"Elephant in cinema" a talk by Prof. Rachel Dwyer at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 5pm on 19th November 2013
Time : 5:00 pm
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Place : Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi - 110011
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to ‘Elephant in cinema’ a talk by Prof. Rachel Dwyer, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Abstract: In 2010, the Indian elephant (elephas maximus indicus) was declared a National Heritage Animal, in view of its contribution to Indian culture and history. It is not surprising that the elephant features in Hindi film, but it is striking that it occupies a range of genres, including the mythological, the historical, the social film and appears in several children’s films, a rare genre in Indian cinema. In these films the elephant is shown to have a complex status, being divine, especially in association with the elephant-headed god Ganesha, as a moral and noble
animal with human qualities, as well as a working animal participating in warfare and in circuses. The elephant’s qualities are often contrasted with those of humans, with the elephant always esteemed for its moral rectitude, its devotion, its dedication and its sense of joy. The elephant has names and characters but it appears as an animal in the realms of many humans and anthropomorphic gods (with even Ganesha having a humanlike body). However, although the Hindi film does not feature the elephant’s current status as an endangered species whose
only predator is man, it does create an interest and empathy for this symbolically significant animal. This talk explores these representations in films, including animated films (My Friend Ganesha, 2007), mythological films about Ganesha (Shri Ganesh Mahima, 1950); children’s films (Haathi mere saathi, 1971; Safed haathi, 1978); historical films (Mughal-e Azam, 1960; Jodhaa Akbar, 2008), and as a forestry worker (Munimji, 1955; Pakeezah, 1971), including in one of the earliest feature films shot in India, which produced India’s first international star, Sabu (Elephant Boy, 1937).
Speaker : Prof. Rachel Dwyer is Professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS, University of London. She took her BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, followed by an M.Phil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. Her Ph.D research was on the Gujarati lyrics of Dayaram (1777-1852). Prof. Dwyer has published ten books, several of which are on Indian cinema. Her forthcoming book is Bollywood's India: Indian cinema as a guide to modern India for Reaktion Books, London and Hachette, India. She edits a book series on South Asian cinema with Oxford University Press, Delhi.
Related Events : Talks
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Place : Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi - 110011
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to ‘Elephant in cinema’ a talk by Prof. Rachel Dwyer, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Abstract: In 2010, the Indian elephant (elephas maximus indicus) was declared a National Heritage Animal, in view of its contribution to Indian culture and history. It is not surprising that the elephant features in Hindi film, but it is striking that it occupies a range of genres, including the mythological, the historical, the social film and appears in several children’s films, a rare genre in Indian cinema. In these films the elephant is shown to have a complex status, being divine, especially in association with the elephant-headed god Ganesha, as a moral and noble
animal with human qualities, as well as a working animal participating in warfare and in circuses. The elephant’s qualities are often contrasted with those of humans, with the elephant always esteemed for its moral rectitude, its devotion, its dedication and its sense of joy. The elephant has names and characters but it appears as an animal in the realms of many humans and anthropomorphic gods (with even Ganesha having a humanlike body). However, although the Hindi film does not feature the elephant’s current status as an endangered species whose
only predator is man, it does create an interest and empathy for this symbolically significant animal. This talk explores these representations in films, including animated films (My Friend Ganesha, 2007), mythological films about Ganesha (Shri Ganesh Mahima, 1950); children’s films (Haathi mere saathi, 1971; Safed haathi, 1978); historical films (Mughal-e Azam, 1960; Jodhaa Akbar, 2008), and as a forestry worker (Munimji, 1955; Pakeezah, 1971), including in one of the earliest feature films shot in India, which produced India’s first international star, Sabu (Elephant Boy, 1937).
Speaker : Prof. Rachel Dwyer is Professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS, University of London. She took her BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, followed by an M.Phil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. Her Ph.D research was on the Gujarati lyrics of Dayaram (1777-1852). Prof. Dwyer has published ten books, several of which are on Indian cinema. Her forthcoming book is Bollywood's India: Indian cinema as a guide to modern India for Reaktion Books, London and Hachette, India. She edits a book series on South Asian cinema with Oxford University Press, Delhi.
Related Events : Talks
"Elephant in cinema" a talk by Prof. Rachel Dwyer at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 5pm on 19th November 2013
!["Elephant in cinema" a talk by Prof. Rachel Dwyer at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 5pm on 19th November 2013]()
Reviewed by DelhiEvents
on
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Rating:
No comments:
Comment Below