The venue was special. In 1929, Persian businessman Mirza Mohammed Ali Namazie commissioned the construction of a state-of-the-art, 1,600-seater theatre in Singapore, which was to become the finest, most sought-after cinema hall this side of the Suez, a ‘thing of romance’ as a newspaper article dubbed it. The same Mr Namazie was Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s host during his visits to Singapore. So when the Capitol Theatre opened its doors again after a 17 year hiatus and a multi-million dollar refurbishment, it had to be the venue of choice for India Conversations. The talks and performances on diverse topics helped spur follow-up discussions on urbanism, restoration, heritage, Tagore and Kolkata.
