ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts

READING SILAPPADIKARAM IN THE CONTEMPORARY TIMES: A STUDY OF ITS PERFORMATIVE ASPECTS

Venkata Naresh Burla, Dr. M. Ramakrishnan — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Silappadikaram is a classic literary work of ancient Tamil society, believed to have been composed around the 5th century BCE by Ilango Adigal. It encompasses elements of Jainism, Buddhism, and other religious traditions then prevalent, and also it incorporates themes, myths, and theological principles from each of the belief systems. The epic offers a vivid portrayal of both virtuous and malevolent deeds, while exploring themes of joy and suffering. What sets Silappadikaram apart from other epics is that the text focuses on an ordinary couple, as opposed to kings and armies. The text painstakingly demonstrates the behavioural nuances of society, ranging from commoners to rulers. Love and separation, gaining and losing power, are recurring themes in Indian classical dramas by notable playwrights like Vishakadatta, Kalidas, Bhasa, and Bhavabhuti, etc. These plays were created with the intention of influencing society, specifically targeting individuals in positions of power and authority. However, post-colonial Indian theatre took a different approach, placing common individuals as protagonists in the plays. Works such as Aadhe Adhure, Ghashiram Kotwal, Hayavadana, and Sakharam Binder address prevalent societal issues, with the central character being an ordinary person. The main aspects of modern theatre and the plays mentioned here primarily explore the everyday activities of common individuals and how they are influenced by other members of society, economic factors, and politics. This paper studies the contemporary relevance of Silappadikaram in modern theatre by drawing a comparison with these modern Indian plays.

KATHAK DANCE EDUCATION AS A SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Anubhi Sharma, Dr. Suchitra Harmalkar — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In a constant effort towards development in the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional wellbeing, the human tendencies always keep visiting and revisiting the spiritual dimension for an upper sense of validation. All human activity somehow takes refuge and develops through the presence of this spiritual faculty. Where classical dance holds a well-esteemed status in the deliverance of the spiritual goals human beings possess, Kathak dance continues to illuminate an artist’s life by the spiritual role it offers. The paper studies how education in Kathak can yield this universal purpose of spiritual growth. Various reflections in the style and structure of the Kathak education further strengthens the fact that learning and dancing Kathak truly invokes a remarkable spiritual upsurge. This acknowledgement of the Supreme Power by the inner self ascertains persistence, value, harmony and thus fosters a spiritual evolution in its true sense.

EXAMINE THE VIEWPOINTS OF B.ED. TEACHERS REGARDING THEATER-BASED TEACHING (TBT)

Vinod Kumar Jain, Ruby Sharma — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Learning is ideally a natural process for students, focusing on active involvement and practical application. Emotional involvement plays a vital role in comprehending concepts deeply and retaining them over time. Theater, acknowledged worldwide for its effectiveness in fostering such engagement, has been extensively researched in this regard. This study investigates teachers' perspectives on Theater-Based Teaching (TBT), an educational approach that incorporates theatrical elements. The research seeks to reveal teachers' opinions, convictions, and encounters with TBT.
Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the perceptions of Trainee teacher’s regarding Theater-Based Teaching (TBT).
Method: This quantitative study endeavored to investigate the benefits associated with integrating Theater-Based Teaching (TBT) activities into the teaching-learning process. A questionnaire utilizing the Likert Five-point rating scale was developed and administered to 54 participating educators.
Result: This study demonstrates that TBT activities contribute to the development of life skills, enrich learning experiences, and broaden knowledge children. The findings suggest that integrating TBT activities into education can support children's holistic development.

PRACTICE-BASED PHD IN VISUAL ART: AN INQUIRY REGARDING THE CURRENT SITUATION OF INDIAN ART EDUCATION

Prosenjit Raha, Pallavi Majumder — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research paper deals with a research methodology for Visual Art related research. Practice-based research is common in the art institutions of Europe, America, Australia, and Asian countries like China and Japan. In India, it is not well-known. This paper has been written on the basis of the experience gathered during the practice-based doctoral research of the first author (In India) and second author (In Hungary). To understand the exact scenario the views of senior art educators and research scholars in India were also taken. It has also included the experience through participation in the workshop on practice-based doctoral research, organized by Banaras Hindu University. These experiences and views lead this research to conclude with the requirements and possibilities of implementation of the Practice-based PhD as a suggestion for Indian Art Academia.

MIGRATION WITHIN FRAMES: REPRESENTATION OF GULF MIGRATION IN THE CARTOONS OF KERALAM

Dr. Basil Thomas, Dr. Gem Cherian — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The present study assumes that cartoons, as a visual product of culture, wraps social reality in humour. The cartoonists from Keralam have actively and consistently represented the socio-cultural evolution of the state. The transformation of agrarian economy into a Gulf remittance economy can be visualized in the cartoon series in the decades of 1970s and 1980s. Migration refers to the flow or movement of people to a new country for several reasons, the major ones being the settlement based on better employment opportunities and standard of living. Migration has been a crucial factor in the social and economic framework of Keralam in the twentieth century. This phenomenon was especially and almost exclusively known as the Gulf Migration, whereby a majority of the migrants from Kerala were in the countries in the Middle East – popularly referred to in Malayalam as ‘the Gulf’. Gulf migration is a favoured topic of novels and movies at that time in Keralam, but the representation of the same can also be found in the cartoons as well. This study focuses on the representation of Gulf boom in the cartoons of Keralam roughly spanning from 1950 to 2000. The intention of the paper is to look backwards into the history of Keralam to interrogate the representation of migration in select cartoons in Malayalam (published between 1950 and 2000) presenting how Keralam become the ‘Kerala Model’ and beyond.

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES: ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS AND LISTENERSHIP OF COMMUNITY RADIO

Shivam Rastogi, Dr. Ravi Suryavanshi — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Community radio has long been recognized as a powerful tool for empowering marginalized communities by providing them with a platform to voice their concerns, share their stories, and access essential information. Community radio (CR) is a third-tier media, together with broadcasting on public and privately owned radio. This research paper throws light on the listenership pattern of listeners of community radio, their program preferences and CR programs' effectiveness on listeners. A survey was conducted among listeners of ‘Radio Varsha’ which is situated in the Gopalganj district of Bihar for the purpose of data collection and analysis. This study employs a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative survey data and extracts of discussions held with stakeholders and listeners. The research discovered that programs are effective in generating awareness on various topics among listeners. The broadcast content in local languages and dialects was liked by the listeners, thus, leading to the effectiveness of the programs.

PYAAVS AND PAANPOIS - A STUDY OF THE CHANGING FACE OF PUBLIC WATER DISPENSING UNITS OF PUNE

Nikita Bipin Mahajani — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Water has always been an essential part of human civilization, shaping urban landscapes and influencing social life. The drinking water fountains built during colonial period are locally called as pyaavs while water dispensing units are generally called as paanpois. Two old drinking water fountains and some new water dispensing units are located within the Pune Cantonment region. Whereas the ancient Paanpois were located on the outskirts of Pune. The aim of this paper is to study the evolution of the historic pyaavs and the paanpois which are regional expressions of water dispensing units from Pune. This study explores the tangible and intangible legacy through a variety of photographic documentation and a review of existing research in the topic, showcasing the individuality of each water dispensing unit.

AESTHETICS OF JACKAL’S JUDGEMENTS IN THE FOLKTALES OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF JHARKHAND

M. Ramakrishnan, Shalini Pallavi — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Aesthetics, the philosophical perspective that guides the interpretation of an art or its elements for beauty and taste, is not as a simple tool as it appears to be, and its complexity rests on its association with multiple principles and concerns. As located by Immanuel Kant in his The Critique of Judgement Kant (1790/1928), the presence of faculty of judgement consists two parts: ‘critique of aesthetic judgement and critique of teleological judgement,’ and there is a discussion on the ‘aesthetic purposiveness’ in judgement which is presented immediately after the discussion on the ‘logical purposiveness’ in the introduction. In handling the aesthetics of art, it is not merely an expression of the feeling or the sense of taste; rather it is a judgement ascribed to it. Teleology, on the other hand, moves on the regulative or heuristic path in achieving a goal or purpose of the object Bird (2023). However, this article moves away from the core philosophical dialogue on the nature of aesthetics to evolve a framework for contemplating the aesthetics associated with the presence of animal characters in the folktales of judicial/judgement belonging to the tribal communities of Jharkhand. A few judgement tales are taken for this study, not with any specific reason, but these tales have been identified as a matter of convenience in addressing a strong message that is constructed using the popular animal motifs that are quite common and particular to tribal communities in the state. By employing literary tools in delineating and portraying the animal characters as folk motifs and their aesthetic representations to effectively construct and convey the notion of moral judgement on the narrative events that are conditioned with the narrative requirements as per the narrative programme, this article attempts contemporize the dialogue on the moral and ethical attributes as well as to signify the existence of oral tradition with greater responsibility for human beings with amusement as a mere camouflage technique.

A LETTER FROM SPECIAL EDITION EDITOR IN CHIEF - DR. SHIVA SHANKARAN KR

Shiva Shankaran KR — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Readers and Contributors,
The Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Faculty of Science & Humanities, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur organized a Two- Day National Conference on Journalistic and Creative Freedom: Prospects and Challenges on 21, & 22 September 2023. The conference had eight sessions, including two hybrid mode sessions; the conference has papers across India.
The conference included eight different panel experts in the field of our conference themes, such as Press freedom, Media independence, Free speech, Editorial independence, Censorship, Information access, Journalistic ethics, Media pluralism, Artistic expression, Creative autonomy, Freedom of imagination, Intellectual property, Cultural diversity, Creative license, Copyright protection, Artistic integrity, Unrestricted creativity, Online censorship, Social media moderation, Content filtering, Information control, Digital censorship, Content moderation policies, Online speech restrictions, Content removal, Online surveillance. During the research presentation, the experts and participants discussed and cultivated knowledge on the specific topic among the audience.
Significantly, the keynote speaker Dr. Debi Chatterjee, Former Professor, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, emphasized the role of media in safeguarding democracy in a nation. Transparency and accountability are essential for the functioning of a healthy democracy. Investigative journalism exposes corruption, abuse of power, and other threats to democratic principles. The notable speaker has highlighted the important factor that Media plays a fundamental role in providing citizens with accurate and timely information about political events, policies, and issues. She also asked the media students as well as professionals to be torch bearers for media as well as creative freedom. The valedictory speaker Mr. Nandakummar R, Director, Directorate of Communication, SRM Institute of Science and Technology has incited a diverse and pluralistic media landscape ensures that a variety of perspectives and opinions are represented. And Media diversity is crucial for preventing the concentration of power and fostering a more inclusive democracy.
The conference research papers had Sixty-Seven research papers have presented during the two days National conference: Forty-Seven (47) papers on the physical mode and twenty (20) on hybrid mode, including special sessions. Few papers related to scope were selected to be published in the UGC Care-Listed Journal "ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts" as a special issue titled "National Conference on Journalistic and Creative Freedom: Prospects and Challenges”. I express my sincere thanks to the publisher of Granthaalayah Publications for their noble partnership with our institution, inspiring and acknowledging researchers.

NURTURING CREATIVITY IN NON-ART-SPECIALISED PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY

Susmita Lakhyani — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Theoretically, art has been given a place in the school curriculum, but it is considered a fringe subject. This was also observed in prospective teachers with specialisations other than art, and likewise, they were reluctant to draw or paint. There is a need to understand the underlying issues and fill the gaps. This will help in prospective teachers’ personality development. In addition, they will help promote art in their schools, which they will join after finishing teacher training, which can pave the way for art-integrated teaching envisioned in National Education Policy 2020. This study aims to examine prospective teachers’ understanding of art and attitudes towards art as a subject, as well as the experiences that shaped them. It also attempts to organise an art workshop to see if it can help bridge the gap in the prospective teachers' understanding of art. For the study, 300 prospective teachers with specialisations other than art were taken as participants. Questionnaire was followed by a painting activity. Qualitative analysis highlighted the issues and gaps. It reflected participants' misconceptions of art, fears, and disinterest in art, as well as a discouraging school and home environment. It also reflected the issues in the teaching and learning process: a lack of trained art teachers and art being in the curriculum just in theory. The analysis was followed by organising the art workshop, focusing on bridging the gaps. Participants created artwork, and its qualitative analysis expressed values, showed growth in their understanding of art, and reflected participants' joy in its creation, aligning with art education's aim as mentioned in the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023.
It is concluded that there are issues and challenges, and art workshops can bridge the gap in prospective teachers’ understanding of art. Consequently, art is essential to "teacher education" and can facilitate art-integrated learning, as outlined in the NCFSE 2023.