The IIC Experience is now five years old.  First organized in 2004, the India International Centre’s annual festival has come a long way from those hesitant days. What is distinctive about this festival is the sheer range it presents - dance, music, theatre, films, exhibitions and special cuisine and IIC’s fine open air spaces are the venues for most of these events.
The India International Centre was a project conceived after a discussion in 1958, between Dr.S. Radhakrishnan, who was then Vice President of India, and John D. Rockefeller III. The Founder President of the IIC, Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, wrote of the Centre as a place for ‘exemplars of various cultures (to) stay together for a while… in order that the sharpness of intellectual exchange is softened by the graciousness of good fellowship’. Complementing and concretizing this vision are the superb architectural creations of Joseph Allen Stein that flow alongside the historic and magnificent Lodhi Gardens. It is a matter of some pride that the Centre has, for over four decades substantially lived up to its promise, becoming over the years a place for discourse, debate, and the total range of cultural activities, while providing space for quiet reflection and research.
The IIC Experience opens on 16th October with Atah Kim, a choreographic composition in Kathak presented by Kadamb of Ahmedabad under the direction of Kumudini Lakhia.  On the following days we have: Heart Beat -Innovations with the Alphorn a concert by Eliana Burki on the alphorn and vocals; Hindustani Classical Vocal – Morning Ragas by Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar; Kalindi Katha,  choreographic compositions in Bharatanatyam by Rama Vaidyanathan; Rajasthani Folk Music  by the Langās and Mānganiyārs; Parno Graszt – Tracing Roots in India, authentic Gypsy village music from Hungary presented by the Parno Graszt Band; Alternating Perspectives: Three Israeli Stories, an encounter with Ruth Kanner and performers; and Carnatic Classical Vocal by Bombay Jayashri; The IIC Experience will conclude on 22nd October with Stay Yet Awhile: A Dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore presented by Prayog and designed & directed by M.K. Raina.

The exhibitions are: Baburnama -an exhibition of digitised prints from the collection of the National Museum; Carving Stories, Making Legends - wood craft traditions of the Himalayan Buddhist communities of Arunachal Pradesh and wood artistry of Nagaland; and A Musical Journey through Rajasthan with Komal Kothari (1929-2004) - an exhibition from the collection of Rupayan Sansthan, Rajasthan Institute of Folklore, dedicated to the memory of Komal Kothari, founder of the Institute.  There will also be demonstrations and performances linked to these exhibitions

This year’s film festival “You are on Edge” will present award-winning and exciting comedies and thrillers from all over the world. Each evening ends with a special dinner.

The IIC Experience 2008 offers an exciting range and variety which we hope you will find enriching.