A survey of wall paintings conservation in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, and other sites
This was the first award that came my way when I was embarking on a professional career in India. I was full of hope and a vision of all I could do for art conservation in India and the award helped me take my first step in that direction without having to wait or lose steam. It reinforced my confidence in myself and in my belief that if there is a worthy idea and sincere effort then there are people to support you.
An interpretative study of the text and paintings of Sursagar from the Mewar School
I received the award at the outset of my research for the doctoral thesis. The timely award enabled me to travel to museums and document the set of paintings which formed a good portion of my research material. It also facilitated the correspondence with various other museums abroad and in India, enablng me to gather information regarding their collections and most specifically the Sursagar set of Mewar that I was working on. I could also use the money of the award on processing of photographs of the paintings, copies of which I evenutally sent to the Trust as part of my project report.
Coromandel Trade
The Visiting Fellowship gave me the opportunity to visit the museums and archives in the UK, including the Victoria and Albert Museum. The award also enabled me to gain more professional expertise and to enrich my knowledge of museology. I prepared a monograph about my experience in the UK and presented research papers to history fora on the Indian objects in the Coromandel- English trade.
Grant to collect slides and research materials relating to company paintings of Patna, Calcutta and Murshidabad from UK collections
The award facilitated my resarch on company paintings and gave me the crucial direction for my investigation. After this award I received the pre-doctoral Fulbright Fellowship which allowed me to explore the American collections and meet personalities like Stuart Cary Welch, Milo Beach and Vidya Dehejia. And the Visitor's Grant from the British Council created the opportunity to see the best of Company Paintings in the Victoria and Albert Museum and India Office LIbrary, and to meet scholars and curators like Robert Skelton and Deborah Swallow.
