Amar Kanwar
Of Poems and Prophesies
January 12 – February 23, 2003
| Sun, Jan 12, 2003 | 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm |
Opening Reception and Discussion
The opening reception will feature a talk with the artist and Hamza Walker from 5-6 pm
Lecture
Gandhi's Last Words
Vinay Lal
Location: Cobb Hall, Room 402 (down the hall from the gallery)
Lal is a professor of History at University of California, Los Angeles. He writes on a wide variety of subjects for periodicals in the U.S., India and Britain. Some of his recent essays have been collected in The Poetics and Politics of Dissent: Essays on Indian History and Culture. Other publications include Empire of Knowledge: Culture and Plurality in a New Global Economy and the forthcoming History of History: The Career and Politics of a Form of Knowledge in Modern India. His talk will focus on the context and latent politicization of Gandhi's death.
Reading
India Radfar
Location: Cobb Hall, Room 402 (down the hall from the gallery)
Radfar is the author of India Poem (Pir Press, 2002), a beautiful reflection on the country for which she is named. India Poem is intimate and fragile. In the words of Louis Landes Levi "This book travels inwardly to reach the continent we always knew was there." This event will take place in Cobb Hall, Room 402 (down the hall from the gallery).
Lecture
Primary Sources: Kanwar's Travels
Lise McKean
Location: Cobb Hall Room 402 (down the hall from the gallery)
Admission: free
McKean is the author of Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement (University of Chicago Press, 1996). She was a research associate in the Dept. of Anthropology at the University of Chicago and former managing editor of Public Culture. McKean was recently called upon to testify before the Senate regarding the surge in Hindu nationalism. This will serve as the backdrop for her reflections on Kanwar's films.
This event will take place in Cobb Hall Room 402 (down the hall from the gallery).
Screening
Garam Hava (Hot Winds), 1975 (136 min.)
Dir. M.S. Sathyu
Location: Cobb Hall Room 425 (down the hall from the gallery)
M.S. Sathyu's first film received critical acclaim for its masterly handling of the controversial theme of the partition of India during independence from British rule and the Muslim dilemma. The story centers around a middle-aged Muslim shoe manufacturer who staunchly resists pressure to leave his homeland of Agra, where he has lived for generations. Rather than following the wave of Muslim emigration to the newly-founded Pakistan, he and his family face growing prejudice, poverty, alienation and eventually violence in the new Indian republic. Although the film's producers anticipated a hostile reception, it went on to win a national award for serving the cause of national integration. Urdu with English subtitles. This event will be screened in Cobb Hall Room 425 (down the hall from the gallery).
Screening
Dharam Putra (Adopted Son), 1961 (148 min)
Dir. Yash Chopra
Location: Cobb Hall Room 425 (down the hall from the gallery)
In pre-partition India, Nawab Badruddin, a Muslim, and Gulshan Rai, a Hindu, are closest friends. Tragedy, fate, and nobility conspire and, a generation later, the son of Gulshan Rai comes to graciously adopt the son of the Nawab's daughter. The boy, Dilip, is raised by this Hindu family, not knowing his true parentage-an issue that is never considered until the country is torn by the violence and turmoil of the partition. Dilip conflates his religion with national identity and grows to despise his Muslim neighbors to the point that he is incited to violence against the nearest targets. Based on a novel by Acharya Vinoba Bhave, the film received the National Award for Best Hindi film and Akhtar-ul-Iman received the Filmfare award for the Best Dialogues. Hindi with English subtitles. This event will be screened in Cobb Hall Room 425 (down the hall from the gallery).
Screening
War and Peace, 2002 (148 min.)
Dir. Anand Patwardhan
Location: Cobb Hall Room 425 (down the hall from the gallery)
Three years in the making by India's pre-eminent documentary filmmaker, War and Peace chronicles the development of India and Pakistan's nuclear weapons programs. This event will be screened in Cobb Hall Room 425 (down the hall from the gallery).
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