Annual Report 2005-2006 - India Foundation for the Arts

ARTS RESEARCH ANDDOCUMENTATION8For the first time, IFA made as many as four grantsthat support research towards novels on subjects such asthe urbanisation of a refugee colony in post-partitionKolkata, the cultural history of the town of Tiruchenkodein Tamil Nadu, and the rise and fall of Carnatic music asa dynamic social form. While research towards fictionalwork has always been within the scope of this programme,it is only these recent projects that have beenable to combine an excitement about fiction writing withthe urge to address serious research questions.Meanwhile, filmmaking on the arts continued toattract a substantial number of grants. The five films wehave supported this year cover subjects like family photoalbums,the sacred Buddhist dance theatre of Chham inSikkim, and the lifestyles and dramatic practices of a 120-year old travelling theatre company from Andhra Pradesh.Support was also extended to projects that are significantas basic documentation but are also expectedto further research and practice. One grant for updatingand digitising an existing database on performancespaces in Karnataka will facilitate tours by theatregroups, while another grant for photographing andannotating an important collection of 5,500 Indianminiature paintings in a museum is expected triggernew art historical research.In the last decade, the programme has supportedover 90 projects. This represents a rich and varied corpusof work and IFA remains committed to funding researchand documentation in substantial and enlightened ways.However, arts practice and research have changed considerablyin the last ten years and we feel that the timeis right for a review of the programme. The review willrevisit the programme’s history, assess its impact andenvisage its future.This programme was started in 1995 in response toa perceived lack of support for serious arts scholarship,documentation and archival initiatives. Given the dearthof institutional spaces for research and documentation inthe arts, one of the key decisions in the early years was tosupport individuals––not just scholars but also arts practitioners––soas to trigger critical reflection in relation toarts practice, while allowing for the insertion of the personaland the subjective in the domain of research. Inaddition, we have funded documentation that hasaddressed livelihood issues, triggered advocacy andaction in the field of heritage conservation, and createdinvaluable reference points for scholarship.One of the key questions to be addressed by thereview, therefore, would be whether we should continueto remain open to various kinds of research or sharpenour focus for greater impact. The review will also determinewhether our current emphasis on supporting individualsshould be retained or sacrificed in favour of energisinginstitutional spaces for arts research. If we continueto place value on the individual researcher, however, itwould be important to envisage ways of connecting andconsolidating these discrete endeavours to create avibrant environment for enquiry and reflection.GRANTSNivedita Rao, MumbaiRs 3,01,500 over three yearsFor research into the Bharuds––allegorical versesfrom the middle of the fifteenth century attributed toSant Eknath. Compiled by the followers of the Bhaktisaint, Bharuds exist in Maharashtra as written texts, apartfrom being recited as poems, sung as bhajans and kirtans,and dramatised during the pilgrimage of vari and otherreligious occasions. Combining ethnographic study ofthe vari with the social histories of the performers, theresearch will engage with the making of this marginalisedcultural tradition and examine the differences between itsoral, written and performative forms.Perumal Murugan, Namakkal, Tamil NaduRs 3,28,500 over two yearsFor research towards the writing of a novelised historyof Tiruchenkode in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu. Atown with an ancient history, Tiruchenkode is todaymarked by its hill temple dedicated to Murugan and