Public Talks / Conversations

Talk: Libraries in Chennai: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Aug. 28, 2019

Talk by V Sriram.
Venue: Anna Centenary Library, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Kottrurpuram.
Time: 5.15 tea / 6 p.m. – talk
Professor S. Parthasarathy, Former Head, INSDOC (CSIR), New Delhi, will preside.
The program is being organized to celebrate the 127th Birth anniversary of Dr. S R Ranganathan, Father of Library Science in India (Librarians’ Day) and the Madras Week 2019
Organised by Madras Book Club, Ranganathan Centre for Information Studies and Anna Centenary Library.
Dr. Chandrakumar – 9444114271 and Mr. M K Jagadish – 9841272061

Presentation: Memorabilia of the English Nabobs and Madras – Aug. 31, 2019

Time: 11.00 AM (Tea 10.30 AM)
Venue: QIAMS, #82, Sterling Road (Opposite to Loyola College, near Nungambakkam Railway Station)
Call: 044 4858 1896

In the context of eighteenth-century British India, ‘nabobs’ were “servants of the East India Company who had returned to Britain equipped with ill-gotten prosperity, an insatiable appetite for luxury, and a desire to climb into elite spheres of power and influence.” On their return to Britain, these nouveau riche ‘nabobs’ either bought or built residences that were in keeping with their new standing in society. This presentation focuses on the art and artifacts from the homes of these British ‘nabobs’ with a predominantly Madras connection, considering whether it was the intrinsic value of the objects that engendered these collections, an element of nostalgia or mere showmanship. The link between home and empire can be seen visually in the artefacts that were brought back. These ‘nabobs’ were in effect literally bringing home a piece of India, thus creating material proof of empire as part of the nation.

Dr Swapna Sathish is Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Stella Maris College, Chennai, teaching art history and design for the past 18 years. A freelance art critic, she has authored catalogues, exhibition reviews and contributed chapters to books. She has also presented papers at international conferences and delivered invited lectures in India and abroad. Subsequent to a postgraduate research degree in Renaissance art history from the United Kingdom, Swapna received her doctorate from the University of Madras for her thesis titled ‘Piety and Popularity: Contemporary Temple Murals of Tamil Nadu.’ Her areas of interest are popular culture and 18th-century colonial art. She received a Charles Wallace India Trust research grant to undertake post-doctoral research in the United Kingdom. She has served as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the Association of British Scholars, Chennai chapter.

Talk on Veteran actor M.N.Nambiar (Nambiar Swami) – Aug. 17, 2019

Organised by Madras Literary Society
By Mr.M.N. Dipak Nambiar, Author of the Book – Nambiar Swami – The Good, The Bad, And The Holy
Time: 11.00 am to 12:30 pm
Venue: Madras Literary Society, DPI Campus, Nungambakkam, Chennai – 600006.
Contact: 044-28279666, 9444 253 532
Mail: madrasliterarysociety@gmail.com
Entry Fee: Free for MLS Members, Non-members – Rs. 100/-

Talk: Nature in Chennai – Aug. 11, 2019

At Chennai Snake Park.

Reporting Time: 3.45 p.m.
Reporting Place: Lecture Hall inside Chennai Snake Park, Sardar Patel Road
Group Size: 30
Car Parking, Entrance and Camera Fees payable as per Snake Park Rules.

Organised by Madras Naturalists’ Society in association with the Chennai Snake Park Trust.
Email: Vijay at gopivkumar58@gmail.com to confirm your participation. Confirmation strictly on first-come basis.