21. Ram Ganesh Kamatham, Bangalore. Vikram and Vetal: A Contemporary Urban Play

This research seeks to create a play script which is a modern retelling of the folktale of Vikram and Vetal. The main thrust of the research will seek to create a critical mass of information pertaining to the stories that will be exploited for dramaturgical ends, with a view to re-contextualising the stories within a modern urban space. It will involve gathering material that will eventually inform the creation of the play script – including comic books, photographs, clippings and a travelogue. The dramaturgical concept of polyvocality will permeate the research as well as drive the creative process that will frame the material dramatically.

Ram Ganesh Kamatham is a professional writer based in Bangalore. He has created work for stage, film, radio, and video games.


22. Shahnawaz Khan, Srinagar. Entertainment Ghosts in Srinagar: A Tale of Cinema Halls in the City

This study aims to analyse the impact of the closure of cinema halls in Srinagar after the outbreak of armed insurgency in early nineties. Most of the closed cinema halls are occupied by paramilitary troopers and have even functioned as torture centres in the nineties. Some others have changed business. Only one is functional, but not in good condition.

I will be talking to people associated with the trade, cine goers who have been to these halls when they functioned, and the youth today who do not find a place to go for a movie in the city. The study will also look at the psychological impact of these structures in the city, which stand witness to the times they have gone through.

I am a journalist based in Srinagar, associated with the US based Free Speech Radio News. Along with some friends we launched Kashmirnewz.com in 2006.


23. Arvind Kumar, Delhi. Caste Violence in Urban Maharashtra: A Study of the 1974 Worli Riots, a Breaking Point in the Dalit Panthers Movement

The proposed study intends to analyse the Worli riots of 1974 when there was a violent clash between the Shiv Sena and the Dalit Panthers. In this riot the main target of communal wrath were dalits who opted out of the oppressive caste-hindu religion and converted to Neo-Buddhism. The riots and the agitation brought to the surface dissensions within the Dalit Panther movement, which ultimately led to its split in 1974.

There are enough sources available on Dalit Panther movement. The consciousness of revolt was also expressed in an outburst of poetry by new writers like Namdev Dhasal, Daya Powar, J V Pawar, Waman Nimbalkar, Arun Kamble and many others. The present study will locate the Worli riots in a historical perspective and will try and address new questions as and when they arise through the course of the study. Content analysis as a technique would be adopted whereby making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying specified characteristics of texts will be followed. The researcher would conduct interviews with the survivors of the riots and would record and transcribe them. Apart from this, internet sites would be scoured for photographs and assorted material.

Arvind Kumar is pursuing a PhD in American Studies at the School of International Studies, JNU on the topic 'Discrimination and Resistance - A Comparative Study of Black Movements in the U.S and Dalit Movements in India'.


24. Ramesh Kumar, Delhi. Film Exhibition Spaces in Delhi

My research would attempt to understand the dynamics of the film viewing experience offered by three different cinema halls belonging to the A, B and C segment each in the city of Delhi. Basing itself on the premise that our film viewing experience is greatly altered by the viewing conditions and other facilities offered by the screening space and its surroundings, the research would seek to understand what marks such difference between the three cinema halls. Through a series of interviews, empirical observation and photo documentation, I would investigate the unique spatial experience offered by each site, study the various facilities offered by them, compare the nature of films screened and the technology used in each hall, examine other mechanisms employed to offer the audience “a novel movie experience” and study the different promotional materials used by each cinema hall. In a final
report/ academic paper, I would summarize these empirical findings and locate them in the larger field of cultural production and circulation amidst the heterogeneity of the city space.

I am currently enrolled for an MPhil in Film Studies from the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU.


25. Gyaltsen Lama, Gangtok, Sikkim. Shamans in the City

A four part graphic novel exploring the lives of four different shamans in Gangtok, Sikkim. 20 pages of each part with black and white illustrations. Each part is approached with different illustration and narrative styles.

ONE

This is more of an intimate/personal approach. The shaman, who is a housewife, is interviewed randomly over a period of time. The illustration is realistic. Story line consists of her history, views, aspirations and experiences.

TWO

This has a humorous approach story wise so the illustration is more free flowing and very much satirical. This is a shaman who has more misses than hits. This narrative will be interviews with the people who interact with him on a daily basis, their opinion of him.

THREE

This has an experimental approach illustration wise. This deals with more of the shamanistic rituals where the shaman describes them. A collage of illustrations and photographs with non linear inter panel flow.

FOUR

This is a background research of a shaman who is from a remote part of Sikkim and now resides in Gangtok city. This research includes visiting the village of the shaman and interviewing the village people and getting a better understanding of where the shaman comes from and how he is coping with the city.

Gyaltsen Lama: I received my bachelor of fine arts degree (year 2000) from Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai. I am currently the fine art teacher at Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok. I am working on an art installation; one part of it is a 13 ft sculpture in concrete. The project is in its final stages. I am also a tattoo artist and have been working on tattoos for the last 7 years. I also have a passion for cel animation.


26. Madhura Lokohare, Pune. Exploring the ‘Vartaphalak’ Culture in Pune City

The aim of the study is to explore the role played by notice boards (popularly known as vartaphalak) in formation and articulation of identity in four areas of Pune city, viz. Sadashiv Peth, Narayan Peth, Guruwar Peth and Ghorpade Peth. The study tries to investigate how local, communal and regional identity is constructed and consolidated through these spaces, by looking at the visual organization of these spaces and content and rhetoric used in the notice boards. It also aims at understanding the profile of population whom these spaces are aimed at as well as community perceptions towards these spaces. Whether the spaces reflect a gender-based and caste-based differences would be another point of exploration. Fieldwork would be done through three qualitative methods: photo documentation, interviews and FGDs, and non-participant observation. These methods would focus on specific themes outlined in the objectives.

The outcome of the study would be in the form of a photo-essay comprising of maximum 35 photographs, covering the above issues and an essay exploring these issues based upon fieldwork as well as a brief review of literature in the area of public spaces and visual culture.

Madhura Lokhare is currently working as a Research Co-ordinator in a mental health research, services and advocacy organization, Bapu Trust, Pune; there she is working on a research project exploring the role of indigenous healing practices in mental health.


27. Nalin Mathur, Delhi. B-Grade Engineering College Culture

Being subjected with the experience of studying at an engineering college, I happened to witness the living experiences, aspirations and values that make an 'engineer' beyond all the techy stuff he learns in the classroom. Add to it the different background and identity of students and the acute realization that "This – is- not – IIT", which more often then not looms large in everyone's conscience. Hence, engineering colleges constitute of interesting and fantastical cultural dynamics wherein a mix of identities, cultures and aspirations are played out in non-metropolitan spaces to get an amalgamation of different worlds in one campus. Through this project I aim to study the phase of social and emotional renaissance which unavoidably crops up during one's stay away from his natural locale.

The end-product of the research will be in form of a series of essays with illustrations and will cover the following:

1. An ethnographic description of B Grade Engineering college culture and student experience.
2. Mapping out the changing dynamics of this space along with that of its physical location and how the latter contributes to receives and experiences this culture.
3. Hypothetical possibilities of how these might affect the physical and cultural space.
4. How these aspects affect one’s politics, conscience, personhood.
5. How these experiences influence and form the outlook towards the world at large or view points nurtured here during the four years of a students stay.

The research methodology shall be qualitative and informal in nature. It will include:

- Participant Observation
- Photography
- Ethnography
- Sociometry
- Historiography

I am Nalin Narain Mathur, working as an Analyst – Systems, with HCL Technologies – Remote Infrastructure Division and have a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Uttar Pradesh Technical University, Lucknow.


28. Meena Menon, Mumbai. Recovering Lost Histories: Riot Victims and Communal Polarisation in Mumbai

Is Mumbai the unbreakable city it is touted to be? As a city, it has changed in obvious and not so obvious ways since the post Babri Masjid demolition riots of December 1992 and January 1993. The main focus of the research will be the families of the riot victims and their lives after more than a decade since the violence.

The high profile trial of the 1993 serial blasts case has come to an end and the verdict is being handed out while the Srikrishna commission, which did a detailed report on the riots, has been shelved. The riots clearly intensified the divide between two communities and created a process of further ghettoisation. Many people went to live in extended suburbs and even outside the cities, creating extruded ghettos. The scars over the years have created deeper divisions and tracing the complexities involved may allow some truths to emerge.

The research method will be based on interviews first hand visits to places and talking to as wide a spectrum of people as possible—including researchers, journalists, riot affected families, government, police officials, apart from political parties. At the end of the research I would like to use the material for a book.

At the moment I am special correspondent with The Hindu. I have been a journalist for 22 years and have worked with The Times of India, Mid-day and the United of News of India.


29. Yateendra Mishra, Allahabad: The Intimate Ayodhya


30. Sayandeb Mukherjee, Hyderabad. Corridors: The Psycho-Acoustics of Corridor-Like Spaces

This project delves into the emotional and acoustic contours of corridors. This contemporary architectural design which may appear simple structurally possesses a complicated and sometimes convoluted auditory space due to reflective and diffractive properties of sound. The project attempts to enlighten the variability of these acoustic qualities/characterestics of corridors integrated in different urban spaces like – hospitals, prisons, libraries, educational institution, courts and many other public spaces which are vibrant in terms of psycho-acoustics. The research would also borrow references from ancient mythological texts, films, paintings and literature to discern the mystic and seemingly improbable destination of corridors and like spaces.

The process of research includes a vivid physical involvement and exploration in the corridor like spaces, taking notes in a descriptive way in the spot itself, acquiring photographs and live recordings of the acoustic environments at different spots of the same space. The recording process may also involve time stamps (i.e. recordings of the same space over the different parts of a day) for the analysis of the soundscape in a particular space. The process also includes the collection of films, texts or any other form of art, where one can notice a conscious application of such corridor-like spaces.

Sayandeb Mukherjee is a graduate of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata who now works as a professional sound recordist in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad.