Timeless Treasures: A golden tribute to Javed Akhtar Event

Southampton India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development has recently initiated a collaborative research programme on rural entrepreneurship with Mijwan Welfare Society, an NGO established by renowned poet and writer the late Kaifi Azmi, in 1993 in the northen Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and dedicated for improving livelihood and empowering women and girl child in rural India.

The ethos and transformative goals of Mijwan Welfare Society “Empower One, Empower All” align with University of Southampton’s aspirations for “Changing the World for Better” through high impact scientific research.    

Presented by Southampton India Centre, with the support of our esteemed partners, India Business Group, GRD Institute of Management, Art Asia and Unity 101, we are delighted to welcome back the legends of Indian Cinema, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, to share their transformative ideas, vision and aspirations of Mijwan Welfare Society for a better and empowered rural India, and to discuss how Mijwan and villages elsewhere in India have addressed and mitigated the economic and social challenges of large-scale return migration of workers from cities during the novel Covid-19 pandemic.

Timeless Treasures celebrate the glorious achievements and scholarship of Javed Akhtar, Bollywood’s award winning Lyricist, Screenwriter, Poet, Philosopher and Social Activist. 

 

Chief Guest: Javed Akhtar

Renowned globally for his astute observations and social wisdom, Javed Saab is the recipient of numerous accolades including the Government of India’s third-highest civilian Padma Bhushan Award, Sahitya Akademi Award for Literature instituted by the National Academy of Letters and among others five National Film Awards for his stellar contributions to Indian Cinema. In June 2020, he received the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award for his intellectual contributions to advancing human development, values and secularism. 

Guest of Honour: Shabana Azmi

Best described as the Queen of Bollywood and “The Indian Meryl Streep” by Director Gurinder Chadha OBE, Shabana Azmi, actress and social activist, and the President of Mijwan Welfare Society will join the celebrations as the distinguished guest of honour. Shabana Azmi is the nominated Member of the Upper House of Indian parliament, a Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Population Fund and recipient of several national and international honours including India’s third-highest civilian Padma Bhushan Award, five National Film Awards and five Indian Filmfare awards. An actor par excellence known for on-screen intensity and perfection, Shabana Azmi has been a stalwart advocate and social activist for women’s empowerment and social justice in India. 

Live musical tribute and performance: Sachin Shankor Mannath

Sachin Shankor Mannath, an upcoming talented singer, music composer and educator, will perform live vocal to the mesmerising, evergreen and popular Bollywood film songs written by Javed Akhtar. 

Sachin is an ardent music educator and performing artist with wide ranging expertise in multilingual Indian and Western classical and contemporary, folk and ghazal music. Sachin has performed all around India, UK and Europe and has closely associated with Academy award winner AR Rahman, Babelsberg Film Orchestra for a concert tour ‘Classic Incantations’ (India and Germany) in 2012 and as a lead vocalist for AR Rahman’s Sufi Ensemble from 2010 to 2012. His music and background score for the Hollywood production, Lake of Fire, was shortlisted for Best Original Score at the 2018 Annual Academy Award. In 2019, he released his debut world music album, Ghats of Gondwana in collaboration with Grammy nominated artists Manu Delago and James Campbell. His entry as music composer of mainstream commercial films has already received attention.