SECULARISM and the ARTS
on 26, 27, 28 September 2013
at Sahitya Akademi Conference Hall
Third Floor, Rabindra Bhavan
35 Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi
THURSDAY • 26 SEPTEMBER 2013 • 9.30 am – 6 pm
9.30 am Sohail Hashmi: Welcome address
10 am – 1.30 pm SESSION ONE The Secular: A Historical Perspective
Speakers Irfan Habib: ‘Secularism: In Theory and Practice
Mihir Bhattacharya: ‘The Historical Practice of Irreligion’
Romila Thapar: ‘Redefining the Secular Mode for India’
Chair Prabhat Patnaik
1.30 – 2.30 pm Lunch
2.30 – 6 pm SESSION TWO Evolution of a Secular Worldview: As Reflected in Music and the Performing Arts
Speakers Malini Bhattacharya: ‘Secularism in the Folk Tradition of Bengal’
Madhu Trivedi: ‘The Secular Element in North Indian Performing Arts’
Vidya Shah: ‘Spoken Like Women: Feminine Iterations in Mystic Poetry’
Jitendra Raghuvanshi: ‘Awami Rangmanch: Rang-e-Noor ka Karwan’
Madan Gopal Singh: ‘Tying the Secular Knot’
Chair: M.K. Raina
6.30 pm Poetry readings, at The Attic, Regal Building
FRIDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2013 • 10 am – 6 pm
10 am – 12 pm SESSION THREE Tracing the Contours of the Secular in the Visual Arts – 1
Speaker Gulammohammed Sheikh: ‘Art, Artists and Belief Systems’
Chair Kavita Singh
12 – 1.30 pm SESSION THREE Tracing the Contours of the Secular in the
Visual Arts – 2
Speakers Pushpamala N.
Ram Rahman
Chair S. Kalidas
1.30 – 2.30 pm Lunch
2.30 – 6 pm SESSION FOUR
Tracking the Trajectory of the Secular/Communal Impulse in Indian Cinema (Panel Discussion)
Panelists Sadanand Menon
Dibakar Banerjee
Subhash Kapoor
Zia-us- Salam
Moderator Sashi Kumar
6.30 pm Poetry readings, at the seminar venue
SATURDAY • 28 SEPTEMBER 2013 • 10 am – 6 pm
10 am – 12 pm SESSION FIVE Reflections in Urdu Literature
Speakers Shireen Moosvi: ‘Secularism in Urdu Poetry: From Mir to Faiz’
Ramesh Dixit: ‘Urdu Poetry and Composite Culture’
Khurshid Akram: ‘Secularism, Aqliyat aur Urdu Kahani Aaj’
Salil Misra: ‘Alternative Perspectives on Religion in Urdu Poetry: Nazir and Akbar’
Naresh Nadeem: ‘Sufism, Independence, the Secular in Urdu Poetry’
Chair Ali Javed
1.30 – 2.30 pm Lunch
2.30 – 5.30 pm SESSION SIX
Speakers Manmohan: ‘Hindi ke Jatiya Gathan ki
Reflections in Hindi Literature
Vidambana aur Secular Virasat’
Jawarimal Parakh: ‘Hindi Sahitya ki Laukik
Parampara: Pahchaan ke Bindu’
Asad Zaidi: ‘On the so-called Hindi Public Sphere’
5.30 PM Concluding Remarks
SAFDAR HASHMI MEMORIAL TRUST
29 Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi 110 001
Phone: (+91-11) 23381276 / 23070787
Email: sahmat8@yahoo.com
