Artist's Wand

Scattered on the walls of Kalaunjar are murals made of bright colours. To an unassuming visitor, they look like a part of the history of the village, some of them fading into the walls they’re on. On further enquiry, one will hear the story and the name of one person - Blaise.

With the idea of introducing art to the community and the school, 8 workshops of 10 days each have been conducted in Kalaunjar since 2015. Art was sought not only as a medium of expression but as a way to explore the environment and bring people together to co-create. All of this would eventually contribute to classroom learning.

Fearless exploration

The workshops took people away from the shackles of right and wrong and allowed them to discover the world around them like never before. From charcoal to mud and crayons to leaves - no material within their reach was left untouched.

Connecting with the local context

Art also gave a medium for people to look at their environment differently. Creation didn’t necessarily need expensive resources, being able to create from the nature surrounding them opened up new possibilities.

Embracing the inner child

Interestingly enough, even though art workshops for teachers were a part of the plan, they weren’t organised till the teachers asked for it themselves. Looking at the beautiful creations that children were creating, teachers also wanted to experience it for themselves.

Breaking boundaries

Art also helped break the deep rooted caste divide in the village. People were drawing on different houses in the village, listening to each other’s stories and painting their walls. Art liberated the people from the boundaries of the society and helped inculcate a sense of empathy and equality among people.

“Suddenly you had students from an upper caste sitting in the courtyard of someone who wasn’t and drawing and having tea - all in the name of art.”

- Blaise

Celebrating artists

Regular exhibitions in the village made art more accessible to the people. Everyone could participate without the fear of being judged. Local artisans and craftsmen were recognised and achievements of children were celebrated.

Looking back

All these changes were not without challenges. Integrating art in a system that fails to recognise individuality was one of the biggest problems. The industrial design of the school hinders the exploration of children in a huge way and without changing that, the effect of art is limited.

Making the case of art in a community that didn’t fully understand the importance of education was another battle altogether. Initially, there was a lot of pushback from the community and teachers. But as more and more people got involved and became active participants in the workshops, they started realising the importance of it. This realisation however, was often at loggerheads with the structure of the school and the constraints within which the intervention had to operate.

Time proved to be the biggest constraint of them all. Often students and teachers would suggest to increase the duration of the workshops to be able to cover more ground in the sessions. A group of 35 students from the community along with a teacher, Pratibha were excused from other responsibilities during the 10 odd days when the workshop was conducted.

"अब स्कूल का दृश्य ही बदल गया है।"

- बेबी देवी, शिक्षा समिति सदस्या

Art not only contributed a great deal in changing the way the people of Kalaunjar looked at the the world but also the way they interacted with each other. The physical appearance of the community changed a great deal but more significantly, it also changed the mindset of the people.