Apr 25 2025 to Apr 25 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

This special BIC event honours the contributions of Gopalkrishna Gandhi—public servant, diplomat, writer, and scholar. Over the course of his career, he has held a range of significant positions including Secretary to the President of India, High Commissioner to South Africa and Sri Lanka, and Governor of West Bengal. He was also the Founder-Director of the Nehru Centre in London.

Alongside his public service, Gopal Gandhi has pursued a sustained literary life. His writings include Refuge, a novel centred on the Tamil experience in Sri Lanka; an award-winning Hindi translation of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy (Ek Achcha Sa Ladka); several edited volumes of Mahatma Gandhi’s writings; and most recently, The Undying Light, a personal reflection on independent India.

The evening will begin with a talk on his work and influence by historian Ramachandra Guha, followed by a vocal recital by the acclaimed classical musician T. M. Krishna.

Speaker & Performer

Ramachandra Guha
Author & Historian
Ramachandra Guha was born and raised in the Himalayan foothills. He studied in Delhi and Kolkata, and has lived for many years in Bengaluru. His books include a pioneering environmental history, The Unquiet Woods, a landmark history of the Republic, India after Gandhi, and an authoritative two-volume biography of Mahatma Gandhi, each of which was chosen by the New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year. His books and essays have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Ramachandra Guha has taught at Stanford and Oslo, held the Phillippe Roman Chair at the London School of Economics, and served as the Satish Dhawan Visiting Professor at the Indian Institute of Science. He is currently Distinguished University Professor at Krea University. Guha’s awards include the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society of Environmental History, the Howard Milton Prize of the British Society for Sports History, the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the Fukuoka Prize for contributions to Asian studies. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate in the humanities from Yale University.

T M Krishna
Musician, Author & Activist
T.M. Krishna, a renowned vocalist in the Karnatik tradition, defies standard musical analysis with his unique and innovative renditions. As a public intellectual, Krishna addresses cultural and societal issues through his writings and initiatives. He co-authored Voices Within: Carnatic Music – Passing on an Inheritance and penned the award-winning A Southern Music – The Karnatik Story” His essay “MS Understood” was featured in The Caravan Book of Profiles and translated into Tamil. In Reshaping Art, Krishna explores art’s creation and its socio-political implications. His work, Sebastian and Sons delves into the history of the mridangam.

Krishna has collaborated on projects like the Chennai Poromboke Paadal, performed with transgender musicians, and pioneered the Chennai Kalai Theru Vizha. His partnership with Tamil writer Perumal Murugan and efforts to integrate Narayana Guru’s poetry into Karnatik music are notable. He leads The Edict Project with Ashoka University, reimagining Ashoka’s edicts in musical form.

Krishna received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016 for using art to bridge social divides and the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 2017. He also won the Professor V Aravindakshan Memorial Award for making Carnatic music accessible to the common man.