• What kind of research is supported at Sarai?

Our research interests include media, the city, free software, language, Indic computing, the politics of information/knowledge, communication technologies, digital art and culture, social/digital interfaces, etc. Sarai’s own research projects in these areas, as well as research conducted under the annual independent fellowships and student stipendship programmes, add to our now substantial archival collections on urban space and media culture.

• What kind of research projects have received support in Sarai annual fellowships/stipendships programmes?

By ‘research’ we mean both archival and field research, practice-based research, theoretical explorations, as well as activity of a creative/experimental/alternative nature. For the past four years we have undertaken research processes as well as supported projects that speak to our interests in the South Asian city (metropolitan as well as mofussil) , contemporaneity, media cultures, histories and practices and the social & political aspects of information.

Projects are selected from applications sent in by researchers and practitioners based all over India. Selected projects have spanned a wide spectrum of areas of enquiry including - popular culture, urban ethnography, architecture, geography, creative writing, history, graphic arts, theatre, new media, cinema studies, music, free/open source software, semiotics, histories of media forms/practices, sexuality, technological cultures, oral history, sports, gender and folk traditions. Detailed overviews of successful proposals from the previous years can be accessed on our website.

• How can I get support from Sarai for my research project?

Each year we advertise for the Independent Research Fellowships and student stipendships on our website, on mailing lists (Reader-List, Commons-Law List) and in selected periodicals (Economic and Political Weekly, Hans). Applications can be sent in English and Hindi. We offer a maximum of Rs. 60,000/- for six months for the Independent Research Fellowships and Rs. 15,000/- for the Student Stipendships.

• Sarai is committed to the use and development of ‘free software’. What does this mean?

Free software is software that anyone is free to use, copy, improve, examine or distribute, either free or for a price. More precisely, it refers to four fundamental freedoms, which users of the software should have:

Users should be allowed to run the software for any purpose.
Users should be able to closely examine and study the software and should be able to freely modify and improve it to fill their needs better.
Users should be able to give copies of the software to other people to whom the software will be useful. <Users should be able to improve the software and freely distribute their improvements to the broader public so that they, as a whole, benefit.

While the common understanding of the term ‘user’ suggests someone who simply ‘uses’ software, one of the most interesting characteristics of free software is the way in which the distinction between ‘user’ and ‘creator’ blurs. Creators of free software are also its users, and users of free software are also often (though not always) involved in the creation of the software. It is extremely easy for someone who uses free software to become a creator.

For detailed information, please visit the FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) project on our website.

• Does Sarai offer residencies? If yes, how can I apply?

To apply for a residency at Sarai, please send us a CV with ideas/specific plans about what you wish to do while you are in Delhi, and what you would expect from your time at Sarai. We are in a position to offer working space, basic office and communication facilities and internet connectivity during the residency, and could help in finding you accommodation. We recommend that you bring your own laptop or any other equipment that you may require for your work. While at Sarai you could be invited to conduct workshops, participate in seminars and contribute to the online discussion lists hosted at Sarai. The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), where Sarai is located, has an excellent library that you would be free to use.

As a rule we do not offer any monetary support for travel, accommodation or costs to people who want to come on residencies or research fellowships to Sarai from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. In outstanding cases, we may give letters in support of applications for funds for residencies/fellowships; requests for these should be communicated well in advance.

We are in a position to offer basic funding for travel and accommodation to (non-Indian) applicants from South Asia and South East Asia. Support for applicants from countries and spaces other than these is contingent on availability of funds and facilities.