2007 Sunset Cinema Series – Made In India? (USA)

Made In India? (USA, 2006) Meet Deepti Paul. She is 27 years old – Indian – and it’s time to get married. That’s what her parents and extended family think. It doesn’t matter that Deepti grew up American and is currently living on her own in New York City, happy and independent. Her family believes … Read more

2006 Sunset Cinema Series – Monsoon Wedding (India)

Monsoon Wedding (India, 2002) MONSOON WEDDING. The hurly-burly of a large scale wedding party amongst the gentry in Delhi provides the backdrop for a multi-character investigation into tradition and new attitudes. Filled with music, songs and dances, and vibrant color, this is a fast-paced movie which uses many Bollywood conventions as ironic commentary. Workshop Instructor: … Read more

Constructing National Identity in Post-Colonial India

Based on Ravi Kalia’s latest publication, Gandhinagar, this presentation traces India’s efforts to establish its twentieth-century architectural identity. Kalia explains that Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat in western India, became a battleground for the competing ideals that had surfaced during the building of Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar. Exploring the impact of modernist architecture on India as … Read more

Globalization and Gender in India

This presentation is set against the backdrop of neo-liberal policies of economic reform instituted in India in 1991.  I examine the decade of the 1990s as a period of dramatic change from prior decades of Independent India.  I suggest that with the opening of the Indian economy in conjunction with the privatization of television the … Read more

The Influence of Hinduism on Literature

The earliest reference to the influence of Sanskrit literature and Hinduism can be traced back to Greece. Greece was lured by the Indian wisdom with the advent of Alexander in the western region of India in the fourth century BC. The earliest reference to the influence of Sanskrit literature and Hinduism can be traced back … Read more