21. Prabhat Kumar, Delhi - Yuvak Sangh aur ‘Yuvak’: 1920 ke dashak mein Bihar ka bauddhik parivesh (Yuvak Sangh and the ‘Yuvak’ magazine in the intellectual public sphere in 1920s Bihar)

Prabhat Kumar is pursuing his PhD from the Centre of Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He has done his MPhil in history.


22. Mamta Mantri: Theatres On and Around Maulana Shaukat Ali Road in Mumbai

The 6 cinema halls on and around Maulana Shuakat Ali Road, Grant Road,  Super,  Nishaat, Royal, Alfred, Roshan and Gulshan, have been a defining part of the  neighbourhood for more than 100 years. While the neighbourhood remains in/famous for its whore house and gangwars, these halls remain a counter balancing factor, allowing for a more relaxed space. The project has worked on the history and economics of the halls, both on the inside and outside. Also, she has worked on the emergent relationships between the halls, hawkers, residents and around.

Mamta has done Masters in Histroy and EnglishLiterature from Mumbai University,and M.Phil in English Literature from S.N.D.T. University.  Worked as a lecturer inHistroy, English and Media Studies at various colleges in Mumbai, in  both capacties as Full-time and Visiting Faculty. Also, worked on independent projects as traslating a book from Eglish to Hindi for the SwamiNarayan Temple Trust, Manuscript cataloguing for  Culture ministry, Governemt of India, et al.

23. Abhinandita and Venu Mathur: My Building and the Shahar

The project presents a visual essay on our building, where about 100 Mathur families reside. Shree Ganesh Group Housing Society is one of the many housing Societies in Patparganj that came up in the 80’s, defining a new way of life for middle class Delhi.

The Mathurs are a close knit community and have a special relationship to the city of Delhi. Most families from this building can trace their history to the old city or Sheher.

This relationship between the community and the city was once well known and evident. It was apparent in the way of life, language, food, clothing and culture. The photographs document how the community has adapted to suburban living while continuing with some of its traditional ways. The project also contains an archive of these old traditions, such as typical songs and recepies of the community. Through this assemblage of the present documentation and the archives of the past, this project attempts to map out the journey of the community and the city from the past to what it is today.

Venu Mathur and Abhinandita Mathur moved to Shree Ganesh Group Housing Society in April, 1990. Abhinandita moved to Bombay in 2002 where she works on research projects and takes photographs.

Venu Mathur works in a five star hotel where she heads the Telecommunication department. It is the first project of this kind that she has worked on. She continues to live in the Mathur Society. Venu is Abhinandita’s mother.

24. Rajesh Mehar: Exploring notions of creative ownership among contemporary musicians in Bangalore

This research project is geared towards exploring how musicians in India relate to their own creative output. Over the last two decades, with the economic liberalisation of India, musicians in India are having to negotiate, in a day-to-day manner, the implications of a system of ownership of creative material that is new to them. Do they look at their creative work as merely property? Or are there other relational perspectives at work between a musician and his art?

Rajesh Mehar is a musician and writer living and working in Bangalore. He writes on topics related to music and musicians, especially rock musicians in India.


25. Kamal K Mishra: Hindi hridyasthali men jasoosi upanyason v inke pathkon ka ek samaajik itihaas (A social history of the  detective novels  and their readership in the hindi heartland)

This paper tries to look into the issues related to publishing,writing and reading of the hindi jasoosi upanyas( detective  fictions) from its  begining  in Hindi in the late 19th century. How did professionalization of the writer-publisher create a regular demand in terms of readership and ensured supply? How this genre helped professional writer-publishers in negotiating or comprehending their present? And the changing publishing scene.

Kamal K Mishra is a student of history, currently doing his M.Phil. from Delhi University. He is a translator and the areas of his interest are commercial publishing and the Hindi belt.


26. Mallica Mishra: Identities and Aspirations of Tibetan Youth in New Delhi

My research report titled ‘Identities and Aspirations of Tibetan Youth in Delhi’ is a sociological exploration of the said issue and builds upon my Ph.D research titled “Education of Tibetan Refugees in India: Issues of Culture; Ethnic Identity and Opportunity” in ZHCES, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. I have looked at this issue through exploration of secondary literature; discussions and semi-structured interviews with Tibetan youth, pursuing their Graduation from Delhi University and residing in a hostel, called the Tibetan Youth Hostel in Rohini, New Delhi. Their identities and aspirations, seem to be living, processual entities as well as part of a product of their past socialization at school and/or families or both. The youth, seen as a heterogeneous group, seem to want to preserve their core cultural values and ethnic identity, while, at the same time, being influenced by waves of globalization and Mcdonaldization in the city of Delhi.

Mallica is a Ph.D research scholar at the Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.Her area of specialization is Sociology of Education and her thesis deals with the issue of Tibetan refugees in India wherein she explores the inter-linkages between education, culture and identity of the former in India. Her research interests include issues of peripheral, marginal and liminal identities of refugees; internally displaced people alongwith women and children. She has worked as Social Worker (for UNHCR, India); Gender Trainer (for Center for Social Research, New Delhi) and Consultant (for Institute of Social Studies Trust, New Delhi).She has written and published papers on issues of education; refugee children and street girls in Delhi.


27. Sanjeev Ranjan Mishra: Gyan-vinimay ki nayi takneekein aur mel banate Dalit (The New Technologies of Knowledge-flow and the Dalits)

Sanjeev Ranjan Mishra is an independent researcher and translator based in Darbhanga, Bihar. He was formerly a Student Stipendary with Sarai-CSDS.


28. John Patrick Ojando: An Exploration of the Experiences of Afro Students in the South Asian Sub Continent

The South Asian Sub continent, has been host to a slew of youngsters in pursuit of their academic goals many of them drawn from far flung continents, Africa, the Middle and far East, Asia and in the recent past, a sizeable number from Europe. Most of them seem to have been taken by the county’s rich traditions, diverse customs and professed hospitality. All seemed to be going well in the past but there is a growing disenchant slowly creeping in that could have far reaching consequences. Though not entirely out in the open, a sizeable number of these students are becoming increasingly frustrated with a society they believe is insensitive to their concerns. The paper will focus on the experience of Afro students in India.

John Patrick Ojwando is a Kenyan national who can also claim a little of Indianess. I did my schooling in Kenya then left the entire higher education in the hands of lecturers in India. I have pursued a BA course (Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur). Then followed it with an MS in Communication course (Bangalore University). Currently, I am in the final stages of my doctoral research program (Department of Studies in Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore) as a self financing research scholar under the guidance of Dr. N Usha Rani, Professor and Chairperson of the same Department. The working title of my study is “Treatment of Development News in the Print Media and its Correlation with the Non Governmental Organization’s Perception of Development News: A Comparative Study of India and Kenya.”


29. Anil Pandey: देसी फ़िल्मों का कारोबार


मेरा शोध पश्चिमी उत्तर प्रदेश की देसी फ़िल्मों के फलते-फूलते और लगातार बढ़ते व्यवसाय और उसकी अंतर्वस्तु को लेकर है। वैसे तो मैं इस विषय पर एक पूरी किताब लिखने जा रहा हूँ, लेकिन वर्कशॉप में में मैं कुछ चुनिंदा पहलू ही पेश कर पाउँगा: जैसे कि इन देसी फ़िल्मों का संक्षिप्त इतिहास, ये बनती कैसे हैं, इनके कथानक क्या हैं, शैलियाँ कौन सी हैं, इनके नायक-नायिकाओं व निर्माताओं का कार्य-जीवन कैसा है, लोग इन्हें कैसे देखते हैं, और मीडिया में आने के बाद इनका जीवन कैसे बदलता है।


Anil Pandey is currently a Principal Correspondent with the newsmagazine, Business & Economy. He has worked with Jansatta for five years as a reporter and has taught journalism for another five years at the Makhanlal Chaturvedi Patrakarita Vishwavidyalaya, NOIDA.


30. Rahul Pandita: Byte Soldier: The Life and Times of a Metro TV Reporter

Rahul Pandita is a Delhi-based Freelance writer and journalist. He has formerly been a correspondent with Aaj Tak and Zee News television channels. Has reported extensively from conflict zones like Iraq, Kashmir and India’s Northeast. In 2001 the National Foundation of India awarded him the Northeast Media Fellowship. His buildungsroman, Chinar In My Veins, has won an e-author award. He has recently finished making a film on female infanticide and feticide, Dariya ki Kasam (Swear by the River). He is a member of World Comics India and has been working on using comics as an alternate mode of communication. He is presently working on a novel, based on the 1947 tribesmen attack on Kashmir. His articles have appeared in Outlook, Deccan Herald, Daily Pioneer, Northeast Sun, Sahara Times, Strategic and Defence Magazine and Finnish magazine Ihmisoikeus and Ydin.