Ravishankar Thyagarajan, one of the members of THT, informs us, “In place of Pechu Kacheri, THT is organising an international online festival conference on Indology between November 30 and December 6. Indology is a misunderstood and abused term — a lot of people interpret Indology differently. Through this festival, we are trying to explore different aspects. Local, national and international speakers will be talking about Indian pre-history, Harappan culture, temple architecture, Indian Mathematics, Chola bronzes and heritage conservation. We are not glorifying or being cynical about things.” 

The festival-conference boasts an interesting assemblage of international speakers — Dr VS Ramachandran (of ‘Phantoms of the Brain’ fame), Dr. Thomas Levy (Egyptologist and renowned Archaeologist and Chola Bronze scholar), Dr Rajesh Rao (Computer Scientist working on decrypting the Indus Valley script), Dr Adam Hardy (a Welsh academic who is an expert in North Indian Temple Architecture). “They’re all great personalities working in exciting areas and they will discuss their work and relevance in current times. Any individual with an interest in India’s history and heritage and who would like to hear directly from a subject matter expert can attend the conference. One of the highlights of the festival is the panel discussion ‘Bringing Old India to the Young’ with four diverse personalities — a young and much-followed podcaster, a photographer and heritage lover from Delhi, the Editor of Amar Chitra Katha, and a public historian from Chennai. This discussion will be on India’s historical identity as understood by the common man, the roles and responsibilities of the public communicator vis-a-vis the research scholar, the role of education in reliably informing young Indians about their past, etc,” adds Ravishankar. There will be two talks every day, starting at 7 pm, followed by a discussion and a Q & A session with the live audience.

 The event will also see three contests and one workshop in which the public can participate.