Small Study and Research Grant (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.

Dr Syamali Das

Baluchar silk and temple terracottas: a comparative study of motifs

The award gave me a good opportunity to travel and visit many terracotta temples in remote villages in Bengal that remained unknown and undocumented. I have (2001) prepared a popular article and two research papers are ready for publication. I interact usefully with a stream of students and research workers from the Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati and Burdwan University Bardhaman.

Jayaram Thangavel

A socio-cultural study of the Dikshidars of Chidambaram

Samson Davis

Photo-documentation of mural paintings of Christian Churches of Kerala

By career I am a biology teacher, and my interest in the field of art is actually extra curricular. However I am trying to co-relate my career with the field of art by doing some studies related to art-conservation. I have conducted some studies on bio-deterioration of objects of cultural value in Kerala where this is (2001) a pioneering attempt. The encouragement and financial support provided by the NTICVA grant was helpful for preparing the background of the present study.

Dr V Jeyaraj

To survey and prepare a directory of museums and galleries in Tamil Nadu

Harinarayana Nilam

The formative years of the Madras Museum

The detailed history of museums has not been attempted much in India, but I had an inkling that such a detailed study may throw considerable light on development of the museum as an institution in our country. I also felt that the Madras Museum, which was in its 15th decade at that time, could be an ideal starting point for such a study because it had been carefully groomed through the years of its existence to attain an eminent position in its field. The first award from the NTICVA to me was meant to carry out such a study of the first gfive decades of the Madras Museum.

Ganga Joshi

Research on lower Himalayan sculptural art

Dr K Rajan

To study the documentation of rock art in Tamil Nadu

Sathyabhama Badhreenath

To study Rashtrakuta influences in Tamil Nadu

The topic  for my second award was so chosen because there is very scanty material available on the subject which forms a vital part of Tamilnadu (an art rich state). Tamilnadu, known for its rich art and culture is equally adept at adopting cultures of other states, and in this sense, the art influences of one of the major dynasties of South India assume importance. These awards have given me encouragement and have honed my skills to view the subject in a different perspective. After completing the project report, I have given lectures to junior staff about my observations.

B Sekhar

To produce video documentation of museum objects in Tamil Nadu

The project focused on the video documentation of museum collections in Tamil Nadu. It led to a further project for which I also received an award from the NTICVA.

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