KM Guruprasad

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will engage sixth grade students, of Karnataka Public School, Hangala, in Chamarajanagara district with the history and practice of Mudalapaya Yakshagana by applying it to their texts from the mathematics and science curriculum. KM Guruprasad will be the Coordinator for this project.

KM Guruprasad, a mathematics teacher at the Karnataka Public School, believes that art integrated learning will enrich the students and improve their critical thinking abilities. He is a trained theatre artist, and has been part of many performances from that region. He is the main instrumentalist at Mudalapaya Yakshagana performances and has composed and performed the folk dance form Nandidwaja kunita. Given his experience he is best placed to be the Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

Mudalapaya Yakshagana is one of the oldest ritualistic practices in and around Chamarajanagara district. This art form is becoming rare due to the lack of knowledge about it among the people from this region. Since 2011 there has neither been a performance nor any discussion about this art form. This project is attempting to bring back this vibrant performance by encouraging students and teachers. Guruprasad comes from a family of Mudalapaya Yakshagana performers and will share his legacy of this art form with students. Students will be engaged in understanding community knowledge and practices, while making this an interesting learning experience.

The project will be divided into three stages. In the first stage, students will be introduced to Mudalapaya Yakshagana by resource persons from that region. A detailed history of the form and the existing practice will be shared with the students. Mahadevappa Kodagapura, a pioneer in this art form who has developed an extensive collection of texts and songs, is the main resource person in this project. In the initial sessions, students will conduct a small recce trip to the village to interact with the Mudalapaya community members.

In the second stage, students will be introduced to costumes and makeup methods of this art form along with few demonstration classes. The lifeline of this performance is the music and movements. The coordination between the musician and the performer is the key to a successful performance. Therefore, in this stage, students will also be introduced to songs and movements. They will be encouraged to write their own songs by selecting the topics from their curriculum. Guruprasad will help students to compose music for these songs and perform in their classroom. This activity will help students to improve their creative thinking, communication and language skills. Each student will be asked to develop a short story from their curriculum by using the Mudalapaya Yakshagana form which will be presented to the resource persons for their feedback and suggestions.

The third and the final stage of the project will encourage students to work in groups to make them understand the spirit of teamwork. Each group will have five students who will select lessons from their mathematics and science curriculum and develop the script, music, movements, costumes and makeup for the performance. This activity will trigger their imagination and will improve their thinking abilities.

The outcome of the project will be a performance in the presence of school staff and community members. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will include photographs and video documentation of the entire project.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Education programme in the manner in which it attempts to connect students and schools to the cultural knowledge of the regions they inhabit and communities they live in.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.