Nov 18 2022 to Nov 20 2022 6 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Working for a Better World | Gopalkrishna Gandhi in Conversation With Bunker Roy Nov 18 | Friday | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Gopal Gandhi, former Governor West Bengal and Bunker Roy, founder Barefoot College Tilonia, have had different journeys but shared principles, united by a common struggle for peace and justice. Gopal Gandhi has been Ambassador and High Commissioner of India in South Africa, Sri Lanka and Norway and Director Nehru Centre in London. He is an admired public intellectual of eminence; a scholar, writer, columnist, academic. Bunker Roy, recognized for his work as a development practitioner, fostered a dialogue between rural and urban India from Tilonia, a village in Rajasthan where he lived and worked.

The Barefoot College has attracted international attention to the concept of barefoot women solar engineers popularly known as “solar mamas” that encouraged rural women from 96 of the least developed countries, come to Tilonia, to train. The conversation will give us a glimpse into development with and for people, seen from two perspectives, but with a common objective

Performances & Conversations | Barefoot Artistes Nov 19 | Saturday | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

A storytelling of Tilonia’s 50 years, with music, puppetry and conversations presented by Tilonia’s well-known Barefoot communicators. They have performed in northern India and traveled to Norway and UK, and have contributed seminally to a blending of traditional skills with development, crafting a lexicon of song, theatre and puppetry.

They will be joined by alumni: Shankar Singh, who pioneered the concept of barefoot communication, along with Ramlal, a traditional puppeteer. Shankar later became the co-founder of the MKSS, where the repertoire of songs became synonymous with the campaign for the RTI . Ramlal is now a recognised communicator who lives in, and works from, Dehradun. The present team comprises Ramnivas, who is a lyricist, actor, puppet-maker and performer, along with traditional communicators Satyanarain, Ramlal, Moti and Hemnath. They will lead the conversation with a history of Tilonia’s 50 years, in a magical adaptation of traditional methods within a contemporary context.

The Politics of Craft | Laila Tyabji, Uzramma & Aruna Roy in Conversation Nov 20 | Sunday | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Indian handicrafts and handlooms have always enjoyed prestige, augmented through the popularization of khadi as a symbol combining the economics of self-reliance with the politics of freedom. Today, artisans along with their craft are pitted against a backdrop of changing consumer preference, availability of cheaper alternatives and/or access to bigger brands. The present challenges concern livelihoods, raw materials, credit and markets, aggravated by the COVID 19 pandemic. Laila Tyabji and Uzramma, who have had a lifetime of experience in groundwork with artisans of rural India, will lead the conversation. LailaTyabji is one of the founders of Dastakar who has continually worked for the revival of traditional crafts in India and is credited with revolutionizing the craft industry by developing a market for Indian crafts as well as modernizing the artisans’ skills. Uzramma has been involved for over twenty-five years in issues connected with the growing, spinning and weaving of cotton, advocating small-scale, dispersed and diverse production chains that can be owned and managed by producers themselves. She founded Dastkar Andhra Trust and the Malkha Trust. Aruna Roy, an alumnus of Tilonia, Barefoot College set up theTilonia Bazaar in 1975, one of the first bazaars to interface crafts and crafts – persons with their urban buyers and introduce the concept of a­­n urban ‘haat’. She is currently a socio-political activist, associated with the Right to Information and MGNREGA campaigns; a founder member of the MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), the School for Democracy and NCPRI.

These talks will also be accompanied by an exhibition of various craft items.