Lamakaan

Lamakaan frequenters know that Hyderabad Urban Lab is a place where funky urban research is done. But we also make music (some times). As we discovered to our surprise, the current batch of interns has talent for improvised music. Come join us for an evening of drums, guitars and basses on site. If you play any other instrument we’d love to have you! This is an opportunity to practice your improv or show off your tunes. The session will most probably feature some rock, fusion and jazz music – but this is entirely dependant on the interests of those that take part. If you’d like to play specific songs, please come armed with tabs or sheet music that can be shared with others.

Entry Free and Open to all!

Audience will be the master!!! And actors will be actors obviously 🙂

Jo Audience kahegi bas wahi hoga...

Actors:
Jay Jha
Surender Sahil Verma
Amit Sharma
Rahul Reddy
Mohd. Afaque
Rajnish Songara
SreeHari Ajith
Snighda Bawa
Kajol Dubey
Mehti Bikshu
Nikhil Jadhav
Rahul Kamlekar

Donor Pass: Rs100/-

We are Culture Resonance, a band of three siblings from Bielefeld/Germany. We are playing together since 2006 and had a few concerts at different festivals and events in Germany and Turkey.
As we have roots in Germany, Turkey, India, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan we are playing transcultural music with instruments from India and the middle East like Oud, Sitar, Sarod, Tabla and Def. Those Instruments are brought together with western musical styles and Instruments as the Cello, the Harp and the Double bass.
We mostly play our own songs which are mainly shaped by improvised music. We believe in music as a medium that can be used as a language to communicate between different cultures without using words.

Donor Pass at gate: Rs100/-

29th July is the International Day of the Tiger. We would like to conduct Photo Exhibition and interaction with people working on tiger conservation at AP and Telangana.

Over 93% of Tiger Area has been taken over by humans, leading to decimation of 97% of tigers in past 100 years. Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society along with Wildlife Conservation Society has taken up the fight to conserve tigers in Telangana and AP. Please join to witness the tiger conservation effort as you would be presented with Amazing Wildlife Photos, Work Photos and talks from field staff slogging in field.

All are welcome.

Funny Side Up presents a comedy show about India's favorite job - Software - in its theme-based show called 'Game of Thorns - Life of an IT Employee'. Come and experience everything you know about IT, being made fun of.

This expo is to showcase the art work done by Ms.Uma Lavanya a volunteer of the NAVASEVAK NGO Regd.944/2015. Whatever the amount generated by the sales will be donated to the charity.

No Speakers-No Preachers-Just Networking @ Chai for Startupreneurs - Free Event

Trafficking in persons is the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index released by Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation, today, an estimated 45.8 million people, including women and children, are subject to some form of modern slavery in the world. The report said India has the highest absolute numbers of people trapped in slavery with 18.35 million slaves among its 1.3 billion population. Around 1.4% of the total population in the country is living under conditions of modern day slavery. A lot of work is being done in India and across the world to counter human trafficking and to abolish these various forms of modern day slavery. But lot more needs to be done, and a lot faster!

To counter human trafficking and abolish modern day slavery it is critical to:
- Forge and strengthen partnerships and other forms of collaboration among the civil society organizations, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, government officials and the media to counter trafficking in persons.
- Enhance training and build capacity of stakeholders, including civil society, law enforcement, judiciary, government officials and media to increase identification of victims.
- Promote public awareness about modern day slavery - including one’s legal rights, the warning signs of exploitation, and where/how victims can seek support.

On occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad has organized a panel discussion on July 30, 2016 (Saturday) to discuss the impact of collaboration on countering trafficking in persons. The panelists are experts representing the civil society, media, law enforcement and the judiciary. The focus of the panel discussion will be:

- The current situation – statistics, demographics of the victims (gender, age-group, rural/urban), surprising/unusual trends
- Models of partnership and collaboration that exist and the success stories
- The role of media in the fight against human trafficking
- The judiciary – the recent anti-trafficking draft bill, the current and upcoming policies to counter human trafficking, the journey from creating policies to implementing these
- The challenges in rehabilitating survivors and helping them reintegrate with the mainstream society

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Mamatha Achanta (Founder – Tharuni), and the panel will comprise of Ms. Meera Raghavendra (Founder – Women’s Initiatives), Mr. Mohammad Ahammad Ali (Director, Economic Rehabilitation Program – Prajwala), and Mr. Sudhakar Reddy (Bureau Chief, Andhra Pradesh & Hyderabad – Deccan Chronicle).

About the panelists:

Dr. Mamatha Achanta is the founder and Executive Director of Tharuni, an organization that works for the empowerment of women in general and adolescent girls in particular. Since its formation in 2000, Tharuni has contributed immensely to the protection of girl child rights by organizing awareness building programs and by initiating several campaigns against child marriage and HIV/AIDS. Mamatha has also organized many sensitization workshops for state government officials. In 2015, Mamatha launched the Network of International Legal Activists (NILA) for Women & Child Rights. This network aspires to bring together legal activists to ensure that the human rights of vulnerable groups that are subjected to marginalization, such as women and children are addressed in the context of crime prevention and criminal justice reform. The network is international in scope to make justice accessible to all despite migration of women and children from one part of the world to another. NILA aims to increase the access to judicial and other legal mechanisms, extend assistance to victims by ensuring legal counselling and aid, offering physical and psychological support and therapy, and create an environment for their rehabilitation. Tharuni is also the technical partner to Hyderabad City Police for their recently established Bharosa Center, a one-stop crisis center for women and children, under which integrated assistance is provided through police, medical, legal and prosecution services along with psycho therapeutic counselling and relief and rehabilitation. Dr. Achanta participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program on Trafficking in Persons in 2009.

Ms. Meera Raghavendra founded Women's Initiatives (WINS) in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh in 1994, an organization committed to address and counter the violation of basic rights of marginalized women and children including victims of sex and labor trafficking, and the LGBT community. WINS recognizes that to empower communities, it is important to understand the perception of societal systems and structures that form the basis of gender inequality, and that addressing issues related to gender and sexuality should be at the core of their programming. Meera has worked extensively for and with marginalized groups, including sex workers, migrant laborers, and also transgendered people. Through the efforts of WINS, women’s groups have been formed in Andhra Pradesh, empowering the victims of gender based violence to deepen and develop their agency, to advocate for their basic human rights and dignity, and to represent themselves at district, national forums to bring about changes in law. WINS opened its first counselling center for vulnerable women in Tirupati in 2002 with the support of the state government and has linked it with home and community based care referral services, throughout the District. The goal was to provide immediate poverty needs, strengthening ethical resource generation, imparting life skills education. Meera strongly believes in bringing together various progressive movements working with marginalized communities to build strong coalitions to extend solidarity. WINS has successfully joined hands with Dalit rights groups, child rights groups and has been a part of Alliance of the Poor at the local and state level work. Meera has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2002, organized by the U.S. Government on Trafficking of Women and Children.

Mr. Mohammad Ahammad Ali has been working in Prajwala, a prominent anti-trafficking organization based in Hyderabad, since 2006. He leads Prajwala’s Economic Rehabilitation Program. Under this program, survivors have access to shelter homes, counselling, and medical intervention as well as access to training in five different trades that can become a source of income. Ali has also been instrumental in establishing two crisis counseling centers in collaboration with the Hyderabad City Police. These centers located inside the police stations identify vulnerable women and children in high-volume venues such as railway stations, bus stations and rescue them. These centers also counsel older women in prostitution to prevent them from becoming perpetrators. Prior to this he was the Director of Prajwala’s Rescue and Restoration program. In this role as the countrywide lead for rescues he has led operations in India, Dubai, and Uzbekistan. He has led six major inter-state rescues in in which over 85 traffickers were arrested. He also has a principal role in Prajwala’s Community Based Prevention Program. His leadership role places him in a position where he can not only influence efforts and attitudes, but also coach and educate members of Prajwala, other NGOs and police officers about issues concerning trafficking, and thus have a greater impact on his community. Ali has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2013, organized by the U.S. Government on Combating Trafficking in Persons.

Mr. Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Bureau Chief in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and the City Editor in Hyderabad of the Deccan Chronicle, one of the largest circulating English newspapers in South India. Sudhakar began his career at Eenadu, the largest circulating Telugu newspaper in India, and later moved to English print media, where he rapidly rose through the ranks to his current position. With a journalism career that spans 16 years, Sudhakar is one of the most dynamic investigative journalists in South India. He has won wide acclaim for reporting on trafficking, sexism, and female infanticide in urban and rural parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Sudhakar’s incisive and well researched articles on the trafficking of homeless minors in Hyderabad helped law enforcement agencies with vital leads in getting hold of the traffickers. Sudhakar also has several reports to his credit chronicling the many efforts law enforcement agencies make to take action against traffickers and prostitution rackets in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Sudhakar has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2016, organized by the U.S. Government on Investigative Journalism.

Invting all for an evening of Hindustani Classical Singing by Smt. Srivani Jade on Sat 30th Jun at 7pm, accompanied by Rahul Deshpande on Harmonium and Suhas Sastry on Tabla.

Srivani Jade was introduced to music at the age of four by her father Bhavani Prasad Jade and uncle Raghavendra Tilwalli. She studied Khayal initially with Dr. Sharad Gadre in the Gwalior style (2002-03), and in the Kirana style with Pandit Parameshwar Hegde since 2006. Srivani also enjoys singing an eclectic repertoire of light classical music, such as Thumri-dadra, Tappa and Bhajans.

Although she grew up performing on the stage and radio in India, she debuted as a Khayal singer in Ragamala's Utsav festival (Seattle, 2008) and Devanandan Ubhayaker Yuva Sangeet Utsav for emerging artists (Bengaluru, 2009). She has since continued to study, teach, and perform Hindustani Gayaki in both North America and India, including major music festivals such as the Sawai Gandharv Bhimsen Mahotsav (2014).

She has five solo albums to her credit, and several grants, artist residencies and awards, including the Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award (2009) and an NEA grant for her musical composition work on the existential love poetry of Meera Bai (Astitva, 2011). She has composed and recorded theme vocals for independent films such as Tapasya (2003), Siddhanto (2014) and stage productions such as Indian Ink (Sound Theater Company). She is an auditioned artist with All India Radio, and Visiting Artist with the University of Washington School of Music's Ethnomusicology program.


RECORDINGS:

2014 Night by Night--Khayals in Jogkauns and Sohni
2011 Salagvarali and Audav Bageshree--Khayals
2009 Meera's Love
2009 Bhoopali and Rajasthani Maand
2008 Bhaktidarshana Tukayache (Marathi Abhangs of Sant Tukaram)

(Available on Amazon, iTunes and CDBaby: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/SrivaniJade)


HONORS/GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS/AWARDS:


2012: Individual Artist Project grant from 4Culture (Project title: “Raag-rang: A Musical Interpretation of Modern Indian-Style Miniature Paintings.”)

2009: “Meera's Love” nominated for Best Album at 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the World Music category.

2009: Fellowship Award from Washington State Arts Commission.

2009: Recording grant from Jack Straw Productions for project on the spiritual love songs of the 16th century mystic, Meera Bai.

2009-10: Washington State Arts Commission Master-Apprentice grant (Khayal).

2008-09: Washington State Arts Commission Master-Apprentice grant (Thumri).

All are welcome. Entry - Free.

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 2:00pm For details: 9642731329.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LANDMARK FORUM IS 3 HOURS INTERACTIVE SESSION WHERE YOU WILLINVENT A POSSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF OR FOR YOUR LIFE IN AREAS OF LIFE THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU.WE WILL BE ACTUALLY WORKING ON ONE AREA OF YOUR LIFE IN THIS SESSION WHERE YOU WILL HAVE AN ACCESS TO CAUSE A BREAKTHROUGH.

No Speakers-No Preachers-Just Networking @ Chai for Startupreneurs - Free Event

After many successful stand-up events and comedy plays, Samahaara calls out to all the Comedians out there - new, upcoming, pro! Sit down for an exclusive stand-up show and watch a range of comics test their skills out. Or come join the fun, it's an Open Mic after all. Most of the big guns in comedy today started out like this - discover the next big thing in comedy or be one yourself. For those who never miss out on a good laugh, Samahaara Stand-up Night promises to be one of laughter, music and masti.

Donation Rs.100/-

Mr. Vinay Varma, Film Director Mr. Srinivasa, RoadKraft RoadSafety (a Group) and myself (Nadira Tyabji) and ... the PUBLIC wish to organise a Meeting - basically a discussion on Improving Hyderabad Traffic. which we feel it is about time was done. And we feel that Improvement is possible.
So why not involve the Concerned Public and put our heads together to see what we can do.

The recent events in Kashmir have resulted greater human loss and suffering of the civilians, especially women and children. There is a huge distress in the valley because of ever growing human rights violations and killing of the civilians which have become everyday affair.
The conflict in Kashmir is complex and with little or no solution seen, the peace in the valley is almost getting exhausted. People are longing for an end to their suffering. A fearless civil society is indeed important for human development. As we take a look the current state of affairs in the valley, one can’t ignore the wide spectrum of issues Kashmir faces today.
We invite you to an evening of panel discussion on this very pertinent issue.

The Panel members:
Prof G Hargopal, Distinguished Political Scientist is currently ICSSR National Fellow with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad
V Raghunath, secretary, Civil Liberties Committee, Telangana State,
Sanjay Kak (on Skype), eminent documentary film maker
Reportage from Srinagar through Skype/Phone by:
Parvaiz Bukhari, Independent Kashmir-based Journalist from Srinagar
Essar Batool, Social Worker and Human Rights Activist from Kashmir
Khurram Parvez, Human Rights Defender and Coordinator, Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS)

-Entry Free and Open to all.

Economics and Energy: Of black holes and rakshasa vivah a talk by Sagar Dhara

We face three tipping points today—peak oil (representing imminent exhaustion of fossil fuels with inadequate alternate energy replacement), climate change and rampant inequality. Each of the tipping points has the potential to cause regress or collapse of human society.

Two anthropocentric subjects--knowledge of energy conversion (technology) and economics have brought us to the brink of these tipping points by aiding the mining of massive quantity of energy from nature. Economics has also allowed inequitable distribution of wealth by fabricating the tool, "privatization" of energy, a tool that has no basis in nature--abiotic or biotic.

To comprehend where we went astray, we must travel back 10,000 years to understand the history of the energetics of human society. This talk explores the history of energy surplus—its creation and distribution, and attempts to answer the question of how much energy can each one of us have to live in a sustainable, equal and peaceful society.

About Sagar Dhara: The speaker belongs to the most rapacious predator tribe that ever stalked the earth—humans, and to a net destructive discipline—engineering, that has to take more than a fair share of the responsibility for bringing earth and human society very close to the three tipping points. If you still want to contact him, you may do so at: sagdhara@gmail.com

Entry Free. All are Welcome!

The Hindi play revolves around three friends out of them two are in college and one is a 12th fail who always tries to impress girls but fails in that as well. All of them stay together in an apartment and love to booze on every possible occasion, to celebrate their failure and success. Unfortunately, most of the times they get into some puzzled situations which makes their life more interesting and funny. And as we know life is not just with friends, their family members also contribute in making their life more crazy and to get them on the right track, regarding their career. A laughter ride for the audience specially to those who have some crazy best friends. DIRECTOR Surender Sahil Verma WRITER Surender Sahil Verma ARTISTS Rahul Reddy, Surender Sahil Verma, Mohammad Afaque, Shivkant Agrahari, Mahti Vijay, Snigdha Bawa Donor Pass: Rs100/-

Nayi Disha Resource Centre (www.nayi-disha.org) is a not for profit organisation that supports families of persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) by providing information and connecting them with a range of resources and services that cater to people with IDD. Parents have easy access to this information through a user-friendly website.
Nayi Disha Resource Centre also in order conduct events to connect families to each other and professionals/experts working in the field of IDD through events like Meet the Expert, Parent Empowerment Workshops and Parent Support Group Meets.

This special needs parents meet is meant for parents and caregivers to share their stories and connect with each other about incidents and actions that had a profound impact on their child

Organizing Social Movements by Biju Mathew

It's been a while since the KBR protests have fallen silent. For everyone who has been a part of this fight to protect our precious bit of natural heritage, we are having a gathering to review and retrospect our campaign while charting the future course of action.

The discussion will be facilitated by Biju Mathew, co-founder of Lamakaan, who will also be sharing his experiences in organizing social mvoements in the United States.

Biju Mathew is a Secretary of the National Taxi Workers Alliance in the USA, a Marxist researcher of labor process and migration and a Professor of Business. He is an associate professor of Information Systems and American studies at Rider University (New Jersey).

Come over for a Sunday afternoon discussion and get educated in Strategies and Tools for Campaign Building for Social Change.

It's meant for those who participated in the KBR protests and heritage preservation actively, but if someone is keen on being a part of it
they can email @ hyderabadtrails@gmail.com
Entry - Free.

The main discussions of the meeting are as follows:

• Objectives of this Python Group

• Plan future meetup

• Select/nominate volunteers for facilitating meetup

• Discuss on participation in Open Source Project.

Open Mic Poetry can be held on a monthly basis on a suitable Saturday afternoon. It will be coordinated and hosted by a local volunteer of Poetry Couture. All operational responsibility apart from the venue will lie with Poetry Couture.

Baishe Srabon - an evening of ragas and Rabindrasangeet based on them. It will be an evening of songs interspersed with recitations.

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 1.30pm For details: 9642731329.

Hi
Myself Venkatesh(Shortfilm maker) made a short film on ancient indian classical instrument known Nadaswaram, we see & hear inall good occasion of this music intrument. Motive of this making short film...is to make aware how this great ancient music is slowly dying with out enrollment new generation students...today students are interested western music....this film depicts decline trend in indian classics...how the movie starts & ends with positive motive is the clutch of the movie.

I, would sincerely request the curators of the Lamakaan to watch my movie which iam going to submitt the DVD personnaly at your office for your consideration.

Iam keeping my finger cross for the same.

Regards,
Venkatesh.

Rangadhara & Sutradhar
present
‘Main Rahi Masoom’
a solo performance enacted by Vinay Varma and directed by Prof. Bhaskar
Shewalkar
It is a biographical sketch of the famous Hindi and Urdu writer, the Late Dr. Rahi Masoom
Raza. This performance is first of its kind on Rahi.
This 75-minute poignant monologue shows how Rahi detested communal and vote-bank
politics, and how he fought against the divisive forces in the country through his writings. He
was a strong nationalist first and a Muslim next. He also staunchly opposed pseudosecularism.
Sample this: “main ek Hindustani musalman hoon aur iske siva meri aur koee
pehchaan naheen hai” or “vatan mazhab nahin jo badla ja sake”. He was upfront against
the fundamentalists on both sides of the divide. He was brutally honest regarding politics of
hatred, and felt that the interest of communal elements among both Hindus and Muslims lies
in keeping the two communities aloof from each other and to create distrust among
them”…sampradaaikta(communalism) ka koee dharm nain hota” or “zahid-e-tang nazar
ne mujhe kaafir jaana aur kaafir ye samajhta hai ki musalman hoon main……”
The monologue ends with Rahi’s rare nazm Vaseeyat.
Rahi’s journey begins on 1st September, 1927 in Gangauli, a small village in the Ghazipur
district of Uttar Pradesh and ends with his vaseeyat in which he wills that he be laid to rest in
the lap of Ganga, whom he considered his second mother. He passed away on 15
March 1992.
During his illustrious career, Rahi Masoom Raza has written lyrics, dialogues and stories for
various movies and television series. His high came with the telecast of TV series
'Mahabharat' that was based on the Hindu epic Mahabharat. Rahi, a Muslim, wrote the
screenplay and dialogue of the TV series that went on to become the most watched TV series
in India. At one time, its TRP was a staggering 86 %. This was a triumph for Rahi as some
Hindu zealots had criticized his inclusion in the team. Terms of address like “Matashri”,
“Pitashri”, “Bhratashri”, and “Jijashri” etc. were brought into the popular realm by Rahi.
“Hum to hain pardes mein, des mein nikla hoga chand” sung by Jagjit and Chitra Singh
remains one of the most popular non-filmy ghazals ever.
Some of his famous novels include Aadha Gaon, Dil Ek Saada Kaghaz, Topi Shukla, Os ki
Boond, Katra Bi Arzoo.
Movies (Story, Screenplay and Dialogues): Kisi Se Na Kehna, Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki,
Disco Dancer, Lamhe, Karz, Gol-Maal, Mili, Nikaah and more than a hundred others.
TV Series: Neem ka Ped and Mahabharat.
This performance is a tribute to one of the greatest sons of Ganga.
Ticket – Rs. 100/-

Panel Discussion on
“Contemporary Politics in current Scenario”
On: 9th August 2016 (Tuesday), at Lamakaan, Banjara Hills.
Time: 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Panelist:
Dr. Ram Puniyani, Writer and Activist
Mr. Mir Ayoob Ali Khan, Senior Journalist
Mr. Mohd Ahsan Abid, IAS

Context:
Not a day passes when the media does not report the excesses and the exceptional brutalities of the so-called Islamic State. We all have read about how the terror outfit has beheaded, incinerated, maimed and even thrown off innocent people, non-combatants, and combatants off buildings in their wave of intolerance and terrorism.

Their trail of destruction has not excluded Muslims - Shiite or Sunni - and people of other faiths. The tentacles of terror, it appears, have reached all corners of the globe with it claiming responsibility for various acts of terror.

But what exactly is the so-called Islamic State? What is its dangerous ideology? Does this ideology have anything to do with Islam, as the outfit claims? It the so-called Islamic State a product of dangerously flawed geo-politics in the Middle East which has various actors including Western countries?

And in the Indian context, is the threat of the so-called Islamic State real or is it a tool used by investigation agencies to create a fear in the minds and hearts of the Muslim community?

The general understanding in the Muslim community is that the number who have joined the terrorist organisation are infinitesimal. And while the numbers of those who have tried to join the outfit from the country indeed are minuscule, is there an intangible, non-quantifiable threat which Muslims are unable to comprehend? One which has created dangerous stereotypes and unleashed a wave of Islamophobia, which is worse than what was witnessed post the 9/11?

These and many more questions remain unanswered. Indeed, the continue to plague both Muslims and people of other faiths alike.

But what is a reality is that the so-called Islamic State exists and its sympathisers exist.

So how do we, the citizens of this country, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Budhhist, deal with this?

We invite you to a talk with eminent panelists including journalists, academicians and other experts to attempt to understand the so-called Islamic State and to seek to evolve responses to counter the terrorist organisation. It is time that people of all faiths and denominations come forwards to counter the IS.

Renewing Solidarities, Towards Justice, Peace, and Hope

In solidarity with Irom Sharmila and the struggle for the repeal of AFSPA

On 9 August 2016 Irom Sharmila will give up her fast, which she began in November 2000 to demand the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). In solidarity and deep respect for Irom Sharmila’s non-violent struggle and her indomitable spirit, and in support of her decision to give up her fast and continue the struggle through other means, Forum for Social Justice, Hyderabad is holding a solidarity meet on 9 August 2016 at Lamakaan at 7.30 pm.
Drawing on a relic of the British legal system’s attempt to crush the Quit India movement in 1942, the government of independent India promulgated the AFSPA in 1958 and subsequently imposed it in several parts of the country. The Act empowers the Government to declare any area as disturbed for any length of time without provision for review. It gives vast powers to even a constable to shoot anyone on mere suspicion, to arrest without warrant and to search and seize. The armed forces acting under the Act have virtual impunity from criminal persecution.
Protests against human rights abuses by the armed forces and demands for the repeal of AFSPA have been longstanding and have echoed from different parts of the country, most urgently from the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura and from Jammu and Kashmir which have suffered these abuses the most. The most recent indictment of the AFSPA has come from a Supreme Court judgement in a 2012 case filed by the Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association (EEVFAM) alleging 1,528 fake encounters in Manipur since the 1980s. The Court ordered investigation into six cases, all of which were proved to be fake encounters: killing of innocent persons, by armed forces or police commandos. The Court has ruled that all the remaining cases must be thoroughly probed.
Irom Sharmila’s struggle is located alongside these larger battles being waged by people’s movements for justice, democracy, human rights and state accountability. Her decision to continue her struggle for the repeal of AFSPA through other means enables us to reflect on the expanding possibilities of protest and struggle in today’s times. It enables reflection on established legal principles in a democratic state, their functioning, their limits and their excesses; as well as accountability in the rule of law. Most importantly, it enables us to reflect on the unfailing nature of hope, love and solidarity as integral to struggle.
On 9 August we invite all of you to salute Irom Sharmila's fight against this draconian law and pledge our solidarity in the struggle to repeal it. Join us as we share poems, extracts from court judgements, songs, and reflections on struggle and hope.

- All are welcome

Topic: Cross Cultural Communication and Issues.

Communication has become an integral part of sharing of ideas and thoughts and with the advent of globalization and information overload, there is a constant battle to understand the communication needs of the people across borders.
In this interactive session Prof Kalyan Chakravarthi will share his experiences and delve the various methodologies to increase the cultural understanding of communication.
The presenter is a well-travelled Researcher, Author of a book, Editor, TV Presenter, Training Coach and a Visiting Professor who wishes to share his views on Cross Cultural Communication & Issues. He would like to discuss the above with the audience with a view to link it to academia and the corporate. Finally, he would propose that Cross Cultural Communication & Issues (CCC) must be an integral part of every curriculum, academic and corporate trainings to create awareness among the students and employees.

Methodology:
Powerpoint slides, videos and a caselet on CCC for discussion and Q & A.

Free event. All are welcome!

A defense lawyer cross-examines a woman during her testimony in a sexual assault case -- and in doing so, horribly distorts her perfectly innocent walk in the park.

Donor Pass: Rs100/-

A Chapbook of Poetry and Visuals by Anil CS Rao.

Anil CS Rao is an artist and writer presently based in Andhra Pradesh in South India. He has lived in the West from the age of 4 prior to obtaining "dual citizenship" and relocating to his Mother Land in 2010. His mixed media / photoshop artwork has been exhibited in galleries in the States, Europe and in India. His wife, Padmaja is a painter and together they explore synergies with respect to their combined talents - a.k.a. "Padnil Arts" in the creation of publications and computer animated films.

The collection includes very artistic 37 pictures that add to the beauty and amazing charm of the book. Like D. G. Rossetti, Rao is both painter and poet. He presents the immense variety and panorama of contemporary life-Goody Goody people devoid of style and imagination, London in the winter season, Spencer’s in Vijayawada, a small village in Andhra, Red Light District in Eluru, tobacco, sex, booze, zazen, samadhi, Bodhisatva, BR Films, Julie Andrews, Zen, Art of Breathing, JFK Birthplace, Heart Chakra, K. Balachandar, K. Viswanath, Bollywood, Sridevi.

All are welcome to this Book Launch, Art exhibition and Poetry reading.

Orient BlackSwan Pvt. Ltd. and Lamakaan invite you to a book reading from "When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry" by Dr Scott Kugle.

Long regarded one of the most influential writers of her time, 18th Century poet Mah Laqa Bai Chanda’s legacy is revived in Dr Scott Kugle’s book. Mah Laqa Bai was a renowned courtesan and influencer in the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad in addition to being one of the first female poets to author a diwan, a complete collection of Urdu ghazals. She was inspired by the literary work of the mystic poet Shah Siraj Awrangabadi. Both poets specialized in the ghazal, often fusing spiritual quest with erotic imagery.

In "When Sun Meets Moon", Shah Siraj and Mah Laqa Bai are brought together in the realm of literary imagination by Dr Kugle, who argues that the two poets were exceptions to the gender norms common in their patriarchal societies. Featuring translations of Urdu and Persian poetry previously unavailable in English, this book illustrates the complexity of gender, sexuality, and religious practice in Islamic culture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scott Kugle joined the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies at Emory University in Fall 2010. He received his PhD from Duke University in 2000 in History of Religions after graduating from Swarthmore College with High Honors in Religion, Literature, and History.

ENTRY FEE: Free

All are welcome!

Lamakaan invites one and all to a refreshing talk on 'Questioning Normal Daily Life: Normal? Daily? Life?' by Prof Divyaraj

What is time poverty in the context of urban Indian middle class of Delhi in 21st century ? In the 1950s, one male member with an 8-to-10-hours day job was somehow able to provide for a family of four or five children and extended family members. In 2013, both spouses work 12 hours, which equals a combined 22 to 24 hours each day. Add to that the share contributed by ageing but ‘economically active’ parents i.e. 3-4 working hours, wherever possible. In total, the shrunken domestic units spend 26 to 34 hours working every day at the workplace. They have to work three to four times more at the workplace. Additionally, compared to 1950s or 60s they are far more productive at the workplace. Still, the dominant ideology never tires of telling them how much more hard-working, focussed and motivated they should be.

Basing itself on recent anthropological resarches and classical works of political economy on the notion of time and work, talk and the first version of the film Delhi : After 20 Years will try to raise some fundamental questions about what is accepted as normal daily life in Delhi. The broad consensus around production of well-educated urban middle class as solution to the ills of social and economic crises will be questioned in the documentary report.

Divyaraj Amiya obtained his undergraduate degree in political science, geography and history from Patna and Delhi University, India. Later, he obtained his M. Phil degree in German literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Currently, Divyaraj is a lecturer of Modern South Asian Studies and Hindi in the Department of Indology and Comparative Religion (Asia-Orient-Institute) of University of Tübingen, Germany. His areas of research interest is the emergence of modern social identities during the era of colonial modernity in India. After the opening of Indian economy in the 90s there has been a boom in “new” urban Indian middle classes from different sectors of Indian population. Divyaraj by his research shows the applicability of new concepts like changing time-use pattern in the daily lives of urban middle class of India. The concepts like time poverty and time prosperity to explain the challenges and crisis faced by the “new” middle class of India, will be the topic of his presentation and discussion. Divyaraj will begin his presentation with a video report, Delhi: After Twenty Years (25 Minutes), based on close interviews of the members of the middle class from different professions, walks of life, generations and a tentative projection about their “normal daily life” in the coming decades.

Divyaraj Amiya is lecturer for Modern South Asian Studies and Hindi in the Department of Indology and Comparative Religion (Asia-Orient-Institute) of University of Tübingen, Germany.
- All are welcome!

Rangdezvous is Rang De's quarterly initiative to help individuals learn from inspirational leaders in the rural development space.

One of the greatest film makers of all time, Alfred Hitchcock born on this day 117 years ago.
He left the mortal world at the age of 81 in 1980 leaving a treasure of immortal and immaculate collection of his movies.

Hitchcock was one of the few who pioneered the horror film genre and some of his most famous (and frightening) works include Dial M for Murder, North by Northwest, The Birds, and Rebecca. And those who remember Janet Leigh's famous shower seen from Psycho know just how Hitchcock earned his title as "master of suspense"!

Lamakaan remembers this master director on his birthday. So in honor of Hitchcock’s life, legacy,and films, we pay tribute to a man and his films.

We will have a talk on 'Remembering Alfred Hitchcock' by LA based filmmaker Aparna Malladi and followed by screening of one of his best movies.

-Entry Free and Open to All!

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 2:30pm For details: 9642731329.

I shall be reciting my own love poems written in Hindi.

World Union Of Poets Telangana State is organizing an open Mic Poetry Recitation Event by invitation In the Honor of those Special People of the world, who have endowed their life for the cause of humanity and Social Service.
We are planning to gather around 25 to 30 Poets for this purpose on 14th Aug 2016 between 2 PM & 4 PM

Photo Exhibition - Farmers of Rural Telangana
August 14-21st

Rang De(rangde.org), India’s first low-cost online crowd funding platform that provides microcredit to rural entrepreneurs.Rang De has been striving to reach out to under-served communities through microcredit to make poverty history in India through a network of committed field partners and social investors.

This exhibition is an effort to draw greater attention to Rang De’s cause.

The pictures from the exhibition is from the participants of a workshop to Mehbubnagar in Telangana 120 km from Hyderabad where Rang De was able to create a positive impact.

Topic: All Show No Substance? Modinomics and the State of the Indian Economy by Prof Jayati Ghosh

The NDA victory of 2014 was significantly powered by the slowing down of the Indian economy and allegations of policy paralysis, rising unemployment, and massive cronyism and corruption. As we approach the mid point of the Modi govt's 5 year term the question, is simply whether the new govt has managed to overcome any or all of the above problems.
This year's Hasan memorial lecture takes on these questions.
It will examine the historical/structural constraints that make electrol promises difficult to implement and simultaneously it will take a bottom up view to understand what should legitimately be the priorities for a sturdy Indian economy.
Departing from this analytical vein the talk will close on a speculative note; trying to think what the next two and a half years might hold for us.

About Prof Jayati Ghosh:
Jayati Ghosh is Professor of Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was born in 1955 and educated at Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Cambridge, England where she obtained her Ph.D. in 1983.

She has a wide range of research interests, including globalisation, international trade and finance, employment patterns in developing countries, macroeconomic policy, issues related to gender and development, and the implications of recent growth in China and India. She has authored and/or edited a dozen books and more than 170 scholarly articles. Recent books include the edited volume India and the International Economy, (Oxford University Press 2015), Industrialization of China and India: The impacts on the world economy, (volume co-edited with Nobuharu Yokokawa and Robert E. Rowthorn, Routledge 2013),After Crisis: Adjustment, recovery and fragility in East Asia (co-edited with C. P. Chandrasekhar, Tulika Books, New Delhi 2009), Never done and poorly paid: Women’s work in globalising India (Women Unlimited, New Delhi 2008),Work and well being in the age of finance (Tulika Books, New Delhi), The market that failed: Neoliberal economic reforms in India (Leftword Books, New Delhi). Forthcoming books include the volume co-edited with Erik Reinert and Rainer Kattel,Elgar Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Development(Edward Elgar 2016).

Her research output has been recognised through several prizes in India and abroad. She was awarded the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Research Prize for 2010 in Geneva, and also received the NordSud Prize for Social Sciences 2010 of the Fondazione Pescarabruzzo, Italy. She was the principal author of the West Bengal Human Development Report 2004 which received the 2005 UNDP Award for excellence in analysis. She has received the Ava Maiti Award and the Satyendranath Sen Prize from the Asiatic Society, Kolkata.She has also received the Malcolm Adisheshaiah Award for distinguished contributions to the social sciences in India in November 2015. Shewas Conference President of the Indian Society for Labour Economics in December 2013 andwas Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee of the World Social Science Forum held in Durban, South Africa in September 2015.

Since 2002 she has been the Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates (IDEAS), an international network of heterodox development economists (www.networkideas.org). She is Founding Trustee of the Economic Research Foundation (www.macroscan.org).

She has some experience in advising on policy-related issues for state and central governments in India as well as some governments in other countries. She was the Chairperson of the Commission on Farmers’ Welfare in 2004 constituted by the state government of Andhra Pradesh in India, and Member of the National Knowledge Commission reporting to the Prime Minister of India (2005-09). She has consulted for a large number of international organisations, including ILO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UN-DESA, UNRISD and UN Women. She is a member of a large number of advisory boards of institutions and academic journals.

In addition to her academic work related to teaching and research, for many years she has been (and remains) a regular columnist for several newspapers and journals in India, including Frontline and Businessline, as well as global online blogs such as Triple Crisis Blog. She also writes occasional articles on economics and current affairs for The Guardian newspaper of London, UK.


Entry Free. All are welcome!

On the occasion of 70th India's Independence celebrations, Deaf Rainbow Films Hyderabad is presenting a night of cultural programs. The performers are all different abled people compsing of different age groups and diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Please do come!

There are actors and super stars. Sean Penn has moved beyond stardom and has earned great reputation as an artist and wonderful human being who can stand for a cause with others! On this day, 17th August 1960, this great personality was born.

We will be talking about Sean Penn and screening is Oscar winning movie 'MILK'

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960 is an American actor, filmmaker, and political activist. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the biopic Milk (2008).

Penn began his acting career in television with a brief appearance in episode 112 of Little House on the Prairie (December 4, 1974), directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in the drama Taps (1981) and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Penn garnered critical attention for his roles in the crime dramas At Close Range (1986), State of Grace (1990), and Carlito's Way (1993). He became known as a prominent leading actor with the drama Dead Man Walking (1995), for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Best Actor Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Woody Allen's comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and the drama I Am Sam (2001), before winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River and a second one in 2008 for Milk. He has also won a Best Actor Award of the Cannes Film Festival for the Nick Cassavetes-directed She's So Lovely (1997), and two Best Actor Awards at the Venice Film Festival for the indie film Hurlyburly (1998) and the drama 21 Grams (2003).

Penn made his feature film directorial debut with The Indian Runner (1991), followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001). Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, the biographical drama survival movie Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.

In addition to his film work, Penn is known for his political and social activism, most notably his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the Presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In January 2016, Penn published an interview (conducted in October 2015) with Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in Rolling Stone. Mexican authorities dismissed the level of importance given by American media to Penn in regards to Guzman's eventual recapture, instead placing importance on actress Kate del Castillo's continued communications with Guzman.

New projects in the name of development are not new but what is surprising is the act of acquiring the land and consequences of building such projects. Mallanna Sagar project in Medak district of Telangana is one such example where scores of people in the district are against to manner in which the land is acquired by the state government. Villagers are protesting in their own way by not participating in the Independence Day celebrations. While the Forum for Utilization of Godavari Waters has expressed concern about the validity of the project. They said it is technically and economically flawed project and can cause huge loss to the state exchequer.
What is the truth about Mallanna Sagar Project? Join us for a panel discussion on this issue at Lamakaan.

The Panel members are:
1. Prof C. Kasim, Osmania University
2. D Laxminarayana, Retd Engineer, Irrigation Dept.
3. Sajaya, Social Activist
-All are Welcome!

About The Play - It's a socio-political satire which involves a conversation between three crazy men who are talking about different social aspects directly/indirectly and suddenly a stranger enters and that is when story begins, according to this forth person he is not an insane rather very educated even then also he is in mental asylum.
As they interact and talk further, they discuss every possible topic in very different and insane style to watch yourself giggling throughout the evening come and enjoy the play.

Entry through Donor Pass at the gate: Rs100/-

Discussion being organized by the forum "In Defense of Reason" on the topic 'Is Growing Population Really a Cause behind Unemployment?'

Any sensitive and rational person today cannot but be perturbed by the growing onslaught on reason and rationality in our society. Thanks to India’s colonial past and the model of development chosen by the Indian rulers after independence, the level of rationality was never very high in modern India. However, things have worsened in last few years as people are now being killed in cold blood just for holding certain opinions as happened with people like Dabholkar, Pansare, and Kalburgi.

If we dream for a better society, we cannot be just a mute spectator of the merciless killing of reasoning in our society. It is against this backdrop that the forum “In Defense of Reason” is being launched to bring together all those who believe in logic and rationality and who refuse to work for maintaining the status quo. We aim to promote critical thinking on varied socio-economic and political problems faced by ordinary people in this country.

In our first discussion, we wish to draw your attention towards the issue of population growth and rising unemployment. Is there a cause-effect relationship between the two? Does this common belief has any rational basis that the hardships which people suffer are mainly due to high growth of population in our society? Can population control in itself bring about increased employment opportunities for all? Is population really a burden? If people not only have a stomach but also a pair of hands, then why is it that so many people do not have work?

Is it just a matter of chance that only few are employed or are there some definite laws behind this phenomenon?

Let’s gather on 20th Aug in Lamakaan and try to find out answers! Looking forward to your participation.

Regards,
Team “In Defense of Reason”

Contact: 9989170226
Facebook page: facebook.com/InDefenseOfReason


Please check the Facebook page of this forum for further information: facebook.com/InDefenseOfReason

No entry fee!

Solo and group presentations of a repertoire of Indian classical pieces performed in the traditional Kuchipudi style.

This talk is a presentation of the study and research done on the monuments and heritage of Hampi over the past few weeks, which culminated in a three day experiential tour of Hampi participated by more than fifty people from diverse fields, nationalities and cultures.


The Vijayanagara architecture was a notable style that developed during the rule of the Hampi Vijayanagar Empire. The empire built temples, monuments, palaces and other structures across South India, with a largest concentration in its capital. The monuments in and around Hampi, in the Vijayanagara principality, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In addition to building new temples, the empire added new structures and made modifications to hundreds of temples across South India. Some structures at Vijayanagara are from the pre-Vijayanagara period. The Mahakuta hill temples are from the Western Chalukya era. The region around Hampi had been a popular place of worship for centuries before the Vijayanagara period with earliest records dating from 689 CE when it was known as Pampa Tirtha after the local river God Pampa.

There are hundreds of monuments in the core area of the capital city. Of these, 56 are protected by UNESCO, 654 monuments are protected by the government of Karnataka and another 300 await protection.

Join us as we discuss the architectural elements and styles of the Hampi monuments.

Rabindranath Tagore's Dak Ghar - A Hindi Play directed by Hindola B.
This is an unusual bittersweet play written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1912. It talks about the last few days of a dying boy named Amal, who is confined to his adopted uncle's house by an incurable disease. From his perch by the window, he calls out to people passing by and talks with them until their daily routines force them to move on. Eventually, he gets inspired by the construction of the local post office and fantasises about receiving a letter from the king and someday becoming a postman himself so that he can travel far and wide.

Entry by Donor Pass - Rs 100/-
For passes: 8374734142

Pictures and Words: A One-Day Workshop on Comics Storytelling and Photojournalism, by Javed Imthiaz (The Sequential Artists Workshop, United States) and Rahul M. (Photojournalist, India).

This workshop will introduce participants to the fundamentals of telling stories using pictures and words at the same time. It will cover the genres of comics (strips and graphic novels) and narrative non-fiction. The first part of the workshop will take a close look at the process of making comics: What are the techniques used by some of the best practitioners? What are the pains behind making a single comic strip or a page of a graphic novel? How do good comics work? The second part will explore the narrative, aesthetic and ethical challenges of the combined role of writer and image-maker of non-fiction stories. Discover the complexities and challenges of telling a story effectively with pictures and words. Come along!
Cost: - Rs 300/-
EMail to confirm participation: whatjavedsaw@gmail.com
Visit comicsaa.wordpress.com

This workshop is not for children.

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 2:30pm For details: 9642731329.

1. Odi gelisina manishi : Oka schizophrenic aatmakatha by Malla Reddy edited by Shobha Devi
2. Manasika Vaidyudu lenichota : (Where There is No Psychiatrist by Vikram Patel and translated by Dr. Aluri Vijayalakshmi)
Panelists: Malla Reddy, Dr. Vijayalakshmi, Dr. Purnima Nagaraja
Chair: Dr. Veena Shatrughna


There have been few autobiographical accounts of mentally ill persons in India. The two accounts presently available are
Fallen, Standing: My Life as a Schizophrenist, Reshma Valliappan, Women Unlimited, 2014, and Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light within, March 2014, Gayathri Ramprasad (published abroad). Both however are written by women from a relatively elite background with access to resources from the West.


Odi gelisina manishi : oka schizophrenic aatmakatha (The Autobiography of a Schizophrenic) (140 pages, 1/8 demy) is a honest riveting account by Malla Reddy, born and raised in a Kadapa village, and who suffered his first breakdown in his early adulthood. He went on to survive five suicide attempts to emerge victorious. Compassionate doctors, access to modern medicine and an understanding family kept him alive and vigorously active. On the spectrum of mental health disorders, schizophrenia is at the extreme end. Hallucinations and strange voices crowd the mind, the line between dream and reality blurs to oblivion and chances of self-harm are the greatest. Malla Reddy’s book is a triumph of his spirit in the face of years of stigma and isolation. His story holds up a mirror to show all of us exactly where we as a society must stand in order to provide the care, compassion, treatment and basic rights that people suffering from schizophrenia or any other mental health disorder so desperately need.
Malla Reddy’s account will resonate with the majority of our people who have roots in the village.


The second book is Manasika vydyudu lenichota (Where There is No Psychiatrist) (280 pages, ¼ crown) by Vikram Patel; this is a handbook on mental illness just as Where There is No Doctor was a handbook on general illnesses.
It is a practical manual for mental health care for all those concerned with it, particularly in developing countries. After giving the reader a basic understanding of mental illness, the book goes on to describe more than 30 clinical problems associated with mental illness and uses a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. The book has been translated into Telugu by leading writer, feminist and doctor Aluri Vijayalakshmi. She has also translated the all-time bestseller Where There is no Doctor.
HBT would like to use both these books as pegs to highlight the issues of mental health and illness, and draw activists and writers (mental illness is disproportionately high among both categories) into a broad solidarity network. At the worst, we could organize a semi-formal meeting with speakers (Malla Reddy, Purnima Nagaraj, Veena Shatrughna, Dilawar…???). I wonder if we can have something more imaginative because this issue is so much in the closet.

-All are welcome

STORY: MAHASWETA DEVI
DRAMATISATION: DEBASHISH CHAKRABORTY
ADAPTATION AND DIRECTION: SWAPAN MONDAL
PRODUCTION:SHUDRKA HYDERABAD
TIME:7:30 PM
DURATION:1 hour 15 minutes
LANGUAGE:BENGALI

This play is a tribute to Mahasweta Devi and her voice for the powerless ‘others’.

The word ‘Aajir’ stands for one who has sold himself into slavery for a paltry sum. In the play, ‘Aajir’, the story of a slave held by a bond signed by an ancestor – a slavery that denies him the right to love, marry and live a life of a human being – discovering that the bond has long turned to dust, but discovering it only too late, is a metaphor for the traditional constraints that bind the individual in our country long after their legal authority has given way. Exploitation operates beyond the law and with the tacit acquiescence of an exploited class held in thrall by a load of conventional role – obligations. Legal reforms or legal defences for the exploited have rarely affected the exploitative mechanism sustained by the illiteracy and ignorance of the exploited. Paatan, the bonded slave, whose ancestor had sold himself, his family and his descendant to perpetual slavery, is a supreme example of the slave suffering forever in a historical perspective that goes on and on.

Mataang, the epitome of manipulation, relegates his wife to a position of inferiority and subjugation tantamounting almost to the bonded position of Paatan. Religious traditions, under the preponderant influence of Hinduism, provide the ideological basis for patriarchy and assign women an inferior role in the family and society.

Dr Neal Hall is back in Hyderabad, for a short trip and he is going to recite few of his new compositions at Lamakaan. An evening to remember. Do come one and all.

- Entry Free and Open to all

Neal Hall, M.D., Poet
Neal Hall, M.D. received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University. After earning an M.D. from Michigan State University, he took his surgical subspecialty training in ophthalmology at Harvard University’s Medical School. He was in private practice for over 20 years in Flourtown, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hall is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author of four books of poetry. Nigger For Life chronicles his painful discovery that in “unspoken America” race is the yardstick by which he is first judged, first measured, and diminished value and dignity metered out. Winter’s A’ Coming Still reflects the pernicious persistence of race as a primary social frame. The more things are said to change, the more things are made to stay the same. Appalling Silence, with selections of his work translated into Telugu and Urdu, was published and launched in India. Where Do I Sit. is Dr. Hall fourth book that displays the skill, breadth, and versatility with which he has honed his craft. Where Do I Sit does not jettison the sharp denunciations of racial and economic injustice that appeared in his first collections.
Professor Cornel West said of Dr. Hall: “[he] is a warrior of the spirit, a warrior of the mind, an activist, a poet. I sense Dr. Hall’s hypersensitivity to suffering – Martin, Malcolm and Jesus all had this hypersensitivity. Both sides of his soul have prophetic leanings. His poetry has the capacity to change ordinary people’s philosophy on social and racial issues.”
Vasanth Kannabiran, Chairperson of Hyderabad’s Asmita Resource Centre for Women, remarked: “This is poetry that scalds you into waking up to the possibility that you are perhaps one of those silent spectators. All in all he is a poet. And unquestionably one of the most significant voices of the century.”
Through his extensive domestic and international poetry readings, Dr. Hall has reached audiences from San Francisco to Philadelphia, from Kenya, Indonesia, and France to Jamaica, India, Morocco, Nepal, and Italy. Italy’s University of Rome Tre in collaboration with The Italian National Commission for UNESCO invited Dr. Hall to be their featured guest speaker and poet in celebration of World Poetry Day. Selections of his work were translated into Italian and read along side his English versions. Hyderabad, India’s Council for Social Development invited Dr. Hall to be their first Poet/Scholar – in- Residency providing an opportunity to return to India and explore the subcontinent’s hierarchical/patriarchal constructs and their parallels with his experiences as a black man in America.

Literary Awards:
Nigger For Life’s Awards:
Grand Prize Winner in: 1. The Do – It -Yourself and 2. The Los Angeles Book Awards
First Place Prize for Poetry in the Greater Southeast, Amsterdam, Florida, London, Paris, Great Midwest, Southern California, Do-It-Yourself, San Francisco, Great Northwest, Great Southwest, Los Angeles, Pacific Rim, New England, New York Book Festival and National Beverly Hills Book Awards and 2012 Poetry Contest Winner, Ubud Writers & Reader’s International Festival, Bali, Indonesia.
Winter’s A’ Coming Still’s Awards:
First Place Prize for Poetry in the Florida, Pacific Rim, Amsterdam, Southern California, San Francisco. New England, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, London, Great Midwest, Great Northwest and Great Southwest Book Awards.
Where Do I Sit’s Awards:
First Place Prize for Poetry in the Hollywood Book Awards.

Writer’s Residencies/Awards:
Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio, Hokkaido Sapporo, Japan, 2016
Visiting Scholar – American Academy In Rome, Rome Italy, 2016
Sangam House International Writer’s Residence, Bangalore, India 2015-2016
Dhwani Fellowship: awarded to translate selections of Dr. Hall’s work into Kannada. Funded by Aditi: Foundation For The Arts, 2015
Poet/Scholar-In-Resident, Sponsor: Council For Social Development, Hyderabad, India, 2015
Resident (Poet)-In-Writing, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, U.S., 2015


- Entry Free and Open to all

Author from Chennai, Suraksha Giri reads from her new book 'It happened like this' and storytelling by noted artiste Pooja Giri

i want to screening pellichoopulu indipendent movie in lamakaan

August is the month of creative people. There are many directors, actors and writers born in this month. One such actor, Sean Connery, one of the best 007 Agent bonds is born today.

We will talk about his life and films and watch The Name of the Rose (1986) thriller movie.

It's too short notice we know but too difficult to resist Sean Connery's movie.

Do come and bring along your friends!

Open to All and Entry is Free!!

Performing Classical Dance (Bharatnatyam)

Lamakaan frequenters know that Hyderabad Urban Lab is a place where funky urban research is done. But we also make music (some times). As we discovered to our surprise, the current batch of interns has talent for improvised music. Come join us for an evening of drums, guitars and basses on site. If you play any other instrument we’d love to have you! This is an opportunity to practice your improv or show off your tunes. The session will most probably feature some rock, fusion and jazz music – but this is entirely dependant on the interests of those that take part. If you’d like to play specific songs, please come armed with tabs or sheet music that can be shared with others.

Entry Free and Open to all!

Audience will be the master!!! And actors will be actors obviously 🙂

Jo Audience kahegi bas wahi hoga...

Actors:
Jay Jha
Surender Sahil Verma
Amit Sharma
Rahul Reddy
Mohd. Afaque
Rajnish Songara
SreeHari Ajith
Snighda Bawa
Kajol Dubey
Mehti Bikshu
Nikhil Jadhav
Rahul Kamlekar

Donor Pass: Rs100/-

We are Culture Resonance, a band of three siblings from Bielefeld/Germany. We are playing together since 2006 and had a few concerts at different festivals and events in Germany and Turkey.
As we have roots in Germany, Turkey, India, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan we are playing transcultural music with instruments from India and the middle East like Oud, Sitar, Sarod, Tabla and Def. Those Instruments are brought together with western musical styles and Instruments as the Cello, the Harp and the Double bass.
We mostly play our own songs which are mainly shaped by improvised music. We believe in music as a medium that can be used as a language to communicate between different cultures without using words.

Donor Pass at gate: Rs100/-

29th July is the International Day of the Tiger. We would like to conduct Photo Exhibition and interaction with people working on tiger conservation at AP and Telangana.

Over 93% of Tiger Area has been taken over by humans, leading to decimation of 97% of tigers in past 100 years. Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society along with Wildlife Conservation Society has taken up the fight to conserve tigers in Telangana and AP. Please join to witness the tiger conservation effort as you would be presented with Amazing Wildlife Photos, Work Photos and talks from field staff slogging in field.

All are welcome.

Funny Side Up presents a comedy show about India's favorite job - Software - in its theme-based show called 'Game of Thorns - Life of an IT Employee'. Come and experience everything you know about IT, being made fun of.

This expo is to showcase the art work done by Ms.Uma Lavanya a volunteer of the NAVASEVAK NGO Regd.944/2015. Whatever the amount generated by the sales will be donated to the charity.

No Speakers-No Preachers-Just Networking @ Chai for Startupreneurs - Free Event

Trafficking in persons is the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index released by Australia-based human rights group Walk Free Foundation, today, an estimated 45.8 million people, including women and children, are subject to some form of modern slavery in the world. The report said India has the highest absolute numbers of people trapped in slavery with 18.35 million slaves among its 1.3 billion population. Around 1.4% of the total population in the country is living under conditions of modern day slavery. A lot of work is being done in India and across the world to counter human trafficking and to abolish these various forms of modern day slavery. But lot more needs to be done, and a lot faster!

To counter human trafficking and abolish modern day slavery it is critical to:
- Forge and strengthen partnerships and other forms of collaboration among the civil society organizations, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, government officials and the media to counter trafficking in persons.
- Enhance training and build capacity of stakeholders, including civil society, law enforcement, judiciary, government officials and media to increase identification of victims.
- Promote public awareness about modern day slavery - including one’s legal rights, the warning signs of exploitation, and where/how victims can seek support.

On occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad has organized a panel discussion on July 30, 2016 (Saturday) to discuss the impact of collaboration on countering trafficking in persons. The panelists are experts representing the civil society, media, law enforcement and the judiciary. The focus of the panel discussion will be:

- The current situation – statistics, demographics of the victims (gender, age-group, rural/urban), surprising/unusual trends
- Models of partnership and collaboration that exist and the success stories
- The role of media in the fight against human trafficking
- The judiciary – the recent anti-trafficking draft bill, the current and upcoming policies to counter human trafficking, the journey from creating policies to implementing these
- The challenges in rehabilitating survivors and helping them reintegrate with the mainstream society

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Mamatha Achanta (Founder – Tharuni), and the panel will comprise of Ms. Meera Raghavendra (Founder – Women’s Initiatives), Mr. Mohammad Ahammad Ali (Director, Economic Rehabilitation Program – Prajwala), and Mr. Sudhakar Reddy (Bureau Chief, Andhra Pradesh & Hyderabad – Deccan Chronicle).

About the panelists:

Dr. Mamatha Achanta is the founder and Executive Director of Tharuni, an organization that works for the empowerment of women in general and adolescent girls in particular. Since its formation in 2000, Tharuni has contributed immensely to the protection of girl child rights by organizing awareness building programs and by initiating several campaigns against child marriage and HIV/AIDS. Mamatha has also organized many sensitization workshops for state government officials. In 2015, Mamatha launched the Network of International Legal Activists (NILA) for Women & Child Rights. This network aspires to bring together legal activists to ensure that the human rights of vulnerable groups that are subjected to marginalization, such as women and children are addressed in the context of crime prevention and criminal justice reform. The network is international in scope to make justice accessible to all despite migration of women and children from one part of the world to another. NILA aims to increase the access to judicial and other legal mechanisms, extend assistance to victims by ensuring legal counselling and aid, offering physical and psychological support and therapy, and create an environment for their rehabilitation. Tharuni is also the technical partner to Hyderabad City Police for their recently established Bharosa Center, a one-stop crisis center for women and children, under which integrated assistance is provided through police, medical, legal and prosecution services along with psycho therapeutic counselling and relief and rehabilitation. Dr. Achanta participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program on Trafficking in Persons in 2009.

Ms. Meera Raghavendra founded Women's Initiatives (WINS) in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh in 1994, an organization committed to address and counter the violation of basic rights of marginalized women and children including victims of sex and labor trafficking, and the LGBT community. WINS recognizes that to empower communities, it is important to understand the perception of societal systems and structures that form the basis of gender inequality, and that addressing issues related to gender and sexuality should be at the core of their programming. Meera has worked extensively for and with marginalized groups, including sex workers, migrant laborers, and also transgendered people. Through the efforts of WINS, women’s groups have been formed in Andhra Pradesh, empowering the victims of gender based violence to deepen and develop their agency, to advocate for their basic human rights and dignity, and to represent themselves at district, national forums to bring about changes in law. WINS opened its first counselling center for vulnerable women in Tirupati in 2002 with the support of the state government and has linked it with home and community based care referral services, throughout the District. The goal was to provide immediate poverty needs, strengthening ethical resource generation, imparting life skills education. Meera strongly believes in bringing together various progressive movements working with marginalized communities to build strong coalitions to extend solidarity. WINS has successfully joined hands with Dalit rights groups, child rights groups and has been a part of Alliance of the Poor at the local and state level work. Meera has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2002, organized by the U.S. Government on Trafficking of Women and Children.

Mr. Mohammad Ahammad Ali has been working in Prajwala, a prominent anti-trafficking organization based in Hyderabad, since 2006. He leads Prajwala’s Economic Rehabilitation Program. Under this program, survivors have access to shelter homes, counselling, and medical intervention as well as access to training in five different trades that can become a source of income. Ali has also been instrumental in establishing two crisis counseling centers in collaboration with the Hyderabad City Police. These centers located inside the police stations identify vulnerable women and children in high-volume venues such as railway stations, bus stations and rescue them. These centers also counsel older women in prostitution to prevent them from becoming perpetrators. Prior to this he was the Director of Prajwala’s Rescue and Restoration program. In this role as the countrywide lead for rescues he has led operations in India, Dubai, and Uzbekistan. He has led six major inter-state rescues in in which over 85 traffickers were arrested. He also has a principal role in Prajwala’s Community Based Prevention Program. His leadership role places him in a position where he can not only influence efforts and attitudes, but also coach and educate members of Prajwala, other NGOs and police officers about issues concerning trafficking, and thus have a greater impact on his community. Ali has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2013, organized by the U.S. Government on Combating Trafficking in Persons.

Mr. Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Bureau Chief in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and the City Editor in Hyderabad of the Deccan Chronicle, one of the largest circulating English newspapers in South India. Sudhakar began his career at Eenadu, the largest circulating Telugu newspaper in India, and later moved to English print media, where he rapidly rose through the ranks to his current position. With a journalism career that spans 16 years, Sudhakar is one of the most dynamic investigative journalists in South India. He has won wide acclaim for reporting on trafficking, sexism, and female infanticide in urban and rural parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Sudhakar’s incisive and well researched articles on the trafficking of homeless minors in Hyderabad helped law enforcement agencies with vital leads in getting hold of the traffickers. Sudhakar also has several reports to his credit chronicling the many efforts law enforcement agencies make to take action against traffickers and prostitution rackets in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Sudhakar has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2016, organized by the U.S. Government on Investigative Journalism.

Invting all for an evening of Hindustani Classical Singing by Smt. Srivani Jade on Sat 30th Jun at 7pm, accompanied by Rahul Deshpande on Harmonium and Suhas Sastry on Tabla.

Srivani Jade was introduced to music at the age of four by her father Bhavani Prasad Jade and uncle Raghavendra Tilwalli. She studied Khayal initially with Dr. Sharad Gadre in the Gwalior style (2002-03), and in the Kirana style with Pandit Parameshwar Hegde since 2006. Srivani also enjoys singing an eclectic repertoire of light classical music, such as Thumri-dadra, Tappa and Bhajans.

Although she grew up performing on the stage and radio in India, she debuted as a Khayal singer in Ragamala's Utsav festival (Seattle, 2008) and Devanandan Ubhayaker Yuva Sangeet Utsav for emerging artists (Bengaluru, 2009). She has since continued to study, teach, and perform Hindustani Gayaki in both North America and India, including major music festivals such as the Sawai Gandharv Bhimsen Mahotsav (2014).

She has five solo albums to her credit, and several grants, artist residencies and awards, including the Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award (2009) and an NEA grant for her musical composition work on the existential love poetry of Meera Bai (Astitva, 2011). She has composed and recorded theme vocals for independent films such as Tapasya (2003), Siddhanto (2014) and stage productions such as Indian Ink (Sound Theater Company). She is an auditioned artist with All India Radio, and Visiting Artist with the University of Washington School of Music's Ethnomusicology program.


RECORDINGS:

2014 Night by Night--Khayals in Jogkauns and Sohni
2011 Salagvarali and Audav Bageshree--Khayals
2009 Meera's Love
2009 Bhoopali and Rajasthani Maand
2008 Bhaktidarshana Tukayache (Marathi Abhangs of Sant Tukaram)

(Available on Amazon, iTunes and CDBaby: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/SrivaniJade)


HONORS/GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS/AWARDS:


2012: Individual Artist Project grant from 4Culture (Project title: “Raag-rang: A Musical Interpretation of Modern Indian-Style Miniature Paintings.”)

2009: “Meera's Love” nominated for Best Album at 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the World Music category.

2009: Fellowship Award from Washington State Arts Commission.

2009: Recording grant from Jack Straw Productions for project on the spiritual love songs of the 16th century mystic, Meera Bai.

2009-10: Washington State Arts Commission Master-Apprentice grant (Khayal).

2008-09: Washington State Arts Commission Master-Apprentice grant (Thumri).

All are welcome. Entry - Free.

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 2:00pm For details: 9642731329.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LANDMARK FORUM IS 3 HOURS INTERACTIVE SESSION WHERE YOU WILLINVENT A POSSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF OR FOR YOUR LIFE IN AREAS OF LIFE THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU.WE WILL BE ACTUALLY WORKING ON ONE AREA OF YOUR LIFE IN THIS SESSION WHERE YOU WILL HAVE AN ACCESS TO CAUSE A BREAKTHROUGH.

No Speakers-No Preachers-Just Networking @ Chai for Startupreneurs - Free Event

After many successful stand-up events and comedy plays, Samahaara calls out to all the Comedians out there - new, upcoming, pro! Sit down for an exclusive stand-up show and watch a range of comics test their skills out. Or come join the fun, it's an Open Mic after all. Most of the big guns in comedy today started out like this - discover the next big thing in comedy or be one yourself. For those who never miss out on a good laugh, Samahaara Stand-up Night promises to be one of laughter, music and masti.

Donation Rs.100/-

Mr. Vinay Varma, Film Director Mr. Srinivasa, RoadKraft RoadSafety (a Group) and myself (Nadira Tyabji) and ... the PUBLIC wish to organise a Meeting - basically a discussion on Improving Hyderabad Traffic. which we feel it is about time was done. And we feel that Improvement is possible.
So why not involve the Concerned Public and put our heads together to see what we can do.

The recent events in Kashmir have resulted greater human loss and suffering of the civilians, especially women and children. There is a huge distress in the valley because of ever growing human rights violations and killing of the civilians which have become everyday affair.
The conflict in Kashmir is complex and with little or no solution seen, the peace in the valley is almost getting exhausted. People are longing for an end to their suffering. A fearless civil society is indeed important for human development. As we take a look the current state of affairs in the valley, one can’t ignore the wide spectrum of issues Kashmir faces today.
We invite you to an evening of panel discussion on this very pertinent issue.

The Panel members:
Prof G Hargopal, Distinguished Political Scientist is currently ICSSR National Fellow with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad
V Raghunath, secretary, Civil Liberties Committee, Telangana State,
Sanjay Kak (on Skype), eminent documentary film maker
Reportage from Srinagar through Skype/Phone by:
Parvaiz Bukhari, Independent Kashmir-based Journalist from Srinagar
Essar Batool, Social Worker and Human Rights Activist from Kashmir
Khurram Parvez, Human Rights Defender and Coordinator, Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS)

-Entry Free and Open to all.

Economics and Energy: Of black holes and rakshasa vivah a talk by Sagar Dhara

We face three tipping points today—peak oil (representing imminent exhaustion of fossil fuels with inadequate alternate energy replacement), climate change and rampant inequality. Each of the tipping points has the potential to cause regress or collapse of human society.

Two anthropocentric subjects--knowledge of energy conversion (technology) and economics have brought us to the brink of these tipping points by aiding the mining of massive quantity of energy from nature. Economics has also allowed inequitable distribution of wealth by fabricating the tool, "privatization" of energy, a tool that has no basis in nature--abiotic or biotic.

To comprehend where we went astray, we must travel back 10,000 years to understand the history of the energetics of human society. This talk explores the history of energy surplus—its creation and distribution, and attempts to answer the question of how much energy can each one of us have to live in a sustainable, equal and peaceful society.

About Sagar Dhara: The speaker belongs to the most rapacious predator tribe that ever stalked the earth—humans, and to a net destructive discipline—engineering, that has to take more than a fair share of the responsibility for bringing earth and human society very close to the three tipping points. If you still want to contact him, you may do so at: sagdhara@gmail.com

Entry Free. All are Welcome!

The Hindi play revolves around three friends out of them two are in college and one is a 12th fail who always tries to impress girls but fails in that as well. All of them stay together in an apartment and love to booze on every possible occasion, to celebrate their failure and success. Unfortunately, most of the times they get into some puzzled situations which makes their life more interesting and funny. And as we know life is not just with friends, their family members also contribute in making their life more crazy and to get them on the right track, regarding their career. A laughter ride for the audience specially to those who have some crazy best friends. DIRECTOR Surender Sahil Verma WRITER Surender Sahil Verma ARTISTS Rahul Reddy, Surender Sahil Verma, Mohammad Afaque, Shivkant Agrahari, Mahti Vijay, Snigdha Bawa Donor Pass: Rs100/-

Nayi Disha Resource Centre (www.nayi-disha.org) is a not for profit organisation that supports families of persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) by providing information and connecting them with a range of resources and services that cater to people with IDD. Parents have easy access to this information through a user-friendly website.
Nayi Disha Resource Centre also in order conduct events to connect families to each other and professionals/experts working in the field of IDD through events like Meet the Expert, Parent Empowerment Workshops and Parent Support Group Meets.

This special needs parents meet is meant for parents and caregivers to share their stories and connect with each other about incidents and actions that had a profound impact on their child

Organizing Social Movements by Biju Mathew

It's been a while since the KBR protests have fallen silent. For everyone who has been a part of this fight to protect our precious bit of natural heritage, we are having a gathering to review and retrospect our campaign while charting the future course of action.

The discussion will be facilitated by Biju Mathew, co-founder of Lamakaan, who will also be sharing his experiences in organizing social mvoements in the United States.

Biju Mathew is a Secretary of the National Taxi Workers Alliance in the USA, a Marxist researcher of labor process and migration and a Professor of Business. He is an associate professor of Information Systems and American studies at Rider University (New Jersey).

Come over for a Sunday afternoon discussion and get educated in Strategies and Tools for Campaign Building for Social Change.

It's meant for those who participated in the KBR protests and heritage preservation actively, but if someone is keen on being a part of it
they can email @ hyderabadtrails@gmail.com
Entry - Free.

The main discussions of the meeting are as follows:

• Objectives of this Python Group

• Plan future meetup

• Select/nominate volunteers for facilitating meetup

• Discuss on participation in Open Source Project.

Open Mic Poetry can be held on a monthly basis on a suitable Saturday afternoon. It will be coordinated and hosted by a local volunteer of Poetry Couture. All operational responsibility apart from the venue will lie with Poetry Couture.

Baishe Srabon - an evening of ragas and Rabindrasangeet based on them. It will be an evening of songs interspersed with recitations.

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 1.30pm For details: 9642731329.

Hi
Myself Venkatesh(Shortfilm maker) made a short film on ancient indian classical instrument known Nadaswaram, we see & hear inall good occasion of this music intrument. Motive of this making short film...is to make aware how this great ancient music is slowly dying with out enrollment new generation students...today students are interested western music....this film depicts decline trend in indian classics...how the movie starts & ends with positive motive is the clutch of the movie.

I, would sincerely request the curators of the Lamakaan to watch my movie which iam going to submitt the DVD personnaly at your office for your consideration.

Iam keeping my finger cross for the same.

Regards,
Venkatesh.

Rangadhara & Sutradhar
present
‘Main Rahi Masoom’
a solo performance enacted by Vinay Varma and directed by Prof. Bhaskar
Shewalkar
It is a biographical sketch of the famous Hindi and Urdu writer, the Late Dr. Rahi Masoom
Raza. This performance is first of its kind on Rahi.
This 75-minute poignant monologue shows how Rahi detested communal and vote-bank
politics, and how he fought against the divisive forces in the country through his writings. He
was a strong nationalist first and a Muslim next. He also staunchly opposed pseudosecularism.
Sample this: “main ek Hindustani musalman hoon aur iske siva meri aur koee
pehchaan naheen hai” or “vatan mazhab nahin jo badla ja sake”. He was upfront against
the fundamentalists on both sides of the divide. He was brutally honest regarding politics of
hatred, and felt that the interest of communal elements among both Hindus and Muslims lies
in keeping the two communities aloof from each other and to create distrust among
them”…sampradaaikta(communalism) ka koee dharm nain hota” or “zahid-e-tang nazar
ne mujhe kaafir jaana aur kaafir ye samajhta hai ki musalman hoon main……”
The monologue ends with Rahi’s rare nazm Vaseeyat.
Rahi’s journey begins on 1st September, 1927 in Gangauli, a small village in the Ghazipur
district of Uttar Pradesh and ends with his vaseeyat in which he wills that he be laid to rest in
the lap of Ganga, whom he considered his second mother. He passed away on 15
March 1992.
During his illustrious career, Rahi Masoom Raza has written lyrics, dialogues and stories for
various movies and television series. His high came with the telecast of TV series
'Mahabharat' that was based on the Hindu epic Mahabharat. Rahi, a Muslim, wrote the
screenplay and dialogue of the TV series that went on to become the most watched TV series
in India. At one time, its TRP was a staggering 86 %. This was a triumph for Rahi as some
Hindu zealots had criticized his inclusion in the team. Terms of address like “Matashri”,
“Pitashri”, “Bhratashri”, and “Jijashri” etc. were brought into the popular realm by Rahi.
“Hum to hain pardes mein, des mein nikla hoga chand” sung by Jagjit and Chitra Singh
remains one of the most popular non-filmy ghazals ever.
Some of his famous novels include Aadha Gaon, Dil Ek Saada Kaghaz, Topi Shukla, Os ki
Boond, Katra Bi Arzoo.
Movies (Story, Screenplay and Dialogues): Kisi Se Na Kehna, Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki,
Disco Dancer, Lamhe, Karz, Gol-Maal, Mili, Nikaah and more than a hundred others.
TV Series: Neem ka Ped and Mahabharat.
This performance is a tribute to one of the greatest sons of Ganga.
Ticket – Rs. 100/-

Panel Discussion on
“Contemporary Politics in current Scenario”
On: 9th August 2016 (Tuesday), at Lamakaan, Banjara Hills.
Time: 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Panelist:
Dr. Ram Puniyani, Writer and Activist
Mr. Mir Ayoob Ali Khan, Senior Journalist
Mr. Mohd Ahsan Abid, IAS

Context:
Not a day passes when the media does not report the excesses and the exceptional brutalities of the so-called Islamic State. We all have read about how the terror outfit has beheaded, incinerated, maimed and even thrown off innocent people, non-combatants, and combatants off buildings in their wave of intolerance and terrorism.

Their trail of destruction has not excluded Muslims - Shiite or Sunni - and people of other faiths. The tentacles of terror, it appears, have reached all corners of the globe with it claiming responsibility for various acts of terror.

But what exactly is the so-called Islamic State? What is its dangerous ideology? Does this ideology have anything to do with Islam, as the outfit claims? It the so-called Islamic State a product of dangerously flawed geo-politics in the Middle East which has various actors including Western countries?

And in the Indian context, is the threat of the so-called Islamic State real or is it a tool used by investigation agencies to create a fear in the minds and hearts of the Muslim community?

The general understanding in the Muslim community is that the number who have joined the terrorist organisation are infinitesimal. And while the numbers of those who have tried to join the outfit from the country indeed are minuscule, is there an intangible, non-quantifiable threat which Muslims are unable to comprehend? One which has created dangerous stereotypes and unleashed a wave of Islamophobia, which is worse than what was witnessed post the 9/11?

These and many more questions remain unanswered. Indeed, the continue to plague both Muslims and people of other faiths alike.

But what is a reality is that the so-called Islamic State exists and its sympathisers exist.

So how do we, the citizens of this country, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Budhhist, deal with this?

We invite you to a talk with eminent panelists including journalists, academicians and other experts to attempt to understand the so-called Islamic State and to seek to evolve responses to counter the terrorist organisation. It is time that people of all faiths and denominations come forwards to counter the IS.

Renewing Solidarities, Towards Justice, Peace, and Hope

In solidarity with Irom Sharmila and the struggle for the repeal of AFSPA

On 9 August 2016 Irom Sharmila will give up her fast, which she began in November 2000 to demand the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). In solidarity and deep respect for Irom Sharmila’s non-violent struggle and her indomitable spirit, and in support of her decision to give up her fast and continue the struggle through other means, Forum for Social Justice, Hyderabad is holding a solidarity meet on 9 August 2016 at Lamakaan at 7.30 pm.
Drawing on a relic of the British legal system’s attempt to crush the Quit India movement in 1942, the government of independent India promulgated the AFSPA in 1958 and subsequently imposed it in several parts of the country. The Act empowers the Government to declare any area as disturbed for any length of time without provision for review. It gives vast powers to even a constable to shoot anyone on mere suspicion, to arrest without warrant and to search and seize. The armed forces acting under the Act have virtual impunity from criminal persecution.
Protests against human rights abuses by the armed forces and demands for the repeal of AFSPA have been longstanding and have echoed from different parts of the country, most urgently from the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura and from Jammu and Kashmir which have suffered these abuses the most. The most recent indictment of the AFSPA has come from a Supreme Court judgement in a 2012 case filed by the Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association (EEVFAM) alleging 1,528 fake encounters in Manipur since the 1980s. The Court ordered investigation into six cases, all of which were proved to be fake encounters: killing of innocent persons, by armed forces or police commandos. The Court has ruled that all the remaining cases must be thoroughly probed.
Irom Sharmila’s struggle is located alongside these larger battles being waged by people’s movements for justice, democracy, human rights and state accountability. Her decision to continue her struggle for the repeal of AFSPA through other means enables us to reflect on the expanding possibilities of protest and struggle in today’s times. It enables reflection on established legal principles in a democratic state, their functioning, their limits and their excesses; as well as accountability in the rule of law. Most importantly, it enables us to reflect on the unfailing nature of hope, love and solidarity as integral to struggle.
On 9 August we invite all of you to salute Irom Sharmila's fight against this draconian law and pledge our solidarity in the struggle to repeal it. Join us as we share poems, extracts from court judgements, songs, and reflections on struggle and hope.

- All are welcome

Topic: Cross Cultural Communication and Issues.

Communication has become an integral part of sharing of ideas and thoughts and with the advent of globalization and information overload, there is a constant battle to understand the communication needs of the people across borders.
In this interactive session Prof Kalyan Chakravarthi will share his experiences and delve the various methodologies to increase the cultural understanding of communication.
The presenter is a well-travelled Researcher, Author of a book, Editor, TV Presenter, Training Coach and a Visiting Professor who wishes to share his views on Cross Cultural Communication & Issues. He would like to discuss the above with the audience with a view to link it to academia and the corporate. Finally, he would propose that Cross Cultural Communication & Issues (CCC) must be an integral part of every curriculum, academic and corporate trainings to create awareness among the students and employees.

Methodology:
Powerpoint slides, videos and a caselet on CCC for discussion and Q & A.

Free event. All are welcome!

A defense lawyer cross-examines a woman during her testimony in a sexual assault case -- and in doing so, horribly distorts her perfectly innocent walk in the park.

Donor Pass: Rs100/-

A Chapbook of Poetry and Visuals by Anil CS Rao.

Anil CS Rao is an artist and writer presently based in Andhra Pradesh in South India. He has lived in the West from the age of 4 prior to obtaining "dual citizenship" and relocating to his Mother Land in 2010. His mixed media / photoshop artwork has been exhibited in galleries in the States, Europe and in India. His wife, Padmaja is a painter and together they explore synergies with respect to their combined talents - a.k.a. "Padnil Arts" in the creation of publications and computer animated films.

The collection includes very artistic 37 pictures that add to the beauty and amazing charm of the book. Like D. G. Rossetti, Rao is both painter and poet. He presents the immense variety and panorama of contemporary life-Goody Goody people devoid of style and imagination, London in the winter season, Spencer’s in Vijayawada, a small village in Andhra, Red Light District in Eluru, tobacco, sex, booze, zazen, samadhi, Bodhisatva, BR Films, Julie Andrews, Zen, Art of Breathing, JFK Birthplace, Heart Chakra, K. Balachandar, K. Viswanath, Bollywood, Sridevi.

All are welcome to this Book Launch, Art exhibition and Poetry reading.

Orient BlackSwan Pvt. Ltd. and Lamakaan invite you to a book reading from "When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry" by Dr Scott Kugle.

Long regarded one of the most influential writers of her time, 18th Century poet Mah Laqa Bai Chanda’s legacy is revived in Dr Scott Kugle’s book. Mah Laqa Bai was a renowned courtesan and influencer in the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad in addition to being one of the first female poets to author a diwan, a complete collection of Urdu ghazals. She was inspired by the literary work of the mystic poet Shah Siraj Awrangabadi. Both poets specialized in the ghazal, often fusing spiritual quest with erotic imagery.

In "When Sun Meets Moon", Shah Siraj and Mah Laqa Bai are brought together in the realm of literary imagination by Dr Kugle, who argues that the two poets were exceptions to the gender norms common in their patriarchal societies. Featuring translations of Urdu and Persian poetry previously unavailable in English, this book illustrates the complexity of gender, sexuality, and religious practice in Islamic culture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scott Kugle joined the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies at Emory University in Fall 2010. He received his PhD from Duke University in 2000 in History of Religions after graduating from Swarthmore College with High Honors in Religion, Literature, and History.

ENTRY FEE: Free

All are welcome!

Lamakaan invites one and all to a refreshing talk on 'Questioning Normal Daily Life: Normal? Daily? Life?' by Prof Divyaraj

What is time poverty in the context of urban Indian middle class of Delhi in 21st century ? In the 1950s, one male member with an 8-to-10-hours day job was somehow able to provide for a family of four or five children and extended family members. In 2013, both spouses work 12 hours, which equals a combined 22 to 24 hours each day. Add to that the share contributed by ageing but ‘economically active’ parents i.e. 3-4 working hours, wherever possible. In total, the shrunken domestic units spend 26 to 34 hours working every day at the workplace. They have to work three to four times more at the workplace. Additionally, compared to 1950s or 60s they are far more productive at the workplace. Still, the dominant ideology never tires of telling them how much more hard-working, focussed and motivated they should be.

Basing itself on recent anthropological resarches and classical works of political economy on the notion of time and work, talk and the first version of the film Delhi : After 20 Years will try to raise some fundamental questions about what is accepted as normal daily life in Delhi. The broad consensus around production of well-educated urban middle class as solution to the ills of social and economic crises will be questioned in the documentary report.

Divyaraj Amiya obtained his undergraduate degree in political science, geography and history from Patna and Delhi University, India. Later, he obtained his M. Phil degree in German literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Currently, Divyaraj is a lecturer of Modern South Asian Studies and Hindi in the Department of Indology and Comparative Religion (Asia-Orient-Institute) of University of Tübingen, Germany. His areas of research interest is the emergence of modern social identities during the era of colonial modernity in India. After the opening of Indian economy in the 90s there has been a boom in “new” urban Indian middle classes from different sectors of Indian population. Divyaraj by his research shows the applicability of new concepts like changing time-use pattern in the daily lives of urban middle class of India. The concepts like time poverty and time prosperity to explain the challenges and crisis faced by the “new” middle class of India, will be the topic of his presentation and discussion. Divyaraj will begin his presentation with a video report, Delhi: After Twenty Years (25 Minutes), based on close interviews of the members of the middle class from different professions, walks of life, generations and a tentative projection about their “normal daily life” in the coming decades.

Divyaraj Amiya is lecturer for Modern South Asian Studies and Hindi in the Department of Indology and Comparative Religion (Asia-Orient-Institute) of University of Tübingen, Germany.
- All are welcome!

Rangdezvous is Rang De's quarterly initiative to help individuals learn from inspirational leaders in the rural development space.

One of the greatest film makers of all time, Alfred Hitchcock born on this day 117 years ago.
He left the mortal world at the age of 81 in 1980 leaving a treasure of immortal and immaculate collection of his movies.

Hitchcock was one of the few who pioneered the horror film genre and some of his most famous (and frightening) works include Dial M for Murder, North by Northwest, The Birds, and Rebecca. And those who remember Janet Leigh's famous shower seen from Psycho know just how Hitchcock earned his title as "master of suspense"!

Lamakaan remembers this master director on his birthday. So in honor of Hitchcock’s life, legacy,and films, we pay tribute to a man and his films.

We will have a talk on 'Remembering Alfred Hitchcock' by LA based filmmaker Aparna Malladi and followed by screening of one of his best movies.

-Entry Free and Open to All!

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 2:30pm For details: 9642731329.

I shall be reciting my own love poems written in Hindi.

World Union Of Poets Telangana State is organizing an open Mic Poetry Recitation Event by invitation In the Honor of those Special People of the world, who have endowed their life for the cause of humanity and Social Service.
We are planning to gather around 25 to 30 Poets for this purpose on 14th Aug 2016 between 2 PM & 4 PM

Photo Exhibition - Farmers of Rural Telangana
August 14-21st

Rang De(rangde.org), India’s first low-cost online crowd funding platform that provides microcredit to rural entrepreneurs.Rang De has been striving to reach out to under-served communities through microcredit to make poverty history in India through a network of committed field partners and social investors.

This exhibition is an effort to draw greater attention to Rang De’s cause.

The pictures from the exhibition is from the participants of a workshop to Mehbubnagar in Telangana 120 km from Hyderabad where Rang De was able to create a positive impact.

Topic: All Show No Substance? Modinomics and the State of the Indian Economy by Prof Jayati Ghosh

The NDA victory of 2014 was significantly powered by the slowing down of the Indian economy and allegations of policy paralysis, rising unemployment, and massive cronyism and corruption. As we approach the mid point of the Modi govt's 5 year term the question, is simply whether the new govt has managed to overcome any or all of the above problems.
This year's Hasan memorial lecture takes on these questions.
It will examine the historical/structural constraints that make electrol promises difficult to implement and simultaneously it will take a bottom up view to understand what should legitimately be the priorities for a sturdy Indian economy.
Departing from this analytical vein the talk will close on a speculative note; trying to think what the next two and a half years might hold for us.

About Prof Jayati Ghosh:
Jayati Ghosh is Professor of Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was born in 1955 and educated at Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Cambridge, England where she obtained her Ph.D. in 1983.

She has a wide range of research interests, including globalisation, international trade and finance, employment patterns in developing countries, macroeconomic policy, issues related to gender and development, and the implications of recent growth in China and India. She has authored and/or edited a dozen books and more than 170 scholarly articles. Recent books include the edited volume India and the International Economy, (Oxford University Press 2015), Industrialization of China and India: The impacts on the world economy, (volume co-edited with Nobuharu Yokokawa and Robert E. Rowthorn, Routledge 2013),After Crisis: Adjustment, recovery and fragility in East Asia (co-edited with C. P. Chandrasekhar, Tulika Books, New Delhi 2009), Never done and poorly paid: Women’s work in globalising India (Women Unlimited, New Delhi 2008),Work and well being in the age of finance (Tulika Books, New Delhi), The market that failed: Neoliberal economic reforms in India (Leftword Books, New Delhi). Forthcoming books include the volume co-edited with Erik Reinert and Rainer Kattel,Elgar Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Development(Edward Elgar 2016).

Her research output has been recognised through several prizes in India and abroad. She was awarded the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Research Prize for 2010 in Geneva, and also received the NordSud Prize for Social Sciences 2010 of the Fondazione Pescarabruzzo, Italy. She was the principal author of the West Bengal Human Development Report 2004 which received the 2005 UNDP Award for excellence in analysis. She has received the Ava Maiti Award and the Satyendranath Sen Prize from the Asiatic Society, Kolkata.She has also received the Malcolm Adisheshaiah Award for distinguished contributions to the social sciences in India in November 2015. Shewas Conference President of the Indian Society for Labour Economics in December 2013 andwas Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee of the World Social Science Forum held in Durban, South Africa in September 2015.

Since 2002 she has been the Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates (IDEAS), an international network of heterodox development economists (www.networkideas.org). She is Founding Trustee of the Economic Research Foundation (www.macroscan.org).

She has some experience in advising on policy-related issues for state and central governments in India as well as some governments in other countries. She was the Chairperson of the Commission on Farmers’ Welfare in 2004 constituted by the state government of Andhra Pradesh in India, and Member of the National Knowledge Commission reporting to the Prime Minister of India (2005-09). She has consulted for a large number of international organisations, including ILO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UN-DESA, UNRISD and UN Women. She is a member of a large number of advisory boards of institutions and academic journals.

In addition to her academic work related to teaching and research, for many years she has been (and remains) a regular columnist for several newspapers and journals in India, including Frontline and Businessline, as well as global online blogs such as Triple Crisis Blog. She also writes occasional articles on economics and current affairs for The Guardian newspaper of London, UK.


Entry Free. All are welcome!

On the occasion of 70th India's Independence celebrations, Deaf Rainbow Films Hyderabad is presenting a night of cultural programs. The performers are all different abled people compsing of different age groups and diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Please do come!

There are actors and super stars. Sean Penn has moved beyond stardom and has earned great reputation as an artist and wonderful human being who can stand for a cause with others! On this day, 17th August 1960, this great personality was born.

We will be talking about Sean Penn and screening is Oscar winning movie 'MILK'

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960 is an American actor, filmmaker, and political activist. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the biopic Milk (2008).

Penn began his acting career in television with a brief appearance in episode 112 of Little House on the Prairie (December 4, 1974), directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in the drama Taps (1981) and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Penn garnered critical attention for his roles in the crime dramas At Close Range (1986), State of Grace (1990), and Carlito's Way (1993). He became known as a prominent leading actor with the drama Dead Man Walking (1995), for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Best Actor Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Woody Allen's comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and the drama I Am Sam (2001), before winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River and a second one in 2008 for Milk. He has also won a Best Actor Award of the Cannes Film Festival for the Nick Cassavetes-directed She's So Lovely (1997), and two Best Actor Awards at the Venice Film Festival for the indie film Hurlyburly (1998) and the drama 21 Grams (2003).

Penn made his feature film directorial debut with The Indian Runner (1991), followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001). Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, the biographical drama survival movie Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.

In addition to his film work, Penn is known for his political and social activism, most notably his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the Presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In January 2016, Penn published an interview (conducted in October 2015) with Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in Rolling Stone. Mexican authorities dismissed the level of importance given by American media to Penn in regards to Guzman's eventual recapture, instead placing importance on actress Kate del Castillo's continued communications with Guzman.

New projects in the name of development are not new but what is surprising is the act of acquiring the land and consequences of building such projects. Mallanna Sagar project in Medak district of Telangana is one such example where scores of people in the district are against to manner in which the land is acquired by the state government. Villagers are protesting in their own way by not participating in the Independence Day celebrations. While the Forum for Utilization of Godavari Waters has expressed concern about the validity of the project. They said it is technically and economically flawed project and can cause huge loss to the state exchequer.
What is the truth about Mallanna Sagar Project? Join us for a panel discussion on this issue at Lamakaan.

The Panel members are:
1. Prof C. Kasim, Osmania University
2. D Laxminarayana, Retd Engineer, Irrigation Dept.
3. Sajaya, Social Activist
-All are Welcome!

About The Play - It's a socio-political satire which involves a conversation between three crazy men who are talking about different social aspects directly/indirectly and suddenly a stranger enters and that is when story begins, according to this forth person he is not an insane rather very educated even then also he is in mental asylum.
As they interact and talk further, they discuss every possible topic in very different and insane style to watch yourself giggling throughout the evening come and enjoy the play.

Entry through Donor Pass at the gate: Rs100/-

Discussion being organized by the forum "In Defense of Reason" on the topic 'Is Growing Population Really a Cause behind Unemployment?'

Any sensitive and rational person today cannot but be perturbed by the growing onslaught on reason and rationality in our society. Thanks to India’s colonial past and the model of development chosen by the Indian rulers after independence, the level of rationality was never very high in modern India. However, things have worsened in last few years as people are now being killed in cold blood just for holding certain opinions as happened with people like Dabholkar, Pansare, and Kalburgi.

If we dream for a better society, we cannot be just a mute spectator of the merciless killing of reasoning in our society. It is against this backdrop that the forum “In Defense of Reason” is being launched to bring together all those who believe in logic and rationality and who refuse to work for maintaining the status quo. We aim to promote critical thinking on varied socio-economic and political problems faced by ordinary people in this country.

In our first discussion, we wish to draw your attention towards the issue of population growth and rising unemployment. Is there a cause-effect relationship between the two? Does this common belief has any rational basis that the hardships which people suffer are mainly due to high growth of population in our society? Can population control in itself bring about increased employment opportunities for all? Is population really a burden? If people not only have a stomach but also a pair of hands, then why is it that so many people do not have work?

Is it just a matter of chance that only few are employed or are there some definite laws behind this phenomenon?

Let’s gather on 20th Aug in Lamakaan and try to find out answers! Looking forward to your participation.

Regards,
Team “In Defense of Reason”

Contact: 9989170226
Facebook page: facebook.com/InDefenseOfReason


Please check the Facebook page of this forum for further information: facebook.com/InDefenseOfReason

No entry fee!

Solo and group presentations of a repertoire of Indian classical pieces performed in the traditional Kuchipudi style.

This talk is a presentation of the study and research done on the monuments and heritage of Hampi over the past few weeks, which culminated in a three day experiential tour of Hampi participated by more than fifty people from diverse fields, nationalities and cultures.


The Vijayanagara architecture was a notable style that developed during the rule of the Hampi Vijayanagar Empire. The empire built temples, monuments, palaces and other structures across South India, with a largest concentration in its capital. The monuments in and around Hampi, in the Vijayanagara principality, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In addition to building new temples, the empire added new structures and made modifications to hundreds of temples across South India. Some structures at Vijayanagara are from the pre-Vijayanagara period. The Mahakuta hill temples are from the Western Chalukya era. The region around Hampi had been a popular place of worship for centuries before the Vijayanagara period with earliest records dating from 689 CE when it was known as Pampa Tirtha after the local river God Pampa.

There are hundreds of monuments in the core area of the capital city. Of these, 56 are protected by UNESCO, 654 monuments are protected by the government of Karnataka and another 300 await protection.

Join us as we discuss the architectural elements and styles of the Hampi monuments.

Rabindranath Tagore's Dak Ghar - A Hindi Play directed by Hindola B.
This is an unusual bittersweet play written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1912. It talks about the last few days of a dying boy named Amal, who is confined to his adopted uncle's house by an incurable disease. From his perch by the window, he calls out to people passing by and talks with them until their daily routines force them to move on. Eventually, he gets inspired by the construction of the local post office and fantasises about receiving a letter from the king and someday becoming a postman himself so that he can travel far and wide.

Entry by Donor Pass - Rs 100/-
For passes: 8374734142

Pictures and Words: A One-Day Workshop on Comics Storytelling and Photojournalism, by Javed Imthiaz (The Sequential Artists Workshop, United States) and Rahul M. (Photojournalist, India).

This workshop will introduce participants to the fundamentals of telling stories using pictures and words at the same time. It will cover the genres of comics (strips and graphic novels) and narrative non-fiction. The first part of the workshop will take a close look at the process of making comics: What are the techniques used by some of the best practitioners? What are the pains behind making a single comic strip or a page of a graphic novel? How do good comics work? The second part will explore the narrative, aesthetic and ethical challenges of the combined role of writer and image-maker of non-fiction stories. Discover the complexities and challenges of telling a story effectively with pictures and words. Come along!
Cost: - Rs 300/-
EMail to confirm participation: whatjavedsaw@gmail.com
Visit comicsaa.wordpress.com

This workshop is not for children.

Come and discover: Wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am - 2:30pm For details: 9642731329.

1. Odi gelisina manishi : Oka schizophrenic aatmakatha by Malla Reddy edited by Shobha Devi
2. Manasika Vaidyudu lenichota : (Where There is No Psychiatrist by Vikram Patel and translated by Dr. Aluri Vijayalakshmi)
Panelists: Malla Reddy, Dr. Vijayalakshmi, Dr. Purnima Nagaraja
Chair: Dr. Veena Shatrughna


There have been few autobiographical accounts of mentally ill persons in India. The two accounts presently available are
Fallen, Standing: My Life as a Schizophrenist, Reshma Valliappan, Women Unlimited, 2014, and Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light within, March 2014, Gayathri Ramprasad (published abroad). Both however are written by women from a relatively elite background with access to resources from the West.


Odi gelisina manishi : oka schizophrenic aatmakatha (The Autobiography of a Schizophrenic) (140 pages, 1/8 demy) is a honest riveting account by Malla Reddy, born and raised in a Kadapa village, and who suffered his first breakdown in his early adulthood. He went on to survive five suicide attempts to emerge victorious. Compassionate doctors, access to modern medicine and an understanding family kept him alive and vigorously active. On the spectrum of mental health disorders, schizophrenia is at the extreme end. Hallucinations and strange voices crowd the mind, the line between dream and reality blurs to oblivion and chances of self-harm are the greatest. Malla Reddy’s book is a triumph of his spirit in the face of years of stigma and isolation. His story holds up a mirror to show all of us exactly where we as a society must stand in order to provide the care, compassion, treatment and basic rights that people suffering from schizophrenia or any other mental health disorder so desperately need.
Malla Reddy’s account will resonate with the majority of our people who have roots in the village.


The second book is Manasika vydyudu lenichota (Where There is No Psychiatrist) (280 pages, ¼ crown) by Vikram Patel; this is a handbook on mental illness just as Where There is No Doctor was a handbook on general illnesses.
It is a practical manual for mental health care for all those concerned with it, particularly in developing countries. After giving the reader a basic understanding of mental illness, the book goes on to describe more than 30 clinical problems associated with mental illness and uses a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. The book has been translated into Telugu by leading writer, feminist and doctor Aluri Vijayalakshmi. She has also translated the all-time bestseller Where There is no Doctor.
HBT would like to use both these books as pegs to highlight the issues of mental health and illness, and draw activists and writers (mental illness is disproportionately high among both categories) into a broad solidarity network. At the worst, we could organize a semi-formal meeting with speakers (Malla Reddy, Purnima Nagaraj, Veena Shatrughna, Dilawar…???). I wonder if we can have something more imaginative because this issue is so much in the closet.

-All are welcome

STORY: MAHASWETA DEVI
DRAMATISATION: DEBASHISH CHAKRABORTY
ADAPTATION AND DIRECTION: SWAPAN MONDAL
PRODUCTION:SHUDRKA HYDERABAD
TIME:7:30 PM
DURATION:1 hour 15 minutes
LANGUAGE:BENGALI

This play is a tribute to Mahasweta Devi and her voice for the powerless ‘others’.

The word ‘Aajir’ stands for one who has sold himself into slavery for a paltry sum. In the play, ‘Aajir’, the story of a slave held by a bond signed by an ancestor – a slavery that denies him the right to love, marry and live a life of a human being – discovering that the bond has long turned to dust, but discovering it only too late, is a metaphor for the traditional constraints that bind the individual in our country long after their legal authority has given way. Exploitation operates beyond the law and with the tacit acquiescence of an exploited class held in thrall by a load of conventional role – obligations. Legal reforms or legal defences for the exploited have rarely affected the exploitative mechanism sustained by the illiteracy and ignorance of the exploited. Paatan, the bonded slave, whose ancestor had sold himself, his family and his descendant to perpetual slavery, is a supreme example of the slave suffering forever in a historical perspective that goes on and on.

Mataang, the epitome of manipulation, relegates his wife to a position of inferiority and subjugation tantamounting almost to the bonded position of Paatan. Religious traditions, under the preponderant influence of Hinduism, provide the ideological basis for patriarchy and assign women an inferior role in the family and society.

Dr Neal Hall is back in Hyderabad, for a short trip and he is going to recite few of his new compositions at Lamakaan. An evening to remember. Do come one and all.

- Entry Free and Open to all

Neal Hall, M.D., Poet
Neal Hall, M.D. received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University. After earning an M.D. from Michigan State University, he took his surgical subspecialty training in ophthalmology at Harvard University’s Medical School. He was in private practice for over 20 years in Flourtown, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hall is an internationally acclaimed award-winning author of four books of poetry. Nigger For Life chronicles his painful discovery that in “unspoken America” race is the yardstick by which he is first judged, first measured, and diminished value and dignity metered out. Winter’s A’ Coming Still reflects the pernicious persistence of race as a primary social frame. The more things are said to change, the more things are made to stay the same. Appalling Silence, with selections of his work translated into Telugu and Urdu, was published and launched in India. Where Do I Sit. is Dr. Hall fourth book that displays the skill, breadth, and versatility with which he has honed his craft. Where Do I Sit does not jettison the sharp denunciations of racial and economic injustice that appeared in his first collections.
Professor Cornel West said of Dr. Hall: “[he] is a warrior of the spirit, a warrior of the mind, an activist, a poet. I sense Dr. Hall’s hypersensitivity to suffering – Martin, Malcolm and Jesus all had this hypersensitivity. Both sides of his soul have prophetic leanings. His poetry has the capacity to change ordinary people’s philosophy on social and racial issues.”
Vasanth Kannabiran, Chairperson of Hyderabad’s Asmita Resource Centre for Women, remarked: “This is poetry that scalds you into waking up to the possibility that you are perhaps one of those silent spectators. All in all he is a poet. And unquestionably one of the most significant voices of the century.”
Through his extensive domestic and international poetry readings, Dr. Hall has reached audiences from San Francisco to Philadelphia, from Kenya, Indonesia, and France to Jamaica, India, Morocco, Nepal, and Italy. Italy’s University of Rome Tre in collaboration with The Italian National Commission for UNESCO invited Dr. Hall to be their featured guest speaker and poet in celebration of World Poetry Day. Selections of his work were translated into Italian and read along side his English versions. Hyderabad, India’s Council for Social Development invited Dr. Hall to be their first Poet/Scholar – in- Residency providing an opportunity to return to India and explore the subcontinent’s hierarchical/patriarchal constructs and their parallels with his experiences as a black man in America.

Literary Awards:
Nigger For Life’s Awards:
Grand Prize Winner in: 1. The Do – It -Yourself and 2. The Los Angeles Book Awards
First Place Prize for Poetry in the Greater Southeast, Amsterdam, Florida, London, Paris, Great Midwest, Southern California, Do-It-Yourself, San Francisco, Great Northwest, Great Southwest, Los Angeles, Pacific Rim, New England, New York Book Festival and National Beverly Hills Book Awards and 2012 Poetry Contest Winner, Ubud Writers & Reader’s International Festival, Bali, Indonesia.
Winter’s A’ Coming Still’s Awards:
First Place Prize for Poetry in the Florida, Pacific Rim, Amsterdam, Southern California, San Francisco. New England, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, London, Great Midwest, Great Northwest and Great Southwest Book Awards.
Where Do I Sit’s Awards:
First Place Prize for Poetry in the Hollywood Book Awards.

Writer’s Residencies/Awards:
Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio, Hokkaido Sapporo, Japan, 2016
Visiting Scholar – American Academy In Rome, Rome Italy, 2016
Sangam House International Writer’s Residence, Bangalore, India 2015-2016
Dhwani Fellowship: awarded to translate selections of Dr. Hall’s work into Kannada. Funded by Aditi: Foundation For The Arts, 2015
Poet/Scholar-In-Resident, Sponsor: Council For Social Development, Hyderabad, India, 2015
Resident (Poet)-In-Writing, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, U.S., 2015


- Entry Free and Open to all

Author from Chennai, Suraksha Giri reads from her new book 'It happened like this' and storytelling by noted artiste Pooja Giri

i want to screening pellichoopulu indipendent movie in lamakaan

August is the month of creative people. There are many directors, actors and writers born in this month. One such actor, Sean Connery, one of the best 007 Agent bonds is born today.

We will talk about his life and films and watch The Name of the Rose (1986) thriller movie.

It's too short notice we know but too difficult to resist Sean Connery's movie.

Do come and bring along your friends!

Open to All and Entry is Free!!