The Auditorium Block is undergoing some repairs and refurbishment over the next two months, so we do not have the Stein Auditorium and the Theatre available for our regular dance, music, theatre, and film screenings.

We bring you a June with limited venues, but a robust line-up with some interesting online options to compensate. A distinguished panel debunks the common myths about addiction with a discussion around Anirudh Kala's book Most of What You Know About Addiction is Wrong (9th). An evening of literature revisits the republished classic Mir Taqi Mir as well as post-nineties women's poetry (10th) Another evening of poetry pays homage to Tagore (3rd). A not to be missed event is the 70th anniversary of the ascent of Mt.Everest presented by the Himalayan Environment Trust with Peter Hillary and Jamling Tenzing reminiscing with stories from their families about the event.

This month, enjoy dance online with Navarasa, a series curated by dance critic and culture expert Prof. Ashish Mohan Khokar. A fresh episode goes live every Saturday of the month on the Habitat World Youtube channel, bringing us works of 9 established dancer - choreographers of different mainstream forms such as Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam, Odissi, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Chhau and Contemporary.

June is also special as it marks the World Environment Day (June 5), the World SeaTurtle Day (June 16), the National Reading Day (June 19), the World Music Day (June 21), and is also Pride Month. UNEP marks World Environment Day with an exhibition and discussion about the impact of plastics on bird life, in particular. Some wonderful films in Gulmohar on climate change, re-afforestation, reverse migration, water conservation and the changemakers making a difference, as well as online films, continue the focus on the environment throughout the month (17th, 28th-30th). Nicholas Hoffland celebrates World Music Day with a series of online weekly vignettes throughout the month.

Marking Pride Month is a discussion on Living Beyond The Why's-Embracing ‘PRIDE’ LGBTQIA+ Mental Health & Wellbeing (9th); and also the screening of the 2022 film, Lailaa Manju followed by a discussion with the filmmaker Kamya N (18th).

Our regular monthly IHC events and series continue: The IHC Book X'Change on the first Sunday (4th) will hopefully increase the conversations and exchange in this month that celebrates the importance of books and reading. We resume the IHC Members’ Meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month (17th) with a talk by Dr.W. Selvamurthy on Creation of An Ecosystem of Innovation in India. Art Historian, Benoy K. Behl continues his online series of ‘Glimpses of Culture’ with a film on ‘Early Temples of Himachal’.

We are on the lookout for more online events that will be updated on the website and in the weekly mailers. Do keep an eye out for them.

Stay cool and don't let the scorching June heat wear you down.