Ministry of Culture administers the scheme of Scholarship & Fellowship Financial Support

Ministry of Culture administers the scheme of Scholarship and Fellowship for promotion of art and culture through which scholars and artists including folklore artists are provided financial assistance in the form of scholarships and fellowships to pursue their respective forms of art and buy the specific art instruments etc. Similarly, Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, also provides financial assistance to support folklore artists across the country on the recommendation of its Advisory Committees.

Pritish Bagdi

Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, implements Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme (CTSSS) which provides facilities to young talented children in the age group of 10-14 years to study various art forms. Under this scheme, 650 scholarships are awarded every year out of which 100 are reserved for Tribal Culture (ST candidates).

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India provides funds for Tribal Festivals (at State Level) like Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, Pawl-Kut festival of Mizoram and Medaram Jatra of Telangana through Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs).

Similarly, OCTAVE is a festival organized regularly by the Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) to promote and protect the rich cultural heritage of North East Region. Only folk & tribal artists belonging to the North East Region are specifically provided opportunity to perform during this festival for which they are provided remuneration.

To protect, promote and preserve various forms of folk art and culture throughout the country, the Government of India has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) in the country. These ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes all over the country on regular basis for which folk and tribal artists are engaged by these ZCCs to showcase their talents. These artists are paid TA/DA, honorarium, boarding & lodging, local transport etc. to help them to earn their livelihood.

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From waste to wonder: Puducherry students make 'Avatar' figurines inspired from Hollywood flick

Puducherry [India], December 20: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is not just successful at the box-office bus is also motivating children to get creative.

Swati Bhat

A group of students from puducherry's Seliamedu Government Higher Secondary School channelised their love for the James Cameron blockbuster by creating figurines of the lead characters Neytiri, Jake Sully and the Great Leonopteryx.

Santosh and Navaneethakrishnan, the two students, created the figurines as a way of welcoming the Zoe Saldana-starrer film in India. It took them a week to create the immaculate figures imitating the original characters of the sci-fi film. They were created entirely from natural waste material which is easily available in rural areas, like coconut shells, Mandara leaves and palm leaves.

Prior to this, the students had already made a sculpture of Tamilisai, which received great appreciation from the people around them.

'Avatar: The Way of Water' stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Kate Winslet.

As per Deadline, behind the scenes, reports have claimed that the production budget alone for the film has reached USD 250 million. The script for the sci-fi blockbuster has been penned by Cameron and Josh Friedman 20th Century Studios released the movie in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam on December 16, 2022.

Most theatres in Tamil Nadu are screening the film as early as 4 am. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' has opened to record numbers of over Rs 41 crore across India. These are the second-highest numbers among all Hollywood films released in India on their first day.

The film's Rs 41-crore opening puts it over films like 'Avengers: Infinity War', 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' and 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'. It only trails the 2019 blockbuster 'Avengers: Endgame'.

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Traditional wear manifests in edible form with this Banarasi Saree-themed cake

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 15: This cake would make you forget all the other flavours you've had so far, that's how intricate and extraordinarily has it been baked.

Based on a Banarasi Saree and traditional Indian jewellery in terms of design, this 32-inch long cake is a blend of colours, motifs, floral embellishments and icing replications of zari work done on actual sarees.

It is also shaped like a 'kumkum dibbi' (vermillion box), a symbolic part of the traditional makeup of an Indian woman. This cake masterpiece is baked by Prachi Dhabal Deb, who fondly named it "Shringaar Cake". In a conversation with "TC" , the cake designer opened up about the motivation behind this unusually intricate design of the cake.

"This cake was for an international collaboration from Italy where we were asked to make something representing our cultural fashion. I took inspiration for the cake's design from my saree and jewellery, which are both rooted in Indian tradition. My saree was gifted to me by my mother at the time of my wedding and hence, it is close to my heart," Prachi said. Prachi then went on to explain the actual process behind the design of the picturesque cake. "The colour of my saree and the design on its border were inspirations for the look of the cake. I used vegan royal icing and hand-piped each of the designs on the cake's surface. Then I coloured them with edible dust and edible gel colours," she told "TC"

Noting the intricacies of the weaved designs on the saree, which took time to be replicated on the cake, Prachi said, "To get the same intricate look on the edible medium I piped thousands of individual dots through a piping bag and painted them with edible gold". At present, this enormous and minutely crafted cake is put up for display at Prachi's cake studio in Pune. Prior to this, Prachi had created a cake replica of Italy's Grand Milan Cathedral. She told "TC" about her motivation to make such artsy cakes, "I always believe that for an artist it is important that we keep on working. Since we are in the creative field, we get new ideas every day....my aim is to promote the art form as much as I can, and thankfully people all around have been very appreciative so it boosts our morale".

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