The online lecture series organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) faced technical problems on day one, with the inaugural lecture by IGNCA president Ram Bahadur Rai on Monday ending half-way through the scheduled one hour.
The IGNCA had last week announced the start of regular Facebook live lecture series every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the future of arts and culture after the COVID-19 crisis.
While Mr. Rai’s Facebook live session had over 2,000 views, it ended in less than 30 minutes, as opposed to the scheduled slot of 4pm to 5pm, after audio and video interruptions. According to officials, a recorded version of the lecture would be uploaded soon. The next lecture in the series is supposed to be on the topic of “Role of women in post COVID-19 scenario” by IGNCA trustee and dancer Sonal Mansingh on Wednesday.
Starting his lecture, Mr. Rai said the pandemic had wrought havoc on the world but also given the opportunity to introspect. Citing examples from history, he said whenever there was ‘darkness’ in the world, the process of enlightenment followed.
