Tiatr Research Scholarship Program

What is the Tiatr Research Scholarship Program?

Tiatr Research Scholarship Program is Scheme No. 5 of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), which functions under the Art, Culture and Museums Department, Government of Goa. The Academy formulated it to encourage young students to undertake research in different aspects of tiatr, its song and music, and it does so by offering scholarships to college and university students for that research.

Tiatr is Goa's Konkani musical theatre form. It has a large audience and a long performance history, but comparatively little formal academic writing behind it, largely because the working language of the form is Roman script Konkani while Konkani at college and university level is taught in Devanagari. The scheme addresses that gap directly, and it does something unusual for a student scholarship. It also publishes the finished research as a book.

What a scholar receives

• A scholarship in one of three categories, at an amount decided by TAG from time to time.
• Publication of the research work in book form by TAG, after approval by the Recommendation Board.
• 100 free copies of the printed book, in addition to the scholarship amount.

Number of scholarships offered every year:

That makes 10 scholarships a year in total, and the split shows the Academy's priority. The largest number goes to undergraduate students, on the reasoning that this is where a research habit around tiatr has to start.

Who is eligible for the Tiatr Research Scholarship?

You can apply if:

• You are a bonafide student of a college or university.
• You are doing research work or a project related to tiatr, its song or its music.
• Your research is in English and Konkani (Roman script only).
• You secured at least 50% marks in the last examination.
• You can submit a report of the research carried out, duly signed either by your guide or by the head of your institution.
• You can produce self-attested copies of your Aadhaar card and PAN card.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are not a bonafide student of a college or university. This is not an open research grant for independent scholars.
• Your research is not related to tiatr, its song or its music.
• You scored below 50% in your last examination.
• You cannot get the research report signed by a guide or the head of the institution, the scheme states this as the condition for availing the scholarship.
• You have already availed a scholarship in the same category. A scholarship is given only once in a particular category.
• You cannot submit Aadhaar and PAN copies, which rule 12 of the scheme requires from anyone availing the benefit.

An important nuance on repeat applications. A student who has availed a TAG scholarship under the graduate category may further apply for a scholarship of an upper category, that is at post-graduation or PhD level as the case may be. The one-per-category rule blocks a repeat at the same level, not progression.

What about the script question?

The scheme handles the Devanagari-versus-Roman problem explicitly, and it is worth quoting the mechanism because applicants find it confusing:

At college and university level, Konkani is taught in Devanagari script. The Academy, however, works in Roman script Konkani, which is the script of the tiatr tradition. The scheme therefore provides that TAG can publish the book in Roman script provided the applicant gives a copy to TAG in Roman script.

In practice, a student submitting a Devanagari dissertation to a university can still be published by TAG by supplying a Roman script copy alongside. The application form asks directly: language in which research is done, English / Konkani (Roman Script).

What documents are required?

The form also carries three printed declarations the applicant signs: an undertaking to submit a copy of the research work duly certified by the guide, a statement that the rules of the scheme have been read and understood and will be abided by, and a statement that the information given is true.

How to apply for the Tiatr Research Scholarship

1. Obtain the prescribed application form for Scheme No. 5 from the Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, or download it from the Academy's schemes page.
2. Fill in all the fields — your name, the class in which you are studying, the percentage of marks obtained in the last examination, the name of your institution or department, your residential address, contact number and email, your Aadhaar and PAN numbers, the name of the research, the language in which the research is done, and whether you have received a TAG scholarship earlier.
3. Attach self-attested copies of your Aadhaar card and PAN card, your marksheet, and the report of the research carried out duly signed by your guide or the head of your institution.
4. Sign and date the form, including the printed undertakings, and submit it to the Academy's Campal office within the stipulated time announced for the academic year.
5. Keep a copy of the submitted application and any acknowledgement issued by the Academy.

How are applications selected?

If several applications are received, the selection is made by a committee of evaluators or experts appointed by TAG. The scheme states one explicit preference: preference will be given to those students who have experience in the field of tiatr.

That preference matters more than applicants expect. A student who has acted in, written for, sung in or worked backstage on tiatrs is understood to bring knowledge that a purely library-based researcher does not, and the scheme says so in terms.

What happens to the completed research?

After the research is submitted and approved by the Recommendation Board, TAG prints it in book form. The student receives 100 copies of that book, over and above the scholarship amount.

This is the part of the scheme that gives it lasting value. A dissertation that would otherwise sit in a departmental library becomes a published title in the small body of writing on tiatr, and the Academy has a separate scheme, Exhibition and Purchase of Books on Tiatr, Its Song and Music, that buys and exhibits such books.

Why an application may not succeed

• Below 50% in the last examination.
• Research not sufficiently connected to tiatr, its song or its music.
• Report not signed by a guide or the head of the institution.
• Aadhaar or PAN copy missing, which rule 12 makes mandatory.
• Same-category repeat, already awarded at that level.
• Application received after the stipulated time for the academic year.
• Stronger applicants with tiatr field experience in a year when more than 10 credible applications come in.

Where to get help

• Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001 to phone 0832-2230738 and 0832-2230739, email tiatracademy@gmail.com.
• Tiatr Academy of Goa schemes page, which hosts the rules and application form for each numbered scheme, including this one.
• Directorate of Art and Culture, Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, phone 0832-2404600, which oversees the wider Goa art and culture framework.

TAG reserves the right to make any changes in the rules of this scheme, so confirm the current year's terms and the stipulated submission window with the Academy's Campal office before preparing an application.

How to check your application status

The Tiatr Research Scholarship Program has no online tracking portal or applicant login. The application is a paper form submitted at the Academy's Campal office, so status has to be checked the same way, directly with the Academy.

What to do:

1. Note your submission details before you leave the office. Ask for an acknowledgement or a dated receiving stamp on your copy of the application when you submit it. If none is offered, request one, it is your only proof of the submission date if a dispute arises later.
2. Call the Academy directly on 0832-2230738 or 0832-2230739 and quote your name, the scheme (Scheme No. 5), the category applied for (PhD, post-graduation or graduation), and the date you submitted the form.
3. Email as a written follow-up to tiatracademy@gmail.com if the phone lines are unreachable or you want a documented response, referencing the same details.
4. Visit in person at AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, if you are local and the timeline is tight, since a numbered scheme like this is handled by a small team that can pull your file while you wait.
5. Ask specifically where your file stands: whether it has reached the committee of evaluators, whether a decision has been taken, or whether it is still pending because the stipulated window for the academic year has not yet closed. Selections are only made once the committee reviews all applications received for that year, so an early call may simply get the answer that scrutiny has not started.
6. Follow up again after the Recommendation Board stage if you were selected, since this is the step that clears your research for printing. This is separate from the initial scholarship decision, and a status check here means asking whether your submitted research report has been approved for publication as a book.

Because TAG does not publish a fixed results date, budget for the fact that a follow-up call some weeks after the submission deadline is normal, not a sign that something has gone wrong.