Tajuddin Azad

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will engage eighth grade students of the Government High School in Tarafile village, Kalaburagi district with the historic Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah by connecting it to their curriculum in social science and languages. Students will explore the Urs celebrations at the Dargah with its sandal procession and Qawwali music performance. Tajuddin Azad will be the Coordinator for this project.

Tajuddin Azad is a photojournalist working with the Prajavani newspaper for the past 15 years. He has a Diploma in Theatre Arts from Ninasam. Azad has worked on several theatre productions and conducted theatre and language workshops for children. He is passionate about photographing the city and landscapes, and has attended various workshops on these subjects. Given his experience, he is best placed to be the Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The Dargah of Khwaja Banda Nawaz is one of the most significant monuments in the Kalaburagi district. It is a mausoleum of Muhammad bin Yusuf Al-Hussaini who was commonly known as Banda Nawaz Gaisu Daraz. He was a poet who wrote 195 books in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu to promote Islamic tradition and practice. He has also written books in Dakhni and was the first Sufi saint to use this language, to be later followed by many others. The magnificent dome over the shrine was built in his remembrance by Sultan Ahmed, who was the younger brother of Sultan Feroz Shah. This place is home to many saints and scholars across religious practices. The death anniversary of Banda Nawaz is celebrated as Urs with a sandal procession wherein thousands of people from different religions gather to seek his blessings. This place has created a permanent platform for Qawwali music, which has widely contributed to spreading love and communal harmony in the region.    

In this project, Azad along with the eighth grade students of the Government High School in Tarafile village, Kalaburagi district will be exploring this monument. They will undertake several field visits to the site and have group discussions, theatre games, and other activities at the site. Students will be encouraged to interview the saints and scholars at the site and collect stories and songs on the Dargah. Since it is a religious place, Azad is aware of the consent of students and teachers involved in the project and will organise the workshops and sessions accordingly. They will explore only the arts and aesthetics of the shrine and not engage in any religious practices. 

Students will learn Qawwali music as a part of this project from the professional musicians invited to the school. They will also attempt to write songs and compose them based on the topics from their curriculum. Azad is looking forward to inviting scholars to conduct workshops on culture and literature from the region. Also, as he has been working as a photojournalist for over a decade now, he will enable students to explore the Dargah through a journalistic lens as well. Alongside this, students will explore the exquisite stone carving inside the Dargah and will attempt to write their own stories after their visits. All their learning will be collated into a publication at the end of the project. 

The outcome of the project will be this publication and a performance in the presence of school staff and community members. The deliverables to IFA with the final report will include still and video documentation of the process and the performance, and the publication.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Education programme in the manner in which it attempts to help students connect their school curriculum to the stories from the regions they inhabit and communities they live with.

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.