Kamala Nehru College follows the proud tradition of commemorating the profound contribution of its reverent founder Principal Dr. K.K. Gorowara by organizing the Annual Gorowara Memorial Public Lecture Series where the subjects addressed are in keeping with the Kamala Nehru College vision of empowering women through holistic education. The focus of these lectures rests on inspiring and exposing the students to encouraging ideas and experiences of eminent personalities from diverse walks of life.
The 17th Dr K K Gorowara Annual Public Lecture 2021 was held on April 15th 2021 at 11am, online. The platform used for the same was Zoom. The program was livestreamed on YouTube simultaneously. The Speaker was Dr V. S. Priya, the first Transgender Doctor from Kerala. The topic of the day was - Declassifying my Life: Journey from Jinu to Priya. Program was attended by 467 people on zoom and approx. 400 viewed on the YouTube.
The lecture was followed by the K K Gorowara Awards to the meritorious students of the college, plus other sponsored prizes.
Organising Committee:
Dr. Neena Bansal – Convener
Dr. Manju Pandit
Dr. Harsh Meena
Dr. Naresh Kumar
Dr. Joseph Ravi
Akaanksha Dashmesh (student)
Diya Shilin (student)
The 16th Dr. K.K Gorowara Memorial Public Lecture Series organizes Annual lectures with dynamic personalities from different fields. The 2020 lecture was online on 29th September with Ms. Sminu Jindal, the Managing Director of Jindal SAW Limited, and Founder-Chairperson of Svayam, an initiative of Sminu Jindal Trust & India's leading accessibility Rights organization. She inspired the students with her presence. Despite the great tragedy that brought her on the wheelchair, she led herself to be the first lady in India to break the glass ceiling in the Steel, Oil and Gas sector. She spoke on ‘Thinking out of the Box’. The catchphrase in her speech was ‘accessibility is not a privilege or any favour; it is our right’.
The 14th Dr. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture was held on 15th March 2018. Mr. Navtej Singh Johar, a well-known Bharatnatyam exponent, writer and Yoga instructor addressed the audience on the topic ‘The Idea of the Body’. Mr. Johar stressed on the idea of the body, the Indian body in particular, and how this may influence the practice, presentation, and the history of both Yoga and Indian dance.
The 13th Dr. K.K. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture was held on 15th February 2017. Ms. Laila Tyabji, a renowned craft activist and social worker enthralled the audience with her talk ‘Craft as Empowerment in the Age of Technology'. The lecture highlighted the significance of empowering rural women through 'craft' and also addressed the emerging challenges in this context.
The 12th Dr. K.K. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture was held on 8th February 2016. The speaker was Professor S. Irfan Habib who is an eminent historian and a scholar. The title of his lecture was ‘Reading the Past: Some Reflections.’ Professor Habib emphasized on the absence of self-critical reflections and reforms within Islamic tradition and the growing need of a dialogue between religious traditions.
The 11th Dr. K.K. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture was delivered by Professor Krishna Kumar, Department of Education, Delhi University on 26th February 2015. Professor Krishna Kumar is an Indian intellectual and academician, noted for his writings in the sociology and history of education. He delivered the lecture on the topic: ‘Childhood and Education of Girls’. Professor Krishna Kumar remarked that neither male nor female teachers in India are equipped to deal with conflicts and contradictions between educational aims and the aims of girlhood.
The 10th Dr. K.K. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture was delivered by renowned classical; dancer and speaker Padma Vibhushan Dr. Sonal Mansingh on the 10th March 2014. The topic of her lecture was ‘Women in Performing Arts: Is there Male Gaze?’ While shedding light on the classical dance forms, she spoke on the wider scope of dances in the present time due to social media platforms, which she called as mishmash. According to her the quick fix attitude and classical dances can't go together.
The 9th Dr. K.K Gorowara Annual Memorial Public lecture was delivered by Sir Mark Tully, a renowned journalist and writer on 15th Februaury, 2013. The topic of his lecture was ‘India: The Road ahead’. He laid emphasis on understanding the problems and challenges within the social scenario of India and not looking at west for its solutions. India needs to preserve the essence of its tradition and values and at the same time acclimatise itself to contemporary times.
Sri Harsh Mander, an acclaimed writer and a social activist on 23rd February 2012, conducted the 8th Dr. K. K. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture. The topic of his lecture was ‘India’s Unfinished Battle Against Hunger’. Dignitaries including professors from Jawaharlal Nehru University, academic/non-academic staff and students of Kamala Nehru College attended the lecture.
The 7th Dr. K.K. Gorowara Annual Memorial Public Lecture was held on 15th February 2011. The speaker of the day was the renowned film maker Mr. Muzaffar Ali. He addressed the students on “Cinema of the soul” and shed light on his long journey and passion as an artist. While laying emphasis on the use of aesthetics in cinema, he concluded the session by saying, “…today’s Bollywood cinema is an art of noise, the challenge is to face the silence in the cinema!”
