For research towards an annotation of hitherto undisclosed material on Indian cinema, including government records, parliamentary debates, interviews, memoranda submitted by trade bodies, and reports of film inquiry committees. The project will highlight the hidden discourses that influence the making of Indian cinema.
For research towards developing curricula, teaching aids and reference materials for Mayurbhanj Chhau. Teachers, dancers, musicians and designers will come together for practical sessions to help systematise the expressive components of this dance form.
For field research for a doctoral dissertation on identity formation among women dancers in contemporary India, with a particular focus on Kathak exponents. The study is expected to contribute to visual and cultural anthropology through the analysis of how dance is represented in mass media and public festivals.
For the survey and documentation of mural paintings in temples, palaces, dwellings and caves in Orissa. INTACH’s subsidiary, the Orissa Art Conservation Centre, Bhubaneshwar, will undertake technical studies, scientific analyses and visual documentation of the paintings, and develop conservation strategies in tandem with traditional painters.
For research into the architectural styles of the under-documented Deccan region, with a focus on the built heritage of the Qutb Shahi period. Base maps of the Golconda Fort area, and a monograph on the evolution of architectural styles within it, will be prepared, helping leverage support for the development of the area as a heritage zone.
For research towards the development of a theoretical basis for designing public places for art in India. The study will compare the integrative character of indigenous public spaces with the isolating experience of newer, urban ones. It will result in a series of monographs or an illustrated book.
For preparatory research towards a documentary film on the Ragamala tradition. Besides exploring its historical, aesthetic and socio-cultural contexts, the study will examine how the conventions of the Ragamala could inform the stylistics of representing the tradition on film. Two short video studies will be developed, suggesting contrasting treatment strategies for the proposed film.
For research towards a sourcebook in Kannada on important sculptural traditions in south India. With the aim of enhancing the skills, knowledge and creativity of traditional sculptors, the sourcebook will comprise an introduction to the Shilpashastra; line drawings highlighting the aesthetic features of various schools of sculpture; and explanatory notes and photographs.
For the study and documentation of the threatened musical traditions of the Adivasi communities of Junglemahal in West Bengal. The project is expected to reacquaint younger members of the community with their own music and create income generating avenues for instrument makers, besides contributing to government literacy programmes in the region.
For the completion of Kumar Talkies, a documentary film highlighting the relationship between the crisis facing the small town of Kalpi in Uttar Pradesh and the decline of its oldest surviving cinema theatre. The film will explore the impact of the Mumbai film industry and popular culture on the town’s social and economic life, collective imagination and identity.
