For the design and editing of a monograph on Bengali artist Jamini Roy with images from some of his finest paintings. This builds on an earlier grant to inventory Indian modernist paintings and prints from the late eighteenth to the late twentieth century housed in the collection of Rajya Charukala Parishad, Kolkata.
For training the fundamentals of folk singing and instruments, particularly the Maand, to fifteen youngsters belonging to the musician community of Jamsar village in Rajasthan. Performances by thirty senior musicians of the region will be recorded and used as a resource in the teaching sessions. Senior musicians will also conduct workshops with the students on the nuances of the music quarter.
This Grant was Terminated by IFA and the Grantee is ineligible to apply to IFA in the future.
For a three-day international conference titled Archiving Art Histories: Exigencies and Challenges in Pedagogy and Research. The conference will survey the history of archiving, research and teaching practices of art history in Indian art schools. The conference will think through and devise ways of improving the present state of visual archives in art teaching institutions in the country.
For research on the socio-political history of modern Marathi theatre. The researcher will focus on the different political trends in Marathi theatre from the time of the first modern playwrights in Marathi to the present. The resulting manuscript will serve as a source for three plays that will bring political history of modern Marathi theatre to a larger theatre-going audience.
For a three-month residency programme for emerging Indian artists from an extended field of arts practice, towards nurturing collaborations and collective exchange. Six artists from diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds will spend between six weeks and three months at the BAR1 studios in Bangalore, developing individual pieces of art work and interacting with fellow artists. A public event showcasing the artists’ work in progress will be held at the end of the residency.
For making of an innovative biographical film on the path-breaking Marathi playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar, which will also explore the history and notions of experimentation in Marathi theatre. The film’s narrative will be driven by multiple voices and move seamlessly across Elkunchwar’s life and ideas in a non-linear manner, juxtaposing ‘real’ situations, people and spaces with the playwright’s ‘theatrical’ characters, situations and locals.
For the transformation of the Humayuna-nama, a sixteenth century chronicle of the Mughal emperor Humayun’s life, into a performance called Gulbadan, which will combine shadow puppetry and live acting with cinematic techniques and other visual media. Among other things, Gulbadan will portray the rarely recounted lives of Mughal women, their role in the Mughal court and the politics of the harem, which the chronicle documents in great detail.
For the production of a new choreographic work titled Beautiful Thing 1. This performance will investigate the interplay of sound, word, movement and meaning, and attempt to bridge the gaps between our historical memories and contemporary selves.
For the development and staging of a performance by and for children in Bengali based on a story by Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury. The children will visualise the story and develop the script for the performance through constant improvisations and experiments with the patua community in West Bengal.
For the intensive education of twelve young boys in the Kashmiri theatre form, Bhand Pather, with a special focus on its musical aspects. The project builds on an earlier grant for a 35-day workshop, which initiated a large group of youngsters into the theatre form. This two-year programme will turn out a cadre of proficient Bhand Pather practitioners, while also creating breathing space for cultural expression in the strife-ridden Kashmir Valley.
For researching and photo-documenting the tambu talkies (tent cinemas) that follow the route of the religious jatras (fairs) in Maharashtra. The history of the tambu talkies will be constructed by mapping the film distribution cycle and exhibition patterns, gathering old photographs and documents, and recording oral histories of the proprietors and distributors of the tambu talkies. Photo-documentation will capture the current state of the touring tent cinemas, covering such aspects as the audience profile, the ingenious projection systems and the innovative advertising strategies.
For the development and staging of an adaptation of Kuo Pao Kun’s play for children, Day I Met the Prince based on Antoine Saint Exupery’s classic Le Petit Prince. This interative performance, featuring dance, music and magic, will encourage the young to explore their own concerns and become more keenly aware of the world around them.
For the development and staging of an adaptation of Macbeth in Malayalam. Using mobile scenic designs, choreography, multimedia images, ritual and a chorus, the production will explore the psychological complexities of the central characters and attempt to lay bare the emotions and thoughts that work at the level of the subconscious.
For the creation of a performance based on the traditional Manipuri Meitei ballad Phou-Oibi. Telling a legendary story in a non-traditional, open-air setting, the performance will explore the musicality of the string instrument pena, as well as draw from the Manipuri performing forms of Moirang Sai, Moirang Parva, Sankirtana, Wari Liba and Lai Haraoba.
For research into indigenous children’s literature in the nineteenth century Bengal that burgeoned in opposition to the British education system and reclaimed displaced popular culture to establish an important swadeshi tradition. The research will culminate in an encyclopaedia and a website on indigenous children’s literature in the nineteenth century Bengal.
