[Reader-list] [Announcements] Sarai, CSDS Student Stipendship Workshop: 6-7 Oct, 2006

[Sadan]

Dear All,
Please find below the programme schedule for the third and final 
workshop of Sarai,CSDS Student Stipendship programme for research on the 
city. A brief note about research scholars associated with this 
programme, their topic of research as well as abstracts are also given 
below.
You all are invited in the workshop.
Wishes,
sadan.

Sarai-CSDS Student Stipendship for Research on the City, 2005-2006

Student Stipendship Programme at Sarai

Sarai is committed towards building a network of young researchers, with 
an interest in the urban condition. The Student Stipendship Programme is 
a crucial intervention in this regard. Students are provided financial 
support and academic resources to carry out research, present their work 
and interact with the wider academic community.
Covering a wide frame of geo-cultural regions from Thiruvananthapuram to 
Varanasi and Pune to Darbhanga and Kolkata, these stipendiaries focus on 
a broad range of disciplines including literature, history, gender 
studies, urban planning and communication studies. In the course of nine 
months of stipendship, researchers were invited to participate in three 
workshops to discuss their ideas and problems and engage with scholars 
of urban studies.
This is third and final workshop intended for researchers to present 
their research addressing a wide variety of themes. This year's subjects 
include engagements with dynamics of new urbanism in Pune, historical 
trajectories of matrimonial classifieds, Popular music and issues of 
regional and gendered identities urban memories and question of 
representations, narratives and desires, geographies of capital and 
labour in Trivandrum, historical construction of goondas in context of 
Great Calcutta Killings of 1946 and many worlds of beauty and the beauty 
industry.

Sarai, CSDS Student Stipendship For Research on City Life 2006
Third Workshop 6-7 October 2006
Sarai,CSDS Seminar Room

Day One
October 6, 2006.

10.00-10.15 Opening Remarks: Awadhendra Sharan

10.15-12.00 Development, Planning and Emerging Urbanism
Chair: Sugata Nandi

Ateya: Development/Displacement: Understanding the Tools of Urbanisation
Discussant: Ramya Swayamprakash
Apurva:The Cultural Economy of New Urbanism: Pune’s Magarpatta City, A 
Case Study.
Surbhi Tiwari
Mythri Prasad: Geographies of Capital and Labour in Trivandrum City, Kerala.
Sutapa Majumdar

Open Discussion

12.00- 1.15 Performative Traditions
Chair: Sukanya Sen

Amruta sadanand More :Development of Marathi Experimental Theatre in 
Pune in the Post-‘90s
Discussant: Girija Duggal
Shirish Khare: Little Bele Troupe aur Chhau Nritya Parampara (Little 
Bele Troupe and the Chhau Dance Tradition),
Discussant: Rajeev Ranjan Giri

Open Discussion

1.15-2.00 Lunch

2.00-3.15 Popular Music and Issues of Identity
Chair: Ateya Khorakiwala

Deepak Kumar: Popular Music and the Configuration of Jat Identity in Haryana
Discussant: Pawas Bisht
Swati Das:Exploring the Impact of Audio-Video Recording of Women's Songs 
in Bihar,
Discussant: Mythri

Open Discussion


3.15-3.30 Tea Break

3.30-5.15 Institutions, Narratives and Images of/from Small Towns
Chair: Apurva

Pawas Bisht and Sukanya Sen:Situating Small-Town Desire: Space and 
Memory in Bunty aur Babli
Discussant: Deepak Kumar
Manoj Kumar Jha: Vikshipton par Padti Nigahon ki Dastan, (A Story of 
Gazing Madness and Mad People)
Discussant: Surbhi Tiwari
Rajeev Ranjan Giri: Pushtakalaya aur Shahar ke Baudhik Vikas ka 
Antarsambandh (Library and the Intellectual Life of a City)
Discussant: Swati Das

Open Discussion

5.15-5.45 Feedback 01: Prasad Shetty and Prabhu Mohapatra.

Day II
7 October 2006

10.00-11.15 Going Beyond: Beauty and Urban Spaces
Chair: Surbhi Tiwari

Sutapa Majumdar: Beyond the Beauty Myth: Exploring Invention, Invisible 
Labour and Consumption in Beauty Services
Discussant: Ateya
Amit Ranjan: Memories and Narratives of Delhi
Discussant: Sukanya Sen

Open Discussion

11.15-11.30 Tea Break

11.30-1.15 Historical Trajectories of Representations
Chair: Pawas Bisht
Sugata Nandi : A Criminal Riot: The Calcutta Riot of August 1946 and the 
Goondas,
Discussant: Sadan Jha
Girija and Sudeep Duggal: Deconstructing Holy Matrimony: The Politics of 
the Matrimonial Classified in Delhi’s Leading Newspapers,
Discussant: Ateya Khorakiwala

Open Discussion

1.15-2.00 Lunch

2.00-3.15 Kolkata: Domains of Legality and literature

Chair: Sutapa Majumdar

Surbhi Tiwari: The Corrupt Son of the Erupting City: Kolkata in Law and 
Lovely Matters like Relationship,
Discussant: Vaibhav Parel
Jhelum Biswas: Calcutta in Modern Indian English Literature,
Discussant: Sugata Nandi

Open Discussion

3.15-3.30 Tea Break

3.30—5.15 Communities, Localities and Work Culture
Chair: Deepak Kumar

Rajesh Narayan Dwivedi:Varanasi ke Bunakaron ki Samkalin Chunautiyan: Ek 
Sarvekshana (Contemporary Challenges of the Weavers of Varanai: A Survey)
Discussant: Amruta
Ramya Swayamprakash:Textile Dreams,
Discussant: Apurva
Vaibhav Parel: Brahmin Gali, Ehthnography of a Bylane
Discussant: Amit Ranjan

Open Discussion

5.15-5.45 Feedback 02: Ranjini Mazumdar and Debjani Sengupta.

5.15-- 6.00 Feedback 03: Researchers Remarks
Moderated by Sugata Nandi and Sutapa Majumdar.

6.00-7.00 Feedback 04 : Remarks by Senior Research Scholars
Moderated by Ravi Sundaram
Participants: Ranjini Mazumdar, Debjani Sengupta, Prabhu Mohapatra, 
Awadhendra Sharan.

Selected Proposals:

1. Amit Ranjan Sharma, Memories and Narratives of Delhi, M.Phil. 
English, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. amit_ranjan10 at rediffmail.com
An experiment in creative writing, the project intends to rediscover old 
language and the old city through the stories of families that have 
stayed in Delhi. These are juxtaposed with contemporary 
memoirs/accounts, such as those focusing on the 1984 riots. The project 
will use a collage format to enhance creative expression.

2. Amruta Sadanand More, Development of Marathi Experimental Theatre in 
Pune in the Post-‘90s, MA Communication Studies, University of Pune, 
Pune. more.amruta at rediffmail.com
This project studies the transformations in content, themes, forms, 
sensibilities and language of Marathi experimental theatre in Pune. It 
examines the changing social structure and cultural presence/influence 
of this group on communities in Pune during a particular historical moment.

3. Apurva, The Cultural Economy of New Urbanism: Pune’s Magarpatta City, 
A Case Study, M.Phil. Sociology, University of Pune, Pune. 
apurvakr at yahoo.com
This project focuses on the dynamics of new urbanism in Pune, examining 
the new cultural economy that is (re)organising and creating new forms 
of spatial segragation in the era of global capitalism. The project 
assesses the relationship between the production of space, class, 
culture and consumption through observing a gated community (Magarpatta) 
in Pune.

4. Ateya Khorakiwala, Development/Displacement: Understanding the Tools 
of Urbanisation, B.Arch. KRVIA, Mumbai. ateya.k at gmail.com
This project studies the demolition drives that have been equated with a 
form of 'urban cleansing' in Mumbai, and attempts to correlate these 
with plans to develop and upgrade the metropolis. It examines how 
communities have been displaced by the development plan, raising the 
question of whether the drive towards urbanisation is also 
simultaneously a drive towards the depoliticisation of the city.

5. Deepa Palaniappan, Invisible in New Delhi: Spatial Narratives of the 
Disabled in City 'Public' Spaces, M.Phil. Political Science, Jawaharlal 
Nehru University, Delhi. deepa.palaniappan at gmail.com
This project attempts to document various imaginaries and signifiers 
that constitute city space for disabled populations, by studying the 
mobility patterns of their daily life in New Delhi. The study asks 
whether the disabled are able to participate in/contribute to the 
normative public terrain that culturally defines a city.

6. Deepak Kumar, Popular Music and the Configuration of Jat Identity in 
Haryana, M.Phil. History, Delhi University, Delhi. hie_Deepak at yahoo.com.
This project studies the emergence of the cassette industry in Haryana, 
and the forces by which oral tradition has been tapped in a manner that 
not only legitimises this tradition, but also enables the forging of a 
Jat identity. The research explores networks of reception and 
dissemination, linkages with film music, and with other regional 
cassette industries.

7. Girija Duggal and Sudeep Duggal, Deconstructing Holy Matrimony: The 
Politics of the Matrimonial Classified in Delhi’s Leading Newspapers, MA 
English, Delhi University, Delhi; B.Tech (Computers), IILM, UP Technical 
University, Noida. girijaduggal at gmail.com, duggalsudeep at gmail.com
This project studies the content of matrimonial classifieds in the 
city’s leading newspapers, and maps their dominant trends. It compares 
these findings with the patterns of previous decades; it also attempts 
to analyse related changes, if any, to socio-cultural, political, 
economic and technological factors. This documentation of a media space 
will analyse changing value systems, particularly in the urban middle 
classes.

8. Jhelum Biswas, Calcutta in Modern Indian English Literature, M.Phil. 
English, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. jhelumb at rediffmail.com
The project focuses on the concept of the urban novel, exploring what 
has fascinated generations of writers about the city of Calcutta, a 
complex space that is viewed as semi-decadent, and well as on the verge 
of resurrection. The researcher will draw upon contemporary writers such 
as Amitav Ghosh, Indrajit Hazra, Raj Kamal Jha and others whose work 
features Calcutta as the prominent fulcrum of the narrative.

9. Manoj Kumar Jha, Vikshipton par Padti Nigahon ki Dastan, (A Story of 
Gazing Madness and Mad People) MA Political Science, Annamalai 
University, Darbhanga. jhamanoj01 at rediffmail.com
This project explores urban responses to madness in the small town of 
Darbhanga in Bihar. It focuses on issues such as linkages and tensions 
between the ‘mad’ people of today and the ‘mad’ saints of the past; it 
also examines the presence of madness in social memory and the changing 
nature of social responses to madness The study will incorporate oral 
culture, folk and literary sources that relate to the theme.

10. Mythri Prasad, Geographies of Capital and Labour in Trivandrum City, 
Kerala, M.Phil. Applied Economics, CDS, Thiruvananthapuram. 
mythriprasad at rediffmail.com
Focusing on road construction sites in the city of Trivandrum, this 
project analyses the political economy of urban infrastructure in the 
context of a regime of privatisation. It explores the patterns and 
trajectories of the relocations of ethnic communities of Bengal and 
Jharkhand in these new spaces of global capital. Methodology includes 
archival research as well as in-depth field interviews.

11. Pawas Bisht and Sukanya Sen, Situating Small-Town Desire: Space and 
Memory in Bunty aur Babli, MA Mass Communication, AJKMCRC, Jamia Milia 
Islamia, Delhi. pawasbisht at rediffmail.com, sensukanya at gmail.com
Through a semiotic and an ideological analysis of the Hindi blockbuster 
Bunty aur Babli (2005), the study aims to track the process and the 
politics of the transference of urban space and collective memory onto 
the cinematic text. It is also a reception study, exploring the 
relationship between the audience and the cinematic city as a site of 
the collective memory.

12. Rajeev Ranjan Giri, Pushtakalaya aur Shahar ke Baudhik Vikas ka 
Antarsambandh (Library and the Intellectual Life of a City), Ph.D, 
CIL/SLL &CS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. 
rajeevgirijnu at rediffmail.com
This project attempts to understand the changing dynamics of a 
particular space and its relationship with its urban location. Focusing 
on a library with a long history, the Sharda Sadan Pushtakalaya in the 
small town of Lalgunj (Bihar), the research documents the varying trends 
of readership as well as the history of this library.

13. Rajesh Narayan Dwivedi, Varanasi ke Bunakaron ki Samkalin 
Chunautiyan: Ek Sarvekshana (Contemporary Challenges of the Weavers of 
Varanai: A Survey), Ph.D Hindi, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. 
narayan_vats at yahoo.co.in
This project documents the challenges and different livelihood 
strategies of the weavers of specific Varanasi localities. The study 
attempts to understand how the weaver community has devised ways to 
negotiate economic pressures such as globalisation, within which 
identity, work culture and craft traditions have been transformed. A 
wide range of representational registers, e.g., literary texts, 
documentary films, government records and newspaper reports, will also 
be documented and analysed.

14. Ramya Swayamprakash, Textile Dreams, MA Political Science, SNDT 
Women's University, Mumbai. ramya.swayamprakash at gmail.com.
This project takes the shape of a 'walk' through different periods of 
the textile mills of Mumbai. An attempt at oral history, the study 
explores migrants’ perspectives on the city during the past two decades. 
It also examines the viability of ‘ghost trades’ and the relevance of 
trade unionism in Mumbai.

15. Shirish Khare, Little Bele Troupe aur Chhau Nritya Parampara (Little 
Bele Troupe and the Chhau Dance Tradition), MA Hindi, Jamia Millia 
Islamia, Delhi. shirish_khare at rediffmail.com
This project documents 25 years of activity of the Little Bele theatre 
troupe of Indore and Bhopal. This group has developed a unique style by 
incorporating Chhau dance movements/rhythms into its repertoire. The 
research will document visual materials and texts, newspaper reports, 
folders and brochures, as well as record interviews with people 
associated with the group.

16. Sugata Nandi, A Criminal Riot: The Calcutta Riot of August 1946 and 
the Goondas, Ph.D History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. 
meetnandi at hotmail.com
This project analyses the mechanisms used to produce the discourses 
through which the Calcutta riot of August 1946 has been represented as a 
carnival of crime actualised by goondas, urban criminals of the city. 
The research draws on government reports, media accounts and personal 
memoirs. It explores how the concept of criminality was constituted in 
the context of the ‘Great Calcutta Killing’, and then employed in a 
contest over claims to the correct and definitive account of the riot.

17. Surbhi Tiwari, The Corrupt Son of the Erupting City: Kolkata in Law 
and Lovely Matters like Relationship, MA Political Science, Calcutta 
University, Kolkata. surbhi1010 at yahoo.co.in
This project explores how Kolkata becomes a site of reference for law, 
through a close reading of a legal case – a child-parent dispute 
initiated over the neglect of parents by their offspring. The research 
reflects on the manner in which the city itself is articulated in legal 
rhetoric, and also explores questions of agency and legitimacy.

18. Sutapa Majumdar, Beyond the Beauty Myth: Exploring Invention, 
Invisible Labour and Consumption in Beauty Services, M.Phil. Sociology, 
University of Pune, Pune. sutapa_majumdar at yahoo.com
This project studies the various worlds of beauty and the beauty 
industry in the city of Pune. With an emphasis on different levels of 
hierarchy and gradation that exist within this service industry, the 
research attempts to understand 'beauty' as a process of consumption in 
daily life, focusing on the services offered, labour structure, notions 
of space and hygiene, and their interface with processes relating to the 
medicalisation of beauty.

19. Swati Das, Exploring the Impact of Audio-Video Recording of Women's 
Songs in Bihar, M.Phil. Sociology, University of Pune, Pune. 
sweeti_das at yahoo.com
This project examines the interface of oral traditions and the cassette 
industry in Bihar. The research documents the commercial videotaping of 
social events involving music, such as marriages. Analytical parameters 
focus on the reformulation of both the context and performance of folk 
songs, including songs that celebrate female sexuality. The research 
also scrutinises how cassettes are replacing the living voices of women 
performers, and enabling the erasure of the images of folk artists.

20. Vaibhav Parel, Brahmin Gali, Ehthnography of a Bylane, MA English, 
Delhi University, Delhi. viparel at yahoo.co.uk
This project is an ethnographic study of a Delhi bylane called Brahmin 
Gali. It attempts to highlight the intersecting strategies of intense 
brahmanical ritualism/spirituality, aggressive materialism, a rigid 
caste hierarchy and patriarchal structures within this space, and their 
relationship with the larger urban context.


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