Event Details :

Gauhar Raza’s talk on the effects of dissident poetry in times of establishment-imposed conformity and the role of the poet.

Sessions:

• "Bol ke lab azaad hain tere" Recital session of a range of progressive poetry
• A talk with Gauhar Raza –
  The discussion will try to touch upon the following points:
• Progressive poetry: Mere entertainment or something more?
• What rebel songs in these times of oppression will look like.
• With the budding popularity of poetic symposia – those organised by the government as well as private ones – what place do progressive and dissident poetry occupy in society and politics?
• What impact has the poetry of our classical poets had on the authorities in India?
• In these times, when our freedom of speech is under attack, what part does progressive poetry play?
• How does the progressive poem of today differ from that of previous eras?

Event Details :

In this talk with Sohail Hashmi, we will try to answer one key question: How does a city come into being? Delhi, the national capital, is majorly full of migrants. Excepting the Jats and Gujars, it is impossible to find people who'd be native to this city. In its history, the city has seen everything, in a way that destruction and re-building have been a consistent part of the history of this city. Partition played a key role in shaping the city. The current urban character coexists with the histories that this city holds in its forts, monuments, gates, temples, mosques, etc. The entry point of this talk is the Delhi of the late-Mughal period, and by travelling through various junctures, we arrive at the present-day Delhi, a city which is run by its Metro. In this journey, we look at a broader and an essential question: How did Delhi come into being? What does Delhi's present retain of its past? In this city of migrants, is there any notion of a 'Delhi Identity'? If yes, what does this consciousness of belonging to this city constitute?

Event Details :

नासिरा शर्मा हिंदी की एक विख्यात लेखिका हैं। कहानी, लेख, रिपोर्ताज, संस्मरण, आलोचना आपकी ढेरों पुस्तकें हैं।

नासिरा शर्मा हिंदी की एक जानी-मानी हस्ती हैं। 2016 में "पारिजात" उपन्यास पर आपको साहित्य अकादेमी सम्मान मिला है। अपनी क़लम के लिए आप विश्वविख्यात रही हैं। नासिरा शर्मा अपने लिखे हुए को जीने में यक़ीन रखती हैं। उनके लिए लिखना महज़ लिखने भर के लिए नहीं हैं बल्कि आपके लेखन की एक सामाजिक उपादेयता है। ये समाज वो उपेक्षित और मेहनतकशवर्ग होता है जहां वास्तव में ज़िंदगियां धड़कती हैं। ये वर्ग जो समाज की संरचना में दिन-रात मेहनत करता है, मगर अधिकांशतः नज़रों से ओझल रहता है।

कार्यक्रम की प्रस्तावित योजना :

• नासिरा शर्मा का संक्षिप्त परिचय
• रूबरू – नासिरा शर्मा से बातचीत
• नासिरा शर्मा द्वारा चयनित कविता/कहानी/नाटक के कुछ अंश (ये सभी अंश उनके द्वारा संपादित पुस्तक "अदब में बायीं पसली" से होंगे)
• श्रोताओं से बातचीत

Event Details :

As part of [email protected], we offer a full-day workshop on ‘Making Red Books’ with

author Vijay Prashad (Chief Editor, LeftWord Books)

editor Andrew Hsiao (Verso, New York)

designer Sherna Dastur

artist Orijit Sen

moderated by Sudhanva Deshpande (Managing Editor, LeftWord Books).

This is a free workshop, there is no fee.

Participation is strictly by registration.

To register: Send an email to [email protected] with the following details:

1. Your name.
2. Age.
3. A few lines about yourself, including any previous experience in publishing or design or bookmaking.

Last date for registration: 12 March

Time: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event Details :

LeftWord Books completes two decades of publishing. To mark the occasion, we have a mouth-watering series of events lined up over three days (14, 15 & 16). Our panel discussion on the 15th features –

activist Teesta Setalvad,
novelist Githa Hariharan,
economist Jayati Ghosh,
publisher Indira Chandrasekhar,
journalist Shalini Singh,
moderated by Vijay Prashad (Chief Editor, LeftWord Books);
‘On 20 Years of LeftWord’ by Prakash Karat (Managing Director, LeftWord Books);
release of several new books, including a fresh Hindi translation of The Communist Manifesto by Subhashini Ali;
screening of a short film on LeftWord by Newsclick;
announcement of plans for International Red Books Day.

Time: 5 p.m.

All are welcome.

Event Details :

LeftWord Books published its first title in March 1999. This year, we complete two decades of publishing. To mark the occasion, we have a mouth-watering series of events lined up over three days (14, 15 & 16).

The first event in this series, ‘Telling the Story’ – A Talk on Writing by P. Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), chaired by activist-scholar Archana Prasad.

Time: 5 p.m.

All are Welcome.

Palagummi Sainath (born 1957), one of India’s best-known journalists, is the founding editor of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) – an archive and living journal of the history of rural India. He has lectured and taught at various institutions, including the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. Sainath is the author of the acclaimed book Everybody Loves a Good Drought on rural poverty in India. He has won over 40 global and national awards for his reporting (and turned down several, including the Padma Bhushan because, in his view, journalists should not be receiving awards from governments they cover and critique). In 2007 he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his ‘passionate commitment as a journalist to restore the rural poor to India’s national consciousness’. Two documentary films on his work, Nero’s Guests and A Tribe of his Own, have received over 20 international awards.

Sainath’s most important work from the past decade focuses on India’s agrarian crisis, with hundreds of exclusive field reports and news analysis and photographs.

Event Details :

LeftWord Books invites you to ‘Lula and the battle for democracy in Brazil’, a talk by Cristiane Ganaka, Brazilian economist and researcher with Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

Time: 6.00 pm

Event Details :

LeftWord Books is pleased to invite you to the launch of

A.G. Noorani’s The RSS: A Menace to India

[9788193466681, Hardcover, 547 pages, 6.25” x 9.25”, Rs 1,500]

Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari

former Vice President of India,

has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest

Githa Hariharan, novelist, and

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor, The Wire

will also speak on the occasion

2 April 2019, 6.00 pm

Join us for tea at 5.30 pm

Seminar Halls 2 & 3, Kamladevi Complex, India International Centre, New Delhi

Event Details :

It’s May Day!

Yes, it’s that day again! The day we salute workers’ struggles. The day of solidarity. And as India votes, the day to remind us to always swipe left.

Like every year, we have a super line up of performers/speakers including Rahul Ram & Sanjay Rajoura, Sumangala Damodaran, Mukul Manglik, Dastaan Live, Satyam Tiwari, Vineet Kumar, Aishwarya & Shromona, and more to be announced soon.

If you’d like to bring a guitar and sing a song, do so. (But come by 2 pm, so we can give you a slot.)

We have a mouthwatering collection of new, used, and rare books. The best bargains go fast — and, as always, we have an absolutely fantastic collection — so plan to arrive early.

And of course, we have food and beverages — our famous samosas, cakes, bread, and cool drinks. And of course, coffee! ☕

Share widely — help us spread the joy 🙂

Time: 1 pm onwards

Event Details :

The play is about a Lesbian relationship and attempts to analyse the dynamics of the LGBTQ+ community within society. What happens when a girl wants to break free from the shackles of Patriarchy? From her doubts and fears? When she meets another girl who is a rebel, straightforward and has experienced life’s harshness? The play questions the duality of the Indian patriarchal family structure, which gives an impression of broad-mindedness but in reality clutches individuality within its claws.

Sugandha - Varsha

Piyu- Aeshvarya/ Manushree

Aarti (Mother) - Priya

Shivdayal Tripathi (Father) - Abhinav / Shishu

Alok (Brother) - Milind / Pranoy

Poster - Manushree

Lights - Jai

Sound- Pranoy

Properties - Milind

Photography - Shariq

Backstage - Piyush, Priyam

Written and Directed by Noor Zaheer

Entry Free

Date: 6 & 7 July, Time: 7 p.m.

Event Details :

Peshevar Maujkhor presents Lemons Lemons Lemons

This play is about a couple-in-love who have to fight a lot of odds to stay together- their opposing personalities, diametrically different careers and even.... the Government! Can their love triumph? Or will they fall prey to a random law that discourages people from talking?

Director - Shruti Sunder; Lan - Hin & Eng; Duration - 75 min.

Date: 11 July; Time - 7 p.m.

Event Details :

'लाखों-करोड़ों ये हाथ, न हरामी है न हलाली। ये तो बस जीते जागते हाथ है...'

T.R.U.S.T (Theatre Research Unit for Stage Tools) brings you its new production 'नन्ही जान के दो हाथ' - a play by Rajesh Tiwari, based on Ismat Chughtai's stories.

Reflecting the facts of our society and exposing the true face behind the mask of civilization this play is full of humor, irony, emotion and drama.

All are welcome.

Date - 12 & 13 July;  Time - 7 p.m.

Event Details :

Shed your inhibitions and join in for much fun and creativity !
 
Apna Manch is back with Aghaaz (7th edition). Freak the idea may seem, challenging it is, an opportunity to explore yourself as an actor within a few hours, and perform in front of live audience.
 
Special add on - Dramatised Reading by Manil Mayank Mishra, "Paanchvein Maale Ka Flat ", a beautiful story by Mohan Rakesh.
 
Workshop Timings : 1:00 pm to 6:30 pm
 
Performances start at 6:30 pm (Performance by workshop participants followed by Dramatised Reading by Manil )
 
Contribution for Workshop : Rs 800 ( Includes refreshment) For more details Call or sms on 9910143011.
 
Entry is free for the performances.

Event Details :

A seminar on combatting the ecological disaster. The urgency of rolling back the way we deal with nature has never been more urgent.
 
The movement to save our ecology must be anti-capitalist.
 
Hear Vijay Prashad speak on the ecology and how we should be combatting the prevalent disaster as a society.

Event Details :

Shorts on Screen is a film screening event organised by Little Feet Films & Pocket Studios to showcase some of their recent intriguing work.

Schedule: 06:30 PM to 08:30 PM

Two short movies to be screened:

- Autumn: A film by Pocket Studios.

- DND: A film by Little Feet FIlms

Two more movies to be updated in the list shortly!

Schedule: Saturday, 20th July 2019, 06:30 PM onwards Studio Safdar, Shadipur, New Delhi.

All are invited! For FREE passes, please WhatsApp @ 9560342266.

Event Details :

Actor and storyteller Arjun Raina migrated to Australia in 2010. Last year, while trying to promote his show The Magic Hour in country Victoria, he experienced first hand a certain resistance to both his physical presence-to his attempts to ‘hawk’ or sell his show. This personal experience further resonated with research on the 19th-century movement of Indian hawkers in rural Victoria.

The show is an engaging narrative of 19th century-21st century Indian migration to Australia.

Schedule: Sunday, 21 July 2019 from 19:00-20:00

All are welcome.

Event Details :

Jana Natya Manch presents Girgit.

It is an adaptation of Anton Chekov's short story 'The Chameleon' by Safdar Hashmi.

All are invited!

Time: 06:00 p.m

Event Details :

Come and experience Manav Kaul's chef d'oeuvre "ILHAAM " as an adaptation by Mukhavaran Theatre Group.

Time: 7:00 p.m

All are welcome.

Event Details :

Mukhavaran Theatre Group cordially invites you to the play 'Dhoop Ka Tukda' based on the story by Nirmal Verma

Entry is FREE. Book your passes in advance on 9560342266 (WhatsApp)

Time: 06:30 p.m.

Event Details :

A set of 3 different monologues set up in different fabrics of society dealing with inner and outer conflict of human emotions.

Written,Designed and Performed by: Ashish,Harshit and Saurav.

Time: 07:00 p.m.

Event Details :

Alchemy Theatre Society’s production - The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? is a triple Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee’s acclaimed play about a married, middle-aged architect who falls in love with a goat. Martin is at the pinnacle of life: he has a loving wife and son, a hugely successful career as an architect, and the commission of a lifetime, but when he embarks upon an improbable and impossible love affair from which there is no return, he must face the dizzying, explosive consequences.

Known for works such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Albee’s four-hander not only shows a family in crisis but also challenges taboos and moral judgment. A Delhi-Bangalore based theatre group, Alchemy tackles this marital family drama which won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and was a finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Type: Full Length Play

Acts: Two

Director: Nikhil Chaudhary

Note: Tickets available at Venue & BookMyShow

Age Guide: +16

Date: 27 & 28 July

Time: 07:00 p.m.

Event Details :

Set in an imaginary Buddhist kingdom in ancient India, Tathagat explores the ideas of caste and gender, rebellion and nationalism, freedom and courage.

Haridas, a shudra sculptor, has carved a statue of Buddha out of black stone with three missing fingers. He is sentenced to death as a traitor. On insistence of the queen, the king agrees to listen to Haridas’s plea in the court.

Expanding on the idea of tark (reason) in Buddhist philosophy, this play through the story of a vain king, a defiant queen, the rebellious sculptor, a courageous daasi, and a conniving courtier, examines the difference between a ‘traitorous’ and a ‘rebellious’ act.

Duration: 35 minutes

Time: 07:00 - 08:00 p.m

All are welcome.

Event Details :

Do you sing, or play an instrument, or write songs? Do you want to learn revolutionary songs? Come, join.

Music workshop with KajalGhosh, director of the legendary political song squad, Parcham.

Four-day workshop from 15 to 18 August, 5 to 8 pm daily.

Participation ONLY by registration.

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezwY9tjvK7sFUrGr3-GsxD2EvhDsFp7FF7Hr1qcz717VR_oQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Registrations close on 12 August. Limited seats. Hurry!

Event Details :

Impro is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up at the moment.

In the 2-day workshop, participants will practice and learn to play with spontaneity and trust their own impulses. Open to working professionals, students, theatre professionals, writers, educators and anyone who wishes to learn storytelling using short-form improvisation!

The workshop will cover:

• The Impro principle: Acceptance

• Active Listening

• Introduction to Scene Work

• Status

• Finding Characters

• Improvising scenes & games with ease

PS: Laughs are guaranteed.

Dates: 22nd & 23rd August (Thursday & Friday)

Timings: 5 pm - 8 p.m. (both days)

Venue: Studio Safdar, Shadipur, New Delhi

Fee: 1000 INR (for both days)

Tickets: https://imjo.in/ezxWqe

Facilitated by: Blessin Varkey

Event Details :

Dhoop Ka Ek Tukda by Mukhavaran Theatre Group

Date: 07 & 08 September

Entry is FREE.

Event Details :

Shadipur Natak Utsav at Studio Safdar is a unique, community-curated theatre festival.

Do you have a play fit for a black box space? Something that residents of Shadipur might enjoy? Apply now!

Shadipur Natak Utsav Dates: November 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 24.

Last date for Applications: 7 September 2019

See application form for further details: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9ngCJ-hMvFobQCyXFL3KxI1buWvsHu1we_DMAn4M2XdbSTA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Event Details :

A two-day workshop to learn the basics of theatre lighting by Abhinav Khetrapal and Anuj Chopra.

In this two-day workshop, you will be introduced to the different types of lights used in theatre, to the dimmer, and to the console. You will be taught how to handle them, how to patch lights together, and how to create various effects using combinations of lights and filters.

Fees: Rs 1,000 per participant

Early bird discount: Rs 850, if you pay on or before 24 August

Workshop Dates: 27 & 28 August

Timings: 3:00 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Register here: https://forms.gle/Dqeiv3wHmH7L8wMs6

Event Details :

Abhishek Yadav presents अगली शताब्दी के प्यार की रिहर्सल

दीपा, एक प्रतिभाशाली, स्मार्ट और फैशनेबल लड़की है। वह उसी लड़के से शादी करना चाहती है, जिससे उसे प्यार हो मतलब वो प्यार को शादी में बदलना चाहती है। प्यार करने के लिए मनचाहे लड़के की तलाश के दौरान वो कई गलतियां करती है। उसकी इन गलतियों से जो हास्य पैदा होता है, वही इस नाटक की रूपरेखा है।

Date & Time: Sunday, 25 August; 6:00 p.m.

Event Details :

"Main Tainu Pher Milangi"

On her centenary birth anniversary, let us gather, one and all, to read, recite, and listen to Amrita Pritam's verses, and meet her yet again.

...और जहां भी

आज़ाद रूह की झलक पड़े

समझना वह मेरा घर है.

- अमृता प्रीतम

Thursday, 5 p.m, Studio Safdar.

Event Details :

THE DEATH OF US - a contemplation on issues of crime, punishment, revenge, justice and the larger ethical questions surrounding the death penalty.

Film Synopsis:

The debate on death penalty is loud and impassioned. Instead of echoing that cacophony, The Death of Us, quietly reflects on a range of cases in which the death penalty was pronounced. Sometimes, ending in the execution of the convicted; sometimes in commutation to a life sentence; and sometimes to acquittal and release. Speaking to some who have been on death row, and others closely involved with the cases, we engage in complex conversations on crime and punishment, revenge and justice, popular rhetoric and personal experiences. Only to find ourselves confronted by larger ethical and moral questions across time and space.

Duration: 76 minutes

(Multiple languages with English Subtitles)

Event Details :

Mukhavaran Theatre Group‎ presents Two Day Theatre Festival at Studio Safdar.

Dates: - 7 & 8, September

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Event Details :

Hello, Hello, Quick Announcement!

We are having a flash sale at our bookstore on 14th and 15th of September. Visit and discover interesting books among our new and used books collection. Book club members will get discounts on NEW books.

Please share this post widely. Help us spread the word.

Timings: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. on 14th and 15th September.

Event Details :

Cultural Labour: Conceptualizing the ‘Folk Performance’ in India book discussion with Brahma Prakash, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU

Folk performances reflect the life-worlds of a vast section of subaltern communities in India. What is the philosophy that drives these performances, the vision that enables as well as enslaves these communities to present what they feel, think, imagine, and want to see? Can such performances challenge social hierarchies and ensure justice in a caste-ridden society?

Join us in this conversation with the author, Brahma Prakash to understand the politics and aesthetics of folk performance in the light of contemporary theories of theatre and performance studies.

Date: 25, September

Time: 6:00 p.m

All are invited.

Event Details :

Greetings from The Red Cycle!

Issues associated with menstruation are never discussed openly and the silence surrounding menstruation burdens menstruators by keeping them ignorant of this biological function. Even after the attainment of menarche, very little information is given to young menstruators about the physiological processes involved and the hygienic practices to be followed. Overall, the absence of conversation around the social and political facets to menstruation in the policy debate and hence inaction is striking. This point to a glaring need to highlight this issue in the policy debate together with practical work on what menstruators require to manage their menstrual needs in terms of materials, education and facilities for management and disposal. Gender sensitivity in health, hygiene and sanitation needs of menstruators is a critical input required to be integrated into the governments' health, sanitation and education programmes.

The Red Cycle is a grassroots movement that aims to address various facets of menstruation by knowledge-sharing and action. Through online forums and off-line sessions, The Red Cycle has been challenging the taboos, social stigma and misconceptions associated with menstruation and focuses on educating people on the biological process.

We invite you to an open chat on menstruation and the related issues in May Day Bookstore on 1st October 2019. Arjun Unnikrishnan and Meemansa Singh from The Red Cycle will moderate the chat.

Time: 6:00 p.m

Event Details :

Directed by Shruti Sunder, The Other Half is a physical ensemble play that questions the very root of our identities and our perception of Gender. Through a very irreverent attitude, the play questions about the identity of 'Gender', what is, how it is and how it became that way. It questions the lens through which we view the world.

The Director

Shruti Sunder is an alumnus of Drama School Mumbai and UNIMA-India Foundation Course for Puppeteers. She is also a trained classical singer, artist and a movement enthusiast.

The Cast

Kunal Dara, Anomita Sen, Navya, Anant Gaur, Jyoti Rana, Radha Bhatt, Harsh Gussain, Amit Verma, Ruby Shivam Upadhyay, Ahmer, Dhruv Rai

Time: 07:00 p.m.

Event Details :

Highlights of the workshop -

1) Discussion on North Indian classical, semi-classical & film music; its structure (Sur, Raga & Taal), nuances, genres, aesthetics, artists, false practices in music education, correct methodology of studying music, how to avoid fraudulent teachers & find genuine ones and busting myths associated with Indian music.

2) There will also be a few group musical exercises.

Time: 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

All are welcome.

Event Details :

Readings from works of progressive writers by Saman Habib and Sanjay Muttoo

An illustrated reading of works of writers and poets of the early period of the progressive writers movement that presents a range of their creative output, reflecting and engaging with societal and political issues and spanning concerns that reverberate even today. Music accompanies the reading.

Time: 07:00 p.m. to 8:00 P.M.

All are welcome

Event Details :

Shadipur Natak Utsav - 2019

India's first Community Curated Theatre Festival.

6 Days 7 plays.

15 November -

Ek Square Metre Khushi by Peshevar Maujkhor, Delhi

Material Mala by The Kachra Collective, Hyderabad

16 November -

Shakuntalam- Agar Pura Kar Paye Toh by Red Nose Entertainment, Mumbai.

17 November -

Romeo Ravidas and Juliet Devi by QissaKothi, Mumbai.

22 November -

Kabutar Ja Ja Ja by Natak Company, Pune.

23 November -

Maccoman, The Power Play by Madhyamgram Natomon Natya Sanstha,Kolkata

24 November -

Medea by Pandies' Theatre, Delhi

Two shows daily, 4 and 7 pm. See you there!

Event Details :

Book-reading session and interaction with Saba Dewan & Namita Devidayal

The event will be moderated by Ashwini Deshpande, Professor, Ashoka University

Lovers of books and music, join us for what’s going to be a fantastic evening.

Details:- Friday, 8 November 2019, 5:30 p.m.

Please join us for tea and snacks at 5 p.m.

Advisory:

May Day Bookstore 2254/2A Shadi Khampur, New Ranjit Nagar, New Delhi 110008 INDIAPhone: (91 11) 2570 9456

Metro: Shadipur on BLUE line 

Directions: Shadipur metro – Satyam Cinema (now Inox) – cycle ricksha – ‘Biyaasi number’ – May Day next to Rahmat Medical Store.