Krishnamoorthy Narasimha Gaonkar

This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.

Krishnamoorthy Narasimha Gaonkar is a Rangayana alumnus and is an active theatre practitioner from Ankola. He also has a post graduation in economics. He has been conducting several theatre workshops for children across Karnataka. With this grant he will work on an arts education project titled ‘Aahaara Samskriti- Idu Namma Oota’ (Food Culture – This is our food) with 43 students at Government Higher Primary School, Heggar, Ankola, Uttara Kannada district. 
Traditional knowledge of food can provide an individual with the capacity to prepare meals that are nutritious, safe and culturally relevant. Uttara Kannada district's intangible cultural heritage manifests its varied ancient cuisines and culinary processes. As a mirror of society's evolution, food tells many stories of agricultural practices, techniques, ingredients, processes, religion, ritual practices, festivals as well as utensils, processes and techniques of the kitchen handed down for generations. One way to learn about the history and culture of different people is to look at the foods they eat. For instance, the Tambuli made with different leaves that Havyaka Brahmins eat or Kempu Iruve Chutney (Red Ant Chutney) consumed by the Siddhi community have histories attached. Food can also be a mark of power in terms of social prestige. But it is interesting to observe that the cultural perception of these types of prestige is quite complex and sometimes even contradictory. Food is also strategic in underscoring the differences between groups, cultures and social classes, and is used to reinforce group identity, to separate and differentiate ‘us’ from the ‘them’.  

The key objective of this project is to actively engage 43 students in a meaningful conversation about food, examine the stories behind their food and reflect on ways that food can nourish individuals, families, and the society. The project aims to be a window for understanding society through food culture - just as one might through a painting or a piece of literature. The school is located in Heggar, a small village that houses students from Havyaka, Siddhi, Patagar and Gowda communities. 

Gathering data on the traditional food system is the first and most important activity for the project. A combination of interviews and workshops are planned to explore practical ways of reflecting the cultural diversity of the children enrolled in the school. Krishnamoorthy will also invite housewives, folk artists, writers, and theatre artists to conduct workshops for students to engage in a series of demonstrations related to traditional recipes. The focus will be on documenting these community recipes. This information will be transformed into stories, dramatic presentations and radio plays. 

The outcomes of the yearlong engagement will be a set of radio plays. 

Krishnamoorthy’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a digital copy of the radio plays, photographs and the video documentation of the project. 

This grant was made possible with support from Citi India.