From the Drawing Board to the Wall Canvas

A big bunch of paintbrushes had been bought along with supplies of paints and other paraphernalia. We proceeded to make friends with the brushes - they were handed out and the children passed them around. For fat lines use the wide brushes we said and for detailed fine work, the thin ones. Then we all marched outside and bowls of white paint were handed out. The next hour or so was spent 'painting' with the white paint on the white walls so that the children would get used to the idea, and when it came to the actual painting they'd be comfortable with it.

Kadapa summers are HOT. 45 C is not exactly conducive to painting under the open skies. So we decided to start work at 6 in the morning, going on up till about 9. After this a session indoors and then a much-needed break. Finish pending work/chores, bathe, eat and sleep through the blazing afternoon. Start back at about 4 when the sun begins to get kinder.

We were staying at Sandhya Auntie's house and enjoying her hospitality. You have to taste the mangoes we hogged to understand why it is called the king of fruits!

When we reached Aarti Home at quarter to six in the morning, we found the children up and about, waiting for us. Sneha and Manjula and the rest of the team who looks after them had filled up their tanks - they'd all had a nutritious drink of ragi malt and a banana each, and were now raring to go!

We assembled in the meeting room and talked about what we'd do. Went outdoors and discussed which picture we should work on first and what could come where. The thing to note here is that it was the children who decided the stuff mostly - we were merely facilitating the process. The first picture was chosen. With a bit of help from Farah, work began with gusto (as you can see in the picture) to scale it up and draw it on the wall.

We realized there was a section of the wall near the main gate that had not been white-washed and soon there was a total Tom Sawyer-like situation!

The sun was climbing higher. Suddenly someone found a little kitten. There was much cuddling and cooing over it. A bowl of milk was produced from the kitchen, the kitten however was clearly not interested. A comfy bed was made for it and the bowl left next to it.

The drawing and painting continued in the evening session. As it started to get dark, we hired some floodlights and had them fixed. Work continued till almost nine. You must note that all of this was spontaneous. The concentration and focus with which they were working had to be seen to be believed. This was beyond mere 'fun'.

There were many goosebumps-inducing moments in the week. The way the children packed everything up at the end of the day with no one instructing them at all, for instance. Even the little ones pitched in by folding up the mats. The camera was left in the middle of the ground every now and then and yet not one child touched it. No adult was around asking them to do this or not do that - they seem to have a strong sense of right and wrong. On the other hand they are confident and feel secure enough to challenge anything you might say that they don't agree with - in a polite way. This balance I bet is something every parent strives for and here in this big family of about a hundred children you see it in action.

For the hundredth time, hats off to Sandhya Auntie and her team!

Moving Outdoors

For the last three days, the camera had been lying untouched. The children were putting down the images inside their heads down on paper. We were witnesses to the process of their thoughts evolving. A picture is worth a thousand words - I'd like to correct that - its worth many thousands of words.

We moved outdoors into the wide space enclosed by the Aarti Home building and the school block. The mural would go on the wall at the ground level on the school building. We had got it white-washed earlier and now it was time to get the children introduced to their canvas!

We played some more games and then the children had another session with Farah. The idea was to get them comfortable with the space.

We now zeroed down into what we wanted next - ideas for the mural! Much brain-storming and animated discussions happened. We used a whiteboard to jot down the ideas that were being bounced around. At the end of the session we had more than forty completely unique ideas - all depicting the idea of shelter. What a long way we had travelled from the boring picture of two hills with a rising sun and a house, and this was just half a week later!

The children drew their ideas - we had got them a sketch book each which they had been using to sketch out their thoughts, to learn drawing techniques and to preserve all their memories of this week.

We collected the books in a pile and then all of us went through each of them, capturing the images in our heads in an effort to cobble up an idea of what would eventually go on the wall. The dinner bell went off but the children simply refused to budge till the last book had been checked out. All the books were laid out on the floor like an art gallery - with the picture they'd chosen facing upwards. We would start off on the wall the next morning - we couldn't wait!

The Next Couple of Days..

..we all worked together.The children were shown various techniques of drawing. The emphasis was on HOW to draw, NOT WHAT to draw. We saw the transformation, they were starting to express what they felt on paper. One of them drew a house with two children in the foreground, holding hands. Friendship is a form of shelter, he said. Great going! A little girl showed us the sketch she had made - that of a mother with a child in her lap. Amma odi or mother's lap is shelter she said, and the woman in the sketch is Sandhya Auntie. Wow!

Yet another girl's sketch depicted a baby abandoned outside the gates of Aarti Home. Shelter is the hope that Aarti Home gives such children, she said.

We were humbled by the children's intelligence and sensitivity. Touched by their sense of loyalty to Sandhya Auntie and Aarti Home. Floored by their enthusiasm and sheer zest for life.

We felt grateful to have got this opportunity to work with them.

Starting Off

We began on Day 1 by introducing ourselves and Farah the artist-lady to the children. We gave them an overview of what the project was all about.

We then asked them to put down on paper what their idea of 'shelter' was. Sheet after sheet had the same stereotypical landscape - that of two hills with a rising sun in between and a house with a sloping roof in the foreground! This was what they probably thought was expected, we however wanted what the children actually felt and thought.

We brain-stormed and came up with a few games to help them understand what the whole gig was about. For instance the children were divided into four teams and each team was then asked to 'build' a house using themselves as the material. It was amazing to watch what they came up with - we even had a deity in one of the creations, complete with a priest! Once a team made their house, a couple of children from another team sketched it on the whiteboard - as it would look if made from normal building materials. Look carefully for details we said. The idea was to teach them to visualize and put it down on paper. Much laughter and enthusiastic cheering ensued.

The rest of the day was spent in more such exercises which broke the ice between us and them, helped them come together as a team, emphasised the importance of observation and concentration and were great fun!

The Behind-the-Scenes Story

Our brief was explore how creative practice impacts young lives positively. The theme we were to work with was shelter. We came up with a few possibilities, thought some more and narrowed down on the idea of the children producing a shelter-themed mural in Aarti Home - that would be creativity in action. We bounced the idea off George Kurian who was previously part of the team that made BBC2's documentary India's Missing Girls, and he offered to make the film for no fee. He also had many excellent ideas - you can see some of them in the posts that follow. We would capture on film their thoughts about shelter while they are creatively engaged.

After about a month of coordinating various aspects - what a learning experience this has been for me! - I now know how and where camera equipment can be hired for instance - we were ready to roll. George and I landed up in Kadapa and we were all set to go.

Creative Junction Partnership Project Goes Live!

We have begun filming a documentray that explores how creative practice enhances the lives of young people.
Watch this space for more details..

Davakar

This beautiful boy is Davakar. He is 5 years old at the time of the photo. His mom is still alive but has cancer and is unable to take care of him so he lives at the Home. Davakar is awesome because he is like an old man in a 5 year old boy's body. He has this adorable habit of walking around with this hands resting on the top part of his stomach (what I imagine a 60 year old man would do when taking his morning stroll in the nearby park). Davakar is also really thoughtful. He was in my class and would always be the first to finish projects such as the "autobiography" he is holding in the above photo. Whenever he finished his work instead of running around like a normal 5 year old, he would go around and help the other students finish their projects! Davakar is also incredibly smart. One of my favorite stories is that I was teaching the kids the words "fast" and "slow" and I said something like "I run slow!" at which point Davakar piped up and said "I run slowLY". I was floored. This kid is clearly a genius. Also just another example of what kind of intelligence and talents would have gone to waste without Sandhya and without the Home.

PS - Davakar is holding a page from his autobiography that I had the kids write. I taught them some simple sentences and they filled in the blank. Davakar's says "I love Sandhya. I like the color red. I don't like pacola. My favorite activity is reading."