ALL-FESTIVAL PASS for $260, includes entry to all events, available until APRIL 4, 2008. Reservations can be made by calling (917) 582-4730 or by clicking here.

ARTISTS, PARTICIPANTS AND SPEAKERS     Zila Khan, India’s top Sufi singer who will perform selections from her latest album including a piece that comes from the preaching and teachings of the first woman Sufi, Hazrat Rabia Basri Fareed Ayaz Qawwal Ensemble, one of the most renowned and illustrious qawwali groups in Pakistan who are known for their depth of knowledge of both Islamic and Hindu traditions of spiritual music. Soloist Astad Deboo, India’s most distinctive and honored modern dancer whose dynamic and athletic work has been featured in collaborations with international companies like Pina Bausch. Mallika Sarabhai – one of India’s leading choreographers and dancers, and a well known activist for societal education and women’s empowerment. Also known for her role of Draupadi in Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata Aditi Mangaldas – an acclaimed and dynamic solo dancer/choreographer whose work pushes traditional Kathak towards modern horizons and infuses it with a yoga spine. ‘StriVesham’ or trans-gendered performance style from South India by Sudarshan Belasare , and choreographed by Hari Krishnan of the InDance Foundation in Canada, exploring the eroticism and sensuality of the Devadasi temple dancers. Rajika Puri – an acclaimed soloist in Bharata Natyam and Odissi traditions, who will perform excerpts of her recent production ‘DeviMallika’: A Garland of Goddesses Rudrakshya, the first all male dance ensemble, performing Odissi, a classical dance style with roots in temple dance, traditionally only danced by women. DC-based Dakshina Dance Theatre Company led by choreographer Daniel Phoenix Singh who will use a syncretic blend of classical Bharatanatyam and modern dance to explore queer themes. Aparna Sindhoor’s Navarasa Dance  Co. that will perform work based on Bharatanatyam, indigineous theater techniques and the South Indian marshal art form Kallaripayattu Parul Shah & Co.  one of the most acclaimed and dynamic Kathak dance companies in the diaspora. Sarah Hussein, a spoken word artist who engages the construction of “Muslim” women’s identity in today’s militarized culture. Nayikas Dance Co. whose work explores gender transgressions through the myth and narrative of female divinity in Hinduism. For the festival they have also commissioned ‘Veiled/Unveiled’ a dance and spoken word piece conceived to explore the ambiguity and contradictions of ‘pardah’ in the South Asian context, featuring guest dancers Prachi Dalal & Sharmili Khan and thespian Tillotama Shome   Bharati Mukherjee: Author and Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, is well known both as a writer of fiction and a social commentator. Dr. Mukherjee earned a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from the University of Iowa in 1969. In the ‘70s, she taught at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She moved to the United States in 1980, taught at various colleges, and has been teaching at the University of Berkeley since 1989. Much of her writing chronicles various facets of the immigrant experience. Dr. Mukherjee has established herself as a powerful member of the American literary scene, one whose most memorable works reflect her pride in her Indian heritage, but also her celebration of embracing America. Reema Kagti: is the fresh, young director of the blockbuster Indian film “Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd” with an ensemble star cast that includes veteran stars of Indian Cinema, Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani. Having assisted in leading filmmakers like Mira Nair for Vanity Fair, Ashutosh Gowarikar for Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar for Dil Chahta Hai, Kagti recently made her debut with her new film. In a film industry where the male directors have been dominating and subjugating the art of filmmaking, Kagti has definitely made her presence known with a mainstream movie about alternate subject matter. The film explores urban relationships in contemporary India and for the first time in Bollywood, explores issues of otherness and queerness warmly, sensitively, and with much humor. This will be her first appearance in New York. Alka Pande: currently Consultant Arts Advisor and Curator, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, has been responsible for curating some of Delhi's most unusual and perceptive shows in recent times. Dr. Pande has also been a Visiting Faculty for Aesthetics at the College of Art as well as Reader, Department of Fine Arts, Punjab University, Chandigarh, with a range of academic papers and lectures on diverse aspects of the arts to her credit. She has authored several books on art and art history, and has a special interest in ancient Indian erotic literature and art as well as gender and sexuality. Shohini Ghosh: is Associate Professor of, Video and Television Production at the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University) New Delhi. As Visiting Associate Professor (1990-1996) at the Department of Communication, Cornell University, USA, she has taught courses on Gender, Media and Representation and Video for Development and Social Intervention.  She has conducted training workshops on gender and the media for different organizations in India and Bangladesh including UNICEF, Dhaka.  Ghosh worked as director/producer of educational films for the University Grants Commission (UGC) countrywide classroom, and as an independent documentary filmmaker. She is a co-founder of Mediastorm Collective, India's first all women documentary production collective which received The Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Work among Women Media Professionals in1992. A major part of Ghosh's current work involves theoretical interventions in public debates around issues of sexuality, speech and censorship. Ghosh writes extensively on popular culture and the media for both academic journals and the popular press. As Globalization-McArthur Fellow at the University of Chicago (April-June 2001) Ghosh worked on a series of essays on the nineties mediascape in India. Recently Ghosh directed Tales of the Nightfairies (74 min/2002) a film about the sexworkers struggle for rights in Calcutta. The film won the Best Film award at Jeevika 2003—the National Livelihood Documentary Competition. Urvashi Vaid: Born in New Delhi in 1958 Urvashi Vaid moved to the US at the age of eight and has been one of the nation’s notable LGBT rights activists. Urvashi became the Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) in 1989 and then went on to launch the National Gay Lesbian and Taskforce's Policy Institute. Since then she has published "Virtual Equality" and co-authored with John D'Emillio "Creating Change". She left the Taskforce in 2000 to join as Senior Program Officer for the Ford Foundation and currently is the Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation. Vaid believes that liberation of LGBT communities lies in the process of transforming social institutions such as religion, morality and family.