Rajashekara Murthy KV

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will engage eighth grade students of the high school section of the Government Pre-University College, in Krishna Raja Sagara, Mandya district, to explore the impact of the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam on the livelihoods of local communities, by integrating their stories through theatre into history, social science and language curriculum. Rajashekara Murthy KV is the Coordinator for this project.

Rajashekara Murthy KV is a theatre artist trained at Rangayana Mysore and Bangalore University. He has a deep interest in and commitment to arts education. He has also actively participated as an actor and director in the productions of Rangayana. Given his experience he is best placed to be the Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The primary objective of this project is to explore the impact of the construction of the KRS dam on the livelihoods of local communities. This dam is also known as Kannambadi katte since the town of Krishna Raja Sagara was earlier called Kannambadi.  It is constructed across the river Kaveri. It was built around 1924 under the leadership of Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV with the help of the chief architect of the dam - Sir M. Visvesvaraya and his successors - to provide water for drinking and irrigation purposes in Mysore and Mandya regions. Later on, it became the main source of water for Bangalore too. It is said that even Tipu Sultan had made efforts to build a dam in the same place.

The dam had submerged a vast area of cultivable land with rich biodiversity; bringing in devastating consequences that include loss of livelihoods, and destruction of cultural and historical sites. Its history is riddled with tragic stories of displacement and blatant disregard for local communities and their wellbeing. The poorest and most marginalised people are generally hit the hardest by displacement, often without adequate compensation. While lives and livelihoods were destroyed of these families, their kinship systems, cultural identity and informal social networks were also affected and disrupted.

This project attempts to locate and involve families associated with the KRS dam and connect them to students and teachers of the school. The students will participate in community research that enquires into the history of this dam, stories behind decisions to migrate, the changed lives and dreams of the displaced families, the people left behind, the challenges faced by the community, among others. Students will also engage in an explorative journey to document the social history, changing ecology, folk music, and ceremonial rituals as experienced through the displacement of families from Kannambadi. Documenting these voices will encourage students to build stories about the effects of constructing dams. These narratives will finally culminate into a street performance. They will also enrich the students’ understanding of their social science, history and language syllabi.

The outcome of this project will be street performances at two villages where all the children and members of the community will participate. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will include photographs and video documentation of the entire project.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Education programme in the manner in which it attempts to connect students and schools to the history and cultural knowledge of the communities they live in.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.