, The University and the City Council of Valladolid, he has been the director of this institution from its inception. In 2012 he was honoured with the Friendship Award by the Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna for promoting Indo-Spanish cultural relations.

"Bhakti Tradition und St. Johannes vom Kreuz"
Dr. Guillermo Rodriguez promovierte in Philologie an der Universität von Valladolid in Spanien und Philosophie an der University of Kerala. Später war er als Indian Studies Coordinator am Centre for Asian Studies der Universität von Valladolid angestellt und hat dort auch gelehrt.

Dance-theatre and poetry
A journey through the personal and universal in bhakti poetry, Saint John of the Cross and Rabindranath Tagore.
Mystic poetry in dance has been one of the main themes for Monica de la Fuente’sdance-theatre creations and collaborations with artists around the world. “The narrow path of Akka” choreographed in the year 2000 and based on the life and poetry of Akkamahadevi was her first work on bhakti and mystic poetry, where Indian dance and gesture language (mudras) were the instruments to explore the relationships between movement, words and music. From that starting point Bhakti became an on-going international project with the collaboration of diverse musicians from Israel, Iran, Singapore, Spain, and India to interpret poems from the Sufi tradition, along with Jewish, Indian and Spanish mystics. In her Bhakti solo-piece, the creation merges from an artistic laboratory of exchanges and experiences where contemporary choreographic dance-theatre performance is in dialogue with different dance techniques from India: BharataNatyam and Kathakali.
Mónica de la Fuente is a dance- theatre artist from Spain specialised in BharataNatyam and Kathakali, which she studied in India (1994 to 2000) at “Kalakshetra” in Chennai and “Kerala Kalamandalam” and “Margi” under the ICCR scholarships of the Indian Government and the Cultural Exchange Scholarship of the Spanish Government. During the last 12 years she has presented performances of classical Bharata Natyam, Kathakali and her contemporary dance theatre performances at numerous festivals in Spain, in other European countries, United States and in India. Her dance theatre company experiments with South Indian performing arts in contemporary dance theatre. Her cross cultural dance theatre productions combine thematic and technical resources from India and Spain. Her latest choreographic work is “Eka Duayam: The voice of the body”.

Tanztheater und Poesie
Eine Reise durch die persönliche und universelle Bhakti-Poesie von Johannes vom Kreuz und Rabindranath Tagore.
Mystische Poesie im Tanz war eines der wichtigsten Themen für Monica de la Fuente\'s Tanztheater- Kreationen und Kooperationen mit Künstlern aus aller Welt. "Der schmale Pfad von Akka" - im Jahr 2000 choreographiert - basiert auf Leben und der Poesie von Akkamahadevi. Es war Monica de la Funte’s erste Arbeit mit mystischer Bhakti-Poesie. Seither wurde Bhakti zu einem laufenden internationalen Projekt in Zusammenarbeit mit unterschiedlichen Musikern aus Israel, Iran, Singapur, Spanien und Indien, um Gedichte aus der Sufi-Tradition zu interpretieren.
Mónica de la Fuente ist ein Tanz-Theater-Künstler aus Spanien, spezialisiert auf die klasischen indischen Tanzformen Bharatanatyam und Kathakali. In den letzten 12 Jahren hatte sie Aufführungen bei Festivals in Spanien, in anderen europäischen Ländern, den USA und in Indien.

14 October
2013
18:00 hrs

Dr. Zakir Hussain Library
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Lecture
SWEDEN AND
THE MASTER

Lecture
SWEDEN AND THE MASTER
Dr. Heinz Werner Wessler

How was it possible that the Swedish Academy, who decided about the Nobel laureates for literature, chose a young Bengali author almost unknown in Scandinavia? What prepared the committee members in 1913 for this rather unconventional decision? The Swedish East India Company\'s (1731-1813) unsuccessful effort to establish a colony 1733 (“Porto Novo”) at the Coromandel coast in today\'s Parangipettai (district Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu) had remained a marginal episode in history. However, Sweden developed a growing interest in Oriental languages and literatures, art and archaeology throughout the 19th and in the early 20th century, leading to the first teaching of Sanskrit at Uppsala University by Otto Tullberg in 1838 and the Chair of Indology being established in 1893 also in Uppsala.
Tagore‘s “Nobel Prize acceptance speech” is perhaps the first conclusive self-representing text document of the great author written in English, explaining his philosophy and his literary ambitions in a very simple and direct way. On his being awarded the prestigious prize on  November 15, 1913, he said: “The acknowledgement I got from Sweden has brought me and my work before the Western public, though I can assure you it has given me some trouble. It has broken through the seclusion I have been accustomed to.”
Dr Wessler will explore the subtlities  of Tagore’s reception in the Swedish world.  

Wie war es möglich, dass die Schwedische Akademie, die über die Nobelpreisträger für Literatur entschied, einen in Skandinavien fast unbekannten jungen bengalischen Autor wählte? Was sorgte bei den Mitgliedern des Ausschusses im Jahr 1913 für diese unkonventionelle Entscheidung? Schweden hat ein wachsendes Interesse an orientalischen Sprachen und Literaturen, Kunst und Archäologie im 19. und im frühen 20. Jahrhundert entwickelt, was auch zum ersten Sanskrit-Lehrstuhl an der Universität Uppsala von Otto Tullberg 1838 sowie dem Lehrstuhl für Indologie im Jahr 1893 führte.
Die "Nobelpreis-Dankesrede" ist vielleicht das erste schlüssige Textdokuments des großen Autors, welches er selbst in englischer Sprache verfasst hat und worin er seine Philosophie und seine literarischen Ambitionen auf eine sehr einfache und direkte Weise erklärt.
Dr. Wessler wird die Feinheiten in der Wahrnehmung Tagore’s in Schweden erörtern.

14 October
2013
19:00 hrs

Dr. Zakir Hussain Library
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Lecture
WHO IS AFRAID OF UTOPIA?
Contemporary Indian Artists and Their Retakes on “Golden” age

Lecture
WHO IS AFRAID OF UTOPIA?
Contemporary Indian Artists and Their Retakes on “Golden” age
Parul Dave Mukherji, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi

In contemporary Indian art, the idea of mythical past emerges as one of the most contested terrains. If under the national modern, golden past was often invoked via the mythic imaginary, contemporary artists return to it in an ironic mode that often narrows the gap between utopia and dystopia. Prof. Dave will dwell on some of the dominant concerns of contemporary Indian art.

In der zeitgenössischen indischen Kunst ist die Idee der mythischen Vergangenheit eine der umstrittensten Gebiete. Abgesehen von tiefer Ambivalenz und Abneigung gegenüber der Idee einer goldenen Vergangenheit sehen viele zeitgenössische Künstler in der Auseinandersetzung mit der Vergangenheit eine Chance. Der Begriff der goldenen Vergangenheit eröffnet die Frage der Zeitlichkeit.
Wenn im nationalen Jetzt die goldene Vergangenheit zu etwas mythisch Imaginärem erblüht, kehren zeitgenössische Künstlern gern mit Ironie dorthin zurück, was häufig den Raum zwischen Utopie und Dystopie einengt.
Prof. Dave wird sich mit einigen der dominantesten Anliegen der zeitgenössischen indischen Kunst befassen.

17 October
2013
18:00 hrs

Auditorium
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Classical Dance
BHARATA
NATYAM

Classical Dance
BHARATA NATYAM
by Ms. Priya Venkataraman
Priya Venkataraman, a world renowned exponent of Bharatanatyam, is known for her adherence to the classical traditional repertoire\'. She started dancing under Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan and continues her training with Guru A. Lakshman and Mrs. Bragha Bessell.
Priya spent twelve years of her initial career in the United States where she performed extensively and taught Bharatanatyam through her dance school Kalakriti. have Priya\'s collaborative work with the US based modern dancer Sandra Schramel and musician Byron Wise (Eyes beneath the night) was critically acclaimed. Priya\'s experience in theatre extends to acting in a nationally televised serial and choreographing for a play by Terrance McNally staged at the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.
Priya Venkataraman performed at some prestigious venues and Festivals across the globe and for US President Barrack Obama\'s official visit to India in 2010. In recognition of her efforts to propagate Bharatanatyam in the United States, she was awarded a fellowship by the Illinois Arts Council in 1995 and in 2002. A recipient of the Lakshmi Viswanathan award for abhinaya and the Rohini Krishnan Endowment award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Priya is a sought after performer, choreographer and television anchor. She lives and teaches in New Delhi.
Priya Venkataraman ist eine weltweit anerkannte Bharatanatyam-Tänzerin, bekannt für strikte Einhaltung des klassischen Repertoires. Siebegann unter Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan zu tanzen und setzte ihre Ausbildung bei Guru A. Lakshman und Mrs. Bragha Bessell fort.
Priya verbrachte die ersten zwölf Jahre ihrer Tanzkarriere in den Vereinigten Staaten, wo sich intensiv dem Tanz in Form von Auftritten und Lehrtätigkeit widmete. Priya hat außergewöhnlich experimentell in Kooperation mit internationalen Künstlern gearbeitet, so mit der US-amerikanischen modernen Tänzerin Sandra Schramel und Musiker Byron Wise. Priya’s Theater-Erfahrung umfasst neben Schauspielerei bei einer landesweit im Fernsehen übertragenen Serie auch das Choreografieren eines Theaterstückes von Terrance McNally, inszeniert am Milwaukee Kammertheater.
Priya Venkataraman hat in einigen renommierten Konzertsälen, auf Festivals weltweit und für US-Präsident Barrack Obama während seines offiziellen Besuches in Indien im Jahr 2010 getanzt. Priya ist heute eine gefragte Performerin, Choreografin und Schauspielerin, die in New Delhi lebt und arbeitet.

21 October
2013
18:00 hrs

Auditorium
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Classical Dance
YAGYASENI

Classical Dance
YAGYASENI
A Bharata Natyam dance drama on live music, with:
Gayatri Sriram -- Dance
Balasubramaniam Sharma -- Vocals
Gampalahaly Gurumurthy -- Mrudangam
Jayaram Kikkeri -- Fute
Minal Prabhu -- Nttuvangam
Krishnan Murugan – Light design

Gayatri Sriram, a rising name among the Bharatanatyam artists of today is a disciple of Kalakshetra alumnus, Smt. Minal Prabhu. It is under her guidance and tutelage that Gayatri has performed widely in Festivals and Sabhas both in India and abroad.
Gayatri opened the Esplanade at Kala Utsavam in Singapore with ‘Purush Prakriti’ the study of man, woman and nature to much critical acclaim. She has also been involved in numerous productions choreographed by her Guru and herself, such as ‘Krishna’ and ‘Dwitiyam’ and ‘Moods Of Shiva’.
‚Sita Swagatham’ was staged last year and received rave reviews.

Gayatri Sriram, ein junge Bharatanatyam - Künstlerin, ist Schülerin von Frau Minal Prabhu. Unter ihrer Leitung und Obhut hat Gayatri an Festivals und Aufführungen in Indien und im Ausland teilgenommen.
Gayatri ist an vielen Produktionen ihres Gurus beteiligt, zum Beispiel "Krishna", "Dwitiyam" oder "Moods Of Shiva\'. ‚Sita Swagatham\' wurde im vorigen Jahr inszeniert und erhielt begeisterte Kritiken.

22 October
2013

18:00 hrs

Auditorium
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Classical Music
SITAR
TABLA

Classical Music
SITAR-TABLA
Subrata De – Sitar
Saibal Chatterjee – Tabla

Subrata De was initiated in the art of playing Hindustani Classical Sitar Music at the tender age of seven under the guidance of Sri Amarjeet Singh of Jamshedpur and later under Suramani Bauri Bandhu Sethi, from where he has imbibed the essential elements of Sitar with great devotion.
As professional artist, he has been awarded Sangeet Praveen by Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad and Sangeet Bhaskar by Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh. He has been associated with All India Radio as a graded artist since 1990. The release of few audio cassettes & CD’s like ‚Meditation de la India’ or ‚Ganga - River of life’ also created a milestone in his musical career
Subrata has given numerous performance in various  International & major festivals all over India and in numerous countries in Asia, Europe and America. He dedicated himself to extend and create an environment of Classical Music in rural areas of India and in abroad with leading organizations and eminent dancers. Apart from this, he has been associated with various cultural organisations as a sitarist & cultural coordinator.
Subrata De will be accompanise by Saibal Chatterjee, an out-standing exponent of Tabla and disciple of Tabla wizard Pandit Janan Praksash Ghosh.

Subrata De lernte Sitar spielen von Shri Amarjeet Singh aus Jamshedpur und später von Suramani Bauri Bandhu Sethi aus Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Später erlernte er die Feinheiten der indischen Musik von Sitar Maestro Pandit Manilal Nag. Subrata ist ein hervorragender Konzert-Sitarist  und Dozent an mehreren renommierten Musikschulen Indiens. Sein spontaner Ausdruck der starken Emotionen und seine tiefe Kenntnis der Sitar sind besonders überzeugend. Er ist ein Meister der Raga Musik und besitzt die seltene Fähigkeit, die Lebendigkeit und Einzigartigkeit jedes Musikstückes hörbar zu machen.

Saibal Chatterjee, Tabla-Spieler aus Kolkata, ist ein Schüler des Tabla-Meisters Pandit Janan Praksash Ghosh.

24 October
2013
18:00 hrs

Auditorium
Embassy of India
Tiergartenstr. 17
10785 Berlin
Bus 200 Tiergartenstraße

Entrance possible with valid identity card or passport only.
Free admission
for a maximum of 200 guests.
Bags and eatables should not be brought inside the premises of the Embassy.

Information:
030-25 79 54 -03/ -05

Classical Music
HINDUSTANI VOCAL

Classical Music
HINDUSTANI VOCAL
Classical vocal music from North India presented by
Iman Das – Vocals
Sanjib Pal – Tabla

Iman Das is a former student of Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, maestro of Patiala Gharana and of Shantanu Bhattacharyya. Iman has performed all over India and in many European countries. For his concerts, he received several awards, such as the "Sutanuti Samman" in 2004.

Iman Das will be accompanied by well known tabla artist Shri Sanjib Pal.

Iman Das ist ein ehemaliger Schüler von Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty und von Shantanu Bhattacharyya. Er hat in ganz Indien und in vielen europäischen Ländern konzertiert, wofür er zahlreiche Auszeichnungen wie den "Sutanuti Samman" im Jahr 200 erhielt.
Iman Das wird vom bekannten Tabla-Künstler Shri Sanjib Pal begleitet.