I undertook internship placements at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, and the British Museum, London.
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Folk and tribal studies
Pankaja Sethi
Tribal Kotpad textiles and the methods of natural dyeing in the border zone of Orissa and Bastar
Sumangal Roy
A project to record and document Folk Art and Craft in the villages of Chandigarh
At the time I received the award, I had already crossed the first phase of my career. Looking for some encouragement or motivation to start afresh. At an individual level the award provided a psychological boost allowing me to work with a new zeal. The research that I carried out has had both an impact on my career and professional inclination. Earlier I was a self-centered artist pursuing my own creative urges. However this project has opened new vistas and changed my perspective towards the utility of art.
Ratna Sharma
Study of Mithila Painting
From the very beginning I was planning to gain a knowledge of the layers of Mithila painting, especially its relationship with other practices of folk-art. I was, and still am, of the opinion that Mighila painting is a living tradition which is supported by many other folk practices of the region. Its history, myths, usefulness, sociology, social significance, ritual normative patterns, hidden philosophy and last, but not least, the creativity of the women who paint, are very important factors to know.
Jitendra Pratap Singh
A study of Bihara ki Laka Kalayen, the Folk Art of Bihar
This grant assisted me in my research work for a PhD dissertation on folk art in Bihar. The PhD dissertation was submitted in 2001.
Jyoti Mehta
Living Art of Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh
This award motivated and helped me to explore the art and cultural heritage of small folk pockets of Rajasthan & UP. I was pursuing my Masters in History of Art when I got this award. The classroom studies provide us with a theoretical know how of any subject. To get involved and understand the practical significance and importance of arts and culture in rural areas one has to deeply interact with the local habitats.
Swati Sengupta
Dokra Bronzes of Tribal India
This award gave me an opportunity to do fieldwork and learn the technique of lost-wax process in Dokra bronze-casting. As a student of Design (BFA) I was able to use the technique to make jewellery and incorporate the Dokra Bronze tribal forms in two dimensional textile design. Having graduated from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati University Santiniketan, I am embarking (2001) on History of Art at the National Museum Institute, New Delhi. I have also made a proposal for research for a Junior Fellowship in Visual Art from the Department of Culture (Govt of India).
Srinivas Suwada
Local gods and popular culture: a study of mother goddess worship in an urban setting
I was awarded this grant while pursuing doctoral research, and will submit my dissertation in summer 2001. The grant allowed me to travel to fieldsites, to undertake photography, and to cover other costs of fieldwork and report preparation and to achieve more ambitious documentation of craft and folk traditions than I would otherwise have achieved. It also made me self-confident, and strengthened and boosted my morale. I am planning to publish articles in academic journals and have lectured to American students on these topics.
Vibha Singh Chauhan
The construction of indigenous gods and linkages with the communities of eastern Uttar Pradesh
The award of a Small Study and Research grant proved invaluable for me for reasons probably different from many others. I was not a young scholar but a university teacher in mid-career, and had developed a serious academic interest in an area that was not directly related to my formal discipline of English literature. My independent readings in sociology, anthropology and history, along with my travels in the Indian countryside had opened the fresh arena of the creation and continuation of village gods as an intergral part of cultural existence in India.
P Venkatesan
Relief sculptures as revealed from Hero-stones in Thiruvannamalai, Samburayar and North Arcot Districts of Tamilnadu
The grant was very helpful to me in allowing me to discover a number of hero-stones and inscriptions during the Pallava and Chola periods in Vellore and Thiruvannamalai districts and to prepare research articles in vernacular research magazines like Hindu, Avanam, Pulamai, Dinamani etc. I am currently (2001) doing PhD research in the field of Hero-stones .