Program

An illuminating session that evaluates the impact of Indian culture on Japanese art through the Meiji Modern Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Curator Bradley Bailey takes us on a engrossing journey across cultures to examine artistic, aesthetic and trade influences that fostered the rich connections between the two.

Vidya Shah is a popular classical vocalist, musician, and composer who delights not only in performance but also in highlighting narratives of music and musicians. As recipient of the Senior Fellowship from the Government and the Charles Wallace Award, she composed Women on Record, a performance that sought to recover and record the female performers who flourished during the era of the gramophone. The extension of this ambition takes the shape of a book in Jalsa, where Shah takes us through the historical impact of women’s movement from the musical salon to the film studio. In conversation with academic Mohan Ambikaipaker, Shah performs the vibrant stories of the gramophone women, emphasizing that music is always in conversation with life.

 

Two internationally bestselling authors, Alka Joshi and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explore the ins and outs of the writing life with Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan. Joshi, author of The Henna Artist and The Jaipur Trilogy, weaves rich cultural narratives and vivid female characters into her historical fiction. The prolific Divakaruni, best known for The Palace of Illusions, The Forest of Enchantments, and The Last Queen, entwines magic and reality with strong women at the center of her works. In conversation with academic and writer Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, the two writers uncover the challenges, inspirations, and nuances of crafting compelling fiction centered on the female experience.

Indian writer, politician and Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has authored over 22 books of fiction and non-fiction. Adept at thinking spontaneously and conversing on any subject, Tharoor is well-regarded for his critical and considered opinions. His predilection for challenging words and telling phrases has created a sub-genre of #Tharoorisms, and his attempts at stand-up comedy have won him a constituency of admirers. In this conversation with the writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Tharoor talks about ideas, inspirations, and the many levels at which he engages with the world.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cristina Rivera Garza's memoir, Liliana's Invincible Summer, examines the profound impacts of violence against women as well as the transformative power of remembrance. Told through the lens of her sister Liliana's story, Garza’s exploration of personal and collective memories shapes resilience and justice. In conversation with professor José F. Aranda Jr., she reflects on transforming her personal grief into a profound narrative. Garza’s work addresses societal challenges such as femicide, while paying homage to the enduring legacy and invincible spirit of her sister Liliana.

 

An engaging session with doctors and authors as they explore the intersection of medicine and literature. They offer unique insights into healing, empathy, and the human experience, blending medical knowledge with literary skill to deepen our understanding of life and our connection with nature.

In his gripping new Pulitzer prize finalist book, Fire Weather, John Vaillant explores the complex relationship between ecological themes and their impact on humanity and the landscapes we inhabit. Vaillant is renowned for his acclaimed works, including The Tiger and The Golden Spruce. His research examines pressing issues like climate change, fire dynamics, and humanity's ever-evolving relationship with the natural world. In conversation with writer and former diplomat Navdeep Suri, Vaillant discusses the world's most pressing environmental challenges, highlighting the urgent need for proactive responsibility and global collaboration to address them.

From and for positions of precarity, Cristina Rivera Garza and Fady Joudah turn poetry into provocation. Pulitzer Prize winner Cristina Rivera Garza, known for her inspired free-associative imagination, shakes up the very meaning of reality in poetry that emanates feeling. Doctor, poet, and translator Fady Joudah’s perspective on the world resonates in his works, where each unexpected turn of a line startles us out of a conventional understanding. In this session of readings and conversation with academic and writer Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, they speak of their poetry and their relationship with words and the world.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 stands out as a turning point in the bloody history of the British Empire and India's struggle for Independence. On that fateful day of April 13, 1919 , General Dyer opened fire on a peaceful crowd inside a community park in Amritsar and killed almost a thousand unarmed civilians. 22-year-old Nanak Singh survived the bloodshed and wrote a searing ballad, Khooni Vaisakhi, which was soon banned by the British. Nanak Singh went on to become one of the best known writers of Punjabi language and his diplomat grandson, Navdeep Suri, has translated the poem into English. Join Navdeep as he pays tribute to the massacre of innocence and the spirit of resilience.

An illuminating session that evaluates the impact of Indian culture on Japanese art through the Meiji Modern Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Curator Bradley Bailey takes us on a engrossing journey across cultures to examine artistic, aesthetic and trade influences that fostered the rich connections between the two.

Vidya Shah is a popular classical vocalist, musician, and composer who delights not only in performance but also in highlighting narratives of music and musicians. As recipient of the Senior Fellowship from the Government and the Charles Wallace Award, she composed Women on Record, a performance that sought to recover and record the female performers who flourished during the era of the gramophone. The extension of this ambition takes the shape of a book in Jalsa, where Shah takes us through the historical impact of women’s movement from the musical salon to the film studio. In conversation with academic Mohan Ambikaipaker, Shah performs the vibrant stories of the gramophone women, emphasizing that music is always in conversation with life.

 

Two internationally bestselling authors, Alka Joshi and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explore the ins and outs of the writing life with Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan. Joshi, author of The Henna Artist and The Jaipur Trilogy, weaves rich cultural narratives and vivid female characters into her historical fiction. The prolific Divakaruni, best known for The Palace of Illusions, The Forest of Enchantments, and The Last Queen, entwines magic and reality with strong women at the center of her works. In conversation with academic and writer Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, the two writers uncover the challenges, inspirations, and nuances of crafting compelling fiction centered on the female experience.

Indian writer, politician and Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has authored over 22 books of fiction and non-fiction. Adept at thinking spontaneously and conversing on any subject, Tharoor is well-regarded for his critical and considered opinions. His predilection for challenging words and telling phrases has created a sub-genre of #Tharoorisms, and his attempts at stand-up comedy have won him a constituency of admirers. In this conversation with the writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Tharoor talks about ideas, inspirations, and the many levels at which he engages with the world.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cristina Rivera Garza's memoir, Liliana's Invincible Summer, examines the profound impacts of violence against women as well as the transformative power of remembrance. Told through the lens of her sister Liliana's story, Garza’s exploration of personal and collective memories shapes resilience and justice. In conversation with professor José F. Aranda Jr., she reflects on transforming her personal grief into a profound narrative. Garza’s work addresses societal challenges such as femicide, while paying homage to the enduring legacy and invincible spirit of her sister Liliana.

 

An engaging session with doctors and authors as they explore the intersection of medicine and literature. They offer unique insights into healing, empathy, and the human experience, blending medical knowledge with literary skill to deepen our understanding of life and our connection with nature.

In his gripping new Pulitzer prize finalist book, Fire Weather, John Vaillant explores the complex relationship between ecological themes and their impact on humanity and the landscapes we inhabit. Vaillant is renowned for his acclaimed works, including The Tiger and The Golden Spruce. His research examines pressing issues like climate change, fire dynamics, and humanity's ever-evolving relationship with the natural world. In conversation with writer and former diplomat Navdeep Suri, Vaillant discusses the world's most pressing environmental challenges, highlighting the urgent need for proactive responsibility and global collaboration to address them.

From and for positions of precarity, Cristina Rivera Garza and Fady Joudah turn poetry into provocation. Pulitzer Prize winner Cristina Rivera Garza, known for her inspired free-associative imagination, shakes up the very meaning of reality in poetry that emanates feeling. Doctor, poet, and translator Fady Joudah’s perspective on the world resonates in his works, where each unexpected turn of a line startles us out of a conventional understanding. In this session of readings and conversation with academic and writer Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, they speak of their poetry and their relationship with words and the world.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 stands out as a turning point in the bloody history of the British Empire and India's struggle for Independence. On that fateful day of April 13, 1919 , General Dyer opened fire on a peaceful crowd inside a community park in Amritsar and killed almost a thousand unarmed civilians. 22-year-old Nanak Singh survived the bloodshed and wrote a searing ballad, Khooni Vaisakhi, which was soon banned by the British. Nanak Singh went on to become one of the best known writers of Punjabi language and his diplomat grandson, Navdeep Suri, has translated the poem into English. Join Navdeep as he pays tribute to the massacre of innocence and the spirit of resilience.