LEGACY OF PATRIARCHAL GOD AND THE POLITICS OF MYTH-MAKING: LOCATING THE GENDERED POSITION IN RELIGIOUS VISUAL ART

This essay discusses how the imagination of women in India is framed up by the gender-biased mythical representations. By looking at the mythical representations that are circulated through centuries in many popular mages, paintings and calendar-portraits, a discursive pattern can be found that has positioned women in a secondary level, belonging to men. The family itself becomes a political site in the process of normalizing women’s submissiveness to men by comparing their actions with the Goddesses. By interrogating the gendered position of Goddess like Lakshmi and her male counterpart Lord Vishnu, this essay attempts to problematize with the mode of representation in religious visual images. I conclude by arguing that these religious representations in visual images have negative impact on the Hindu women, especially, in rural areas and thus keep the unhealthy gender role intact in Indian society.

TOWARDS A SYNERGY BETWEEN DANCE PEDAGOGY AND PRAXIS FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The initial objective of dance education was to development the art form and harness it’s potentials for societal development. That dance education in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions of learning is largely seen as an isolated and purely academic exercise with little or no relevance to the real sector is hardly in contention as several studies attest to that reality. What is of concern is how to make it more relevant to the present milieu. Against universal trends, major developments in dance in Nigeria are driven by forces independent of academic influences. Various reasons have been advanced by scholars (Ikideh, 1987; Adeyemi, 2010; Onyemuchara, 2017; etc.) Onyemuchara, for instance, contends that the paucity of practice-based curriculum is the bane. Drawing from related disciplinary paradigms, this paper explores the possibility of synergizing the efforts of both the academic and professional/industry dance practitioners to make dance more relevant to national development.

MONO PRINTING ON CONTEMPORARY WESTERN WEARS

English - Mono printing is the first printing technique used by younger people in Western countries to create a new surface for painting with the natural colors available and now to create textures on clothing as well. It has no history in India. The present research aims to gather more information about this printing technology and explore its future in the Indian modern fashion market. For this a collection of contemporary western casualwear was designed and developed. The responses of 100 adolescent girls as respondents were collected and analyzed for the awareness of this art form and its viability in the fashion market. The study revealed that the majority of the sample group were unaware of this printing technique, but found the design and application of this technology to be highly aesthetic in the quality garments developed. There is a good market potential for the fashion products made by this technology of printing. Hindi - मोनो प्रिंटिंग प्रथम प्रिंटिंग तकनीक है, जो पश्चिमी देषों में कम उम्र के लोगों द्वारा उपलब्ध प्राकृतिक रंगों के साथ पेंटिग के लिए नए प्रकार की सतह बनाने और अब कपड़ों पर भी बनावट बनाने के लिए उपयोग की जाती है। भारत में इसका कोई इतिहास नहीं है। वर्तमान अनुसंधान का उद्देश्य इस प्रिंटिंग तकनीक के बारे में अधिक जानकारी एकत्रित करना और भारतीय आधुनिक फैशन बाजार में इसके भविष्य का पता लगाना है। इस के लिए समकालिक पश्चिमी कैजुअलवियर परिधानों का संग्रह डिजाइन और विकसित किया गया। उत्तरदाताओं के रूप में १०० किशोरियों कीे प्रतिक्रियाओं को एकत्र कर उनमें इस कला की जागरूकता और फैशन बाजार में व्यवहार्यता का विश्लेषण किया गया । अध्ययन से पता चला है कि, सेम्पल समूह में अधिकांष प्रिंटिंग की इस तकनीक से अनभिज्ञ है, लेकिन विकसित गुणवत्तापूर्ण परिधानों की डिजाइन और उनपर इस तकनीक का उपयोग को उन्होंने अत्यधिक सौंदर्यात्मक पाया । प्रिंटिंग की इस तकनीक से तैयार फैशन उत्पादों के लिए बाजार में अच्छी संभावनाएं हैं।

DECIPHERING THE IMPRESSION OF ADVERTISING THROUGH CHILD ART

The easier and expressive forms of child art are scribbling and drawing. Drawing made by children, mirror their personality and understanding of their cultural environment. It also helps them in expressing their feelings, emotions, preferences, likes, dislikes, fears, joy, and so on. Sometimes the art and drawing unveil information which they do not express through verbal or written communication. In this digital era, children get exposed to a lot of advertisements through various media. Some of these advertisements have a long-lasting impact on them. The advertised message or some visuals of the advertisement may remain in their conscious or subconscious memory. Advertisers also make efforts to ensure that their message retains in the memory of young prospects. Because when these prospects make the buying decision, the probability of it being in the brand’s favour increases. Advertising has a huge influence on the young, tender, and impressionable minds of the children. It reflects in their action and personality. In this research study, I tried to understand the impact of advertisements on children through deciphering their drawings. The children under this research study are from the age group of 8 to 12 years. Their drawings were studied to understand the impression of advertisements on them. The result shows that the advertisements have a noticeable impact on the children which is visible in their drawings.

THE MOTOR SKILLS FOR PERFORMING MANIPURI PUNG CHOLOM

Manipuri Nata-Sankirtana is a unique type of performing art form where Manipuri male musicians sing Sankirtana using musical instruments such as Pung (Manipuri percussion musical instrument) by Pungyeiba (Pung player), Kartal (Manipuri cymbal) by Eshei-sakpa (singers), and Moibung (Conch Shell) by Moibungkhongba (conch blower) by following its prescribed sequence. The percussion musical instrument, Pung is the soul of such performance. It is necessary to know how Pung Cholom (the dexterous and vigorous movements of the body from head to toe in tune with the beats of playing Pung simultaneously in a creative manner by the Pungyeiba) is done and what are the motor skills involved in performing it. The discussion has the following objectives: Identifying the different parts of the body involved in doing Pung Cholom, knowing the basic foundations for playing Pung, and understanding the basic motor skills for performing Pung Cholom. It uses descriptive qualitative method. This utilizes the tools and techniques of interview and observation. This will bring out the different aspects of Manipuri Pung Cholom helping in the learning area of psychomotor skill, giving global benefits in performing arts.

INFLUENCE OF MODERN PAINTING ON HANDICRAFTS OF JODHPUR DISTRICT

English: With the development of civilization, we get evidence of handicrafts creation art. Many types of were made by humans, whose use is seen in many forms. According to the demand of time and their utility, their form changed. In the present time, the forms, shapes, expressions etc. of the prevailing arts have been changed and influenced. In such a situation, how can ancient arts like handicrafts remain untouched. The desire for new art and new experiments have changed the meaning of handicraft art. In this context, The influence of modern painting can also be on the handicrafts being made in jodhpur district. Handicrafts made of wood and iron sheet can also be seen combined and separately. In this work, handicrafts are being made from 80:20 part of wood and iron sheet and only iron sheet, in which the creation of spiritual form, natural form, human figures and animal and bird forms is very artistic. The mutual competitions have also changed the sentiments and thoughts of the handicraftsmen. Combining antiquity and modernity with the influence of new promises, a new revolution is being initiated in the field of handicrafts. In the present time, handicraft art has also covered the colors, forms and expressions of modern painting. Hindi: सभ्यता के विकास क्रम के साथ ही हमें हस्तशिल्प सृजन कला के प्रमाण मिलते है। मानव द्वारा कई प्रकार के हस्तशिल्प बनाये गये, जिनका उपयोग कई रूपों में दृष्टिगत होता है। समय की मांग और इनकी उपयोगिता के आधार पर इनके स्वरूप बदलते गये। वर्तमान समय में प्रचलित कलाओं के रूप, आकार, भाव आदि परिवर्तित व प्रभावित हो चुके है। ऐसे में हस्तशिल्पीय जैसी प्राचीन कलाएँ कैसे अछूती रह सकती है। नूतन कला की चाह और नवीन प्रयोगों ने हस्तशिल्पीय कला के मायने ही बदल दिये है। इसी संदर्भ में जोधपुर जिले में बनाये जा रहे हस्तशिल्पों पर भी आधुनिक चित्रकला के प्रभावों को देखा जा सकता है। लकड़ी व लौह चद्दर से बने हस्तशिल्पों को संयुक्त व पृथक रूप में भी देखा जा सकता है। इस कार्य में लकड़ी व लौह चद्दर का 80ः20 भाग एवं सिर्फ लौह चद्दर से भी हस्तशिल्प बनाये जा रहे है, जिनमें आध्यात्मिक रूप, प्राकृतिक रूप, मानवाकृतियॉ व पशु-पक्षी रूपों का सृजन अत्यंत ही कलात्मक है। आपसी प्रतिस्पर्द्धाओं ने हस्तशिल्पी के भावों और विचारों को भी परिवर्तित कर दिया है। नये-नये वादों के प्रभाव के साथ पुरातन व आधुनिकता का मेल करते हुए हस्तशिल्पीय कला के क्षेत्र में मानों नवीन क्रान्ति का सूत्रपात किया जा रहा हो। वर्तमान समय में हस्तशिल्पीय कला भी आधुनिक चित्रकला के रंग, रूप और भावों का आवरण ओढ़ चुकी है।

A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF KERALAM THROUGH CARTOONS

The surplus number of comic magazines that existed in Keralam even before the official formation of the state in 1956 reinstates the affinity of the Malayalam speaking people towards cartoons. The social situations and the functioning of various institutions like education and employment were a source of inspiration for the cartoonists from Keralam. The high literacy rate of Keralam is not the product of a single day. The foundation work of this had started even before the formation of the state. This paper tries to analyse the education system of Keralam portrayed in the cartoons of cartoonists Toms, Aravindan and Thomas. The cartoons of Toms, Aravindan and Thomas portray the day to day life of Keralam in their social cartoons, including the school life and college life of the period of the second half of the twentieth century. There are two phases in the development of the education sector in Keralam: the first phase focusing mass education where the major capital investor was the state itself and private investment was not encouraged. The second phase witnessed a fast paced growth and urbanization after the 1970s because of the large scale migrant remittance. The changing faces of the education system of Keralam can be seen in the cartoons of these select cartoonists.

A GLANCE AT FOLK PERFORMANCE AND NON-NATIVE AUDIENCE

Performance is an interesting subject of study and it is the point of intersection for many academic fields within humanities and social sciences. The studies on performance, thus, could provide opportunities for exploring different aspects of human behaviours and their creative reflections on the matters that are intrinsic to the concept of performance. In pursuit of performance studies, one could come across various knots that connect performance with every aspect of the socio-cultural life of people by redefining the stereotypical notions of “stage”, “actors” and “audience.” Further, the studies on performance could not be placed on a single trajectory as several approaches, perspectives and orientations that have emerged ever since the delimitation of performance happened by opening up its boundary for interdisciplinary studies lead by the undefined ‘performance studies’ of Richard Schechner. However, by dealing with the performance as a live presentation in all perceived forms of “stages”, a significant question has been asked in this paper as a token of beginning on the “problematic” presence of audience as outsiders (non-native and non-belonging) who, by their nature of reception and response, are understood as those who have no concern either for the performance or for the performers. While each form, in the folkloristic sense, is comprising of its natural context along with a dedicated or defined audience, it seems to be a surprising phenomenon as it developed over a period of time as a result of the prodigious and irresistible globalization process. Thus, the unintended and unsolicited transformation, as an impact of globalization, in the traditional and modern performances has shaped the nature and role of ‘audience’, making it an insignificant and irrelevant entity for the consumption with aesthetic appreciation and conviction on the values demonstrated. So this article problematizes the nature of audience in the decontextualized performance context by drawing insights from performance studies, semiotics, and other cognate disciplines. Based on the insights drawn from the fieldwork on Sarhul festival held in Ranchi district a few years ago, this paper argues that the role of audience cannot be understood unless there is a clear perspective on the nature of performance and performance tradition as defined by the community.

A STUDY OF MUTHUSWAMI DIKSHITAR’S EXPERTISE ON VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF MUSICOLOGY REFLECTED THROUGH HIS COMPOSITIONS

Musicology is the study of scientific and intellectually handling of music. This is a colossal subject of music and inquest into the History and phenomenon of music including; life and works of Composers and performers, music theory like melody, rhythm, harmony, modes, aesthetics, form etc. The Historical evidences of Indian Classical music have been discussed in several ancient texts like Veda’s, Upanishads, epics way back 2000 years ago. The Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda contains ritual hymns and incantations (vedic chants) , praising the specific dieties during the Sacrificial rituals. The South Indian music has a phlegmatic and pedagogic nature when compared with the music of other unconsecrated Hindustani traditions. This paper highlights the proficiency of Dikshitar’s knowledge of Musicology bequeathed from his father Ramaswami Dikshitar, a scholar, musician, learned musicologist, and recipient of many honours and emoluments in the knowledge of music gained sufficient knowledge in musicology who had settled down at Tiruvarur where Dikshitar was born. Tiruvarur then was a seat of learning of Sanskrit and Vedanta. Dikshitar’s compositions reflect his deep and thorough knowledge widely through the interpretation of their literature as seen in famous compositions like ‘Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje’, ‘Amrutavarshini’ and others will be discussed with the various rasas created through the ragas as enunciated in the Natyashastra of Bharat Muni.

READING THEYYAM AS AN ARCHIVE OF THE SUBALTERN COMMUNITY OF NORTHERN KERALA

Theyyam is a ritual art form exclusive to Northern Kerala, performed by the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes. It is the socio-religious movements that gave them a platform to put forth their problems and change the attitude and treatment of upper castes towards them. Until then, it was a medium for them to present the trauma and victimhood long endured by their community under casteism. This is well fabricated in various elements surrounding Theyyam, such as Thottam Pattu. Theyyam also projects the kinds of ritual and spiritual practices of their community. So, this research attempts to read Theyyam as an archive of the subaltern community by borrowing the Archive concept defined by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in her essay 'The Rani of Sirmur: An Essay in Reading the Archives.' As the art form is linked with religious beliefs, it has survived over the years, recognising the community's struggles under casteism and their heroic figures. Thus, this research also attempts to have a close reading of each element surrounding it.