"Alberuni had, in 1017 AD, noted that 'the Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of things, they are very careless in relating to the chronological succession of their kings, and when they are pressed for information and are at a loss, not knowing what to say, they invariably take to tale-telling.' Had Alberuni known that Mahmood Gazhnavi invasion of India would scarcely find an acknowledgement in Indian writings for centuries thereafter, he would have marveled at his own prescience,” quotes Vinay Lal in The History of History. Did historical thinking, and the discipline of history, began to assume importance only in colonial and independent India?

Is a lack of historical sensibility responsible for the apathetic response to bolder innovative Indian cinema? Does India differ from other Asian cinemas in this regard? Filmmakers in China have always demonstrated the ability to merge their cinematic narratives with a sense of a ‘lived’ history. And part of the appeal in Arab cinema lies in the engagement between an immediate socio-political context and cultural, aesthetic and philosophical histories, whether implicit or explicit.

Date 21 July 2006, Friday
Time 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Venue Siri Fort Auditorium 4