Expanding...

KATHPUTLI COLONY COMMUNITY ORIENTATION

It is the month of December and the much awaited expansion phase of PROJECT KAYAKALP is here !! We proved our mettle by successfully working with four puppeteers from the KATHPUTLI COLONY , SHADIPUR DEPOT.Now it's time to expand and induct more willing souls into the aegis of the Enactus Kayakalp endeavour.
Now it's time to take the impact forward and help a few more from the colony to take their lives forward. 

On 8th Dec we organised a community orientation for the inhabitants of kathputli colony , famous for exhibiting multi variate talents and skills.

After setting the flex , laptop and projector in place , we divided ourself into 4 groups , each guided by one of our four puppeteers.  We then went into the colony/slum through extremely narrow lanes and conspicuous unhygiene to summon the people who our puppeteers thought would greatly benefit from our presentation.

The colony's major difficulties are the intolerable living conditions signified by open drainage system , astonishingly narrow lanes , no ray of sunlight entering the crammed up colony , extreme lack of clean water and zero awareness in the above mentioned fields.

Amidst these ghetto-like grounds, thrives the talent of our puppeteers . Between these unhygienic lanes , are the make shift houses of our traditional entertainers . These were the people we wanted to attract towards our orientation . People who are willing to change their lives for the better. Artists who have it in them to perform and rise up to all occassions.

After being back from our little marketing trip, we stay put in the Kalakar Trust hall to greet and interact with the interested people who came for the orientation. Soon , after achieving a decent audience we began the presentation telling them :

-- who we are

-- why are we here

-- asking them their problems

-- why do we want to help

-- how have we helped in the past

-- how we plan to help our new batch

-- our plan of training schedule for them

We had our existing puppeteers present at the scene to be a walking egample of our unfailing efforts. The evident growth of our previous batch of puppeteers surely stimulated others to join.

After listening to their problems and daily grievances , we told them about the significance of the training that we have planned for them :

-- Theatre workshop in December

-- One mutually decided day to hold team building activities and ice breaking sessions.

-- January training round

-- February training round

They were made aware of the virtuous cycle which will occur if they increased their knowledge , skill and experience of their pofessional field. Needless to say , it would improve their worth in the eyes of customers, help them assert their talent , improve demand for their performances , bring in more moolah into the house , lead to a better lifestyle. The highest point of this virtuous cycle would be if they will be able to break free from the strands of poverty and discrimination.

In the end , speaking of mutual trust and FAITH , we conveyed that how essential it is for them to adjust their commitments with our training and workshops.That they have to stop the unintentional exercise of wage cutting , by nurturing competition not with each other , but with the new forms of entertainment due to which the market for traditional puppetry is on the decline.  That the training they accomplish will only take them FORWARD . That our efforts are solely FOR THEIR WELFARE . That they ought to be serious and willing to put in the hours --  for THEMSELVES!!  

To conclude we had a small personal discussion with the group wherein they shared with us their work related and household problems. They are an inquisitive lot and we encouraged their such nature fully ! After answering their queries , we had them fill individual baseline forms which would help us in the final selection of the new batch of kayakalp puppeteers. In all we collected 24 forms (a number more than expected :D )

All in all , the orientation was a huge success and we look forward to the next one , in which we will be joined by many more who could not be present this time. And to hope the least , they would be willing to associate with us and keep on weaving the carpet of hope with their heart to learn and improve . We have to make them BELIEVE that this carpet that they are weaving with so much determination , will FLY one day ! YES IT WILL FLY .......

Cheers !

Akshita Yadav 

Eyes that tell stories

 When I saw her I had an instant liking for her. She was accompanying her daughter for a gynecological checkup. While the women chattered, waiting for their turn to come, she was quiet. She wasn’t scared but quiet. She would contribute to the gossip occasionally, breaking the silent spell that seemed to have been cast on her. My imagination was bound by my stereotypical mind and I tried to piece out her story in my mind. She was obviously from the slums of Kathputli Colony this health check up camp catered to. She has work to get back to, chores to complete, at least 5-7 kids to take care of, I thought to myself. Then she smiled at me and I knew I had her approval. So I went ahead and asked her, ‘aapke kitne bache hain?’, ‘Five girls and three boys’ she replied. Then she enquired about what I do. When she learnt that I was just a college student, she started telling me about her daughters. One of her daughters had studied till class 10. I could see that she was proud. And then I knew that like every other mother, she had dreams for her daughters too. Dreams that, she somehow knew would remain unfulfilled, but yet she dreamt them. Maybe they lent her a sense of comfort.  She continued talking about her daughters. Another is 19 and pregnant with her second baby. She was waiting in the line for her check up. She told me about her daughter who studies in class 4. We had nothing in common. I failed to understand why she wanted me to know all of this at that point, yet I listened because I wanted to know. Then I asked her if she would let her daughter who is in class 4 finish her schooling. She laughed and said that her daughter would get married before that. She asked me when I plan to get married. I blushed and told her, ‘not any time soon’. I told her that normally, girls these days don’t get married before 24. She was astounded and couldn’t resist laughing. I wondered if what I had told her was really that amusing. 

Then the revelation came. Even though she fostered dreams for her daughters, it wasn’t just the society she lived in that was holding her back, but she was holding herself back too. She had dreams for her daughters, but her reality overpowered them. I told her how important education is. She nodded and smiled. But her smile, told me that she understood me, but she also knew that I wouldn’t understand her world. We live in the same city, but we come from two different worlds. And my world started to seem far simpler when compared to hers. Maybe it’s foolish to compare our lives. What do I know about her life? Our situation was similar to one where a blind person attempts at directing a lost person. I was blind to her problems. And she’d rather try her luck than take directions from me. This is a very strange characteristic of mankind or at least mine - if am not in touch with the reality I assume that things are easy to fix. But then they say - reality is stranger than fiction. There was no dissatisfaction in her eyes, rather she seemed content. She didn’t tell me but I knew that she had done as much as she could for her daughters. So I decided to give her the credit for that and say no more.



- Jyotsna Mahajan  

Redemption

I don't  know about my  batch mates, but when I was inducted  into Enactus, I knew that this was my redemption ; my holy dip in the Ganga .

So, when it came down to finally doing some fieldwork after a month of photocopying schedules and putting up posters, we were all  set and I was ready to pacify the scores of rickshaw pullers, who I was sure would  get all teary eyed while telling us about their problems (My mother keeps telling me that Bollywood  has too much influence over me).

 The clock struck four and far, far away, you could see a battalion of  men dressed in blue (colour of their Enactus uniform) slowly walking towards us, just like that last scene in Black Hawk Down (Hollywood also has a considerable influence).

When they  were about ten feet away, I started panicking because I couldn't decide whether I should say Namaste with a nod or Namaste in the proper air-hostess manner. So, I decided  to tell my senior that I had had a bit too many gol gappas the day before and vanished from the scene. I slyly slid back inside and hid behind a senior when they were all seated .

On a totally different note, over the past 3 months my seniors have come to replace my parents and my parents are very happy with this development. I see one missed call from my senior and start running around the house like a headless chicken ; I miss a deadline and ..ohhhh…..; and whenever I’m not sure about anything, I just hide behind a senior.

Anyway, then we started going around, talking to rickshaw pullers. We first asked them their names (reply came within  5 seconds ) , then their age which usually got them thinking a little longer and hardly anybody seemed to have  crossed 35 even though the wrinkles and grey hair suggested otherwise . Then came the dicey question, "Are you married?". Those who weren't married blushed and giggled helplessly and those who were married also blushed and giggled terribly even though their own kids were married.

Then came another question – their kids' names. Some were pretty quick with their replies but some were not so sure. They would start with Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Govinda and then amnesia would kick in and then slowly the names would trickle in and just when I would start back , the last name would be yelled out –“ Rani !!”  ….( uff mera filmy dimaag !)

But slowly I realised that this is how it is ; beyond the apparent amnesia and blushing, these were honest men  who earned an honest living by working hard day and night and deserved a chance to live without  being exploited . It was an overwhelming feeling being there and yes, I did feel redeemed !

-Mehul Mitali