Events
September 8, 2008 South Asia Graduate Student Form
Presentation by Owen Cornwall, M.A. student, MEALAC
"The Perfect Image: Humayun's Tomb and Sufi Symbolism"
Date: Monday, September 8, 4pm-6pm
Location: 1134 International Affairs
Location: 1134 International Affairs
September 15, 2008 South Asia Institute Open House
Chai' n' Chat
Date: Monday, September 15, 6pm – 7:15pm
Location: 1134 International Affairs
Fall 2008 welcome for students, faculty and friends.
Refreshments will be served.
(Almonds & dates will be available at sundown.)
Location: 1134 International Affairs
Fall 2008 welcome for students, faculty and friends.
Refreshments will be served.
(Almonds & dates will be available at sundown.)
Tuesday Sep 16, 2008 "Teen Behenein" (The Three Sisters)
(2005, Hindi with English subtitles)
Date: Tuesday Sep 16, 7:00pm
Location: Room 1134, International Affairs Bldg, Columbia University, 420 West 118th Street
There have been several tragic news stories in India of suicides by unmarried women agonized by the problem of the dowry. In some cases, there have been multiple suicides by three or four sisters ending their lives to spare their parents the burden of providing dowry. This film tells a fictional story of three such women. "Three Sisters" was co-written and directed by Kundan Shah, whose credits include the award-winning comedy,"Janne Bhi Do Yaaro"(1983); the TV serial "Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi" (1984); and "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa" (1993)among other works. Post-screening discussion with Shekhar Hattangadi, writer-collaborator with filmmaker Kundan Shah. Hattangadi is an alumnus of Bombay University and the Film and Television Insitute of India (Pune). He has worked as a journalist and editor at McGraw-Hill, Times of India and Mirror magazine. Currently he is the India correspondent for the US based magazine Little India, reporting from Mumbai.
Location: Room 1134, International Affairs Bldg, Columbia University, 420 West 118th Street
There have been several tragic news stories in India of suicides by unmarried women agonized by the problem of the dowry. In some cases, there have been multiple suicides by three or four sisters ending their lives to spare their parents the burden of providing dowry. This film tells a fictional story of three such women. "Three Sisters" was co-written and directed by Kundan Shah, whose credits include the award-winning comedy,"Janne Bhi Do Yaaro"(1983); the TV serial "Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi" (1984); and "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa" (1993)among other works. Post-screening discussion with Shekhar Hattangadi, writer-collaborator with filmmaker Kundan Shah. Hattangadi is an alumnus of Bombay University and the Film and Television Insitute of India (Pune). He has worked as a journalist and editor at McGraw-Hill, Times of India and Mirror magazine. Currently he is the India correspondent for the US based magazine Little India, reporting from Mumbai.
Sept 18 - Dec 13, 2008 Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj
An exhibition curated by Vidya Dehejia, with Dipti Khera and Yuthika Sharma
Dates: September 18 through December 13
Location: Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, 826 Schermerhorn Hall, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue
See Gallery website for full information at http://www.learn.columbia.edu/delight/
Location: Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, 826 Schermerhorn Hall, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue
See Gallery website for full information at http://www.learn.columbia.edu/delight/
September 22, 2008 University Seminar Series
*Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Poet and Scholar
"The State of Urdu"*
"The State of Urdu"*
Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, at 4pm-6pm
Location: Southern Asian Institute
1134 International Affairs Building
420 West 118 Street, New York City
Depending on whom you talk to and what definitions you use, Urdu is either flourishing or dying, either holding its own and even expanding its domain, or evolving into virtual unrecognizability. In India there's the question of Urdu versus Hindi, and in Pakistan of Urdu versus Punjabi (and other regional languages); in both countries, the question of Urdu versus English looms ever larger. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, distinguished author of many works of literary history and criticism in Urdu and English, and most recently of a successful novel that is being published by Penguin India in both Urdu and Devanagari scripts, has had a lifelong relationship with Urdu that's both broad and deep in a way that few of his contemporaries can match. He will offer an overview of the state of Urdu, and will also be glad to address particular areas that are of interest to the seminar members. For links to some of his major English-language works, see:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/index.html
[abstract by Fran Pritchett]
The talk will be followed by an unhosted dinner (cost of about $25) at Sezz Medi Restaurant (1260 Amsterdam Ave. at 122nd Street).
Location: Southern Asian Institute
1134 International Affairs Building
420 West 118 Street, New York City
Depending on whom you talk to and what definitions you use, Urdu is either flourishing or dying, either holding its own and even expanding its domain, or evolving into virtual unrecognizability. In India there's the question of Urdu versus Hindi, and in Pakistan of Urdu versus Punjabi (and other regional languages); in both countries, the question of Urdu versus English looms ever larger. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, distinguished author of many works of literary history and criticism in Urdu and English, and most recently of a successful novel that is being published by Penguin India in both Urdu and Devanagari scripts, has had a lifelong relationship with Urdu that's both broad and deep in a way that few of his contemporaries can match. He will offer an overview of the state of Urdu, and will also be glad to address particular areas that are of interest to the seminar members. For links to some of his major English-language works, see:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/index.html
[abstract by Fran Pritchett]
The talk will be followed by an unhosted dinner (cost of about $25) at Sezz Medi Restaurant (1260 Amsterdam Ave. at 122nd Street).
September 23, 2008 Colonial Gothic: Artisanal Culture and Social Critique
A lecture by Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art (Yale) to accompany the exhibition Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj
Date: September 23, 6pm
Location: 612 Schermerhorn Hall
Location: 612 Schermerhorn Hall
September 24, 2008 Brown Bag talk
MUSLIM IMMIGRATION IN THE WEST
Kavitha Rajagopalan
Kavitha Rajagopalan
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2008, from 12:30pm - 2:00pm
Location: Room 1134 International Affairs Building
Kavitah Rajagopalan is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute, and a graduate of the SIPA International Media and Communications Program. Rajagopalan is the author of "Muslims of Metropolis: The Stories of Three Immigrant Families in the West," recently published by Rutgers University Press. Her book is a narrative nonfiction examination of migration, integration and identity formation in three Muslim immigrant families – a Palestinian family from Jerusalem to London, a Kurdish family from Turkey to Berlin, a Bangladeshi family from Dhaka to New York City. Her research involved policy analysis, in-depth interviews and social immersion, and media monitoring, and took her to Germany, the U.K., the Palestinian Territories, India, Syria, and Turkey. Kavitha’s writing approaches broader migration policy and management debates through individual narrative, exploring the influence of economic and policymaking trends, as well as societal attitudes and individual experience, on the development of collective narratives of either alienation or belonging in immigrant communities. She is interested in finding meaningful policy solutions to global conflict and instability by understanding and harnessing the economic, social, political and cultural capital of migrants.
Rajagopalan will present a short reading from her book, and a talk on "Muslim Immigration in the West," followed by a Q & A discussion.
Location: Room 1134 International Affairs Building
Kavitah Rajagopalan is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute, and a graduate of the SIPA International Media and Communications Program. Rajagopalan is the author of "Muslims of Metropolis: The Stories of Three Immigrant Families in the West," recently published by Rutgers University Press. Her book is a narrative nonfiction examination of migration, integration and identity formation in three Muslim immigrant families – a Palestinian family from Jerusalem to London, a Kurdish family from Turkey to Berlin, a Bangladeshi family from Dhaka to New York City. Her research involved policy analysis, in-depth interviews and social immersion, and media monitoring, and took her to Germany, the U.K., the Palestinian Territories, India, Syria, and Turkey. Kavitha’s writing approaches broader migration policy and management debates through individual narrative, exploring the influence of economic and policymaking trends, as well as societal attitudes and individual experience, on the development of collective narratives of either alienation or belonging in immigrant communities. She is interested in finding meaningful policy solutions to global conflict and instability by understanding and harnessing the economic, social, political and cultural capital of migrants.
Rajagopalan will present a short reading from her book, and a talk on "Muslim Immigration in the West," followed by a Q & A discussion.
September 24, 2008 Colonial Gothic: Artisanal Culture and Social Critique
A lecture by Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art (Yale) to accompany the exhibition Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj
Date: September 23, 6pm
Location: 612 Schermerhorn Hall
Location: 612 Schermerhorn Hall
Sept 24 - Dec 4, 2008 The British Raj on Film
A film series to accompany the exhibition Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj
Dates: Wednesdays, September 24 through December 4 (no screening November 26)
Time: 6:15pm
Location: Room 832, Schermerhorn Building, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue
September 24 screening: Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players)
Director: Satyajit Ray (1977, 115 minutes)
Time: 6:15pm
Location: Room 832, Schermerhorn Building, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue
September 24 screening: Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players)
Director: Satyajit Ray (1977, 115 minutes)
September 29, 2008 Talk by CSM reporter on Pakistan, the US and the Taliban
PAKISTAN: AN EVOLVING FRONT IN AMERICA'S WAR ON TERROR
Date: Monday, September 29
Time: 6pm-7:30pm
Shahan Mufti will speak about Pakistan's role in the war on terror, and how the country and the United States perceive this role differently in the face of the Taliban insurgency - and how the new political configuration in the country changes anything, if at all.
Mufti is a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor and covered the tumultuous events in Pakistan of 2007 and 2008 for the paper. He has spent over twelve years living in Pakistan and has also written about the country for The Boston Sunday Globe, The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review and other publications. A graduate of the Joint MA Program in Journalism and Near Eastern Studies at New York University, he served as a Fulbright Fellow to India in 2004-05.
Time: 6pm-7:30pm
Shahan Mufti will speak about Pakistan's role in the war on terror, and how the country and the United States perceive this role differently in the face of the Taliban insurgency - and how the new political configuration in the country changes anything, if at all.
Mufti is a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor and covered the tumultuous events in Pakistan of 2007 and 2008 for the paper. He has spent over twelve years living in Pakistan and has also written about the country for The Boston Sunday Globe, The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review and other publications. A graduate of the Joint MA Program in Journalism and Near Eastern Studies at New York University, he served as a Fulbright Fellow to India in 2004-05.
October 6, 2008 South Asia Graduate Students Forum
A Presentation by Anna Stirr, Ph.D. student in Ethnomusicology
From Rodhi Ghar to Rodhi Bar: The Commercialization of Gurung Tradition in the Nepali Music Industry
The rodhi ghar is a traditional youth dormitory association particular to the Gurung ethnic group. Classic ethnography of the Gurungs describes the rodhi as a site for socializing youth into traditional labor exchange, and for its most famous aspects: all-night singing and dancing, including flirtatious dohori song duels between young men and women. Now, though the rodhi has died out in rural Gurung villages, it has become an important symbol of Gurung identity and cultural heritage among the urban Gurungs who aim to define a normative Gurung culture; they offer a "purified" version of rodhi as a symbol of their unique culture. At the same time, the dohori songs of the Gurung heartland have become a commercial phenomenon, with a burgeoning cassette industry and a major share of Kathmandu nightlife. For some, dohori restaurants and their rodhi symbolism represent a connection with a tradition of free interaction between the sexes that can serve as a traditional justification for more modern forms of love relationships. This paper traces the development of these two related trajectories, as the rodhi becomes a symbol both of a purified traditional heritage and of adolescent abandon. With particular attention to the youth who perform in dohori restaurants, I examine their investments in both discourses of purification and freedom, how they link them with their own aspirations, and how they define their generation in relation to previous generations in a modern Nepal.
The Forum format is as follows: 20-30 minutes: Presentation
20-30 minutes: Q & A and discussion
60 minutes: Reception (food and drink provided)
Date: Monday, October 6, 2008
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Southern Asian Institute
1134 International Affairs Building
420 West 118 Street, New York City
The forum is open to all members of the Columbia community. If you have any questions about the forum or are interesting in presenting (graduate students only please), contact the forum coordinator, Audrey Truschke, at aat2120@columbia.edu.
Future forum dates this semester are:
Nov. 6 (Thursday)
Nov. 24
The rodhi ghar is a traditional youth dormitory association particular to the Gurung ethnic group. Classic ethnography of the Gurungs describes the rodhi as a site for socializing youth into traditional labor exchange, and for its most famous aspects: all-night singing and dancing, including flirtatious dohori song duels between young men and women. Now, though the rodhi has died out in rural Gurung villages, it has become an important symbol of Gurung identity and cultural heritage among the urban Gurungs who aim to define a normative Gurung culture; they offer a "purified" version of rodhi as a symbol of their unique culture. At the same time, the dohori songs of the Gurung heartland have become a commercial phenomenon, with a burgeoning cassette industry and a major share of Kathmandu nightlife. For some, dohori restaurants and their rodhi symbolism represent a connection with a tradition of free interaction between the sexes that can serve as a traditional justification for more modern forms of love relationships. This paper traces the development of these two related trajectories, as the rodhi becomes a symbol both of a purified traditional heritage and of adolescent abandon. With particular attention to the youth who perform in dohori restaurants, I examine their investments in both discourses of purification and freedom, how they link them with their own aspirations, and how they define their generation in relation to previous generations in a modern Nepal.
The Forum format is as follows: 20-30 minutes: Presentation
20-30 minutes: Q & A and discussion
60 minutes: Reception (food and drink provided)
Date: Monday, October 6, 2008
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Southern Asian Institute
1134 International Affairs Building
420 West 118 Street, New York City
The forum is open to all members of the Columbia community. If you have any questions about the forum or are interesting in presenting (graduate students only please), contact the forum coordinator, Audrey Truschke, at aat2120@columbia.edu.
Future forum dates this semester are:
Nov. 6 (Thursday)
Nov. 24
Wednesday, October 15 Brown Bag
A talk by P. Chengal Reddy on "The Indian Agricultural Economy since Economic Liberalization"
Date: Wednesday, October 15
Time: 12:30-2:00pm
Location: Room 1128 International Affairs Building, 420 West 118th Street
P. Chengal Reddy will speak about the evolution of the Indian agricultural economy and the situation of Indian farmers since the onset of economic liberalization in 1991, and the role of farmers' movements in influencing national and international policies. Dr. Reddy is an affiliate of the Federation of Farmers Associations (FFA), Andhra Pradesh, India; and the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association and will visit SIPA immediately following his participation in a World Bank "International Conference on Nonrenewable Groundwater Resources."
Date: Wednesday, October 15
Time: 12:30-2:00pm
Location: Room 1128 International Affairs Building, 420 West 118th Street
P. Chengal Reddy will speak about the evolution of the Indian agricultural economy and the situation of Indian farmers since the onset of economic liberalization in 1991, and the role of farmers' movements in influencing national and international policies. Dr. Reddy is an affiliate of the Federation of Farmers Associations (FFA), Andhra Pradesh, India; and the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association and will visit SIPA immediately following his participation in a World Bank "International Conference on Nonrenewable Groundwater Resources."
