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SAI Event Topic : Special Event

Welcome Back Mixer

WHEN
Wed, Sep 4, 2019 from 04:30pm — 06:00pm

VENUE
CGIS South Concourse
Harvard University

ADDRESS
CGIS South Concourse
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Celebrate the start of the school year with the Mittal Institute over chai and snacks! Learn from our team about the work that the Mittal Institute is doing in South Asia and the numerous funding opportunities available, interact with various Harvard South Asia student groups, and meet with other Harvard students who are interested in South Asia! 

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23rd Annual Harvard India Poetry Meeting

WHEN
Sun, May 19, 2019 at 02:00pm

VENUE
CGIS South, S010

ADDRESS
CGIS South, S010
1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA

The theme for this year’s India Poetry Reading is “Compassion.” This annual event celebrates India’s contribution to the field of literature and invites local poets to recite original compositions in the language of their choosing.  This event is presented in partnership with the Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard University and South Asian Poets […]

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The Covenant of Love: The Poetry, Music and Spirituality of South Asian Muslim Cultures

WHEN
Sun, May 5, 2019 from 07:00pm — 08:30pm

COST   General public: $10 Students and Harvard ID holders: Free

Misaq-e-Ishq means The Covenant of Love and during this event Ali Asani ’77 (professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard); Pakistani pop star and author Ali Sethi ’06; and vocalist, guitarist and Grammy Award-winning producer Noah Georgeson will bring alive through musical performance, the poetic consciousness of several legendary South Asian mystic poets.

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Hinduism in Nepal: The Ritual Dimension

WHEN
Thu, May 2, 2019 - Fri, May 3, 2019

VENUE
Science Center Hall A

ADDRESS
Science Center Hall A
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138

As part of the Nepal Studies Program, Professor Michael Witzel from Harvard University will lead a conference titled “Hinduism in Nepal: The Ritual Dimension.” Ritual has played a major role in Hindu societies, from the Vedas to modern times, and it has been particularly prominent in Nepalese society. It accompanies individuals from morning until night, from birth to death, and it shapes the customs of society throughout the year. This conference will explore some of the rituals, past and present, that are typical for Nepal. Stress is put on the extensive documentation that has been carried out over the past few decades, with a particular focus on fire rituals.

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Engaging with India: Engaging with Feminism

WHEN
Wed, Apr 24, 2019 from 06:00pm — 07:30pm

COST   Free

VENUE
Harvard University
Loeb House

ADDRESS
Harvard University
Loeb House
17 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA
02138

Engaging with India: Engaging with Feminism and the Passion of “The Before Midnight’s Children”

Speaker: Devaki Jain, Economist, Writer, and Recipient of the Padma Bhushan Award

The Harish C. Mahindra Lecture Series is given in honor of the late Harish C. Mahindra, a distinguished alumnus of Harvard College and a visionary leader of business and industry in India. The lecture is an important component in continuing the education and understanding of the challenges facing South Asia, and provides an ideal forum for the next generation of global leadership.

This year, Devaki Jain will be giving the Mahindra Lecture. Devaki Jain is an Indian economist and writer who has made significant contributions to feminist economics, social justice, and women’s empowerment in India. In 2006, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan — the third-highest civilian honor from the Government of India — for her contributions to society. In this lecture, she will weave her own personal story into the political story of India and discuss her engagement with public life, activism, and her current work in feminist economics.

A reception will follow the lecture. This event is free and open to the public. 

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Mallika Sarabhai: Dance to Change the World

WHEN
Tue, Apr 9, 2019 from 04:30pm — 06:00pm

VENUE
CGIS South, S030
Harvard University

ADDRESS
CGIS South, S030
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge MA 02138

A lecture and demonstration by Mallika Sarabhai, one of India’s leading choreographers and dancers for over three decades. In constant demand both as a soloist and with her own dance company, Darpana, she has created and performed classical and contemporary works around the world. A constant activist for societal education and women’s empowerment, Sarabhai has created […]

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Film Screening: Amar Kanwar — Such a Morning

Amar Kanwar (b. 1964) is a New Delhi-based filmmaker and artist whose work has powerfully mined the potential of a slower, drifting method of moving image to forge a politically charged and engaged mode of gently expanded cinema. Kanwar’s critically acclaimed yet fiercely debated Such a Morning hovers on the border between magical realist allegory and slow cinema trance film with an almost Calvino-like fable of a renowned mathematician impulsively abandoning his university post, without explanation, to hibernate in a train car abandoned deep in a lush forest.

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Artist Talk: Amar Kanwar

Amar Kanwar presents an artist talk. The following evening on Friday, April 19, 7 pm, Such a Morning will be screened at the Harvard Film Archive.

Both Amar Kanwar programs are presented in collaboration with The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard Film Archive, Film Study Center, and The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University.

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India’s Upcoming Elections: What’s at Stake?

WHEN
Tue, Apr 2, 2019 from 06:15pm — 07:30pm

VENUE
Land Lecture Hall, 4th Floor, Kennedy School

ADDRESS
Land Lecture Hall (4th Floor)
Kennedy School
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

In this event, Professor Ashu Varshney, Ronak Desai, and Hasit Shah will discuss the pressure points of the upcoming Indian election.

Speakers:
Ashu Varshney, Director of the Center for Contemporary South Asia and Sol Goldman Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Ronak Desai, Vice Chair of the Indian Practice at Steptoe and Law & Security Fellow at New America
Hasit Shah, Journalist and Expert on Digital Media and Internet Access in India

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Culture, Language, and Identity: Perspectives Through South Asian Art

The show features two artists from Pakistan and India who reflect on the impact of The 1947 Partition of British India in their works. Mahboob Jokhio and Krupa Makhija explore the interplay between culture, language and identity through a deeply personal lens.

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The Art of the Ghazal: Ali Sethi and Ali Asani

WHEN
Fri, May 3, 2019 from 05:00pm — 07:00pm

VENUE
Fong Auditorium, Boylston Hall

ADDRESS
Fong Auditorium
Boylston Hall
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, MA

In this demonstration, Pakistani musical sensation Ali Sethi and Harvard Professor Ali Asani will take you into the lyrical world of ghazals. The ghazal originated in Arabia in the 7th century and developed into a significant literary genre in Persian, Urdu, and other South Asian languages. It may be understood as a poetic expression of […]

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Visiting Artist Fellows Exhibition Reception: Partition Perspectives

WHEN
Tue, Mar 12, 2019 from 06:00pm — 08:00pm

VENUE
Harvard Allston Education Portal

ADDRESS
Harvard Allston Education Portal
224 Western Ave.
Allston, MA

The 1947 Partition of British India displaced millions of people along religious lines and led to the creation of two new countries: Pakistan and India. In this exhibition, Mahbub Jokhio and Krupa Makhija, the Mittal Institute’s Spring 2019 Visiting Artist Fellows reflect on the impact of the partition. Their work explores the deeply personal issues of culture, language, and identity in the region.

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