Program

Award-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's  latest work, originally penned in Italian, is the short story collection, Roman Stories. The stories look into the complexities of family ties, enduring friendships, and the immigrant experience. With its interplay of the past and present, Rome serves as a powerful backdrop for Lahiri's deeply empathetic and profoundly resonant narratives. In conversation with celebrated writer Suketu Mehta, Lahiri weaves through the boundaries of fiction to give us a peek into the beating heart of the city and its people.

Spanning hemispheres, British rule shaped, for good or ill, the lives of millions of subjects around the world. Best-selling writer and politician Shashi Tharoor presents a compelling critique of the British in his book, Inglorious Empire. Diplomat and writer Navtej Sarna's Crimson Spring is a fictional account of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which attempts to humanize the struggle for independence. Examining the colonial project in its larger scope and the legacies of the Empire over which ‘the sun never set’, they illustrate the economic exploitation, cultural destruction, and profound injustices which swept more than half the world. In conversation with Avrati Bhatnagar

AI has stimulated new connections within the intangibles of the digital humanities with its ability to discern patterns and insights. This progress raises questions about creating empathetic AI systems aligned with human values. As the Director of the National Humanities Center, Robert Newman was a key figure in re-establishing and expanding a space for the humanities as a crucial institution for the world. Founder of the first executive humanities degree in the world, Rishi Jaitly’s deep investment in directing technology to change human lives has recently brought his attention to founding and growing OpenAI in India. Thomas Hofweber, Professor of Philosophy with a particular interest in metaphysics and language, has since the advent of AI, been pursuing the question of how to grasp its philosophical underpinnings through studying its linguistic operations. The speakers bring their diverse experience to address the challenges AI faces in incorporating complex cultural and ethical issues into algorithms and scientific monocultures. 

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite charm. Shobhaa De defies the rules of nature and grows younger every year. De is among India’s most popular and gloriously irreverent writers. She has worked in journalism, as an editor of three major magazines and is the author of 25 books, including Socialite Evenings, Starry Nights, Spouse, and Superstar India. Her column for The Times of India, Politically Incorrect, carries unapologetic and remarkably candid observations on politics, society, economics and relationships. In this session she discusses her books, riveting columns and a life and career that defies convention and boasts absolute splendor, even if ‘politically incorrect’.

Food is an intangible trigger of deeper memories, feelings, emotions, and  internal states of  the mind and body. Taste buds and the olfactory sense carry the essence of remembrance and are invoked by writers in literature and poetry. To most of us, the food that we associate with home -- our national and familial homes-- is an essential part of our cultural heritage. In conversation with author and barbecue expert William McKinney, chef Cheetie Kumar and food writer Sheri Castle discuss the intersections of food, culture and the smell and taste of memory.

Three writers of Indian origin speak of multiple levels of belonging and unbelonging as they navigate continents and cultures. In This Land is Our Land, Suketu Mehta evaluates the destructive legacies of colonialism and the fear of the 'other’. Sayantani Dasgupta offers fluid definitions of home as she traces her journeys across the world in Brown Women Have Everything. Navtej Sarna shares his experience of a life of constant movement to offer an unusual perspective on home. In conversation with Kumi Silva.