Head - Academic Programmes @nmacc_india | Institution Builder: Cultural Infrastructure, Arts Learning & Knowledge Systems | Author (Aleph) | PhD @uni_tue
Mumbai, India
Joined December 2011
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I have joined the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (@nmacc_india) in Mumbai as Head – Academic Programmes.
My task is to set up a new vertical at the Centre. For children and young adults, it will mean a deeper grounding in India's visual and performing arts, and learning directly from seasoned mentors in a way that draws on both the guru-shishya parampara and the conservatory. For researchers and scholars, it will mean a forum for seminars and conferences on the arts and the country's cultural life.
#NMACC #ArtsEducation #ArtsAcademy #AcademicProgramme #IndianArts
Irfan Zuberi retweeted
Many congratulations @izuberi !!! Your father , Professor Zuberi Sahib , would have been very proud !
I have joined the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (@nmacc_india) in Mumbai as Head – Academic Programmes.
My task is to set up a new vertical at the Centre. For children and young adults, it will mean a deeper grounding in India's visual and performing arts, and learning directly from seasoned mentors in a way that draws on both the guru-shishya parampara and the conservatory. For researchers and scholars, it will mean a forum for seminars and conferences on the arts and the country's cultural life.
#NMACC #ArtsEducation #ArtsAcademy #AcademicProgramme #IndianArts
**International Museum Day**
In the current moment in time, museums are increasingly being asked to do more than ever before:
- heal social fragmentation,
- foster dialogue,
- address historical injustice,
- embrace digital transformation,
- remain financially resilient,
- support wellbeing,
- combat disinformation, and somehow still
- preserve, research, interpret, educate, and inspire.
ICOM’s 2026 theme — “Museums Uniting a Divided World” — feels especially significant at this moment. This is so because the world is not only politically divided; it is epistemically divided, economically divided, algorithmically divided, and increasingly fragmented in how truth, identity, and memory themselves are understood!
Perhaps this is precisely why museums matter now more than ever. Not because museums are neutral spaces but because they remain among the few institutions where complexity can still exist without immediately collapsing into outrage or ideological reduction. A museum, at its best, is one of the last places where societies can encounter ambiguity,
- where difficult histories can coexist;
- where silence has interpretive value;
- where objects resist simplification; and
- where memory is negotiated rather than merely consumed.
The future museum may therefore need to become something larger than a repository of collections. Perhaps in an age of endless reaction, the museum’s most radical act may simply be to preserve the possibility of thoughtful reflection!
#ICOM #InternationalMuseumDay #MuseumsUnitingADividedWorld #Museums #MuseumStudies #Museology #FutureOfMuseums #MuseumLeadership #MuseumInnovation #MuseumCommunity #CulturalHeritage #PublicCulture #CulturalPolicy #CreativeEconomy #CulturalInfrastructure #Archives #MemoryStudies #DigitalTransformation #KnowledgeSystems #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #CollectionsManagement #MuseumTech #CuratorialPractice #ExhibitionDesign #CulturalDiplomacy #Education #KnowledgeEconomy #Libraries #Research #MuseumsForEducation #CommunityEngagement #MuseumProfessionals – at Delhi, India
✨ #Eid Mubarak! ✨ May the blessed occasion usher in a much-needed era of peace, healing, and harmony for us all. 🕊️
Let us pray for the resolution of all conflicts and that love triumphs over adversity. Wishing everyone a safe, calm, and joyous celebration. 🌙 ❤️
#EidAllFitr #EidMubarak
Irfan Zuberi retweeted
#DidYouKnow H. Martin, one of the authors of the famous Wren & Martin's High School English Grammar & Composition, taught at Aligarh Muslim University and even served as its Pro-Vice Chancellor in 1930-31?
Originally written in 1935 for the children of British officers in India, this book has stood the test of time and is still a go-to resource for teaching English grammar in schools across India. Co-written by H. Martin and P. C. Wren, it's a true classic!
#HMartin #PCWren #education #English #grammar
Happy Republic Day! 🙏 🇮🇳
I am taking the liberty of sharing something I had contributed to creating a couple of years back, a multi-lingual reading of the Preamble by my extended circle of friends:
youtu.be/pn9yNbs-IpU?feature…
#RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay #RepublicDay2026 #ConstitutionOfIndia #Preamble
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
A long read, but a good one to understand the evolution of the use of digital transformation technologies in museum exhibitions.
As a practitioner of leveraging digital transformations in cultural institutional settings (particularly archives & museums), I firmly believe that the buy-in has to be slow but steady rather than a falling into the rabbit hole which is usually what ends up happening. Exhibitions are a low-hanging fruit when it comes to a true assessment of the impact that digital transformations bring in museum settings; the core from where the exhibitions emerge is a robust and consistent collections management that plays a pivotal role in preparing the bases for and enabling digital transformations to come into play.
Once again, it is important to keep in mind that tools & technologies such as AR, VR, MR, HF, use of AI & 3D need to be customised for specific uses in institutional contexts - a clear understanding of intended goals and a working understanding of the tools & technologies is a balance that must go hand-in-hand in order to achieve a balance between digitalisation and the humanistic spirit of museums!
#DigitalTransformation #Technology #Museums #MuseumTech #ImmersiveExperience #AIinMuseums
currentaffairs.org/news/ai-i…
Highly recommend reading this insightful essay on AI and learning!
Being "AI-ready" is one thing, but it is doubtful that it can be at the cost of developing critical thinking that comes from engaged learning.
As long as AI contributes to augmented intelligence, and does not make simulated learning its objective, the possibility of peaceful co-existence can persist. However, when this balance starts to weigh heavily in favour of AI, we run the risk of ending up with a scenario where there is a horde of people with degrees but who are essentially illiterate.
It goes without saying that it is completely unreasonable to expect majority of students to cultivate "personal AI ethics" in the wake of this technological deluge that glorifies ease over effort. In this context, exponents pushing the technology aggressively on campuses talk about AI as a "creative partner" in the learning process, but one does wonder if they introspect on the hollowness of this claim and the way it sits with their conscience (if there is any!).
Is AI democratising learning or automating it? Therein lies the crucial discussion point! Perhaps it's a good idea to inculcate a practice of reading 'terms of service' rather than blindly clicking 'accept' and subscribing to a new kind of technological colonialism.
#AI #Learning #CriticalThinking #Technology #Education
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur (31 December 1910 - 12 September 1992) hailed from Dharwad, Karnataka, and was an exponent of khayal gayaki, having been trained in the Gwalior and Atrauli gharana traditions. He learnt from Pandit Nilakanthbua Alurmath of Miraj, who had, in turn, received ta’lim from Pandit Balakrishnabua Ichalkaranjikar. Subsequently, Mansur ji became the gandabandh shagird of Ustad Badruddin ‘Manji’ Khan sahib, the son of Ustad Allahdiya Khan sahib, one of the progenitors of the Atrauli gharana tradition. Following the untimely demise of Ustad Manji Khan sahib, Mansur ji subsequently learnt from Ustad Shamsuddin ‘Bhurji’ Khan sahib, the younger son of Ustad Allahdiya Khan sahib. Through his eclectic ta’lim and meticulous riyaz, Mansur ji was able to craft a gayaki which was instrumental in popularising the Atrauli gharana repertoire, along with several other representatives of the gharana tradition.
In his father-guru’s footsteps was Pandit Rajshekhar Mansur. Raised in an environment where music was all around him, he subconsciously learnt enough to be able to spontaneously perform raga Malkauns in a gathering at the age of sixteen. Rigorous ta’lim under his father commenced soon after and, within a couple of years, he won a gold medal in the Sangeet Visharad exam and went on to receive first prize in the AIR Youth Music Competition. However, he continued his academic career alongside and did Master’s in English Literature and another Master’s in Linguistics from the University of Wales on a British Council Scholarship. Subsequently, he taught literature and linguistics for nearly 35 years and retired as a Professor and Chairman of the English Department, Karnataka University, Dharwad. At the same time, he continued to pursue music, giving vocal support to his father and performing independently at various prestigious music festivals and on the radio.
On the occasion of Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur’s birth centenary in 2010, Pandit Rajshekhar Mansur released a set of recordings titled ‘Shatha Namanam’, intended as a homage to his father-guru. On the occasion of Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur’s 115th birth anniversary today, it is my pleasure and privilege to share this set of recordings with the rasikas as a way for us all to pay our respects to the legendary maestro. Pandit Rajshekhar Mansur had chosen to record the following ragas:
1. Raga Bhankar
2. Raga Jaijai Bilawal
3. Raga Madhmad Sarang
4. Raga Malavi
5. Raga Sampoorna Malkauns
Here is a link to the complete playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
#IndianClassicalMusic, #HindustaniMusic, #Raga, #Tala, #Bandish, #Laya, #Khayal, #Gharana, #Tanpura, #Tabla, #Harmonium
Sharing the final one among the trilogy of #archival #recordings I unearthed during work on the #biography of #Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur. A captivating #mehfil of morning ragas!
Here is the complete playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
#HindustaniMusic #Khayal #Gharana #Raga #Tala
Sharing the second among three #archival #recordings I unearthed during work on the #biography of #Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur. A stunning #mehfil of afternoon & evening #ragas!
Here is the complete playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
#HindustaniMusic #Khayal #Gharana #Raga #Tala
Sharing the first among three #archival #recordings I unearthed during work on the #biography of #Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur. An impeccable #mehfil of night #ragas!
Here is the complete playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
#HindustaniMusic, #Khayal, #Gharana, #Raga, #Tala, #Bandish
What a beautiful #tribute!
@rogerfederer & @RafaelNadal have set the global standard for sportsmanship & camaraderie in competitive sport! Having been rivals for two decades, I can think of no two athletes who match up to this deep sense of mutual admiration!
Love & respect! ❤️🙌
Vamos, @RafaelNadal!
As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional.
Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge.
I’m not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, adjusting your underwear... All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique—it was so you.
And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more.
OK, maybe not at first. After the 2004 Australian Open, I achieved the #1 ranking for the first time. I thought I was on top of the world. And I was—until two months later, when you walked on the court in Miami in your red sleeveless shirt, showing off those biceps, and you beat me convincingly. All that buzz I’d been hearing about you—about this amazing young player from Mallorca, a generational talent, probably going to win a major someday—it wasn’t just hype.
We were both at the start of our journey and it’s one we ended up taking together. Twenty years later, Rafa, I have to say: What an incredible run you’ve had. Including 14 French Opens—historic! You made Spain proud... you made the whole tennis world proud.
I keep thinking about the memories we’ve shared. Promoting the sport together. Playing that match on half-grass, half-clay. Breaking the all-time attendance record by playing in front of more than 50,000 fans in Cape Town, South Africa. Always cracking each other up. Wearing each other out on the court and then, sometimes, almost literally having to hold each other up during trophy ceremonies.
I’m still grateful you invited me to Mallorca to help launch the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2016. Actually, I kind of invited myself. I knew you were too polite to insist on me being there, but I didn’t want to miss it. You have always been a role model for kids around the world, and Mirka and I are so glad that our children have all trained at your academies. They had a blast and learned so much—like thousands of other young players. Although I always worried my kids would come home playing tennis as lefties.
And then there was London—the Laver Cup in 2022. My final match. It meant everything to me that you were there by my side—not as my rival but as my doubles partner. Sharing the court with you that night, and sharing those tears, will forever be one of the most special moments of my career.
Rafa, I know you’re focused on the last stretch of your epic career. We will talk when it’s done. For now, I just want to congratulate your family and team, who all played a massive role in your success. And I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.
Rafa that!
Best always, your fan,
Roger
A wonderful piece by art historian and my wife Shaista Anwar! Do read. 😊
Harun al Rashid and the Unending Memory Lane
A new artist's work translates faded memories from the past, gives new life to them in the present and offers us succour in the process.
Shaista Anwar✍️
#Art
thewire.in/the-arts/harun-al…
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur placed high value on singing at important math-s of the #Lingayat tradition throughout the course of his career, often at the cost of prestigious festivals. One of these special places close to his heart was the #Samadhi of #Channabasavanna in #Ulavi.
Mansur ji opens with “Mahadev Vishwambhar…” in #raga Jhinjhoti and goes on to sing 9 Vachanas, accompanied by his #disciple Pandit Pachakshariswami Mattigatti and Pandit Basavaraj Bendigiri on the #Tabla.
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
