A Garland of Songs

Debjani Banerjee in conversation with Dr. Ranjana Thapalyal. Taking the title from Rabindranath Tagore’s 1910 collection of poetry ‘Geetanjali’, we’ll be talking about the exhibition, its sources and inspirations, the significance of music in Banerjee’s work, of Tagore’s indelible presence in Bengali society, and the multiple cultural and political sites of the British South Asian experience.

Workshop: Music and Memory

With Debjani Bannerjee

Participants will be invited to work in small groups to share favourite pieces of music that for them resonate with their sense of where they come from. All interpretations of the invitation are welcome, whether a chosen piece comes from a physical geographical location, is current or archival, or is simply part of a musical genre that feels like ‘home’. The invitation will remain live throughout the series of talks.

‘Present’-ing the Future / Recognizing the Past

A four-part immersion into historical and cultural themes in Debjani Banerjee’s Jalsaghar by Dr. Ranjana Thapalyal and guests

The references in Jalsaghar are rich and varied, encompassing the classics of ancient Indian literature, their presence in pop culture, and the politics of migration rooted in Britain’s colonial history. Most vividly, Jalsaghar brings before us the vibrant characters of the Mahabharata, India’s c. second-century BCE epic, a complex and intricately woven tale that has been told, retold, and passionately discussed through the ages. Contemporary interpretations and critiques abound, both in everyday conversations and academic studies. Banerjee’s selection of characters from the Mahabharata float alongside snippets of recent British political history, with its long reach back to colonial-era decisions. These characters also resonate with themes of migration and personal diasporic experience, of belonging, and the transgressions required to assert hybrid cultural identities. This series of workshops and talks delves into these subjects with the aim of critically contextualising them, exploring connections to contemporary questions about community, human relations, spirituality, and art’s role in reflecting on all of this.

There will be four sessions of 2 hours, each consisting of a talk and a practical workshop. We suggest you attend all four sessions to get a more in-depth sense of the issues and ideas we will touch on, but if this is not possible, you are welcome to attend a selection.