Sculpture

This award was a timely help, when I was planning to document the Chola bronzes in and around the Thanjavur region for the visitors of our museum. After getting this award, I extended the area for collecting data on Chola bronzes to the museums of India. This gave me an opportunity to acquire the latest museum techniques and to gain more information about the provenance of Chola bronzes kept in different museums. I plan to bring out a small catalogue about Chola bronzes which will be useful to our visitors.

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).

The findings of the project were communicated in national seminars. Based on these pilot studies I have now (2001) undertaken a major project, funded by the University Grants Commission. Simultaneously I have been doing a PhD on the ecological and environmental impact on monuments and their conservation and hope to develop this in the context of temple studies. The funding shortages in my institution were balanced by the timely awards received from your Trust, and my project work was also considered as part of my career development evaluation by my institution.

The grant helped me to work on this subject - a project that I had dreamt of doing but could not take forward because of monetary problems. It helped me to come to know about a traditional method of carving which is almost dying out. It has both helped my creative work as a sculptor and given me knowledge that I can pass on to my students so that they can use it in their work. I have also discussed the procedures with colleagues who work on portraiture.