For the making of a film-document based on the presence of seasonal migrant labourers in Mirya, a fishing village on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra. Since Mirya is the ancestral village of the filmmaker, it will also be a personal expression of an attempted dialogue, momentary friendships and precarious encounters through the camera, with the men who work as migrant labourers there. The outcome of the project will be the film-document. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a high-resolution copy of the film-document on a hard disk, along with the footage, production stills, film deck and publicity materials. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, equipment hire and consumables, travel and living costs, communication and stationery, and an accountant’s fee.
For research towards a documentary film on the artistic legacy of the famous Gond Pradhan artist Jangarh Singh Shyam. The project will critically examine the artistic evolution that was spurred by Jangarh’s inventive artistic style, when the Gond Pradhan community moved from its traditional musical practices towards a modern, urban tradition of visual arts practice in Bhopal. Through an art-historical inquiry into the genesis and propagation of this shift, the project aims to explore the ‘urban’ fetish for the ‘tribal’ as the city continues to subsume a subaltern tribal identity into its cultural landscape. The outcome will be an audiovisual documentation of interviews with the artists and experts, a short video, and working drafts for the script for the documentary film. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the audiovisual documentation, video and working drafts of the script. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, equipment rental, professional fees, book purchase and an accountant’s fee.
For research into the lives of Indian courtesans and their families, tracking their journey from their roots in history to the present times. The Grantee will draw on his personal experiences as well as those of women and children who were raised in kothas. With a focus on their music, performance culture, patronage and the circumstances that transformed a traditional cultural practice into sex work, the project will record the struggles and aspirations of people from various communities and trace the erosion of the Kotha culture over time. The outcome will be a manuscript for a book. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the manuscript and an audiovisual documentation from the field. Grant funds will pay for an honorarium, travel, food and living costs, stationery, book purchase, library fee, photocopying, internet and phone bills, professional fees, equipment rental and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a performance piece that explores the idea of the ‘black hole’ in the realms of science, philosophy and the personal. Exploring connections between consciousness and astrophysics, and the objective nature of science and the subjective nature of being, this work seeks to blur the boundaries and link the outer and the inner cosmos, by interweaving personal narratives and scientific theories. The outcome will be 14 shows of the performance, including the premiere. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be still and video documentation of the performances. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, travel and living costs, space hire, equipment hire, local conveyance, documentation costs, material costs and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of curatorial work in collaboration with the Education and Conservation Departments at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai towards one or more exhibits drawing upon the museum's existing collections, which will travel around Maharashtra in a specially designed bus.
For working with the Saptak Archives in Ahmedabad, which has over 20,000 recordings of exponents from various gharanas, traditions, and styles within Hindustani Music, both vocal and instrumental. This fellowship supports research that will make accessible and available the forgotten recordings of celebrated exponents of Hindustani Music through audio/video podcasts. Each podcast will be about 40 minutes long and engage the work of a particular artist, theme, gharana, etc chosen from the recordings at the archives. These podcasts will be of interest to both the initiated as well as the new listener. The other outcome of the fellowship will be ‘listening sessions’ that will be open to the public held at the archives. The Fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the podcasts, audio recordings of listening sessions if possible, process images, texts and publication if any.
For the creation of a musical instrument named ‘Noori’. Exploring new dimensions in instrument design, materiality, and sound, this project aims to create an instrument which is both fretted and non-fretted, string and percussive, with monophonic, polyphonic and microtonal possibilities. The outcome will be two iterations of the instrument, interactive sessions of the work-in-progress, and performances. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be video and audio documentation of the instrument making process and the performances. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, materials, travel, professional fees, documentation and an accountant’s fee.
For research to study the life and work of Baburao Painter - producer, director and the founder of the Maharashtra Film Company. The project will explore the evolution of regional cinema in Kolhapur by situating Baburao’s work amidst literary and visual cultures of his time, tracing his influence on and connections with contemporary artists, thinkers, writers and political figures. The outcome of this project will be a biographical account of him, which will be subsequently published as a book. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the manuscript of the book including images. The grant funds will cover honorarium, research assistance and translation costs, travel and living costs, professional fees, and an accountant’s fee.
For working with the collections of ‘Mann Maps’ at the Kalakriti Archives in Hyderabad, Telangana. This fellowship supports research on the maps of Hyderabad, commissioned by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1908 in the aftermath of the devastating floods in the city. These maps were created under the supervision of Leonard Munn, chief inspector of mines under the Nizam regime. The research aims at studying the idea of map-making and cartography on the one hand, and interaction between the map and its user on the other, in an attempt to understand the human experience of maps. The outcome of the project will include a video art installation, a publication, workshops, talks, and events.
For working with the Kerala Museum, Kochi to envisage and curate a series of activities engaging the collection that includes exhibitions, public programmes and outreach events for both adults and children. The Kerala Museum’s collection is representative of important milestones in the world of visual art from all over India. Beginning with Raja Ravi Verma, Rama Verma, and Abanindranath Tagore, the collection includes artists from Shantiniketan; the Bengal School; those who were part of the Progressive Movement like M F Husain, F N Souza, Akbar Padamsee, as well as contemporary ones.
