Get inspired with Indian Summer at W2

Looking for inspiration at some fun cultural events this week? Look no further than the Indian Summer event taking place until July 15.

Here's the rundown from SFU Woodwards: 

Music transcends all boundaries at the Indian Summer Festival - catch fusion world music group Mrigya in concert this Friday night! 

TIckets: $25 / $50 (premium seating)

DATE and TIME: Friday July 13 @ 8pm 

Mrigya is a world music band from New Delhi. A rich blend of classical Hindustani, Qawwali, Blues and Jazz lends their music a unique texture woven by several cultures. Mrigya burst onto the international scene 11 years ago when they won the Herald Angel award for Best Music Act at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They returned to the festival the following year, and won the Tap Water Award for music that promotes communal harmony. Since then, they have toured India and the world to much acclaim.  

BUY TICKETS  

MJ Akbar in conversation 

 DATE: Thursday July 12th 

Talk + cocktail reception: 6pm-10pm (early arrivals are welcome to join us from 6pm onwards for after-work nibbles and drinks before the talk. The main reception is post-talk, with a chance to mingle with MJ Akbar).

LOCATION: Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Simon Fraser University, 149 W Hastings St.  

Indians and Pakistanis are of the same people: Why then have their nations moved on such different trajectories since freedom in 1947? Is Pakistan in danger of becoming a "jelly state," a country that constantly quivers on the edge of instability?

Acclaimed journalist, politician and thinker MJ Akbar will lead the audience on a historical whodunit to trace the journey of an idea, and the events, people, circumstances and mindset that divided India. His investigation spans a thousand years, and an extraordinary cast: visionaries, opportunists, statesmen, tyrants, plunderers, generals, and theologians. He also offers an intimate appraisal of Pakistan's future-including the global implications of nuclear armament, the place of the Taliban within Modern Islam and the harbouring of terrorists like Osama bin Laden. There is no better guide to the subcontinent than Akbar, author of the recently released book, Tinderbox. In conversation with MJ Akbar will be Joseph Caron, former High Commissoner of Canada to India. Special Guest Michael Byers will comment and open the floor to questions.

For a chance to socialize both before and after the talk with MJ Akbar, get 'Reception (Includes Talk)' tickets. Indulge in an evening of good conversation, fine food and drink.  

Event details      

Two more chances to see a Sharmila Tagore film! 

Sharmila Tagore

Tickets: $5 per screening (+$1 film membership valid for all films)  

Amar Prem (Immortal Love) 1972, directed by Shakti Samanta - Saturday July 14th at 7pm 

Mississippi Masala 1991, directed by Mira Nair - Sunday, July 15th at 7pm    

(free Bollywood and Bhangra dancing classes offered at 6pm before each screening)  

Nayanjot Lahiri

Urvashi Butalia

The Other Side of Silence, With Urvashi Butalia

DATE and TIME: Saturday, July 14 @ 7:30pm
LOCATION: Studio D, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Simon Fraser University, 149 W Hastings St
TICKETS: $15

Urvashi Butalia is a renowned Indian writer, publisher, feminist and historian. She was born in Ambala, Punjab, and studied in Delhi and London. She began her publishing career at Oxford University Press and Zed Books, London before returning to Delhi in 1984 to co-found Kali for Women, India's first feminist publishing house. Urvashi is now the director of Zubaan Books, an imprint of Kali. 

Gurjinder Basran

Ideas Series: Who Do You Think You Are? With Gurjinder Basran, David Chariandy and Anosh Irani 

DATE and TIME: Sunday, July 15, 7pm
LOCATION: Studio D, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Simon Fraser University 
TICKETS: $15  

To learn more about Indian Summer, A Festival of Arts and Ideas see: IndianSummerFestival.ca