For the publication of a book on the use of photography as a social tool by the Bengali upper class in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The book, to be published by the Oxford University Press, will be made available at a subsidised price.
For developing and implementing a Dance-In-Education programme in Bangalore schools. The programme will introduce students from diverse economic and social backgrounds to contemporary dance and movement arts, train dance teachers and help develop a dance education curriculum.
For making a film on studio portraiture in India, which will explore the human and social dimensions that inform photographs, as also the experience of being photographed. The proposed film will seek to deconstruct the photographs in terms of cultural influences, social aspirations and individual fantasies.
For making a documentary film on the oral legends of Mirabai narrated and sung by the lower castes of Rajasthan. The film will map the alternative texts and performance spaces that refigure the mainstream cultural icon Mira, laying open issues of caste and transgression to scrutiny.
For completing the photographic documentation of manuscript paintings held in Vaishnavite monasteries and private collections in Assam. A digital catalogue of scanned paintings will be made available to users through the Assam State Museum, Guwahati.
For collaborative research between an installation artist/set designer and an anthropologist towards a multimedia installation/exhibition on the visual culture of the Thiyyas, a community from North Kerala.
For making a film on the New-Delhi based theatre group, Jan Natya Manch, that will critically explore its history and contemporary practices. Combining archival footage with documentation of contemporary performances, the film will especially focus on Nukkad Natak (street theatre).
For making a film on women potters, structured as a search for roots by a contemporary studio potter, and focussing on two traditional women potters in Kutch and Manipur. By exploring the ways in which the women have circumvented the taboos associated with the potter’s wheel, the film will foreground a dialogue between tradition and modernity.
For a study on the cultural and artistic significance of metallurgy in Indian antiquity, that would integrate technical, archaeological and art-historical perspectives. Archival research and fieldwork combined with photographic and video documentation will provide material for a book and lead to a script for a documentary film series.
For a dissertation on Ravi Varma’s Pauranik (mythological) paintings with special reference to his use of the feminine icon. The researcher will contextualise the artist’s work within India’s early modern visual culture by exploring the cross-currents that drove the industry for oleographs and popular prints.
For creating a platform for shadow puppetry through a festival of performances and workshops across Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. The touring festival is expected to help develop support systems for shadow puppeteers by enhancing their visibility and generating an audience for R.V. Ramani’s feature-length documentary film on the subject, Nee Engey.
For creating a comprehensive collection of material on the Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association (IPTA). Through interviews, archival research, and the compilation of material generated on and by IPTA, the researcher will arrive at an account of the first, collective, pan-Indian cultural movement in independent India.
For research towards a manual on bamboo toy-making for middle- and high-school children, to be published in Marathi and English. Another component of the research would be workshops and teacher training programmes for schools in Pune district.
For preparatory work on a video film, by a filmmaker and a journalist/writer, on marginalised aspects of Punjab’s cultural landscape. They will explore their relationship to contemporary Punjab by documenting particular celebrations, individuals, memorials and encounters that together embody a syncretic understanding of the region.
