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About the Book Aspiring actress Priya is dead. It’s a suicide, and rumour has it that Anil, son of politician and former Telugu-movie superstar Mohan Krishna, drove her to it. Just another film-industry scandal? Or something bigger, much bigger?

Partha, hired by Mohan Krishna’s family to handle the crisis, thinks so. Why won’t such a powerful father defend his son, Partha wonders. Is there an intra-family war? Whose interests are playing out in the media and on social media? Is a political game afoot or is this all connected to Mohan Krishna’s own dubious past? And why are student unions getting involved?

Even as Partha and his associates, Seema and Harish, confront the ethics of being involved in a war with no heroes, they are drawn into a dangerous hunt. They must negotiate a tangled and vicious world to answer one question: a young woman is dead—to whom is her death useful?

Sports Movie Month – Invictus

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the

national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Director: Clint Eastwood Writers: Anthony Peckham (screenplay), John Carlin (book) Stars: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge

SUSMAN (The Essence) A film by Shyam Benegal 1987. 140 min

Shyam Benegal’s SUSMAN is a highly regarded film. It provides a deep insight into the travails of the “Ikat” handloom weavers of Pochampally. From yarn to loom to final product, Susman captures the backlash of irregular and inadequate state support for the handloom industry in the 1980s. The film has a host of powerful performances including Om Puri, Shabana Azmi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. The words of Mandira, a designer, played by Neena Gupta, resonate even more powerfully today : “We must make space for creative persons … so they can function even in an industrialised society… (along with) a method by which markets should be made available to craftsmen who work with their own hands. Do you think we should allow our remaining skilled craftsmen to die out or become historical anachronisms?” The film was selected for the Indian Panorama at Filmotsav 1987, Invited to the London Film Festival, the Chicago Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Sydney & Melbourne Film Festivals 1987. It was remade as Kancheevaram in Tamil by Priyadarshan.

Written by Shama Zaidi Music : Vanraj Bhatia Cinematography : Ashok Mehta Editor : Bhanudas Divak Cast : Shabana Azmi – Gauramma Om Puri – Ramulu Kulbhushan Kharbanda – Narasimha Neena Gupta -Mandira Mohan Agashe – President of Handloom Cooperative Society K.K. Raina Annu Kapoor – Lakshmaya Ila Arun Anita Kanwar Pankaj Kapur Jayant Kripalani Satish Kaushik

Screening of Shyam Bengal’s masterful film from 1987 on the travails of the weavers of Pochampally, and the handloom industry. Followed by a discussion.

7.30 pm, Thursday, 18 July, 2019 at LAMAKAAN (off Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, Opposite GVK One, Hyderabad – 500034)

On this Sunday morning through afternoon come and explore wide range of Organic Fruits, veggies & groceries Homemade Breads and other baked goods; Organic Lunch, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Handmade Jewelry, Terrace Gardening Corner, Creative Design Spaces. Every Sunday 10:30am – 1.30pm For details: 9642731329. Entry Free. All are Welcome.

Lamakaan invites one and all to the launch of the book ” Caste Matters” authored by Suraj Yengde. The launch will be followed by a panel discussion.

About the book: n this explosive book, Suraj Yengde, a first-generation Dalit scholar educated across continents, challenges deep-seated beliefs about caste and unpacks its many layers. He describes his gut-wrenching experiences of growing up in a Dalit basti, the multiple humiliations suffered by Dalits on a daily basis, and their incredible resilience enabled by love and humour. As he brings to light the immovable glass ceiling that exists for Dalits even in politics, bureaucracy and judiciary, Yengde provides an unflinchingly honest account of divisions within the Dalit community itself-from their internal caste divisions to the conduct of elite Dalits and their tokenized forms of modern-day untouchability-all operating under the inescapable influences of Brahminical doctrines. This path-breaking book reveals how caste crushes human creativity and is disturbingly similar to other forms of oppression, such as race, class and gender. At once a reflection on inequality and a call to arms, Caste Matters argues that until Dalits lay claim to power and Brahmins join hands against Brahminism to effect real transformation, caste will continue to matter.

About the Author: Suraj Yengde is a Shorenstein Center inaugural post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has worked with leading international organizations in Geneva, London and New York, and is associate editor of Caste: A Global Journal of Social Exclusion. His writings have featured in India Today, the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Economic and Political Weekly, Huffington Post, the Conversation, Globe Post, Mail and Guardian, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, and Social Transformations, among other leading publications.

The Discussants are: 1. Prof Kancha Illaiah Shepard 2. Dr. Manisha Bangar Hepatologist, Socio-political Analyst, International speaker on Bahujan Rights, National Vice President People’s Party of India-Democratic, Former National Vice President BAMCEF. 3. Prashanth Dontha, HCU

ALL ARE WELCOME. ENTRY IS FREE AND OPEN TO ALL

“The History of Irram Manzil, its preservation and ways for its rehabilitation for public use” A Talk By Dr Fatima Shahnaz

Ever since the state government decided to build the new secretariat at the complex of Irrum Manzil, one of the icons of Hyderabad Collective Heritage, there’s this huge buzz amongst the activists to safeguard from monument from being razed to the ground. As part of several talks and discussions happened earlier at Lamakaan and at various other places, this talk by Prof Shahnaaz will give the detailed account of the Irrum Manzil, its history and the way out of preserving it from the clutches of the governmental agencies.

Dr Fatima Shahnaz is an international advocate of human rights, a Professor (Emeritus) of Political Science; an author and journalist. She obtained her B.A., M.A. and PhD from the Sorbonne University, Paris, France. Her school-leaving General Certificates of Education was from the Oxford/Cambridge Boards. She was the first Indian/Asian Head Girl at her English boarding school.

She has written one novel, GOLCONDA, on Hyderabad and the end of the Asaf Jahi NIzam’s rule and the integration of Hyderabad into the Indian Union in 1948; this book gives an insider’s insights into the Hyderabad of that period and its palace life. The book was published in New York by News India (Times). Other books include several poetical collections: Sarasvati; Shards; KHAKI –Poems on Pulwama; The New York Poems, In the Arms of Words – Poems whose funds went for the Relief of victims of the Asian Tsunami and Hurrican Katrina in New Orleans (by Sherman Asher publishers, USA) and others. She has given speeches and lectures in the New York area and in India, Delhi and Hyderabad, after returning to her homeland. She has worked on many human rights causes, and women’s rights, in India as well as overseas.

Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics. Director: Hugh Hudson Writer: Colin Welland (original screenplay) Stars: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell

Movies Intro : 7:00 PM Movies Starts at 7:10 PM Post-Screening Discussion – 15 mins

National Education Policy 2019: A Panel Discussion

Made public a few weeks ago, the draft National Education Policy 2019 proposes major changes in the government funding policy on education, the structure of school education, the curricular design for school and higher education, the nature of teacher training and recruitment, among other crucial areas of India’s education system. The institutional implications of these policy measures will be wide ranging and deep, and invite therefore a critical and constructive engagement with the draft NEP. What is the process that has guided the making of the NEP? How do the NEP proposals relate to the Right to Education? Do the experiences of the socially marginal communities offer an alternate vantage point for responding to them? These are among the several questions addressed in the panel discussion.

Our Panelists:-

Chandan Gowda – CG is Professor of Sociology at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.”

Shantha Sinha is a former Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and retired as a Professor, department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad. As secretary trustee of MV Foundation she worked towards abolition of child labor and in support of children’s right to education.

Sujatha Suryapally – Professor of Sociology at Satavahana University & Activist.

Ritesh Khunyakari- Faculty at TISS Hyderabad.

Moderator :- Dr.A.Suneetha is a Senior Fellow at Anveshi. She has studied women’s madrassas as part of her research on gender and minorities.

Vamsi Vakulabharanam Associate Professor of Economics University of Massachusetts, Amherst

In the recently concluded Indian election, economic factors did not play a decisive role. Despite a faltering economy, BJP returned to power with an enhanced majority. Political and cultural factors seemingly played a much more central role in the determination of the election outcome. What is in store over the next five years? Will economic factors become central once again? What kind of an economy can we expect in the near future? What indications can be gleaned from the newly minted 2019 budget? What are the emergent economic faultlines of the Indian economy?

12th July 2019 7:00pm

How India Voted in 2019: Puzzles with No Clear Answers?

While a BJP / NDA victory in the 2019 election was anticipated, political workers and commentators alike were surprised to the extent – the seemingly unassailable capacity of the modi / shah duo and the BJP to craft an absolute sweep that has left the opposition in shambles. This has prompted some commentators to suggest that India has changed fundamentally and in some ways irreversibly. Is this really true? How would we characterize such a change? Or if not, how does one understand the results?

Pranjoy Guha Thakurta, Journalist & Political Commentator, Arafa Khanum, Senior Editor, The Wire and Biju Mathew, Professor and Labor Organizer respond to these questions and more in lamakaan’s key election analysis event.

All are welcome!