Author and thinker Simar Malhotra presented inaugural edition of Inkpot India Conclave at the Ambassador Hotel, New Delhi. The daylong event had an attendance of over 1200 people throughout the day. This conclave is this Stanford graduate’s attempt to re-link our cultural heritage to the young Indians.

A ‘zero waste event’ it hopes to reignite the magic of India, a 73-year-old nation that enjoys the cerebral legacy of a civilization dating 5000 years. A daylong event, the conclave brought together thinkers, achievers, leaders, and protagonists. Each one dwelling upon the myriad realms of Indian heritage.

Inaugurated by our Chief Guest Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble MoS Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and guests of honor, Shri Shyam Jaju, the National VP of BJP and DG-ICCR Akhilesh Mishra, it was indeed a perfect start for the festivities and talks that followed.

The event was kicked-off was with a mesmerizing Sufi performance by Sonam Kalra.

A series of freewheeling sessions were flagged off withShobhaa De talking of the evolving literary landscape with Sanjoy Roy, a true protagonist of Indian culture, literature, and art. On how to make today’s children read Indian literature, De said that the attempts to rewrite history must stop at once

Fashion designers, Shantanu & Nikhil, Ritu Kumar, interior designers Raseel Gujral Ansal and Padma Shri Sunita Kohli and Padma Shri Shovana Narayan gave insight into the way Design, Art, and Dance lend to our cultural identities.

“For the past few decades, we have been seeing a rise in western infatuation in India. Inkpot is an attempt to show Indians a mirror to India and start a conversation about Indian arts, literature, and culture,” said Simar Malhotra.

“While the military is the hard aspect of any foreign policy, culture is the soft one. Our culture is what attracts the West to us. It is our biggest foreign policy asset. But we underestimate this,” Dr. Shashi Tharoor, the Chief Patron of Inkpot, said.

In a fireside chat with Aakriti Mittal, Jaya Jaitly spoke on branding India and media baron Nalin Mehta on mapping the media with Ayush Periwal. NeelimaAdhar, Nandini Bhalla, ShaziaIlmi, Dr. Ranjana Kumari and Renu Hussain delved into an impactful discussion on gender norms and inequality.

ShaziaIlmi, Sharif Rangnekar, and Raga Olga D’Silva talked movingly about the reality of homosexuality in Indian society. “People need to free themselves from the prison of their own imaginations; just legislations won’t help.”

MD of Rupa Publications, Kapish Mehra, spoke succinctly about the culture around content today. Along with this, an enlightening discussion on Going Back to Our Roots and Improving the World Health System with Kavita Devgan, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Dr. Shikha Sharm and Dr. Blossom Kochhar occurred.

Besides the heavyweights, the conclave brought forth path-breaking youth like EshanHilal, India’s first belly dancer, Karan Singh, India’s first the psychological illusionist and founders of the platforms The Culture Gully and India Cultural Hub.

The founder of the conclave, Simar Malhotra is the author of novels Tides Don't Cross and There is a Tide. She is studying at Stanford University and is the winner of the Bocock/Guerard Fiction Prize. Her work has been published in the Gold Man Review literary journal and Stanford’s in-house magazine Topiary.

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