DISCOVERY AND ENJOYMENT of India's performing, cinematic, culinary, visual and literary arts are central to the experiences ICC brings to the communities we serve. Below are examples of events that ICC has hosted:
06/01
Vikas Khanna and
The Last Color
Renowned celebrity chef, Vikas Khanna,turned writer and film director, attended a screening of The Last Color a story of an unexpected friendship and awakening on June 1 at the Avon Theatre.
Khanna's film is about a nine-year-old fearless tightrope walker and flower seller, Chhoti, who savors her dream to save Rs. 300 ($ 4), so she can attend school. The Last Color traces Chhoti and her best friend Chintu's daily struggles for survival on the streets of the ancient city of Banaras, India.
The Last Color was part of the 5th Greenwich International Film Festival. Aroon Shivdasani, founder of the Indo American Arts Council moderated the post-screenign Q&A. Watch a trailer of The Last Color.
05/11
Veera Hiranandani and
The Night Diary
ICC and the Greenwich Library hosted Newberry Honor Award author, Veera Hiranandani. Meera is the author of The Night Diary, a poignant and gripping story of a young girl's search for home, her identify and a hopeful future set during Partition in 1947.
Introduced by ICC President Meera Gilbert, Veera read an excerpt from the heart of The Night Diary and talked about her writing process and how she came to write The Night Diary which was inspired by her father's experiences during Partition. It is the first YA book written about Partition.
In addition to the Newberry Honor Award, The Night Diary received the 2019 Walter Dean Myers Honor Award and the 2018 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children's Literature. It was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition, is a New York Times Editor's Choice Pick, and was chosen as a 2018 Best Children's Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Amazon, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Rewiews, among others.
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Greenwich Library
101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich
02/12 - 2/22
India and North America Contemporary Art from India and the Diaspora
The first-ever exhibit of Indian artists in Greenwich, featured
contemporary Indian artists working in indigenous traditions of Warli and Madhubani art and five local artists from the Indian diaspora whose watercolors, acrylic, mixed media and oil paintings reflect the influence of the Indian sensibility in color, subject and culture. Local artists exhibiting were Meera Agarwal, Pratibha Garawal, Prachi Khade-Gurjar, Madhu Mathur, and Chitra Ramcharandas. On loan from Professor Kathryn Myers, Professor of Painting at UConn and 2002, 2011 and 2020 Fulbright Fellow to India, were works by Mahalaxmi Karn, Santosh Kumar Das, Rani Jha and Naresh Kumar Paswan.
The opening reception was held February 13. Kathryn Myers presented the widely ranging artistic styles of contemporary Indian artists. ICC thanks Cap, Cork and Cellar for donating the wine for the reception.
Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich Arts Council
299 Greenwich Avenue
05/05/18
ASHKARA
On May 5, ICC and Greenwich Arts Council co-hosted Akshara Music Ensemble at the Greenwich Arts Council’s Meeting Room. Founded by Carnatic musician and composer Bala Skandan in 2008, Akshara performed an hour of classical Carnatic ragas and talas reimagined through world music, jazz improvisation, and modern composition.
Akshara's founder and composer, Bala Skandan, performed on the mridangam (double-headed Indian drum) and konnakkol (vocal rhythm). Max ZT was on the hammered dulcimer and Jay Gandhi was on the bansuri (Indian flute).
To learn more about Akshara and listen to their Indian Classical Inspired compositions visit www.aksharamusic.com.
05/17/18
30th ANNIVERSARY SALAAM BOMBAY!
WITH MIRA NAIRIn 1988, at the age of 31, Ms. Nair went into the streets of Bombay to learn about the lives of street children. Out of their experiences, Salaam Bombay! was born. Street children were cast as actors. The result was a tour de force that captured the order in the chaos in the poorest of Bombay's slums. Salaam Bombay! was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; it won the Camera D'Or (for best first feature) and the Prix du Publique (for most popular entry) at the Cannes Film Festival and 25 other international awards.
On May 17, Mira Nair joined ICC and The Avon in marking 30 years since she directed this ground-breaking film with a special screening of Salaam Bombay!. Temple University Associate Professor Kartik Nair introduced the film and moderated a conversation with Ms. Nair on the challenges of filming on location on the streets of Bombay, her success in directing street children to be actors, and where the children are 30 years after the film was released.