Looking Back and Ahead

My internship with Kolkata Sanved is already in its fifth month. It doesn't really feel like five months, but at the same time, I feel like my own skills in the field of drama therapy and dance movement therapy have become stronger in comparison to what they were pre-July 08. So even if time has zoomed by, it's been a constructive kind of zooming (!). Personally, the intenship has done wonders to my sense of confidence. Not surprisingly, it has reinforced something I've always believed in -- you may think you'll be able to do something, but when you actually do it in practice, your sense of self-belief is much greater. Over the past five months, I have been given a number of opportunities to bridge that gap between thinking I can do something and going ahead and doing it. And I think that has helped in both my professional and personal growth.

In the next phase of my internship I would like to conceptualize and direct at least one short performance with either the Sanved trainers or some of the girls/boys I have been working with through Sanved's partnership programmes. That's an area I have touched upon so far (the Independence Day programme at Apne Aap, the performance for Anjali in October), but not delved into completely. It's very challenging and exciting to build concepts, develop scripts and direct performances geared towards generating human rights awareness and I hope to get an opportunity in the next year to hone these skills.

Another aspect I need to give more time to is structuring drama therapy modules for mainstream school children. I have been conducting sessions at Patha Bhavan for Class 3 and 4 children and I may begin sessions at another school for middle school students. The nature of sessions for mainstream children obviously needs to be different from those conducted for marginalized or disadvantaged children and, at the moment, my classes for the Patha Bhavan kids are more on the lines of theatre for recreation than theatre for therapy. We do team building, body-mind coordination and skit development exercises, but I'm looking at expanding the range of activities so that even if they aren't "therapeutic", they can be educational and can help channelize the energy of the kids positively/constructively. If any of you has any suggestions regarding activities I can do in this vein or books/websites I could look at for ideas, please let me know. I was so focused on planning sessions for communities with special needs that, ironically enough, my mainstream sessions aren't as fine-tuned as they can be. And I'm sure there is a lot that I can do in my mainstream classes.

Peace Rally At The Gateway of India

One of the main reasons I chose to do my internship in Mumbai is because I have always been enamoured by the energy and enthusiasm in the city and its people. The city gave me a positive vibe the minute I landed here.

Looking back at the history of the city we come across a number of terror attacks and tragedies. The people of this city have been hit time and time again but they always get back on their feet almost immediately. When I used to live in Calcutta, i watched the coverage of the previous attacks on the city and read about it in the newspapers, but I could never actually fathom the emotions of fear, helplessness and panic that people go through. This time I was present in the city and for the first time I understood what it all really feels like and what is it to be afraid for your life. Although life has returned to a fairly normal state, people are still shocked from last week's events and fear for their lives and for the lives of their loved ones.

I attended the Peace rally at The Gateway of India and was amazed. I was amazed at the number of people and the energy in that area. People from all over Bombay attend the rally. Alyque Padamsee organized a campaign 'Enough Is Enough' in which almost everyone in the rally participated. Leaflets were given out where we had to fill in our contact details and state three things of the government that we wanted changed. The persons concerned would put forward an ATR with the list of demands. People were present with candles, banners and of course their spirit. The place was flooded with media people who were clicking away and interviewing as many people as possible. It was good to see people of all ages, walks of life and religion.

The Peace rally was quite an experience for me although after a while the motive of peace was lost. I personally didn't feel comfortable after a point because all one could here were anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan slogans and of course the ones against the politicians. There was a lot of anger and rage and after a point it was a little unnerving. Frankly I feel that instead of blaming the government and the media and various other people for their irresponsibility and insensitivity we should take charge and change our ways too. We should become responsible and vote for the right people and take a stand against things we don’t agree with. If we don’t do it this time, we’ll be lighting candles and having many more peace rallies and not solving the real problem.

Had Anhad - Journeys with Ram and Kabir

Citizens for Peace organized a screening of the film 'Had Anhad - Journeys with Ram and Kabir' in the month of September. Shabnam Virmani has directed the film. Started in 2003, the Kabir project brings together the experiences of a series of journeys in quest of this 15th century mystic poet in our contemporary worlds. 'Had Anhad' is the first film in a series of four. A small screening of select individuals who would be in a position to disseminate this film widely to the mainstream. The audience included Mr. Om Puri (Chairman, National Film Development Corporation) and Ms. Nina Lath Gupta ( MD, National Film Development Corporation) and others.
This film is an attempt to understand Kabir's Ram through poetry, song and encounters in India and Pakistan. It provides an insight into the politics of Kabir's poetry and the genre of folk music. Its journeys through different parts of India and Pakistan locate Dalit, Muslim and Hindu folk singers, capturing their intensity primarily through their enthralling music. Deeply rich in subtle detail and simplicity, the film takes us unrelentingly inward even as we venture outward. This film provides an opportunity to listen and to make the connect between Kabir's words and our day-to-day acts, the social, spiritual and political choices in which we're all enmeshed.

It was a wonderful experience for me. I not only got the chance to watch a fantastic film but also got to meet a number of very interesting people from various fields. The film also touched me at a personal level as it brought back a number of memories of my three years in boarding school. I was lucky enough to study in The Valley School in Bangalore. It was there, at my very first assembly that I was introduced to the songs, poetry and writings of Kabir. In school, it was used to teach us the basic values of life. All the elements of the film were extremely appealing and absolutely captured your attention; whether it was the treatment, the music, the people interviewed and of course the locations. The simplicity of the content of Kabir's literature and the simplicity of the people who till this day live by his way of thinking has changed and influenced the way I think about certain things in my life.

FIRST EXPERIENCE. FIRST LESSON.

Landing this internship finally made me feel grown-up. Signing contracts, monthly stipends, and 'office hours' inflated my so far dormant sense of self-importance. But I didn't know that in order to grow up, I'd have to grow down a little bit first!

My first assignment was to report on the different Peacefest workshops, starting with music. I walked into the workshop space feeling strange, knowing that even a year ago I might have been one of the participants. It hit me- I was no longer in school, I was taking a year off before college, and I was not quite a fully qualified working professional either. For the first time in my life, I was no one. And yet, I was surrounded by a gaggle of schoolchildren who were both nervous and excited about the task at hand, and I knew what that felt like. All grown-up? Not quite.

The workshops turned out to be hugely enjoyable. I made friends, and I realized that there was always something to learn from every experience. I learnt how to hold my concentration over a length of time, and make little notes while doing so, two skills that were only half-developed in school! For the first time, I had to write full-length critiques, and, most importantly, I had to respond to different forms of the arts, from film to theatre to music. Now, I was actually growing up.

By the time the Peaceworks Festival closing ceremony came along, I was thoroughly enjoying being 'no one'. I greeted the participants I had become familiar with during the course of the workshops, wished them luck and chatted with them briefly. I watched the plays being performed and said to myself "I was there when this was rehearsed!" or "This is the scene that I like."

When all was over, I felt buoyant and fulfilled, looking forward enthusiastically to the next 'growing-up experience' my internship had in store.