American actors Reginald Woods and Jason Wilson, members of the Chicago-based Pegasus Players, conduct a workshop at the Academy of Theatre Arts, University of Mumbai, on August 15. The drama group also brought audiences to their feet in Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi with their performance of "My Soul is a Witness," highlighting seminal moments in the U.S. Civil Rights movement with music and song. The play highlighted India's and America's shared legacy of using non-violent resistance to overcome racism and oppression.

The Jazz All Stars, comprising four of the musicians/educators from Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2006-2007 Rhythm Road tours, performed in Kolkata, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and finally in Lucknow, where they were a highlight of the August 25-September 7 America Days programs. Eli Yamin on piano, Ari Roland on bass, Charlie Porter on trumpet and Alvin Atkinson, Jr. on drums are shown at the Taj Residency in Lucknow on September 6. America Days celebrated 60 years of U.S.-India relations, promoting people-to-people dialogue, showcasing positive aspects of U.S. society and highlighting U.S. programs in India such as cultural events, American Library services, student counseling by the U.S. Education Foundation in India, visa services and SPAN.

Jason Fults, a Fulbright scholar in India since March, is working with the Centre for Science and Environment to produce its Green Communities Manual, which helps neighborhoods assess how their homes, shops, industries and entertainment activities are impacting their local ecology. He also participated in a workshop, "Towards Green Villages," sponsored by the Center's Natural Resource Management and Livelihoods unit, which monitors water harvesting, farming and forestry management. http://www.fulbright-india.org/

The Role of the Media in a Multicultural Society," a roundtable discussion with 50 senior Urdu journalists and academics, took place August 23 at the Nizam Club in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Participants included (from left) Urdu SPAN Editor Anjum Naim; Ragini Gupta, deputy public affairs officer of the U.S. Consulate in Chennai; and Syed Zafer Hasan, Urdu Editor for the U.S. Embassy public affairs section in New Delhi.

Douglas G. Kelly, director of the American Center in Kolkata, buys a wallet from Nabakumar Hajra, a prisoner who lives with his wife at the Lalgola Correctional Home and makes leather wallets and purses, which he sells in the local market. Kelly traveled to Murshidabad district in West Bengal to view the experimental, open-air compound's 19th century main gate, two temples and a guesthouse, which are to be renovated with aid from the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. Inmates who are masons will be trained in preservation work.

Courtesy: SPAN Magazine