Title: The Fate of Mixed Media Art in Bengal: A Study of Mixed Media Art and its Core Principals in Bengali Contemporary Art Practice

Abstract: The spatial dimensionality of an art-object when observed in-depth, we realize that since every three-dimensional object is represented in a two-dimensional surface, there is no such thing as ‘two-dimensional art.’ Artwork may be distinctive as an expression of content through various forms of conventional and unconventional materials. The selection of materials by an artist is crucial for their aesthetical expression. With the evolution of technology and hasty globalization in the post-nineteen-nineties, art started being valued by different parameters. Furthermore, there was the adoption of various electronic media and other elements in indigenous practices. This paper attempts to throw light on the significance of the unconventional materials incorporated in the art practice. In addition, it will explore how the dimensions change along with the alteration of the materials as dimensional slippage of a surface in the two-dimensional aspect, which gives a different insight into the mixed media art. By incorporating prominent artists from (Indian) Bengal, this study motivated to explore the reasons behind the use of mixed media art and the contribution of indigenous practice behind contemporary Bengali artworks.

Keywords: Art Material, Bengali Contemporary Art, Dimensional Slippage, Global art practice, Indian Art, Indigenous practice, Mixed Media Art, Three-Dimensional object, Two-dimensional art, Visual Culture.

Title: The Journey from ‘Darkness’ to ‘Light’: Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger and the Role of Myth of the Ideal Indian Villagein Rural to Urban Internal Migration in India

Abstract: The phenomenon of rural to urban internal migration in India has a long history of being framed through a number of contradictory discourses surrounding the village and the city. Whereas in certain of these discourses, the village is idealised as the idyllic pastoral and the city is demonised for being exploitative and unhomely, in certain other discourses, the village is seen as riddled with economic destitution and caste discrimination while the city offers freedom from the existing social and economic hierarchies. Aravind Adiga, in his debut novel The White Tiger (2008), engages with these conflicting discourses through the portrayal of the life story of his protagonist Balram Halwai, who migrates from the village to the city as a landless labourer. This paper will extensively delve into the discourse of the idealisation of the village as a utopian space, tracing the creation of the discourse from the colonial era to the nationalist movement in India. Adiga challenges this discourse by depicting in his novel a dystopian image of the village community, where the resources are unequally shared by the landowning and landless labourers which results in the migration of the latter to the city.This will form the counter-discourse to the myth of the idyllic village as a “little republic”, self-sufficient and self-sustaining, which deems the migration from the villages to the cities as unnecessary and economically, socially and politically destabilizing. In conclusion, this paper will situate the phenomenon of internal migration of labour within the postcolonial theories of migration.

Keywords: The White Tiger, discourses on internal migration in India, rural to urban internal migration, economic migrations, urbanisation, myth of idyllic villages

Title: Revisiting Galanter’s Legal Sociology

Abstract: Professor Marc Galanter’s vast and diverse scholarship is a significant contribution to socio-legal research in India and the United States. Galanter, one of the pioneers of empirical legal studies movement, views law as a complex social phenomenon that can be used as an instrument of social change by the elites as well as the grassroots component groups. In his early writings, he discusses how the Indian legal system acts as a link between the secular public order and religion. Further, he explicates that both law and religion exist in society as traditions of normative learning expounded by their scholars. Hence, law has to choose the mode in which it should recognize, supervise, or govern religion. In recent times, the conflict between the religious and the legal has become intense like never before. It would be interesting to revisit Galanter’s legal sociology in order to critically examine his views on Indian law in modern times.

Keywords: Indian legal system, law and religion, Marc Galanter’s legal sociology, socio-legal research

Title: Increasing Choices or Decreasing Hope? A Theoretical Approach to Depression from Decision-making Perspective

Abstract: In today’s fast-moving society, we get a multitude of options available. Choices once considered beneficial by psychologists, are now being largely debated. More the choices available, the less the satisfaction derived from choosing one out of scores of options at hand. The regret of having chosen the wrong option in hindsight is a very common consequence. A particular decision style falling prey to post-decision regret is that of maximizing. Maximizers strive to choose the best out of all the options available and are mostly dissatisfied with the choices they have made. Most psychology research has pointed out how maximizers experience heightened regret and are more prone to depression. Moreover, it has been observed that more the options available to them, the more they regret after making a choice. Keeping in mind the functioning of this particular decision style, in this paper, a theoretical perspective is being outlined about how the increasing amount of choices being provided in today’s society can give rise to dissatisfaction among decision-makers. The subsequent regret and associated self-blame might help in explaining the increased incidence of depression in today’s world.

Keywords: Modern society, multiple choices, decision making, maximizing, regret, self-blame, depression.

Title: A Case for Institutional Theory and Its Inclusiveness

Abstract: GeorgeDickie(1969) in his paper "Defining Art" provides an institutional definition of art and claims that this definition subsumes the art practices in the ‘art world’ of the past and of the present, hence is highly inclusive of contextual and temporal differences. Hence,in an attempt to adopt the institutional theory in the context of Religious Indian art, the author tried to satisfy several criteria of this theoretical framework, namely that of artifactuality, presence of a society or a group that confers a status of appreciation and the kind of appreciation done. Defining Religious Indian art requires an open definition like the institutional one due to the diversity of forms present as scholars say that Indian art has many stratas. Kramrisch (1954) says “Art is the form which the artist impresses on life, but in Indian art more than in any other, form results from performance. Making a work of art is a ritual. Form, ritual, performance and transformation are simultaneous and inseparable aspect of indian art". After analysing these fixed criteria of defining art under institutionalism, its transactional nature fails to fully justify the essence of Religious Indian art as the institution here does not consist of auction galleries, museums, etc., but rather it is the realm of the divine, and a group of people cannot confer a status on which deity is to be considered for appreciation. Here the agent that is under consideration of appreciation is omniscient, hence as the institution changes, so does the kind of appreciation since in the case of religious art, it is a ritual performance. This reverent nature in Indian art makes Dickie's definition insufficient, as between a divine agent and the artisan, the authority lies in the hand of the divine and not the artisan to grant a candidacy of appreciation for the divine agent. This theory may not fully validate the essence of Religious Indian art as the artworld of India is different from that of Dicikie's.

Keywords: Institutional, Religious, Indian art

Title: Demystifying the Ganges: An Analysis of Select Independent Documentaries by Sourav Sarangi and Rajesh S. Jala

Abstract: While representing and voicing aspects of development around river bodies, there has been a callous and indignant disregarding of the aspects of displacement (Jayashankar & Monteiro). Major civilizations have always been established near rivers, and with developing technologies it has now become possible to manoeuvre the course of a river in order to cater to the needs of development. But at what cost? The paper will attempt to analyse the representations of displacement and development along the river Ganges, through a detailed analysis of select documentaries by Saurav Sarangi: Erosion (2006), and Char: the No-Man’s Island (2012), and Rajesh S. Jala: Children of the Pyre (2008). Both the movies document the ways in which the construction of the Farakka Barrage has devastated the lives and livelihood of several communities who drew sustenance from and around the river’s embankments. They are rendered destitute not only in terms of losing their homes but also essentially their identities. Sarangi’s representation is in stark contrast of the BBC’s trilogy of the Ganga, which creates a rather idyllic representation of the Ganga as a “river of life,” but concentrating predominantly on the flora and fauna of the regions. Sarangi’s films are documents of protest, which cover the lives of people whose whole existence depends on the course of the river. Unlike the BBC documentaries which narrates the ways in which human infringement of forest land has wreaked havoc on wildlife; Sarangi’s documentaries represent how whole communities of people are displaced because of the changing course of the river. While the BBC documentaries pit men against wildlife; Sarangi’s are about men against men.

Keywords: River Ganges, Documentaries, Development and Displacement, Voices of protest

Title: A Conundrum: Where Does Past Exist?

Abstract: It is loosely assumed that past existed in ‘the past’. But is it so truly? Archaeology which is generally considered as the study of past doesn’t just rests in the past. It does transcend and poses a difficult question placing the concept of ‘past’ in a conundrum as the past is studied in the present and carried to the future. Here, it meets Art. Archaeology is the Art of creating the past on the basis of our present and speculating for the future. This paper is an interdisciplinary enquiry into the disciplines of Art and Archaeology whose origin lies in the art historical traditions as they share conventions and vocabularies for visualizing the world by studying the human created material culture. The paper presents and uses case studies that lie at the intersection of art and archaeology, to further delve into this theoretical exploration. This enquiry finds that the past needs acknowledgment from the present for its existence. The past is viewed as an image; assigning it a perceived pertinent meaning and relation. Though this image is not a functional reality of the present; it is the image of previously existed functional reality. Depending on this perceived past (image), a functional reality is constructed; though never completely. This constructed reality identifies present and future priorities. Interestingly it is a complex interaction comprising multiple collaborations. It also means we will never be able to completely decode all the aspects of the functional reality of the past (in which we did not exist and experience). We decode and interpret to the extent of our experiences (which is multifaceted, ever changing and complex) and produce an ‘image’ of the past in the present and cart it on to the future at least as socio-cultural identities.

Keywords: Archaeology and Art, Art History, Material Culture, Past as an Image

Title: The influence of task complexity and planning time on the complexity, accuracy and fluency of speech and the curious case of narrative task

Abstract: This paper reports a study on the influence of task-complexity and pre-task planning time on the complexity, accuracy and fluency of spoken performance of 168 tertiary level students from Kerala, India. Task-complexity was implemented as three task-types, namely Personal Information Exchange (PIE), Narrative (NAR) and Decision Making (DM) tasks, and pre-task planning time as zero and three minutes of planning time. The results showed that while PIE and DM yielded expected levels of speech complexity, NAR, which was designed with intermediate task-complexity generated the most complex speech particularly under planning condition. Post-hoc analysis showed that though NAR had the structural characteristics of a simple task, participants experienced it as an equally or more complex task than DM. Task complexity, therefore, appears to be a complex construct that cannot be judged with a task’s structural characteristics alone. Also, NAR generated the lowest accuracy scores, showing the operation of a trade-off between complexity and accuracy as theorized by Skehan’s limited attentional capacity model (Skehan, 1998). Planning time was found to influence speech complexity significantly while interacting with complex tasks, whereas its influence on accuracy and fluency decreased with increasing task complexity. These findings have implications for task design in teaching and assessment of speaking, and are discussed in detail.

Keywords: task-complexity, planning time, narrative task, speaking assessment, teaching speaking

Title: Exploring Ecocritical Consciousness in Gond Art

Abstract: A distinct and imaginative representation of nature is a predominant feature of the folk and tribal arts of India. The themes, motifs, and legends that figure in India’s folk and tribal paintings are heavily influenced by the flora and fauna of the artists’ local environment. The representation of nature in Gond art has certainly not gone unnoticed, and researchers have attempted to decipher the rich Gond symbols that are often drawn from Gond legends and tales. This paper, however, seeks to move the focus away from an anthropological study of Gond art to an ecocritical approach. Acclaimed Gond artists like Bhajju Shyam and Subhash Vyam combine the Gond visual vocabulary with contemporary topics, and their work also addresses crucial issues like water scarcity that connect with their global audience today. Since the issue of environment conservation impacts the Gond tribals in a very palpable way, it is important to understand the Gond view of nature as it has been understood by their tribe, and in recent times how Gond artists view and experience the changes that the environment around them is undergoing. The paper argues that while it is commendable to explore and document the Gond lifestyle and rituals from their art works, it is also necessary to note their participation in contemporary debates on crucial issues. By attempting to uncover a definitive Gond approach to nature, the paper tries to position Gond art as an important voice in the field of not just Indian, but global ecocriticism.

Keywords: Gond art, Bhajju Shyam, Subhash Vyam, ecocritical approaches, tribal

Title: Language and Stereotypes

Abstract: Stereotypes are transmitted to kids from parents, peers, and society. This transmission is often explicitly pronounced through the spoken language. Also, certain implicit characteristics of the language contribute not only in acquisition but also in the persistence of group stereotypes. A plethora of empirical research has tried to understand how language helps in acquisition and maintenance of stereotypes. This paper reviews early works done in the domain of language and stereotypes. Firstly, the author inquires blatant and subtle forms of language-based discrimination. The effect of nuances of language and its abstraction on group generalization is systematically studied. Additionally, the possibilities for changing stereotypes through amending societal language and spreading awareness were explored.

Keywords: Stereotypes, language, discrimination

Title: The Native Pottery in Pahari village of Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Abstract: The state of Rajasthan is one of the biggest states in India. It has a very rich historical background. In mythology, this area was mentioned as the land of Lord Ram. They had their own crafts and some of them are alive till today. One of the common handicrafts which have a strong root in this region is pottery. Pottery is being made with different styles in different places. In one of the villages in Bharatpur, named Pahari, for instance, potters make pots in a different way. The water pot is the oldest product that the potters have been producing generations after generations. Today some of the potters are making them in a traditional style like past whereas others have changed the methods and make different pottery. There are two kinds of styles, methods, kiln, and product that are made by native people. The author is interested to study them, to know how the potters develop and improve their pottery. Also, how traditional style can be updated and with the same tools and available materials near the village. Moreover, how the potters can make new pottery and sell their products all over India through their local markets. The Present study is an ethnographic field study that adopts by going to fieldwork, interview and spend time with people. The data was collected through observations, communications, taking pictures, and recording videos.

Keywords: Native pottery, Rajasthan, Saggar, Water pot.

Title: Exploring the Experiences of Transition from Military to Civilian Life among Retired Armed Forces Personnel

Abstract: Transition is a change from one state or condition to another. It is something one faces at specific points in life. Life in the army is very different as compared to civilian life, be it in terms of the job, facilities provided, and the lifestyle followed due to the occupation. Military to civilian transition hence is a multi-faceted process where adaptation to civilian life upon leaving the armed forces demands a dramatic change in lifestyle, relocation, and employment. Transition to civilian life can bring unexpected feelings and problems like loss of the military family and the member’s identity, disorientation in an unfamiliar civilian world, a period of readjusting to being with family full-time; shift in peer group circle, reemployment and financial issues. The study attempts to understand the experience of transition from military life to civilian life among retired armed forces personnel using a qualitative phenomenological approach. A semi structured interview was designed to collect data from the sample (n=3). The final emerging themes will be discussed.

Keywords: transition, military life, civilian life, adjustment

Title: Living culture on display: A case study of Madhya Pradesh Janajatiya Sangrahalaya

Abstract: Museum is understood as a custodian of all portable cultural, scientific, and educational treasures of mankind, an institute to scholastic education, and a source of documents and material objects for research. In addition, it is supposed to provide a meaningful aesthetic display. Indigenous cultures as exhibited in Museums of traditional and national values, to a large extent, were based on the understanding that whatever was exhibited belonged to the uncivilized, simple, undeveloped, and tribal people. So the representation has become a tool for creating-ethnic differences and the display has been used as an instrument of controlling and exploiting the identity of people whose articles have been collected and displayed. So they are usually represented as a subject from the past with no modern element in display. This work will attempt to discuss the technicality, viewership, and aesthetical debates on the display in Madhya Pradesh Janjatiya Sangrahalaya, a newly established museum in Bhopal. It is experimenting with a collaborative curatorial approach with some selected indigenous people. It has taken a new role of scrutinizing, reviving, remoulding, and popularising the indigenous tribes and their activities in relation to the new contemporary situation and trying to represent their own rightful tribal identity through their own works. With a focus on the specific display practices, this study will attempt to generate an answer to the central problematic – how far this new kind of display gives a wider and contemporary outlook towards a museum representation of living culture?

Keywords: Curation, museum, art, design, display, identity, representation, contemporary, culture.

Title: Selective Analysis of Dynamical Systems and Control Theory in Cognitive Science

Abstract: Dynamical Systems models of cognitive processes have become important as they can model continuous cognitive processes involving circular reciprocal causation & damping/ feedback loop interactions, and emergent global regulation arising from local interactions. Analysis of adaptive regulation, or control, in the presence of perturbations is one of the major problems in Dynamical Systems, and Control Theory. In Biological systems one observes specialized form of regulation called Homoeostasis. In homoeostasis the level of activity of a system is maintained at, or near to characteristic equilibrium set-point. Regulation of body temperature (Thermoregulation), control of neural activity, control of motor movements are paradigmatic examples. Problems may occur when the mechanisms underlying control are disturbed. Applications of Dynamical Systems and Control Theory helps elucidate certain problems in Cognitive Science- e.g. Emotion Regulation, certain Psychopathologies (e.g. OCD, Bi-polar Disorder etc.), control of motor movements, etc. The paper aims to introduce, and compare Dynamical Systems Theory perspective to classical Computational Theory of Mind. Certain models of dynamical systems and control in Cognitive Science are critically examined. Focus is on closed loop negative feedback control of steady-states. A Model of homoeostatic regulation of emotion is discussed briefly.We note that formal models of control need to be grounded on dynamics of functional neural connections -e.g. functional connectivity within limbic-frontal circuitry, in case of emotion regulation. Bayesian probabilistic models of control in motor movements is analysed. Mathematical and Statistical models are used to represent dynamical systems , and to analyse the mechanisms underlying control of dimensions of behaviour. Bayesian probabilistic framework is discussed in relation to its applications to understanding intelligent control of behaviour.

Keywords: Dynamical Systems , Feedback loop , Control Theory , Homoeostasis , Bayesian probability

Title: Modern Painting in West-Bengal: Pursuing Indigenous Identity in Designing Space

Abstract: Most of the principles of visual design, especially the visual organization of content, color, and form within a given space depend partially or entirely on the rubrics of making a painting. Implicit in this phenomenon is that conventional painting is a designed space consisting of certain design principles, which are culture specific. Until the onset of colonial influence on Indian visual culture, the tradition of Indian painting had flourished relying upon a culture-specific design principle developed and intrinsically exercised by Indian painters. In the post-Independence period, the practicing painters in the decades of nineteen sixties and seventies in West-Bengal have revived these design principles with a new vigor in search of their indigenous identity resisting the hegemony of modern European art. By incorporating interviews and references from the history of Indian painting, this empirical study will focus on how painters have explored their artwork as a designed space that embodies an indigenous identity in the era of cultural imperialism.

Keywords: Visual Design, Indian Painting, Post-independence Indian paintings, Indigenous identity, Indian visual culture.

Title: English-Based Bilingualism in Hindi Advertisements in India (Print and TV Commercials)

Abstract: With the advent of globalization, advertisements have become bilingual to reach out to a larger group of customers. Bilingual ads are the norm now, be it in hoardings, newspapers or magazines; the broadcast media as well as the digital media, which includes the internet and mobile communication. The advertisers resort to the technique of code-mixing, to grab the attention of their target audience, who they know are mostly bilinguals. In this paper, I will look at English-Hindi bilingualism in Hindi ads in India to examine what degree is code-mixing used both in Hindi and English, while the ads follow the syntactic structure of any one language. Also, I intend to focus on the possible effect that the advertisers wish to have upon the target audience. The study will utilize some Hindi print and television advertisements as data for this purpose.

Keywords: Bilingualism, Hindi advertisements, code-mixing, ideology projected by ads

Title: The Design Evolution of Islamic Patterns: A Transformation from Handmade Architectural Designs to Machine-made Interiors.

Abstract: In this research, I intend to examine the application of Islamic art in contemporary interior design with a particular focus on tracking the relationship between the pattern evolution in modern interior designs with a clear indication that these patterns have a conceptual base and they are greatly influenced by the Islamic architectural patterns. The study notes that contemporary software designs are undoubtedly connected to design patterns widely depicted in Indian Islamic architecture. Considering these observations, the paper attempts to analyse the transformation that leads to the change in the design language of the Islamic architectural patterns along with the transformation that occurred in the design language during this period leading to contemporary interior designs. While doing so, the paper looks into many aspects of design like – production, material, technology, workmanship, etc. The research will be conducted by using historical research and ethnographic research methodology as the focus is to track a chronology, with spatio-temporal changes that occurred along with contemporary observations. Three types of design approaches became the basic elements for modern software design: arabesque-intertwining plants and floral motifs, geometric- a combination of repeated squares and circles, and calligraphy- writing pattern. This study traces the evolution of Islamic geometrical patterns from the architectural to the interior; handmade to machine-made traces. The research paper probes questions related to the introduction of Islamic architecture design components in contemporary interior designing, Islamic architecture patterns that are used in contemporary interior designing, and lastly, the changes that have taken place in design patterns due to software adoptions in designing.

Keywords: Islamic patterns, architecture, material, technology, contemporary software designs, aesthetics.

Title: Anti-Caste Movement Organizations, Caste associations and Backward Caste Consciousness in Maharashtra: A Sociological Inquiry

Abstract: This is a study of two activist organizations in Maharashtra today, which are resonating and reproducing the ideas of an anti-caste activist author Jyotiba Phule. This study is an attempt not only in the anti-caste utopian intellectual traditions of the backward castes but also is an attempt to study the re-actualization of anti-caste social mobilizations in Maharashtra. The study points out (i) the massive tradition of anti-caste writings in social sciences /Indian literature, and (ii) the huge legacy of backward caste movements in India. Empirically, it is found that despite the sacred attempts by the anti-caste movement organizations, like, Satyashodhak Vidrohi Pakshya and Yukrand (off-shoots of Satyashodhak Samaj), those face severe fund crunch and poor participation from backward castes. So, this paper aims to study if the anti-caste endeavors are sufficient to drive today’s backward castes in the direction of so-called emancipatory praxis. However, the study finds no declining trends toward a casteless society. On the contrary, there is a rise of backward castes in Indian politics (post emergency JP movement and the OBC reservation). The political discourse in India changed in favor of backward castes as they realized their numerical strength and decisive role in politics. They captured political power without giving up their caste identity. Hence, they found it much more rewarding to assert their caste identity than to remain shrouded in the anti-caste endeavors. Rightly, the backward caste associations in Maharashtra today promote caste identity and consciousness among their caste fellows.

Keywords: Backward castes, caste consciousness, casteless society, Caste identity

Title: Matter of Material: Understanding the material in the art works of Indian Contemporary Women Artists

Abstract: In the Indian contemporary art scene, there is a wide range of art practices that involve different forms of experimental and unconventional materials and media. The aspect of material exploration and its process was not critically explored by artists or art historians for a long time. It is important to understand the emergence and development of experimental material usage in Indian contemporary art, especially by women artists. Because there is a conscious effort located in the practice of a number of contemporary women artists, which plays a significant role in developing a critical discourse on visual language. A medium like embroidery and materials like textiles have always been categorised as a craft and kept away from the discourse of mainstream art practice. The association of feminine characteristics with the medium has also played an important role in sidelining the practice as a female-oriented craft. However, certain contemporary women artists like Mrinalini Mukherjee, Priya Ravish Mehra, and Rakhi Peswani have strongly objected to that notion and have developed a practice that involves textile in the form of weaving, darning and embroidery in their work, which challenges the conventional ideas of modern art and aesthetics. Using thread, organic fibre, textile as the main material these three artists have been able to develop an important visual language which not only breaks the conventional notion of the textile medium as a craft but also critically explores the social-cultural context of India. The paper will try to critically analyse the practice of these three women artists locating them in the context of the post-colonial feminist art practice of India.

Keywords: Material, contemporary, art, new-media, woman, artist, practice, visual, language, craft, textile, embroidery, weaving, critical, discourse.

Title: The Making of a Docile Body in Jerry Pinto’s Em and The Big Hoom

Abstract: Penned by Jerry Pinto and published in 2012, Em and The Big Hoom tells the story of one Mendes family. The unnamed narrator of the novel and his sister Susan call their mother Em and their father The Big Hoom. The book chronicles Em’s tryst with bipolar disorder. In doing so, it foregrounds the medical surveillance that Em is subjected to both by her family and the society at large in order to turn her into a docile body. This paper explores how medical surveillance of the mentally ill effects such docility by making their bodies knowable, disciplined and productive. A study of this theme in Em and The Big Hoom has long been overdue despite a range of scholarship being available.There are two readings of the novel which do focus on the general theme of illness and health. Neeraja Sundaram situates the novel within a Human Rights framework and inquires into how it performs a crucial role in the social imaginary of rights and ethics in the context of medical care, while in Srikanth Mallavarapu’s piece, the novel becomes a narrative that witnesses suffering and acknowledges the humanity of people dealing with disability and chronic mental illnesses by refusing to see them merely as patients or political actors with specific agendas. However, none of these touch on the theme of medical surveillance and docility. This is the gap in scholarship that I seek to address by looking at how medicine promises cure by objectifying our bodies and bringing them under the surveillance of the medical system as objects to be manipulated and controlled. I also simultaneously intend to examine forms of resistance to this medical surveillance by probing into Em’s efforts to thwart the straitjacketing of her identity through her repeated suicide attempts.

Keywords: Em and The Big Hoom, medical surveillance, docility