- Theatre Performance: A historical play set in South India between 1780-1784
- Digital Engagement: An interactive website linking the art, science and heritage of rocketry
- Geographical Information Systems (GIS): Cartography brings the material to life
Thematic focus
The project seeks to advance the decolonisation of knowledge by bringing to the fore a surprising chapter in the history of rocketry, the emergence of metal cased rockets in South India around the year 1780 before their subsequent adaptation as Congreve rockets after 1799. Our focus is on healing the wounds of colonisation, through an empathy-based engagement of our common heritage and history, with the next generation of young leaders.
Our research is cross-disciplinary and outcomes are co-constituted. They emerge from a synthesis of perspectives. We engage across science (combustion, archaeometallurgy, ballistics) , social sciences (sociology, economic history, history of science) and the humanities (anthropology, art history).
We seek to excavate the lived experience of the period, confounding national narratives, borders and colonial distortions. We are deeply interested in the Dakhini language and its syncretic roots. Our interest in the wider interactions of the region draws from Euro-American histories (American, French and Industrial revolutions; trans-national dimensions of the Anglo-Mysore Wars) and the emerging literature on Indian Ocean studies. The maritime dimensions include migration - including military deployments (eg. the community of Topasses – black (or mestiço) Portuguese Christians from the Solor archipelago and the island of Timor, fighting as part of Mysore forces) and trade (eg. iron, sandalwood and firearms).
project partners
Actors Ensemble India Forum Bangalore - Brings 15+ years of experience in training, research, new writing, and experimentation in theatre & film. AEIF has championed this research on pre-modern rocketry since 2012.
Resource Persons
Bruce Lee Mani of Thermal and a Quarter and Taaqademy Bangalore - Brings 25 years of experience as a founder, musician, guitar player, singer and songwriter
M.B. Rajani of National Institute of Advance Studies (NIAS) Bangalore
Rebecca Mairs - Literary Manager at Lyric Theatre Belfast, Northern Ireland
Audience Engagement
Engagement is envisioned in two broad ways - digital interaction (clicks) and transformative (attendance at the theatre, conferences, in-person events).
project background
mentor and guide
The project was encouraged, guided and supported by the late Prof. Roddam Narasimha, aerospace scientist, fluid dynamicist and Padma Vibhushan awardee.
Mallika Prasad and Ram Ganesh Kamatham, the core team of AEIF reached out to Prof. Narasimha in 2013.
Prof. Narasimha believed that true scholarship can emerge from anywhere. On his recommendation, the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and the Director, the late Dr. Baldev Raj – extended the support of the institution to the project.
archival research
Archival research for the play took place in London in June 2014. The Charles Wallace India Trust (CWIT) awarded Mallika and Ram a research grant for their proposal.
The core team of AEIF consulted collections of private papers held in the British Library, India Office Records. The team visited the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, the V&A and the Science Museum.
art meets science
The team also consulted with subject matter expert Otto Money, an authority on the Battle of Pollilur artwork. A 23 foot painting of the battle linked to Otto Money, said to be a preparatory copy for the mural at Daria Daulat Bagh, was displayed in 1999 at the Scottish National Gallery.
The painting was auctioned in March 2022 at Sothebys for GBP 630,000. Narratives surrounding the sale prompted the AEIF team to write this article published in The Wire, arguing for a reassessment of the significance of the Battle of Pollilur.
fieldwork
A substantial part of the field research has taken place in and around Mysore, Srirangapatna, Sholinjur, Shimoga and Bengaluru from 2014 onwards.
Catalysing Change
Our artistic research triggered the discovery of new knowledge. For instance, inquiries made in 2013 triggered a series of events that led to the archaeological discovery of a cache of rockets in Shimoga, Karnataka.
Our conversation widened to include scientists, archaeologists, metallurgists and strategists - all of whom saw the value of re-articulating the story of this fascinating piece of Indic technology, and with dreams of their own.
first draft
The first public reading of a draft of the play, took place at Centre 42, Singapore on Jan 21st 2017.
incubation and reading
Redrafting continued, leading to a 6 day residential workshop for actors that took place at NIAS in early October 2017, culminating in a public rehearsed reading of selected excerpts from the play on October 23rd 2017. Selected excerpts of the play were also read at the opening of the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) on 24th Feb 2019.
Updated august 2022
Credits:
Created with images by Mallika Prasad, play reading pics by Virgina Rodrigues, AEIF research pics, SIPP Lecture extract courtesy Associate Prof. MB Rajani, NIAS, stock photos: dimitrisvetsikas1969 - "clouds cumulus sky" • pierre9x6 - "london sunset england", ISRO GSLV, Centre 42, NIAS