Rajshekhar Gundayya Swamy

This Foundation Project, implemented by IFA, engages seventh grade students of the Government Model Higher Primary School in Anegundi village, Gangavathi taluk, Koppal district, through a project centred on Moriyarara Gudda—the Hill of the Moriyars, located in the legendary megalithic site of Hire Benakal. Through a series of activities and field trips, students will explore this site using historical and artistic approaches, connecting their learnings to curriculum in social science, science, and language. Rajshekhar Gundayya Swamy will be the Coordinator for this project. 

Rajshekhar is a theatre artist from Gangavathi taluk of Koppal district. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Arts, he joined Rangayana Mysuru for a one-year theatre training course and continued there as a repertory artist for five consecutive years. He has since worked with various theatre groups across Karnataka as an actor, director, and playwright. His primary interest lies in children’s theatre, and he has organised workshops that inspire children to develop a curiosity for literature, encouraging them to read and write stories. Rajshekhar also conducts summer camps that include activities such as acting, theatre games, and folk dance forms, introducing children to a range of creative experiences. Given his experience, he is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The Moriyar site dates back more than 2,000 years, with many of its megalithic structures believed to have been built between 800 BCE and 200 BCE. The landscape, dotted with approximately 400 funerary monuments, resembles a ghost town. The structures vary in shape and size, and include clusters of dolmens—three-sided chambers with capstones. Inside nearby rock shelters are paintings depicting people dancing, hunting, and holding weapons, along with geometric and symbolic representations of deer, peacocks, antelopes, humped bulls, horses, and cows. The caves in this region were once dwellings or places of worship and contain paintings made from red ochre, supporting the connection to the funerary structures. Pottery from the Neolithic period has also been found here. Locals from the village nearest to Hire Benakal believe that God walks from hill to hill during their annual festival, which prevents them from grazing cattle in the area.

The project stems from an intention to introduce students and the school community to this significant site through theatrical interventions, reading sessions, and local storytelling traditions. It aims to convey the cultural and historical richness of the region through oral narratives. Guided by resource persons, students will undertake field visits and interact with villagers to collect and document local stories and songs. The project includes innovative arts-integrated activities such as screening documentaries on tribal communities; guiding students to collect oral stories about the Moriyaar tribe from local residents and present them at school; and introducing students to various seasonal medicinal plants—such as Bhootaale gida, Neerippali, Kaagikaalu, Gubbikaalu, Taamrakaddi, and Saraswati tappala—that grow at the site. It also includes helping students and teachers explore the botanical life and animal habitats around the dolmens, linking these observations to their science and geography lessons. 

In this region, people still use firewood from nearby hills for traditional cooking. This firewood often includes plants with medicinal properties, which many locals are unaware of. Through this project, students will learn about these medicinal plants and their uses and will integrate this knowledge with their curriculum. They will then create a theatrical presentation to raise awareness among villagers about the importance of conserving these valuable herbs.

A series of project activities has also been designed to address the challenges students face in reading and writing Kannada. The literary language used in textbooks differs significantly from the dialect they speak, making comprehension difficult. The project will therefore work with regional history, cultural knowledge, and subject integration to enhance classroom learning and teaching. All the findings and creative expressions by the students will culminate in a one-day exhibition and a theatrical presentation at the school.  

The outcome of the project will be an exhibition and a performance. 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. 

This Foundation Project is made possible in partnership with InterGlobe Foundation.