Annual report 2003-2004 - India Foundation for the Arts

I ndia F oundation for the A rtsANNUAL REPORT 2003-2004

I n d i a F o u n d a t i o n f o r t h e A r t sANNUAL REPORTAPRIL 2003–MARCH 2004

IntroductionNissim Ezekiel, the influential poet and critic,passed away in January 2004. In ‘The Stateand the Arts’, a paper published more than twodecades ago, he wrote that “neither the Statenor any institution should be governed by anyideology in dealing with the arts. The only considerationshould be the artistic one, whichdoes not imply the aesthetic alone or art forart’s sake . . . The State can genuinely promotethe arts only when it acquires at least a minimumunderstanding of its functions in Society.This may seem a tall demand but anything lessleads to an unending series of disasters. Time,money and energy are wasted in creatingfacades, in dealing with the real problems ofart superficially, in constructing the superstructurewithout laying the foundations soundly.”Mr Ezekiel’s words are as relevant today aswhen they first appeared in print. In India,most of the funding that goes to the arts doesnot derive its impulse from perspectives rootedin the arts, or an appreciation of the conditionsin which the arts thrive, or a vision of a desiredfuture for the arts, or a particular view of theplace of the arts in our society. Governmentsupport for the arts, both at national and statelevels, is as strongly informed today as in thepast by the discourses of nationalism, languageand identity, while corporations continue tosponsor exhibitions, performances and filmfestivals, for example, in the interest of businessrather than the arts.2India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), whichwas founded more than a decade back,shares Mr Ezekiel’s conviction that art is bestserved when support for it is not tied to ideologiesor anchored in special interests andagendas unconnected to it. This does not

mean that IFA has functioned without a clearsense of purpose and priorities, only that ourwork has not been motivated by considerationsextraneous to the arts. Indeed the perspectivesthat have framed our grant making, and theways and means by which we have assisted thearts, are unprecedented in the Indian context.IFA has emphasised that supporting journeysin the arts is as important as promotingtheir outcomes. We have encouraged artists todiscover new ways of producing art, to reachbeyond familiar forms of expression in theirchosen disciplines, and to make new connections,sometimes with endeavours anddomains outside the arts. We have advocatedthe value of research and documentation notonly to efforts to conserve our cultural heritageand revitalise inherited forms of artistic expression,but also in helping to lay the foundationfor new creative endeavours and enablingtoday’s art to connect with its own history andleave a record for the future.New GrantsDuring 2003-04, IFA invested nearly Rs 1.25crore in grants to seven organisations and 17individuals. Eleven grants are underwritingresearch and documentation on a wide rangeof subjects in different regions of the country.With our support, for example, manuscriptpaintings are being photographed in Assam,folk songs are being recorded and analysed inWest Bengal, heritage buildings are beingmapped in Sholapur, visual culture is beingdocumented in north Kerala, and literary practicesin nine languages are being tracked andtranslated in Mumbai. Five grants have gonetowards the production of films on studiophotography, popular music, women potters,street theatre and oral legends respectively. Inaddition, three grants were made tohelp disseminate the outcome ofresearch projects that IFA had fundedearlier.Under the arts collaboration programme,we made a supplementarygrant to enable three artists to continue workingtogether to develop innovative puppet theatreproductions and provide further inputs to apuppetry group, led by children from the redlight area in Kolkata, which they had helped toestablish earlier. And our efforts to enlarge therole of the arts in education gained momentumduring the year, as we were able to make fourdiverse grants to support interventions at bothsecondary and tertiary levels of education.Shifting PrioritiesThree of these grants—which are respectivelyconcerned with introducing school children tomovement arts (in Bangalore), bamboo crafts(in Pune district), and built heritage (inKolkata)—reflect our new focus on supportingartists and arts groups to enliven theextracurricular space, since our experiencehas shown that educational institutions find itdifficult to propose imaginative arts educationinitiatives. IFA has also begun to pay more systematicattention to generating arts-relatedmaterials for reference and teaching. Partly asa result of two meetings convened in Mumbai,we expect in time to support two major projects—oneto create educational kits on Indianart for use in schools, and the second to selectand annotate critical literature on the visual3This and facing page:T. Pankajaksha’s line drawings which form part of hisdocumentation of traditions of sculpture in south India.See also pages 4-5 and 28-32.

arts in different Indian languages and makeit more accessible to the public.IFA is also thinking of new ways to furthercollaborative practice in the arts.Because grants under this programme havehitherto been available for specific, timeboundprojects, we have unwittingly encouragedapplicants to place more value on theimmediate products of collaboration, ratherthan on how it might enrich their artisticpractice. For our grant making in this areato advance its broader objective, which isto help establish a culture of collaborationin the arts, we now feel that it is necessaryto begin providing support for the creationof platforms or institutional mechanismsthat facilitate interactive arts practice andfor long-range initiatives that investigatedifferent possibilities for the collaborativeproduction of art in the future.Supporting IFAIFA has long advocated the view thatwell-known artists need to treat the arts asa cause that deserves their attention andsupport as vitally as any other. This ideafound expression in the partnership that IFAhas forged with the renowned actorMr Naseeruddin Shah and Motley, the theatregroup that he leads. We are indebted toMotley for performing ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’in Bangalore and Hyderabad during the yearto help attract funds for our grant makingfrom theatre-going audiences.Such fundraisers can only take place ifcorporations come forward to underwritetheir costs. Hindustan Lever Limited presentedthe performance in Bangalore inassociation with Prudential ICICI AssetManagement Co. Ltd., Templeton AssetManagement India Pvt. Ltd., Titan IndustriesLtd. and Spice Communications Ltd. TheHongkong and Shanghai BankingCorporation Ltd. was the main sponsor forthe Hyderabad event, and Titan IndustriesLtd. the co-sponsor. We are thankful tothese companies for their support and alsoto the hospitality sponsors The Park Hotel,Bangalore, and Hotel Manohar, Hyderabad.Our gratitude is due as well to the companies,too numerous to name here, thatbought advertising space in the brochuresfor these events and to Birla SunlifeInsurance and the Deutsche Bank for contributingto the costs of maintaining ourwebsite and printing our annual reportrespectively.IFA began to raise funds from within thecountry more energetically and systematicallyafter receiving an important grant inthe form of a Draw-down Fund forGrantmaking from the Sir Ratan Tata Trust(SRTT) three years ago. The grant challengedIFA to raise Rs 1.25 crore over aperiod of five years from Indian trusts andcorporations, and people of Indian origin.We were permitted to draw from the Fundan amount equivalent to whatever weraised in any year, for the purpose of underwritingour grant making in the followingyear. Since the Fund was established, IFAhas generated growing amounts fromIndian sources from one year to the next.As a result, 40 per cent of IFA’s grants inthe last two years were underwritten bymonies raised locally, including the sumswe were able to claim from the Fund,compared to 17 per cent in the previoustwo years.Trustees and StaffIFA has created two new positions to befilled by young graduates in the arts andhumanities for one to two years. Judy Das

and Shonali Advani have been appointed tothese Programme Associate positions. Theywill provide administrative support for ourprogrammes, but also be encouraged to contributeto the substantive aspects of our grantmaking. It is our hope that Judy and Shonali,and those who come after them, will get atIFA the kind of exposure to the world of thearts and philanthropy that will prompt themto consider pursuing careers in these areas.We feel that it is important to draw the attentionof the talented young to new opportunitiesthat are opening up outside the familiarprofessional domains of civil service and corporatemanagement. New wealth is beingrapidly generated in India, some of which hasalready gone into the establishment of newphilanthropic organisations and ventures. Artsorganisations can also be expected to grow innumber, partly because of the increasing relevanceof creative professionals to the expandingknowledge industry.The year witnessed the retirement of fiveof IFA’s longest serving trustees, some ofwhom have been with the foundation fromits earliest stage, even before it was formallyestablished. The retirees include the first twoChairpersons of the Board, Mr Abhijit Basuand Mr Mani Narayanswami, who were largelyresponsible for putting in place IFA’s managementsystems and policies; MrGulammohammed Sheikh, whose perspectiveson arts education contributed immenselyto our grant making in this area; Ms TaraSinha, who chaired the DevelopmentCommittee and gave direction and energy toour promotional and fundraising endeavours;and Mr Vijay Crishna, who brought to theBoard’s proceedings an incisive sense ofirony and a necessary dose of realism. It wasunfortunate, too, that other commitmentscompelled Mr A Ravindra, erstwhileChief Secretary of the Government ofKarnataka, to resign from IFA’s Board soonafter he had joined it. We are profoundlyindebted to our outgoing trustees for theirunstinting commitment to IFA’s cause.The rest of IFA’s first generation oftrustees will leave the Board next year. Weare naturally concerned about losing theexperience and perspectives of people whohelped to envision and set up IFA, andsteered it through the first decade of its existence.For this reason, we are extremelygrateful to Ms Simone Tata for agreeing torejoin the Board, despite having earlierserved as a trustee for six years. At the sametime, IFA appreciates the need to draw onfresh ideas as it contemplates redirectingand expanding its work, both as a grantmaker and a fundraiser, in the coming tenyears. We are therefore very fortunate that MrGurcharan Das and Mr Romi Khosla agreedto become trustees of IFA during the year.Like many of our trustees past and present,they occupy many different worlds at once:Mr Das is a well-known playwright, novelistand management consultant, whileMr Khosla’s professional work has encompassedeconomic development and architecture.IFA hopes to harness their diverseexperience and interests to strengthen andreconfigure its work at various levels.In closing, I would like to congratulateMs Nandita Palchoudhuri on her election asthe new Chair of the Board and look forwardto working closely with her as IFA begins toconsider afresh how it could best carry outits mandate to support the arts in India inhitherto unimagined ways.Anmol VellaniExecutive DirectorNovember 2004

Programme DevelopmentsArts Research and DocumentationIFA awarded 19 grants under this programmein 2003-04, a larger number than inany previous year. Three of these are disseminationgrants, which enable the outcomes ofearlier IFA-supported projects to reach a wideraudience. Two support the strengthening ofmanuscripts for publication and enable theresulting books to be sold at subsidised prices,while one is helping to create a wider audiencethat are re-examining cultural practice withthe aid of different theoretical and often multidisciplinarytools; straightforward documentationin fields like textiles and music is offset byprojects where the very notions of ‘documentation’and ‘archiving’ are being subjected to6for R V Ramani’s feature-length documentaryfilm ‘Nee Engey’ as well as the art of the shadowpuppeteers of south India that the filmchronicles. Sixteen grants support new initiatives,which are remarkably diverse in terms oftheir subjects of study as well as their perspectiveson research and documentation.Filmmaking projects, in which arts practice,documentation and interpretation merge, sharespace on our grant list with scholarly projectscritical scrutiny. (See ‘Grant Allocations’ for adescription of these grants.)Grants in each funding cycle have reflecteddevelopments in the field as well as in IFA’sown thinking about the programme. This year,for instance, as many as five grants underwritethe costs of producing films on the arts. Wemade a larger number of film grants becausewe received many more film proposals, whichis itself a sign of the growth of independent

[Pala] would narrate a story at thedrop of a hat . . . going completelyoff the mark, diverging intounwanted details, losing track offrom where he started. He told thesame story with equal passion againand again. In each episode hewould find a rationale for histhoughts and beliefs and the constantquestioning that went on in hismind. He possessed a naturalinstinct for philosophical inquiry,despite being unable to read orwrite and being economicallyunstable. He knew no other wayof living.Gurvinder SinghStills from his film ‘Pala’ resulting from his documentationof the Sufi and bhakti music of the Punjab.short filmmaking in India. Another interestingdevelopment is the merging of arts practice andscholarship in projects undertaken by artists. Wehave supported artists earlier to undertakeresearch located in their own fields, but thenewly-funded projects demonstrate a strongerlink between research interests and arts practice.For example, designer Sumant Jayakrishnanand anthropologist Janaki Abraham have beensupported to research the toddy-tapping Thiyyacommunity of Kerala, which will result in anexhibition on collective memory, identity andself-representation. This is an unusual exampleof how scholarly research can be intertwinedwith artistic practice towards an outcome thathas relevance for both fields. A differentinstance of such merging appears in the projectbeing undertaken by an urban folk singer andsongwriter, who is documenting the repertoire ofbiraha (songs of separation) in the folk music of7

eastern India. The artist expects the collectingand studying of these songs to enrich her ownpractice. At the same time, because herresearch draws upon a range of perspectivesfrom Indian aesthetics, history, folklore andethnomusicology, it will have wider scholarlyappeal as well.introduced into the production process, whichmeans that fabric can now be pre-sold to customersthrough orders placed according tosamples. But Dastkar Andhra sees this only asMany grantees, who were supported in theprevious round of the programme, are consideringhow best to disseminate their work orcarry it forward in significant ways. Some arebranching out into areas not originally envisagedin their projects. Gurvinder Singh, forexample, who has completed his research anddocumentation towards a film on the Sufi andbhakti music of the Punjab, is currently exploringthe possibility of undertaking professionalrecordings of this music, for which there is alarge, untapped market in the state. His objectiveis to enable the musicians to take advantage ofthe commercial potential of their music by producingand selling the cassettes themselves.Others are consolidating what they haveachieved with their grants. For example, ActionResearch in Conservation of Heritage (ARCH)has documented the heritage buildings inKolkata’s colonial Dalhousie Square, which ledthe World Monuments Fund (WMF) to put thearea on their watch-list of 100 most endangeredsites worldwide for 2004. ARCH is nowpreparing an application for a grant from WMFfor the purpose of developing and implementinga conservation strategy for DalhousieSquare in collaboration with other interestedorganisations in Kolkata. Similarly, DastkarAndhra has completed its documentation ofthe traditional designs of the cotton handloomweaving industry of Andhra Pradesh, and isconsidering how to build on what has beenaccomplished. Design documentation has beena short-term outcome; their longer termobjective is to take this process forward in away that facilitates the emergence of distinctiveregional design identities.8

9This and facing page: Kristine Michael and KumkumJain’s ‘Rites of Passage’, a ceramic and textile installationon the theme of fertility.

10Some grantees have been more focused onthe specific outcomes of their projects. DeeptiPriya Mehrotra is currently writing the book onthe life of Gulab Bai and the social history ofNautanki, for which she undertook research inthe towns of north India where this populargenre of theatre is performed. She has signeda contract with a publisher and the book isexpected to appear in 2005. SandeshBhandare, who was funded to undertakephotographic documentation of the Tamashatheatre form in rural and small-townMaharashtra, organised an exhibition of hiswork, which travelled from Mumbai to Pune,Nasik, Sholapur, Panjim and Kolhapur inDecember 2003, and was well received.Arts CollaborationSix grants for collaboration in the arts weremade in the previous year. Three were seedgrants, enabling collaborators to test theirideas and explore the possibilities of workingtogether. While two of these seed grantshave become full-fledged grants under the programme,the third project is being consideredfor assistance as a special grant, a categorythat IFA introduced last year to supportprojects that, while not falling within the scopeof existing grant programmes, were consideredto be especially important to the arts or thewider public.Support for a preparatory phase of work hasenabled Sukalyani Paul, Swapna Sen and AlokSom, who come from different work spacesand have diverse experiences of working withchildren, to work with the richness of traditionalpuppetry and arrive at more contemporaryscripts and presentation methods. The threecollaborators, realising that their personalitiesand approaches to work were quite dissimilar,learnt to accommodate and cultivate sensitivityto one another’s different needs and temperamentsduring the exploratory period. IFA hasnow made them a second grant to createproductions using the ideas developed duringthe first phase of work.One of the central objectives of the projectwas to work with children of sex workers inKalighat, Kolkata, and use their inputs to conceivethe new productions. Puppetry, thecollaborators observe, has been therapeuticfor these children. It has taught them to worktogether and shed their anxieties about individualperformance. They have also learntcoordination, discipline and technical skills,developed a sense of proportion and aesthetics,and become far more imaginative and ready toexplore the realms of humour and the absurd.By closely studying the children’s response topuppetry, the team has been able to sharpentheir own ideas and processes. Despite theseexciting developments, the collaborators feelthat they must continue to be aware of thechanging needs of the children while nudgingthem towards greater self-reliance and economicindependence.

. . . the tightly choreographed scenes, the breathless pacing, the highpitchedchanting and the incredible noise and decibel levels that theactors are able to achieve . . . is a form that is clearly best suited to thedrama of the street, where there is no possibility of a captive audienceand where onlookers will necessarily leave if the performance doesn’tgrab their immediate attention.From Lalit Vachani’s proposal (2003) to produce a film on the street theatre group Jana Natya Manch (Janam).Photographs courtesy Janam.Another seed grant had been awarded tovisual artist Vasudha Thozhur to work withactivist/writer Bina Srinivasan to produce artworksthat contribute to a secular response tothe Gujarat riots. Because of the exigencies of‘the emergency situation’, however, the collaboratorswere continuously being called upon toundertake different chores, each relevant andjustifiable in its context. And while NGOsshowed interest in organising art workshops,they felt constrained to give priority to ‘farmore important’ issues. As a result, the collaboratorswere rarely able to accomplish theactivities as planned and could not arrive at ashared understanding of their respective rolesand responsibilities in the project.Nevertheless the grant enabled Vasudha toclarify how as an artist she might relevantlyengage with the work of civil society organisations.It also led her to make valuable attemptsto create a visual language that would addresschronic and urgent social concerns. She hasnow sought support to collaborate withHimmat, an NGO working with women survivorsof the Gujarat riots. Her plan is to conduct aseries of art workshop with a group of fivewomen, exploring notions of colour, compositionand form, using both conventional mediaand found materials, and also enabling thewomen to produce narrative works that recordtheir own stories. However, while the work sheproposes to undertake with the women wouldprovide valuable pointers for contemporary artpractice, we felt that it could not properly becalled collaborative in character. IFA is thereforeconsidering the possibility of making aspecial grant to support this project.The collaboration between photographerManas Bhattacharya, graphic designer ArjunDutta, and painter Debashis Sarkar to developa body of new digital artwork has been progressingat a frenetic pace. Two new collaboratorshave joined the team—Subhadeep Ghosh,a computer engineer turned film editor, andDipayan Sarkar, a self-taught painter. They havealready produced more than 400 images. Therandomness that characterised their work inthe early stages still remains a problem, thoughthey claim that their excitement about thepossibilities of the digital media has abated11

LikeWarholiancompositions,repetitionin thegodnapaintinggivesaccess to atemporalitythat doesaway withthe pathosof time, apathos thatis alwayslinked tothe feelingthat somethinghasappearedand isdestined toand they now work in a more focusedmanner.Their proposed exhibition to showcasethe outcome of their efforts has been radicallyreconceptualised. While the artistshave been talking to the Seagull Arts andMedia Resource Centre in Kolkata abouthosting the exhibition, they stronglybelieve that other techniques of presentingthe images might provide more effectiveways of ‘assaulting’ the viewer. They nowalso feel the need to combine visual andtext, whether in the context of a galleryexhibition or as part of the animatedsequence and visual poem that they areworking on.Although a seed grant is intended toprovide collaborators with an opportunityto test assumptions, confront potentialsources of disagreement, and betterappreciate one another’s concerns andexpectations, it does not always ensurethat a collaborative project will notfounder at a later point. Last year,filmmaker Ajay Bharadwaj and writerNirupama Dutt received a seed grant toexplore the idea of making a film on thelittle traditions of the Punjab and then afull-fledged grant to pay for the costs ofshooting the film. In the early stages ofthe second grant, however, Ajay andNirupama began to have serious disagreementsabout what should eventually formthe subject matter of the film. Nirupamafelt that more attention needed to begiven to the literary traditions andpressed for the inclusion of interviewswith poets and writers in the film. Ajay’sview, however, was that the film’s mainfocus should be on the role of the SufiCeramic artist Kristine Michael and textileartist Kumkum Jain have been collaboratingover the past year towards a clay and fibreinstallation. Kristine has been working on alarge installation piece that combines severalinterwoven ceramic units, suggesting the ideaof the warp and the weft. Interspersed amongthese will be larger-than-life vegetable and fruitforms and copper butterflies, over which willhang—suspended from near-invisible strings—dozens of ceramic butterflies. This largeinstallation will be complemented byKumkum’s tapestries. Kumkum has worked onthree tapestries—‘Textile Skeleton’, ‘LovePoem’ and ‘Sunscape’—using mostly fabric,but also suede, buttons, needles and shellsthat have had a past life and history. Thetapestries are interesting, therefore, as muchfor their physical qualities as for what theyimply about textile itself and the way it lendsitself to mutation and reinvention.Kristine and Kumkum’s installations arealike in appearing to be faint replicas but notimitations of ordinary things. The everyday andthe recognisable hover over their creations, yetin Kumkum’s tapestries, a sari is not quite asari even when it retains its sari-like ambience,and Kristine’s dark ceramic butterflies, forinstance, evoke real butterflies while drawingattention to the materiality of the clay that hasgone into their making. It is this play with the‘real’ that gives their work its sense of mysteryand charm. Believing that their work is bestviewed outdoors, the collaborators have beenidentifying spaces across the country wheretheir installations can eventually be exhibited.Although IFA acknowledges the virtue of agradually evolving collaborative process, mostof the projects we have supported under thisprogramme have placed emphasis on specificperish.shrines or mazaars in public life. Sinceneither of them is prepared to bring theseresults. This, we feel, might be related to themanner in which we have communicated thisMani Shekhar Singh:from his manuscript onthe Dalit painting ofMithila (2003).Facing page: Maithildifferences into the frame of the film, thisproject does not appear to have a futureas a collaborative venture, and is likely tobe completed without further inputs fromNirupama.programme to our constituency, and the factthat we have sought applications for projectsthat can be accomplished within a period of18 months or less. It has become increasinglyclear to us that many collaborative ideas13painting by ChanoDevi depicting Surya,the Sun God. See alsopage 15.

cannot be contained within a restricted timeframe and that partnerships between artists areoften most productive when they are notfocused exclusively on tangible outcomes.Should IFA be extending assistance, for example,for efforts to set up a durable frame orplatform for interactive arts practice? Shouldwe be supporting work that leads up to collaborativeactivity but is not necessarily its startingpoint? These are among the concerns that areprompting IFA to rethink the future of thisprogramme.Arts Education14While IFA is convinced that the artist’screative processes hold immense value for thefield of education, we have found it difficult toidentify educational institutions capable ofdeveloping imaginative arts education projects.This is largely because the educational sectorviews the arts in exceptionally conventionalterms and envisions a very circumscribed rolefor the arts in education. Last year, therefore,we began to shift our focus from trying tonegotiate grants with schools and colleges tothinking of ways of supporting artists and otherprofessionals to work from the margins of theeducational system. As a strategy, using the artsto enliven the extracurricular space might beeven more productive if it is informed by alonger-term vision to bring the arts into thecurriculum.IFA made three arts education grants in2003-04 that reflect this new thinking. The firstof these grants is enabling the AttakkalariCentre for Movement Arts (ACMA) to developand implement an ‘Integrated MovementEducation’ programme in eight schools andtwo informal educational establishments inBangalore. With our support, ACMA is introducingstudents from diverse economic and socialbackgrounds to contemporary movement arts,training dancers to teach, and offering shortworkshops, apart from developing a danceeducation syllabus and curriculum for schools.ACMA’s initiative is significant because it signalsa performing art organisation’s altogether rarecommitment to developing and sustaining artspedagogy.This is a challenging assignment, not leastbecause ACMA has to attend to the task ofproducing trained dance teachers alongsideoffering a dance education programme inschools. To address this challenge, ACMAoffers a certificate course in ‘Movement Artsand Dance Education’, whose graduates thenserve as dance teachers in its ‘EducationOutreach Programme’. The dance teachers areencouraged to make their sessions with childrenvery interactive, and indeed to collaborate withthem in exploring creative approaches indance. They have also learnt to break down

Details of Ganesh image (facing page) and Durga image (above) by Maithil artists Shanti Devi and Siwan Paswan in the Maharanigochi Salhesh Sthana, Madhubani, Bihar.movement sequences into smaller units,reinforce educational concepts through dance,and use ‘partnership games’ to dilute genderdifferences among students. ACMA’s educationconsultant for this programme, TripuraKashyap, has devised assignments that helpthe dance teachers articulate their pedagogicstrategies and share insights and discoverieswith one another.The two other grants can also be seen asaccentuating the artist’s role in education. Oneis helping Ms Nilina Deb Lal, an architect, toundertake a year-long interaction with middleschool children in three schools in Kolkata tocreate awareness about built heritage, locatingit within the larger context of the history andculture of the city. Educational packages willbe developed to aid the planned workshopsand site visits, and school teachers will participatein the programme in order to provide alink with formal classroom instruction.The first set of workshops has already beenconducted for 150 students of the SusheelaBirla High School. The senior teacher whoacted as the coordinator for the school, feltthat the workshops demonstrated that suchinitiatives needed to be appended to thecurriculum rather than be left to occupy anextracurricular space, and that this wouldinspire the teachers to try out new approachesto the curriculum. The workshops were conductedat the end of the academic year, whenthe students would not have to worry abouttheir studies. It proved to be a bad time for15

18teachers, however, who were burdened withanswer scripts and report cards. It also leftthem with no opportunity to undertake followupactivities with the same set of students. Theschool has now decided to accommodate theworkshops in the middle of the academic year,so that the teachers can connect what is beingtaught in the classroom to the workshop experience.Based on the learnings from the firstseries of workshops, Nilina is reworking theirstructure and content before beginning workwith the other two schools.The second grant is supporting Mr KanwarjitNagi to develop and write a manual in Marathiand English on bamboo toy-making for middleand high school children in Maharashtra. Evenin schools where bamboo craft is taught, thesyllabus merely lists articles that can be madefrom bamboo. It does little to enable studentsto source bamboo or grow their own, interactwith local craftspeople who work with bamboo,identify the tools that need to be used or learnhow to make many different things with thismaterial. Mr Nagi hopes that his manual will fillthese gaps.The ideas for the manual will emerge out ofa series of workshops that Mr Nagi will holdwith various schools in Pune district. These willinclude schools in Pune itself but more prominentlyzilla parishad schools in different villagesthat fall within the Rajgurunagar Taluka andalso Ashram Shala schools run by the TribalWelfare Department. Mr Nagi will begin by introducingbamboo craft via demonstrations,slides, posters and talks in 10 to 12 schools.This will be followed by intensive workshopsfor children and interested teachers in thoseschools that respond enthusiastically to theintroductory phase. Alongside he will alsoconduct workshops solely for teachers.Besides these three grants, which help toenlarge the role of the arts in secondary education,IFA extended further support to theCentre for the Study of Culture and Society(CSCS) in Bangalore for its programme tointroduce cultural studies in higher realms oflearning. With an earlier IFA grant, CSCSdesigned and conducted its EducationalInitiatives Programme (EIP). The core of the EIPis the Certificate Course in Cultural Analysis,which was offered in collaboration with ChristCollege, and makes CSCS’ research in culturalstudies available to undergraduate students inBangalore.While offering this course, CSCS facultycame to see that the lack of textual and otherresources in regional languages was likely toretard the growth of cultural studies in India.CSCS decided to begin grappling with thisproblem by addressing the Kannada languagecontext and to this end initiated a discussionwith the Kuvempu University, Dharwad. Thesediscussions took concrete shape when the EIP,assisted by Dr Shivarama Padikkal of theUniversity of Hyderabad, conducted a two-daycultural studies workshop in Kannada for some30 undergraduate and post-graduate studentsfrom constituent colleges and various departmentsof Kuvempu University. The workshoplaid the ground for a longer-term collaborationbetween CSCS and the University.In March 2004, with support from IFA, CSCSembarked on the development of an onlinegraduate-level programme in cultural studiesfor Kuvempu University. By designing newsyllabi and curricula, developing textbooks,organising workshops and offering a visitingfaculty programme and courses on an Internetbasedsystem, the Centre expects to build newforms of institutional linkages, especially withregional research and teaching institutions.IFA’s grant to Mr Mahendra Kumar last year,which supported animation workshops inKolkata, inaugurated our new interest in artseducation projects that benefit the public atlarge. Our Programme Committee welcomedthis new emphasis on public education projectsand suggested that we convene meetings toexplore how we might productively intervene inbringing alive the exhibits in public museums

and art galleries for students and otheraudiences, and in making writings on the artsin Indian languages more widely available toreading publics.Our internal discussions have often focusedon the need to address the lack of qualityresources for arts education in Indian languagesother than English. We felt that translating artsrelatedliterature into Indian languages, andThe simple photo portrait which is so much a part of our lives might appear at first sight to betoo slight to warrant any search for deeper meanings. It seems to be a thing that is all surface, alltransparent . . . There, one might say, the matter ends. For me, however, this is where it allbegins—my journey to discover patterns, uses, histories.Nishtha JainStills from her film ‘City of Photos’ on studio photography. See also page 20.

My interest inposedphotographsgoes back tochildhoodexperiences ofsome of themore popular[photographic]practices.There were thestreet photographersin oldDelhi, withtheir boxcameras andblack cloths,ready to createa picture ofyou with yourfavourite star.And therewere thefantasycut-outs infairgrounds, ofEnfieldmobikes andairplanes. I wasequallyintrigued bythe quietnessof old b/wphotoshidden away inalbums, andhow, whenthese albumscame out, eyeswould growbright andstories wouldbe retold.Nishtha Jain

from one Indian language into another, mightbe one of the possible ways of redressing thislack. To further this idea, IFA convened a meetingof artists, critics and writer in Mumbai to takestock of the current state of art criticism inMarathi and Gujarati, and identify criticalliterature in the visual arts in each of these languagesthat might be worth translating into theother, and also literature in other languagesthat needed to be translated into Gujarati andMarathi. Participants discussed how we couldgo about selecting texts before translations arecommissioned and publishers identified.A similar meeting was convened, also inMumbai, to look at museums and art galleriesas possible sites for arts education as well asassess the possibility of adding value to culturalfield visits that schools organise for their students.The meeting was attended by museumadministrators, arts educators, heritage conservationistsand school representatives, andhelped us to identify a core group of peoplewho will turn their attention to creating educationalkits on Indian art that could be used inschools contexts.With support from the Japan FoundationAsia Centre, programme staff visited SoutheastAsian countries in March 2003 to understandthe nature and spread of arts education in theregion. Based on the valuable learning we haveacquired and the new contacts we have establishedin the region, IFA is developing a set ofprojects that would enable organisations workingin the area of arts education in South Asiato connect with their counterparts in SoutheastAsia. The projects under consideration includea school-to-school exchange programme, anout-of-school programme for young adults, anda theatre-in-the-community programme in ruraland urban settings. We are hopeful that TheJapan Foundation will partner IFA in supportingthese initiatives.Theatre DevelopmentIn April 2001, IFA invited selected theatregroups to apply for institution developmentgrants. Our aim was to help these groups toimprove their ability to promote their work inthe media and among potential donors, todevelop audiences and to leverage the marketfor their assets, skills and productions. Thetheatre groups were required to seek theassistance of an external consultant to developand implement their institution developmentplans. Progress that these groups made duringthe institution development phase of workwould be evaluated to determine which amongthem would qualify to receive endowmentgrants from IFA at a later stage.Although seven theatre groups showedinterest in seeking grants for institutionaldevelopment, only one of them—ChennaibasedKoothu-p-pattarai—eventually qualifiedto receive support under the programme. Mostgroups did not pursue their applications oncethey fully understood the programme’schallenges and expectations. IFA has regrettablyconcluded that, by and large, theatre groups inIndia prefer to get by on inspirational leadership,strong motivation and supportive personalnetworks. Theatre directors, long accustomedto operating in a relatively ad hoc manner,appear reluctant to introduce their groups toproper management systems and an open anddemocratic institutional culture.Koothu-p-pattarai (KPP) received a planninggrant to develop a two-year strategy for institutionalgrowth in June 2002 and then a largergrant to implement that strategy in March2003. KPP’s plan was to consolidate andenhance its repertoire of productions; widen itsaudience base in Chennai and gain a followingfor its work elsewhere in Tamil Nadu; engage inpromotional activities and create regular clientsfor its services and products; and generate21

income by undertaking training programmes,workshops and contracted assignments, andoffering short-term courses in acting and stagecraft.KPP attained some but not all the targets ithad set out to achieve during the first year ofthe grant. On the artistic side, the group’sprogress has been quite dramatic. It createdsix new full-length productions and two newstreet plays, and developed customised shortplays for 22 clients. The productions werestaged many times, at several venues, and fordiverse audiences. It is also significant that KPPhas identified a permanent space for its administrativeand artistic work. KPP sees this spacebecoming a hub for artistic activity—rehearsals,performances, workshops and seminars—and aresource for Tamil theatre groups. The groupexpects in time to earn additional income byrenting the space to other cultural organisations.KPP’s management has also been strengthened,although there is room for furtherimprovement in this area. The Board ofTrustees has been expanded, new office staffrecruited and actors encouraged to take on variousorganisational responsibilities in an effortto facilitate the emergence of new leadershipin the group. However, the trustees need to setup Committees to monitor progress and setpolicy directions in key strategic areas, andestablish a proper channel for communicatingwith the staff and actors. While four actors’groups were constituted to take responsibilityfor touring, promotion, audience-building andasset management respectively, these haveoperated fitfully, largely because they have notbeen provided with adequate and consistenton-site guidance and feedback. This partlyexplains why KPP has accomplished less thanexpected in those functional areas. Despitethese shortcomings, however, KPP raisedapproximately Rs 15 lakh through customisedperformances, theatre-based training, rentingits lights and a grant from the central governmentin 2003-04.In the coming year, KPP will strive toimprove the functioning of the Board, coach acore group of actors to manage all operations,and generate a revenue inflow of Rs 25 lakh.Specific plans include initiating regular activitiesat the new space, creating and disseminatingpublicity materials, and organising a festivalof productions, a major fundraising event andperformance tours in five pockets of Tamil Nadu.22

Saba Dewan: Research towards a documentary film on the courtesans of north India and the art forms associated with them.Below and facing page: Stills from her video documentation of singer Daya Devi from Muzaffarpur, Bihar.The histories of tawaif artists are evenmore fragmentary since the tawaif was anacceptable memory but an unacceptableliving presence. The process of retrievalgets more complicated since the history isalso a history of erasure, of her voice andthe tradition that she represented, byvarious forces including the state.23Saba Dewan

Anjali Panjabi: Production of a documentary film on the oral legends of Mirabai. This and facing page: Stills from video footage shot by Mrinal Desai.Grant Allocations24Arts Research and DocumentationNISHTHA JAIN, MUMBAIRS 5,00,000 OVER ELEVEN MONTHSProduction of a film on studio portraiture inIndia, which will explore the human and socialdimensions that inform photographs and theexperience of being photographed. The filmwill be concerned with how photographs occupyan intriguing middle ground between truth andfiction, and will seek to deconstruct them interms of cultural influences, social aspirationsand individual fantasies.SHRI SIDDHESHWAR SHIKSHAN MANDAL,SHOLAPUR, MAHARASHTRARS 4,96,700 OVER TWO YEARSDocumentation of heritage buildings inSholapur, a town with a unique thousand yearold architectural heritage, on which the rulersof the Deccan Sultanates, the Mughals, theMarathas and the British have successively lefttheir stamp. Measure drawings and photographsof the buildings will be supplemented with documentationof their architectural history. Thedocumentation will be used to mount an exhibitionand enable the conservation ofSholapur’s architectural heritage.SHARADA SRINIVASAN, BANGALORERS 4,38,380 OVER TWO YEARSStudy of the cultural and artistic significanceof metallurgy in Indian antiquity, integratingtechnical, archaeological and art historicalperspectives. Archival research and fieldworkto study craft traditions that continue to usevarious metals and alloys, and photographicand video documentation, will go into the writingof a book and a script for a documentaryfilm series.SHRIPRAKASH, RANCHI, JHARKHANDRS 5,00,000 OVER ONE YEARProduction of a documentary film titled‘Recording Guiya’, which will explore the conditionsthat contributed to the unprecedentedsuccess of ‘Guiya’, an audio cassette releasedin the mid-1990s in Jharkhand. The film willexamine the current popular music scenarioand the future of oral traditions, focusing especiallyon the challenges and dilemmas of artistswho stand at the intersection of technology,traditional practice, commerce and individualaspiration.JAGAN SHAH, NEW DELHIRS 4,40,290 OVER ONE YEARCreation of a comprehensive collection ofmaterials on the Indian Peoples’ TheatreAssociation (IPTA). Archival research, interviewswith artists and institutional representatives,and the acquisition of reproductions ofbanners, posters, photographs, playscripts,songs, reviews and other critical writings onIPTA productions, will help to generate anaccount of the first collective, pan-Indiancultural movement in independent India.

DIRECTORATE OF MUSEUMS, GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM,GUWAHATIPRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: SAMIRAN BORUAHRS 4,13,600 OVER TWO YEARSCompletion of the photographic documentationof manuscript paintings held in Vaishnavitemonasteries and private collections in Assam.A digital catalogue of the scanned photographswill be created and made available to usersthrough the Assam Museum, Guwahati.PARTNERS FOR URBAN KNOWLEDGE, ACTION ANDRESEARCH, MUMBAIPRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: ABHAY SARDESAIRS 4,68,000 OVER TWO YEARSDocumentation of literary practices in ninedifferent languages spoken in Mumbai as wellas the translation of selected texts betweenthese languages. The resulting database willboth facilitate further translations and functionas a source of information about Mumbai’s culturalcosmopolitanism and multilingual ethos.K S NAGARAJAN, BANGALORERS 4,98,800 OVER TWO YEARSThe setting up of a multi-indexed and computeriseddatabase of Carnatic music. Apartfrom information pertaining to compositions,lyricists and composers, and literature onCarnatic music, the database will also haveinformation on multiple composers of thesame lyric, alternative versions of lyrics,Pallavis and Raagamallikas.RAJULA SHAH, BHOPAL, MADHYA PRADESHRS 4,94,892 OVER ONE YEARProduction of a film on women potters.Focusing on the personal and artistic historiesof two traditional women potters in Kutchh andManipur respectively, the film will explore theintriguing ways in which they have negotiatedthe taboo of the potter’s wheel and circumventedit through their own practice. Structured as asearch for roots by a contemporary studiopotter—who is also the sutradhar—the film willforeground a dialogue between tradition andmodernity.LALIT VACHANI, NEW DELHIRS 4,97,450 OVER TEN MONTHSProduction of a film on the New-Delhi basedtheatre group, Jan Natya Manch (Janam), criticallyexploring its history and contemporarypractices. Combining archival footage and documentationof contemporary performances, thefilm will especially focus on the Nukkad Natak(street theatre) and its ability to create innovativecontexts that facilitate significant involvementon the part of the audience.MOUSHUMI BHOWMICK, KOLKATARS 4,24,425 OVER TWO YEARSResearch into and documentation of therepertoire of biraha (songs of separation) in thefolk music of Bengal. Drawing upon perspectivesfrom Indian aesthetics, history, folkloreand ethnomusicology, the study will result in amusical travelogue in Bengali and English andthe ensuing collection of songs and interviewswill be placed in an archive of music.People make Mira over in their own image and she is alternately a weaver, a potter, a tanduro-playingbhajan singer, an ascetic and sometimes she is a dervish dancing in wild abandon.Anjali Panjabi

JANAKI ABRAHAM, NEW DELHIRS 5,00,000 OVER TWO YEARSCollaborative research on the visual cultureof the Thiyyas, a matrilineal toddy-tapping communityfrom north Kerala. An installationartist/set designer and an anthropologist willexplore the ways in which identity is visuallyexpressed and understood by the Thiyyasthrough their meticulous documentation ofphotographs, paintings, letters, family trees,marriage albums and videos, genealogies andmyths of creation, and seek to re-present itthrough a multimedia installation/exhibition.ANJALI PANJABI, MUMBAIRS 5,00,000 OVER EIGHTEEN MONTHSProduction of a documentary film on theoral legends of Mirabai as narrated and sung bythe lower castes of Rajasthan. The film will mapthe alternative texts and performance spacesthat refigure a mainstream cultural icon, openingup issues of caste and transgression toscrutiny.NIHARIKA DINKAR, NEW YORKRS 1,94,899 OVER FOUR MONTHSDissertation research on Ravi Varma’sPauranik paintings, investigating the visualculture of early modernity in India with specificreference to the feminine icon in his mythologicalpaintings. The researcher will also explorecross-currents between theatre, photography,cinematic imagery, the newly emerging industryfor oleographs and popular prints in RaviVarma’s time.VIMOR HANDLOOM FOUNDATION, BANGALOREPRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: PAVITHRA MUDDAYARS 4,41,150 OVER NINE MONTHSResearch into and documentation of the historyand weaving technique of the Molkalmurusari from the Chitradurga district of northKarnataka, unique for its combination of thePaithani and Ikkat techniques. With the assistanceof a weaver from Molkalmuru, theresearcher will oversee the production ofsamples. The documentation is expected tofacilitate the revival and marketing of simplifiedversions of the saris.VEENA NAREGAL, NEW DELHIRS 3,50,000 OVER TWO YEARSResearch into traditions of performance andchanging structures of patronage inMaharashtra. Investigating a variety of Marathitheatrical practices that emerged in the 1840s,the study seeks to document and understandthe reconstitution of elite and popular performativeforms in the second half of the 19thcentury. The resulting papers will contribute toscholarly research on the vernacular culturaland intellectual history of Maharashtra.MALAVIKA KARLEKAR, NEW DELHIRS 2,35,500 OVER ONE YEAR AND NINE MONTHSSupport for the publication of a book onthe use of photography as a social tool by theBengali upper class in the late 19th and early20th century. The book will be published by theOxford University Press and made available at asubsidised price.KALAI FOUNDATION, CHENNAIRS 5,00,000 OVER NINE MONTHSCreation of a platform for shadow puppetrythrough a festival of performances and workshopsacross Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Thetour will help shadow puppetry to gain widerrecognition and facilitate the development ofsupport systems for the puppeteers. It will alsogenerate an audience for R V Ramani’s ‘NeeEngey’, a feature-length documentary film thatchronicles the undervalued art of the shadowpuppeteer in south India.27Facing page: Kumkum Jain’s tapestry ‘Mother and Child’ produced as part of her collaboration with Kristine Michael to developclay and textile installations.

HIMANSHU BURTE, MUMBAIRS 4,03,600 OVER ONE YEARCompletion of an illustrated manuscriptprovisionally titled ‘Include by Design:Architecture for the Inclusive Artplace’, whichdelineates a new conceptual basis for designingpublic spaces for the arts in India. Fundswill enable the manuscript to be recast forpublication, pay for new photographs andillustrations to be developed and underwritepublication costs.Arts CollaborationSUKALYANI PAUL, KOLKATARS 4,00,000 OVER EIGHTEEN MONTHSA painter/puppeteer, a sculptor/puppeteerand a shoe designer/woodworker will developfull-fledged puppet theatre productions basedon new techniques and styles of presentationthat evolved out of their first stage of collaboration.The artists have also helped childrenfrom the red light area in Kalighat to establisha puppetry group of their own, which hasperformed in school contexts, and they nowpropose to assist the group to sharpen theirskills and become self-reliant in the long term.workshops for in-service dance teachers, anddevelop a dance education syllabus and curriculumfor schools.NILINA DEB LAL, KOLKATARS 3,80,000 OVER ONE YEARA series of workshops for middle schoolchildren in Kolkata to create awareness aboutbuilt heritage by locating it within the largercontext of the history and culture of the city.Following preparatory research, educationalpackages will be developed to aid the workshopsand site visits. Teachers from theschools will also participate in the programmein order to provide a link with formal classroominstruction.KANWARJIT NAGI, PUNE, MAHARASHTRARS 1,57,400 OVER ONE YEAR AND TEN MONTHSResearch towards a manual on bamboo toymakingfor middle and high school children. Aseries of workshops and teacher training programmeswill be held in urban and ruralschools in Pune district to develop and testideas for the manual, which will be written andpublished in Marathi and English.Arts EducationATTAKKALARI CENTRE FOR MOVEMENT ARTS,BANGALORERS 13,94,850 OVER THREE YEARSDevelopment and implementation of adance-in-education programme in schools andinformal educational establishments inBangalore. The programme will introduce studentsfrom diverse economic and social backgroundsto contemporary dance and movement arts,offer courses in dance teaching, conduct shortCENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY,BANGALORERS 17,04,956 OVER TWO YEARSDevelopment of an innovative, onlinegraduate-level programme in cultural studies incollaboration with Kuvempu University. Bydesigning new syllabi and curricula, developingtextbooks, organising workshops, and offeringa visiting faculty programme and courses on anInternet-based system, the Centre will buildnew forms of institutional linkages, especiallywith regional research and teaching institutions.28

Board of TrusteesNANDITA PALCHOUDHURI, Arts and Crafts, KolkataChairABHIJIT BASU, Industry, Kolkata (Till February 15, 2004)APARNA SEN, Market Research, KolkataCHITRA VISWESWARAN, Classical Dance, ChennaiFRANCIS WACZIARG, Commerce, Heritage Conservation, New DelhiGULAMMOHAMMED SHEIKH, Fine Arts, Literature, Baroda (Till September 21, 2003)GURCHARAN DAS, Industry, Literature, New Delhi (From February 15, 2004)M LAKSHMINARAYANAN, Finance, BangaloreLALIT BHASIN, Law, New DelhiMANI NARAYANSWAMI, Civil Service, Industry, Bangalore (Till February 15, 2004)PRIYA PAUL, Industry, New DelhiRASHMI PODDAR, Art History, Aesthetics, MumbaiA RAVINDRA, Civil Service, Bangalore (From September 21, 2003 till February 15, 2004)ROMI KHOSLA, Architecture, New Delhi (From February 15, 2004)SHANTA GOKHALE, Literature, Theatre, MumbaiSHYAM BENEGAL, Cinema, MumbaiSIMONE N TATA, Industry, Mumbai (From September 21, 2003)M V SUBBIAH, Industry, ChennaiTARA SINHA, Communications, New Delhi (Till February 15, 2004)VIJAY CRISHNA, Industry, Theatre, Mumbai (Till February 15, 2004)StaffANMOL VELLANIExecutive DirectorANJUM HASANProgramme ExecutiveGEORGE JOSEProgramme ExecutiveMADHUBAN MITRAProgramme ExecutiveARUNDHATI GHOSHManager: Communications and FundraisingT C JNANASHEKARManager: Management ServicesC SURESH KUMARCoordinator: Management ServicesJOYCE GONSALVESInformation OfficerJUDY DASProgramme Associate (From August 1, 2003)SHONALI ADVANIProgramme Associate (From September 1, 2003)ANNAMMA THOMASSecretary (Till August 29, 2003)32NANDINIFront Office AssistantDESIGN: Courtesy Sunandini Banerjee, The Seagull Foundation for the Arts, CalcuttaPRINT: Pragati Art Printers, HyderabadVISUALS: Courtesy IFA granteesCOVER AND ENDPAPERS: Stills from Nishtha Jain’s film ‘City of Photos’CENTREFOLD: Wall painting, Madhubani, Bihar. Photograph by Mani Shekhar SinghTITLE PAGE: Photograph by Nishtha Jain

I want to write my bookfor those who care for thesong and also for thosewho care for the story. Thestory is going to be one ofa journey, or severaljourneys. A story of roadstravelled and peopleencountered, of singerswho sing and of peoplewho listen. It will be theirstory and my story; a storyof many loves and manylongings and manybirahas.Moushumi BhowmikI F ATharangini, 12th Cross,Raj Mahal Vilas ExtensionBangalore 560 080Tel/Fax +91 080 2361 0583/84contactus@indiaifa.orgwww.indiaifa.org