Join us for a weekend celebration inspired by the music, dance, art and cuisine of southeast Asia. Films, art activities, storytelling and more!

APRIL 10, 2010

PRESENTATION AND CLASS
Yoga in Philosophy and Practice | 10:30 am–noon | East India Marine Hall

Align your mind and body through the time-tested tradition of yogic contemplation and practice. All ages and levels welcome. Dress comfortably and bring your own yoga mat. Reservations by April 8.

STORYTELLING WITH SURABHI SHAH
Extraordinary Women from Popular Indian Stories | 11 am and 3 pm | Atrium

PRESENTATION
Textiles and Fashion | 11 am–noon | Morse Auditorium

Shelley Chhabra, a designer and bridal fashion consultant, talks about the sari's importance of India. She also discusses the history of the sari and relates it to other cultural forms such as the kimono. Reservations by April 8.

COOKING DEMONSTRATION
Simply Sweet Indian Desserts | 11 am–noon | Bartlett Gallery

Chef Shruti Mehta returns to PEM, this time to prepare an array of easy-to-make sweets you won't find in restaurants — Shreekhand (yogurt fat mixed with sugar, cardamom and nuts), Laapsi (bulger, sugar and clarified butter) and Falooda (a cold drink of rose syrup, boiled noodles and ice cream). Mehta demonstrates how to integrate fruits and dairy ingredients into Indian cuisine.

PERFORMANCE
Natya Dance Theatre | noon and 4 pm | Atrium

Chicago-based Natya Dance Theatre presents excerpts of its signature work Shakti Chakra (The Cycle of Energy), a philosophical take on the cyclical nature of life through the classical medium of Bharatanatyam, and Margam (Path), a work that explores a soul’s journey in life as a friend, a young lover and a spiritual entity.

 
DEMONSTRATION
Style Yourself with Saris | 2–4 pm | Atrium

Designer Shelley Chhabra and her staff display various styles of saris and demonstrate a variety of draping techniques so you can try on one of the gowns and model it on our runway. See related presentation at 11 am.

DANCE WORKSHOP
Step Inside the Story | 1–1:45 pm | Atrium

Discover a contemporary approach to Bharatanatyam, the classical Indian dance style. Learn the warm-up sessions using yoga postures and basic rhythmic foot patterns along with hand gestures, eye movements and poses.

NATYA IN CONVERSATION | 2:30–3:30 pm | Morse Auditorium

Join Susan Bean, curator of South Asian and Korean art, and Krithika Rajagopalan, principal dancer of Natya in a conversation that highlights thematic treatments of universal value through Bharatanatyam dance. Reservations by April 8.

FILM
Shakespeare Wallah | 5–7:15 pm | Morse Auditorium | 1965, 120 minutes, directed by James Ivory

As a troupe of English actors performs Shakespeare throughout India, we see the country evolve: Maharajas become hotel owners, sports  become more important than culture and the theater is replaced by Bollywood movies. Reservations by April 8. Director James Ivory presents a lecture on Sunday.

APRIL 11, 2010

PRESENTATION AND CLASS
Yoga in Philosophy and Practice | 10:30 am–noon | East India Marine Hall

Align your mind and body through the time-tested tradition of yogic contemplation and practice. All ages and levels welcome. Dress comfortably and bring your own yoga mat. Reservations by April 8.

STORYTELLING WITH SURABHI SHAH
Extraordinary Women from Popular Indian Stories | 11 am and 3 pm | Atrium
 
COOKING DEMONSTRATION
Simply Sweet Indian Desserts | 11 am–noon | Bartlett Gallery

Chef Shruti Mehta returns to PEM, this time to prepare an array of easy-to-make sweets you won't find in restaurants — Shreekhand (yogurt fat mixed with sugar, cardamom and nuts), Laapsi (bulger, sugar and clarified butter) and Falooda (a cold drink of rose syrup, boiled noodles and ice cream). Mehta demonstrates how to integrate fruits and dairy ingredients into Indian cuisine.

PERFORMANCE
Natya Dance Theatre | 1:30 and 4 pm | Atrium

Chicago-based Natya Dance Theatre presents excerpts of its signature work Shakti Chakra (The Cycle of Energy), a philosophical take on the cyclical nature of life through the classical medium of Bharatanatyam, and Margam (Path), a work that explores a soul’s journey in life as a friend, a young lover and a spiritual entity.

DEMONSTRATION
Style Yourself with Saris | 12–4 pm | Atrium

Designer Shelley Chhabra and her staff display various styles of saris and demonstrate a variety of draping techniques so you can try on one of the gowns and model it on our runway. See related presentation at 11 am.
 
FILMS
The Sword and the Flute | Noon–12:30 pm | Morse Auditorium | 1959, 20 minutes, directed by James Ivory

This short documentary traces the history of Indian miniature painting after the Moghul invasion as it develops into two principal schools, the Moghul (Muslim) and the Rajput (Hindu). Director James Ivory is fascinated by the faces of these figures, the garments they wear and the sharply noted details of their surroundings. Accompanied by the music of Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. Reservations by April 8.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PRINCESS | 12:30–1:30 pm | Morse Auditorium | 1975, 59 minutes, directed by James Ivory

An Indian princess long divorced and living in London invites her father's ex-tutor to a tea party to celebrate a happier past. While the princess remembers a fun-filled world dominated by her dazzling father, the tutor recalls the surfeit and brutality of ceremonial occasions, and the princess' father as manipulative and cruel. The princess is played by Madhur Jaffrey, who at last year's Sensational India! festival talked about her life as an actress and author. Reservations by April 8.

PARKER LECTURE
Filmmaker James Ivory | 2:30–4 pm | Morse Auditorium
THIS LECTURE IS FULL

Join six-time Academy Award-winning film director James Ivory in conversation about his illustrious career and history with Merchant Ivory Productions. Ivory is the director of Shakespeare Wallah, Bombay Talkie, Autobiography of a Princess, The Mystic Masseur, Heat and Dust and In Custody. His films reveal an intimate and complex connection with India through the lens of colonial and post-colonial times. At PEM, the master filmmaker talks about his creative collaborations with producer Ismail Merchant and screen writer Ruth Pawar Jhabvala and his most recent film, The City of Final Destination. Reservations by April 8.Made possible by the George Swinnerton Parker Memorial Lecture Fund.
 
CONCERT
Music from the Chamber Opera
Phoolan Devi: The Bandit Queen | 5–6 pm | Morse Auditorium

Enjoy a premiere performance of selections from the forthcoming chamber opera production, Phoolan Devi – The Bandit Queen. This dramatic work by Shirish Korde illuminates the life of Phoolan Devi, a controversial figure whose turbulent biography exemplifies the violent tension between traditional values and modern notions of social justice. Influenced by Indian classical, folk, and popular music, this concert will feature performances by Zorana Sadiq (soprano), Jan Muller Szerawa (cello), Aditya Kalyanpur (tabla) and Chirag Katty (sitar). Reservations suggested, Space is limited; reserve early.

For further information, visit: http://www.pem.org.

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