Cancelled: Book Discussion & Musical Showcase

Can someone find the divine in a Carnatic Kriti and a Western Symphony at once? Can one revere ancient knowledge while being fully aware of its limitations? Can a mind steeped in Advaitha Vedanta seek Spinozist counterpoints? Can one’s spirit be contemporary and classical at the same time?

The Maharaja of Mysore His Highness Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar’s life beautifully negotiated such paradoxes and impossibilities. Philosophy, wildlife conservation, philately, photography, music, statesmanship — all converged in his consciousness like perfectly-fitting pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. Life spoke to him in beautiful metaphors, understood by few. It is not very often that the man emerges from the shadows of his crown. That is precisely why his story must be told.

Dr. Deepti Navaratna is a musician-neuroscientist-author whose interests span the arts, science, and history. An accomplished South Indian Classical musician, her music has been presented at premiere performing spaces in the United States such as Asia Society (NewYork City), Symphony Space (New York City), Jordan Hall (Boston), Harvard Arts Museum (Cambridge), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Yale School of music (New Haven, CT), Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Sri Lanka, Central Conservatory, Beijing and Tsing Hua University, Taiwan among others. In a parallel avatar, she studies music as a fascinating window to the brain, mind, human cognition and culture – as the T.V.Raman Pai Chair Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. Deepti holds a doctorate degree in Neuroscience, after several years of post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School, USA, her current research interests span the interdisciplinary crossovers between music and neuroscience. She is a Chevening Clore Fellow (2021–22) and holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to have performed at the Parliament of World Religions in 2021. Until recently she served as the Regional Director, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Bengaluru, India. Her foray into the world of words is through her book: ‘The Maverick Maharaja’ – the definitive biography of the Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, published by Harper Collins India in 2022.