Tharanatha P

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

Tharanatha P is a Block Resource Person at Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district. He has been a facilitator at national level trainings on theatre, yoga, science and mathematics. Tharanatha has also organised training programmes for teachers at state and national level seminars. He will be working with the seventh grade students of the Government Higher Primary School, Belandoor of the district.

The river system - its geography, history, literature and the artistic expressions centred on it – is a wonderful way for students to gain an understanding and appreciation of place and culture. River systems represent many ‘firsts’ – beds of civilisations, the earliest highways, the original boundaries between territories and the first water supplies. The river Kumaradhara is spread across three districts in Karnataka: Hassan, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada. Playing a central role in this region, the river forms a cluster of rich bio-diverse terrestrial and aquatic sites and home to a large number of endemic plant and animal species. However, this source of sustenance for millions of families is always under threat of being dammed for the purposes of development which in reality will displace hundreds of villages and cause grave ecological damage.  

Tharanatha feels that these issues have never been discussed in classrooms. Keeping in mind the context of the school, his project offers for an opportunity for students to experience the ecosystem of the river and encourage them to explore its journey, the flora and fauna around it and its importance to the environment of the region. 

This project aims to integrate the syllabi of mathematics, science, geography and language through an environmental framework with a series of arts activities based on observations and discoveries of the flora and fauna around the river as well as its historical stories. The project will encourage students to engage in artistic processes like storytelling, music, and theatre in understanding the social, political and economic impact of the river and the construction of dams. Walks along the river are also planned to understand its nature, flow, speed, and the quantity of water flown in a specific time. Tharanatha will also draw the content for the project from the textbooks of the students. 

The outcomes of the project will include an exhibition and a publication. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a copy of the publication, photographs and video documentation of the project.

This grant is made possible with support from Citi India.