Fridays @ KCC Library
We're thrilled to kick off our Friday Events series at the KCC Library! Join us for thought-provoking talks, captivating discussions, presentations, and film screenings every Friday. We aim to redefine/reimagine the library beyond books and reading rooms, cultivating a space for knowledge sharing, artistic exploration, and community connections.
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SEASONS OF LOVE, LONGING AND POLITICS
Date: 13th September 2024
Time: 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
Join us for a conversation between author Rupleena Bose and Anjum Katyal about her coming-of-age literary fiction Summer of Then published by Penguin Random House on 13th September 2024.
About the Book:
A young English literature teacher negotiates between her writing and her livelihood, her morality and her heart, her selfhood and her family’s history. She moves between cities, seasons and two men: Nikhil and Zafar – their lives getting entangled across a decade of restlessness and upheavals, their paths defined by questions of identity, desire and betrayals.
Summer of Then is a debut novel that relishes the interiority of women, especially the often-unsettling intimacies of relationship – sexual, romantic and platonic – against the trauma of sexual assault and harassment. Set across Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai and Edinburgh, Scotland, this coming-of-age novel crosses paths with the India of the 2010s, exploring the trickle-down effect of politics on the academia and college life in Indian metropolitan cities, leading us just to the point of the incipient anxieties and beginnings of the next decade.
About the Speakers:
Rupleena Bose works as an associate professor at Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi. Her PhD is on urban music from nineties Calcutta. She has written several screenplays and a non-fiction film titled You Don’t Belong, which has won a National Film Award. She also writes on cinema and culture for The Hindu, BLink, Firstpost, the Economic and Political Weekly, Open, The Print and others. She has been a Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship Holder (2012) at the University of Edinburgh for creative writing. She is also an occasional actor and has co-written a non-fiction book on the history of film festivals titled In the Life of a Film Festival (HarperCollins, 2018).
Anjum Katyal is a writer, editor and translator. She has been Chief Editor, Seagull Books, as well as Editor, Seagull Theatre Quarterly; Web Editor, Saregama-HMV and Editor of the online Art and the City. She is the author of a series of books on theatre including Habib Tanvir: Towards an Inclusive Theatre, Badal Sircar: Towards a Theatre of Conscience and Safdar Hashmi: Towards Theatre for a Democracy; and editor of several volumes on theatre and performance. She has translated Charandas Chor and other plays by Habib Tanvir, fiction by Mahasweta Devi and children’s stories by Meera Mukherjee. She is currently Director, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF).
ART AND ADVERTISEMENT
An illustrated talk on the role of art in commercial storytelling by Mrityunjoy Chatterjee
Date: 6th August 2024
Time: 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This August 6, we have arranged for an insightful illustrated talk on the topic of art and advertisement by Mrityunjoy Chatterjee, focusing on his experience as a student of applied art at the Government College of Art and Craft and then as an industry professional in advertisement, and the role of art in commercial storytelling.
About the Speaker:
Mrityunjoy Chatterjee has a diploma in Applied Art from Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta, and has been working in the field of Communications since 1970 by joining nationally-renowned communication agencies like Clarion McCann and Grant Kenyon Elkhart, where he worked as a Creative Director for the development of various national brands like Bata, Exide, Dunlop, ITC, Nestle, Lipton, GEC, Tata Steel, Colgate, among others.
Chatterjee founded Thoughtshop Communications Pvt. Lt. in 1982, and built four brands like Patton Tank, Kookie Jar, Century Ply and Vedic Village spa resort. In 1987, he launched a national campaign against Drug Abuse for the first time in India, and received accolades from several media and appreciation from the then Prime Minister of the Country. He has delivered several lectures on creativity in Communications as a visiting faculty or guest lecturer on invitation from Rabindra Bharati University, Visva-Bharati, Govt. Art College, National Institute of Fashion Technology, St. Xavier's College, Kalyani University etc.
He has received many awards from Advertising Fraternity, Public Relation Society of India and Media, including Best Agency Award judged by Satyajit Ray, Subhas Ghosal (ex MD JWT) and Subroto Sengupta (ex-emeritus professor, IIM Calcutta). He also received President’s Awards for outstanding design work, and in 2013, was awarded the coveted ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his outstanding contribution in advertising in India by Advertising Club of Kolkata.
VANDE MATARAM RUP RUPANTAR: THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIONAL SONG
A Performative Talk by Dr Devajit Bandyopadhyay
Date: 16th August 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This August 16th, we have arranged for an insightful performative talk by musician, archivist, and author Dr Devajit Bandyopadhyay on the topic of the evolution of the Indian National Song – Vande Mataram penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Bandyopadhyay will trace the significance and evolution of the phrase, beginning from British India to the present day.
Highlighting Bandyopadhyay’s book Vande Mataram: Rup Rupantar published by Patra Bharati, which explores the impact of this phrase that goes beyond music and continues to have a far-reaching impact on politics, history, celluloid, and so on. It is an excellent literary and archival resource that brings to light insightful facts and perspectives about Indian Independence, Indian society, culture, and role of Bengali luminaries in shaping our collective rationality.
About the Speaker:
Devajit Bandyopadhyay is an acclaimed musician, performer, archivist, theatre and film activist. He has done his PhD from Jadavpur University in Music in Theatre. He was awarded Munier Chowdhury Samman from Bangladesh in 2018. He researches, directs as well as performs in the concerts of Mancha Gaan, which is also known as Natya Sangeet in India and abroad. Apart from making telefilms, he has also authored and compiled several articles and titles on music, theatre, film as well as jatra for the publications of Sahitya Akademi, Oxford University Press, Ananda Publishers and many others of the same repute. He has been preserving vintage documents relating to Bengali theatre, film, music and popular culture for the past 30 years. Preserving old songs, especially the songs of Bengali theatre, Bandyopadhyay has earned name and fame in the field of documenting the glorious past of our popular culture.
IRAN AND THE CINEMA OF RESISTANCE
Film-screening and Cine-Adda with Counter Shot
Date: 9th August 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This August 9th, we collaborated with Counter Shot to arrange a film-screening and cine-adda session on the topic of Iran and its cinema of resistance. This discussion, which will be in Bengali, will delve into the topics of censorship in Iran, the visual language of Iranian cinema, the history and politics of the land that bring about consistent resistance on the part of filmmakers who fight against the theocratic regime to ensure the survival of the art. This cine-adda will be complemented by screenings of selected Iranian short films and excerpts from feature films.
OPEN TO ALL but with prior registration!
About Counter Shot:
Counter Shot is a Bengali-language critical-polemic platform dedicated to cinema. The editorial team running this unique film webzine consists of Soumyadip Basu, Labanya De, Sayantan Dutta, and Abhishek Roy Barman.
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‘WHERE IS MY FRIEND?’: THE LEGACY OF NAWAB WAJID ALI SHAH AND THE CULTURAL MEMORY OF EXILE AND DISPLACEMENT IN METIABRUZ
A Presentation by Shruti Ghosh
Date: 2nd August 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This August 2nd, we have arranged for an insightful presentation by Shruti Ghosh who will share her experiences of exploring Metiabruz or Chhota Lucknow in Kolkata undertaken as a part of an Arts Research Program supported by the Indian Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Bangalore. She will share her thoughts on Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s legacy and the cultural memory of exile and displacement through photographs, videos, and interviews gathered during the research.
OPEN TO ALL but with prior registration!
About the Speaker:
Shruti Ghosh is a Kathak dancer, teacher, choreographer, and independent researcher based in Kolkata. She is a former Dance Teacher and Performer at SVCC, the Indian Cultural Center, Embassy of India, Kazakhstan (2018-2020). Her research interests include film dance, music, and various performance practices. She has presented her work at several national and international conferences and has performed a solo choreographic piece Khol Do (based on Sadat Hassan Manto’s story) written as a 20-minute one-woman act.
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THE RED BARI STORY: HERITAGE BUILDINGS OF KOLKATA AND THEIR FUTURE
An Illustrated Talk by Avantika Jalan and Keerat Garcha
Date: 28th June 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This June 28th, we have arranged an illustrated talk by Avantika Jalan and Keerat Garcha on the future of heritage buildings in Kolkata, with a particular focus on Jalan’s work behind restoring The Red Bari at Kalighat and breathing life into it by repurposing it as a coffee shop, coworking space, event space and more.
About the Speakers:
Avantika Jalan is an entrepreneur who has been working in the tea industry for over 10 years. Her core work is in sustainable agriculture, community building and creating opportunity to bring the values of sustainability to her businesses, and the industry as a whole. She is the founder of Mana Ventures Pvt. Ltd. whose latest project is The Red Bari – restoring and repurposing heritage building in Kolkata.
Keerat Garcha is a heritage and art conservator with an inclination towards collection care management in museums and art institutions. She is currently working at KCC Conservation Lab, a unit of Anamika Kala Sangam Trust, supported by Tata Trusts Art Conservation Initiative.
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SORROW IN TAGORE’S POETRY
A talk and poetry-reading session by Ishan Chakraborty
Date: 21st June 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
About the Event:
This June 21st Prof Ishan Chakraborty will be talking about and performing on the topic of রবীন্দ্রকাব্যে দুঃখ (Sorrow in Tagore's Poetry). There will be an intellectual discussion complemented by readings of Tagore’s devotional poems, love poems, narrative poems, and some poems from the Gitanjali, along with background music, blending literature, music, and some of Tagore's core ideals about life, loss, and hope. This session is specially designed in synchronization with our other events celebrating the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore from 20th – 22nd June 2024.
About the Speaker:
Ishan Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor, The Department of English, Jadavpur University, who is also a performer of Tagore's poems, a scholar of Tagore's oeuvre, and a person with deafblindness. His areas of interest include Tagore, theatre, 19th century, and disability studies.
Monographing Hemendranath Mazumdar
Date: 7th June 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 5th floor
This June 7th, we have author Anuradha Ghosh talking about her latest book Hemendranath Mazumdar (2016), a monograph that tries to look beyond the considerable, if rather limiting, fame of Hemendranath as a painter of wet-saree-clad women, and attempts to explore new perspectives in order to understand his significance in Indian art history. Archivist and researcher Arkaprava Bose will join Ghosh as a discussant.
About the speaker:
Anuradha Ghosh (b.1969) is an Associate Professor in English at Dinabandhu Andrews College, Kolkata. She began her career as a journalist with Business Standard and Ananda Bazar Patrika and has spoken and written extensively on art and aesthetics and cultural studies. Her co-authored volume The Great Journey of Shapes: Collages of Nandalal Bose (2015) is the first-ever close analysis of the collages of the celebrated artist.
MEHFIL MEIN BAAR BAAR: AN ANECDOTAL HISTORY OF MAUSIQI IN CALCUTTA
A Performative Presentation by Taishi Nandi
Date: 5th July 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
About the event:
It all seems like a figment of imagination when we recall the times in Calcutta, during the 80's and 90's, acting host to several musical artists from Pakistan. Hard to imagine now, these artists used to set their homes here for over weeks and months, celebrating and engaging with the syncretic culture, having regular public performances and private mehfils across the city. However, these transactions, along with the channels that facilitated them, stopped, almost abruptly post-21st century, which till then was extremely palpable in the heart of the city's soundscape. Now, seemingly part of a dying culture, these stories are still living, almost as resistance, amidst forces who are trying to overwrite the history of these narratives.
This performance/presentation is an attempt to retain the essence of those spaces by tracing their trajectories through different stories, conversations, jokes along with some music in the memory of Mehfils.
About the Performer:
Taishi Nandi is an interdisciplinary performing artist based in Kolkata. She has completed her master's in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University and is a Ghazal artist in All India Radio. She has been conducting her personal research on the parallel spaces of music performances in Bengal focusing on genres like Thumris, Ghazals, Dohas, and Hindustani Classical by exploring the nuances of intersectionality within art and culture. A singer, composer, and a multi-instrumentalist in practice, she loves absorbing whatever life and its journey has to offer into her music.
Ray and Places
An illustrated talk on Satyajit Ray’s films by Dr Anindya Sengupta
Date: 12th July 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This July 12th we have Dr Anindya Sengupta, Film Scholar and Assistant Professor at the Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University delivering an illustrated talk on director and filmmaker Satyajit Ray and his unique use of places in cinema.
About the Speaker:
Dr Anindya Sengupta is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University where he has been teaching for the last 20 years. His doctoral thesis was on auteur criticism and Satyajit Ray. His research interests include cinematic realism, auteur criticism, cinemas of Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen and genre films. He regularly writes on cinema, media, and culture, and has authored two science-fiction novels titled Aparthibo and 1982, and also an anthology of science-fiction stories.
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SONGS OF WOMEN, SONGS OF LABOUR
A Performative Talk by Chandra Mukhopadahyay
Date: 19th July 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
About the Event:
This July 19th we have arranged a performative talk on the songs sung by working-class women of rural Bengal, led by Chandra Mukhopadahyay, an author, collector, and independent researcher who has been travelling and collecting women’s songs in Bengali for over 30 years.
Highlighting Mukhopadhyay’s book নারীর গান শ্রমের গান published by Tobuo Proyas, which contains her intensive research on the topic of women’s songs of labour.
This talk will be in Bengali.
About the Speaker:
Chandra Mukhopadhyay has been collecting and researching on women’s songs in Bengal for over 30 years. She has collected over 6000 such songs from West Bengal, Bangladesh, and the Gowalpara-Dilchar region of Assam, some of which can be found on her YouTube channel ‘Geedali’. She has written in many magazines and newspapers on this topic. Two of her most notable books include “Naarir Gaan, Sromer Gaan” and “Shorir-kothae Meyera” published by Tobuo Proyas.
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TO BREAK AND TO BRANCH: SIX ESSAYS ON GIEVE PATEL
Ranjit Hoskote in conversation with Anjum Katyal on the occasion of the release of Hoskote’s latest title published by Seagull Books
Date: Tuesday, 23rd July 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC Library, 2nd floor
This July 23rd we have a special KCC Library event in collaboration with Seagull Books featuring author Ranjit Hoskote who will converse with writer and translator Anjum Katyal about Hoskote’s latest book To Break and To Branch: Six Essays on Gieve Patel, published by Seagull Books.
Written over nearly two decades, To Break and to Branch is a collection of essays on the artist Gieve Patel (1940–2023), gathered together for the first time. This book reflects on the evolution and philosophical depth of Gieve Patel’s art, while being adorned with illustrations of his paintings.
About the Speakers:
Ranjit Hoskote is a poet, cultural theorist, translator and curator. His essays on the late artist Gieve Patel's oeuvre have appeared recently as To Break and To Branch (Seagull, 2024). His collections of poetry include Central Time (Penguin, 2014), Jonahwhale (Penguin, 2018; in the UK by Arc as The Atlas of Lost Beliefs, 2020), Hunchprose (Penguin, 2021), and Icelight (Wesleyan University Press in the USA & Penguin in India, 2023). Hoskote's translation of a 14th-century Kashmiri woman mystic's work has appeared as I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Ded (Penguin Classics, 2011). His translation of the 18th-century Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir's poetry is forthcoming as The Homeland's an Ocean (Penguin Classics, 2024). Hoskote curated India's first-ever national pavilion at the Venice Biennale (Everybody Agrees: It's Going To Explode, 2011) and was co-curator of the 7th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea.
Anjum Katyal is a writer, editor and translator. She has been Chief Editor, Seagull Books, as well as Editor, Seagull Theatre Quarterly; Web Editor, Saregama-HMV and Editor of the online Art and the City. She is the author of a series of books on theatre including Habib Tanvir:Towards an Inclusive Theatre, Badal Sircar: Towards a Theatre of Conscience and Safdar Hashmi: Towards Theatre for a Democracy; and editor of several volumes on theatre and performance. She has translated Charandas Chor and other plays by Habib Tanvir, fiction by Mahasweta Devi and children’s stories by Meera Mukherjee. She is currently Director, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF).
