A letter from Santa Claus Dear Friend, Ho Ho Ho! This is Santa writing to you. Here's wishing you a very merry Christmas! It’s another exciting year here at the North Pole! The elves are busy making toys, wrapping up presents and labelling gifts while the reindeer are ready to make another fun trip. I’ve also been consulting the map and have realized that there are quite a few places that I won’t be able to cover. Making the journey from the North Pole to India on a sleigh is quite tiring and I think I might need a little help from your end. Rudolph and I have chosen you because, this past year you’ve been at the top of the ‘NICE’ list having lent your support to a number of worthwhile causes! So here's how you can pitch in: There are these little girls in Gujarat- bright and all of 11 years old who had asked me for bicycles so that they could go to school (which is really far away). So why don't you gift them one on my behalf? Or you could also hit all the right notes this Christmas by helping a bunch of kids learn music through this great organization called 'Rhapsody' Or you could help discover a new Picasso from the local schools of Chennai by gifting them art supplies through 'NalandaWay' All you have to do is visit any one of the links given below on this super-cool website called OrangeStreet.in. The website has given me permission to help these children by campaigning for them here: Once you visit the website and learn about the project, simply click the ‘donate’ button to contribute an amount of your choice. With your help, these kids will have gifts they’ve always wanted for a long time. Rudolph and I really hope that no child is left without a present this year. With your help, we’ll able to reach out to hundreds of kids who need our love and support this year. Will you please help us out? Lots of love, Santa Copyright © 2014 NalandaWay Foundation, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website Our mailing address is: NalandaWay Foundation AH-206, 1st Floor, 3rd Street, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600040 India Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

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The curious case of Samuel Venkatesan

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The curious case of Samuel Venkatesan Dear Friend, Four years ago, Samuel Venkatesan a.ka. Sam had been voted ‘Teenager of the year’ in a children’s daily in France. Formerly a child labourer in Soolagiri village in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, Sam had joined our ‘Achieve through Arts’ programme when he was in high school. Sam was an extremely bright boy and took an avid interest in the visual arts and film making. Through the course of the programme, he directed several short films on the issues affecting children in his village. Sam’s talent and candidness on social issues got the attention of a French journalist who wrote to me with an enquiry about him. The journalist’s story on Sam circulated widely across France and this bright kid swept the polls to emerge as the ‘Teenager of the Year’ in a children’s daily there. Later, with the support of UNICEF, he even represented India at J-8 Summit in Rome to campaign for the cause of free education for children in the developing world. Sitting from the Mayor’s chair in Rome he appealed to the G8 leaders, “I want free and quality education for all children in developing countries, especially to girls and orphans.” On finishing school, NalandaWay sponsored his education for a B.Sc. in Visual Communications at the Loyola College in Chennai. He also joined as an intern at a design house and continued supporting his mother back home. Today, Sam continues his passion of making films about the perils that affect the society. By filing an RTI application, he discovered that water from a lake in his village had been illegally diverted for the granite industries. This diversion had been at the expense of the farmers, who were left without any water. Deciding to take up their cause, Sam made a well researched documentary film on the issue to build awareness about the crime among the villagers, MLAs and government officers. When I called him up to inquire how he was doing, Sam passionately said, “I am fine sir, police stopped me from making a public screening of my film but I am now mobilizing the community against this cowardly act” “Take care, Sam,” I said. Today, I am worried about Sam. But equally proud of him too. His story just goes to show how a little faith in a child’s talent can work wonders. NalandaWay’s ‘Achieve through Arts’ initiative has helped many a Sam become creative, learn essential life-skills and build self-confidence to create lives they truly want to lead. Here. However, there are hundreds like him who still need your support. Why don’t you make a small contribution today?  No amount is small. So long, Sriram V Ayer Founder & CEO Donate here to support NalandaWay

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Kalaivani - Once upon a story

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Kalaivani - Once upon a story Dear Friend, On a cool breezy evening Kalaivani, a happy chubby girl and I were sitting outside her thatched house on a raised platform meant for washing clothes. She and three of her elder sisters lived with their parents in a house that was probably less than the size of a toilet in our homes. “So why don’t you ask your father not to drink? Then he would save money and all of you could live in a bigger house?” I asked. She stopped shaking her legs and stared at me directly. Sidestepping my question she asked, “How big is your home?” “Slightly bigger than yours,” I answered, trying to be modest. “You know my dad and mom had a love marriage. He used to look like a hero then. Mom has shown the photographs. He used to have a big mustache and my mom would say he looked like Rajnikanth. My mom is a big fan of Rajini,” she said with her eyes opened wide. “He is a still good man, very loving and caring. He looks very old now. He drives an auto rickshaw and my mom works as a maid in the building nearby. But they don’t talk much these days. My dad sleeps outside in the nights.” “My mom says that it is because of us four girls he chooses to sleep outside,” she dropped her face in silence. What was she implying? I wondered. Was she telling me that there was no space for affection and intimacy between her parents? She was just 13 years old; could she be that perceptive of an adult’s need? If she was so sensitive of adults’ needs, what about her needs? Had someone ever asked her? If marginalized children were given an opportunity to talk about their stories to people who make decisions, would this world be different? What if they had crayons, paint brushes or maybe even video cameras? What stories would they tell? What could they teach us? Our children media teams have made over 42 short films and they are being screened to administrators, teachers, parents and other care givers. Their stories are changing the way welfare programmes are designed for them. Please make a small donation for making this happen. No amount is small. So long, Sriram V Ayer Founder & CEO Donate here to support NalandaWay

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'Payasam' for the soul

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'Payasam' for the soul Dear friend, Recently, a colleague and I were on our way to a Government school in the northern fringes of Chennai. The neighborhood was infamous for gangsters and violence. It was two in the afternoon, but a wine shop at the entrance of the street leading to the school was bustling with business. As soon as we got inside the school, we were greeted with a thick smell of urine. Twenty five children from this school had attended our 4 day residential art camp, ‘Kanavu Pattarai’ a month earlier. A ‘workshop of dreams’ in Tamil, Kanavu Pattarai helps children rekindle their sense of wonderment, inquisitiveness, curiosity and awe. The programme is a four day residential camp organized for disadvantaged children between the ages of 13-18. Students are trained by our facilitators in a variety of applied theatre forms like advanced role-play, improvisation, creative games and exercises, and storytelling. We wanted to meet the kids, their parents and teachers to understand if our camp had made any difference. After an hour of conversations with children and teachers, we did feel slightly reassured that our efforts had not gone in vain. It was time to meet the parents and only two mothers had turned up. My colleague inquired if they saw any changes in their kids’ behaviour. One of the mothers remained silent but nodded along to all the questions while the other lady was talkative and open about her observations. The chatty lady looked prosperous compared to the quiet person. But the latter finally opened up. “Ours is a very poor family,” she said. “My husband and son do not work and I sell vegetables on the street to earn money. I have never been to a school, but my daughter is very smart and beautiful. I have always wanted the best for my kids, but with the money that I bring home, I can hardly make them rice once a day.” “But that day she came running to me after the camp. She looked so excited and happy. She announced that she had eaten payasam, ice cream, biriyani, potato roast, cream biscuits and so much more at the camp,” and the lady started crying. We let her cry. Her tears had more answers than what we wished for. Food and refreshments constitute a major portion of the costs that are required to run these camps. Why don’t you make a small contribution to make this camp an experience that these children would remember for a lifetime? So long, Sriram V Ayer Founder & CEO Donate here  - NalandaWay's Kanavu Pattarai

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The Art of Hope

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see” - Degas Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

The Art of Hope Dear Friend, At the outset, I would like to thank you for supporting us in our journey towards helping thousands of disadvantaged children achieve through arts.  However, we have been patchy in communicating about what we do and how we work. So every month I would like to share a story that reflects our work and successes. This is the story of Balaji. Balaji was 14 or 15 when he joined our arts education programme. He used to stay then at the Government Home for Boys. His mother, the lone breadwinner of the family had admitted him at the shelter, so that he could stay away from his alcoholic and abusive father and continue his school education. Besides performing well in school he took an active interest in theatre, folk music and performed at our arts festivals. Balaji moved back home when his mother fell sick. He would start his day by distributing newspapers, cooking food, going to school and later doing other odd jobs. He completed his school Board examination with distinction, but continued working to support his mother, younger brother and abusive father. I still remember the joy and sense of achievement on his expressive face when he was selected for B Sc Visual Communications course at the Madras Christian College. Then one day, Balaji came in unannounced into my room and laid out his sketch book before me. “Sir, I drew this sketch. Do you like it?” It was a three dimensional sketch of a traditional Rajasthani pot. It was definitely a good effort for a beginner. “Good job da”, I said and looked back at him. He seemed rather uneasy and fidgety. He used to come regularly to my office every day after his morning job and before he left for college. But that day there were noticeable bruises on his chin and arms. One side of the face looked swollen than usual. “What happened? Did you have a fall?” I was concerned. He avoided my question and rambled about something disconnected. After some persuasion he said, "My father bit me barbarously last night because I would not give him money for alcohol”. He also showed the bite marks all over his right arm and talked about how he had hurt himself on his face while trying to escape his father's hold. “But don’t worry sir. This is not the first time. I am rock solid," he smiled. “Anyway, I need to catch the bus quick, otherwise I will miss her,” winked at me and made a dash for the door. There are hundreds of Balajis who would need your support. Why don’t you make a small contribution today?  No amount is small. So long, Sriram V Ayer Founder & CEO    There is a way - NalandaWay. Donate today.

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When AAA went to school…

The fifth edition of Art Arattai Aarpattam has been different and unique on my aspects, but the one which definitely stands out, is that we have tried to create the AAA experience within the school campuses, thanks to feedback from the children who have come back every year, to be part of the experience that is Art Arattai Aarpattam. Allow us to quickly take you back a few minuscule particles of time in the existence of mankind, to tell you how this happened.

So. February 2012. We had just begun planning for the big event and in our attempt to make the festival more meaningful for the children that we try to reach out to, we invited them over and had a discussion. About 15 children from various government and private schools, who had attended the last editions of AAA, came in to our office to offer their expert advice. Over cups of tea, biscuits and frantic note-taking, we arrived at a plan for AAA 2012. One of the key feedbacks that we got that day, was that they wanted to host the festival in their schools. They wanted to be a larger part of the experience, they said. It was their own Art, Arttai and Aarpattam, happening right within their own classrooms. How could we say no?

This year, Art Arattai Aarpattam travelled to 12 schools across the city – both government and private schools spread across Chennai, from Somangalam (which felt like travelling to a different city – it’s beyond Tamabaram) to Triplicane (where it’s quite a struggle spotting the school building) to Mehta Nagar. Two events were organized in each school – an ArtSpeak lecture and the screening of a blockbuster children’s film.

As part of ArtSpeak, an eminent artiste was invited to conduct a lecture-demonstration about their specialized art form, in attempt to introduce the art form, inspire children towards learning it and appreciating it. At the end of each session was also an interactive Q&A round, where children were encouraged to ask questions. The best 3 questions that came from the children were awarded with gift vouchers from Pothys, our principal sponsor. We were indeed blessed to have the support of several artistes such as Dr. Sriram Parasuram – eminent carnatic singer ad musician, Dr. Padma Subramanyam – well-known Bharatanatyam dancer and scholar, Keshav – cartoonist at The Hindu, Tripura Kashyap – dance educator and movement therapist, Bala – Creative Director of Theatre Nisha, Ilango – popular artist and art teacher, Kalieaswari – Theatre performer and trainer, Dr. Chitra Madhavan – Historian and Archaeologist, Vedant Bharadwaj – Musician and composer, Geetha Ramanujam – Story-teller and educator and Jai Undurti – Writer and Graphic Novelist, who took time out interact with children at these schools.

Cartoonist Keshav being mobbed for autographs at a Govt school in Thoraipakkam :)

Each of these sessions was extremely enriching, even for us, as we watched the children interact with the stalwarts – losing themselves in the art, their eyes filling up with wonderment and their questions often stumping the experts themselves. We marveled at their talent. We swelled with pride. We resolved to go one step further in our efforts to integrate the arts into their lives. And when it was time to say goodbye to the artiste, there was always a small voice from the audience that went, ‘Can you teach me to dance like that?’, or ‘Will I be able to draw like you?’. Yes you can, we said. That’s what we are here to do.

While the ArtSpeak sessions left children dreamy-eyed and with a glow on their faces that only the excitement of learning something new brings, the film screenings were like seeing their dreams come to life on screen. It was a pleasure watching the children travel with Simba in his attempt to re-conquer his territory, fighting the peacock villain with Po and his friends, cheering on for Dumbo as he proves his mettle and laughing at the antics of King Julian & his sidekicks.

At the screening of Lion King - MBN Girls Hr Sec School, Chrompet
Photo Courtesy: Shrinath Sundaram

The experience of visiting these schools has given us a lot of perspective into the needs of these children. We now know what their classrooms look like, how long they travel to come to school every day, what their interests are and so much more. We have also learnt that, contrary to popular opinion, the school principals and teachers are extremely enthusiastic and keen on providing the children with exposure to the arts. The chatty lunchtime conversations and quick hellos as children pass-by in the corridors have given us more insight into their lives than hours of sifting through surveys and research material. We're extremely thankful to the schools for having partnered with us on this journey.

The dust has settled, the stage has been cleared and the festival has come to a close, but the faces filled with wonder, the applause, the whistles and the bursts of laughter will stay with us forever, egging us on to travel to more schools, meet more children and add more smiles to our precious collection.

AAA 2012: The magic that was...

Come June every year and the entire NalandaWay team seems to go through a sea change…deadlines loom larger than before, people who usually wrap up by 6 pm end up staying past 8, lunch (usually a happy one-hour affair) is more on the run and between tasks. You get the picture. For those of you who know at least one member of this cracked-in-the-head-but-heart-generally-in-the-right-place team, you can imagine how different this is from ‘normalcy’. Well, we have a 3-word answer for you – Art Arattai Aarpattam J

This year’s hardly been any different. What added to the excitement was the very fact that we were experimenting with a new format of the festival itself this year. While all our previous editions have been held at central venues, this year, we decided to go to the proverbial mountains ourselves – we believed that in order to reach out to more children, we needed to go to the children and create conversations with them. And that’s exactly how we did it this year. By partnering with 12 schools across the city and organizing activities for the children within their own school premises.

Showing them some moves - A lecture demonstration on contemporary dance at a school in Triplicane

Each of the 12 schools had a lecture-demonstration by an eminent artiste, as well as the screening of a blockbuster Hollywood children’s film. Besides the activities across the 12 schools, AAA2012 also included a series of arts-based workshops for teachers, parents and students, all aimed at exploring how arts can be introduced within the classroom itself, in such a way that it makes learning more fun and engages the children more, during the very process. No AAA can be complete without school competitions, that magnificent showcase of talent which provides opportunities for children from diverse background to match their skills and abilities with each other. Add to this, a play that attempts to explore how a child perceives the very complicated concept of death – and there you have it. The potpourri that is Art Arattai Aarpattam is complete. 

To say that this year’s edition of AAA has been memorable is saying the least. Every edition of AAA has been memorable for us simply because there is so much that we learn from the children.  The one aspect that strikes us each and every time is the sheer scope that exists, the scope for learning for the children. And what makes it more amazing is the uninhibited and spontaneous response from the children. Nothing makes us happier than the excitement on a child’s face as she watches Simba the lion cub or the rapt attention with which a teenage boy listens to a talk on temple heritage. It makes us wonder again and again – why is it that we are yet to create a system that effectively taps into the immense potential that exists amongst the marginalized children in society?

The amount of talent that we have seen amongst the children in the last 2 weeks has been immense and indeed, impacted us profoundly. And yes, it makes us that much more determined to renew and re-double our efforts to help these children gain a continued and more sustained exposure to the arts, which will, no doubt, help them acquire various other skills and behaviors. Art is the only way to run away without leaving home, said Twyla Tharp. This is something that makes so much sense to us at so many levels J What we’ve achieved this year would have simply not been possible without the support from our various sponsors, partners and the various artistes who took the time to be with us. The end of the festival has been bittersweet for us. What keeps us going is knowing that the next edition of Art Arattai Aarpattam will be right back!

Photographs Courtesy: Shrinath Sundaram

Dinesh

Dinesh, currently 17 years old, was found at the Tirunelveli railway station when he was 6. Not knowing the local language, he was registered as a speech impaired. However, over time, he started learning the language and conversing with others. There are no details about his parentage or where he comes from. We realized his talent in arts and design 2 years back and have been giving him art classes. It is always difficult to find donors who would like to invest in the arts education. My sincere thanks to GE and United Way for supporting his dream of becoming an artist.

Sarah

Sarah by Sriram V Ayer

Lyrics:

My name is Sarah, I am but three,
My eyes are swollen, I cannot see,

I must be stupid, I must be bad,
What else could have made my daddy so mad?

I wish I were better, I wish I weren't ugly;
Then maybe my Mommy would still want to hug me.

I can't speak at all, I can't do a wrong
Or else I'm locked up all the day long.

When I awake, I'm all alone
The house is dark, my folks aren't home.

When my Mommy does come, I'll try and be nice,
So maybe I'll get just one whipping tonight.

Don't make a sound!! I just heard a car
My daddy is back from Charlie's Bar.

I hear him curse, my name he calls
I press myself against the wall.

I try and hide from his evil eyes
I'm so afraid now, I'm starting to cry.

He finds me weeping, he shouts ugly words,
He says it’s my fault that he suffers at work.

He slaps me and hits me and yells at me more,
I finally get free and I run for the door.

He's already locked it and I start to bawl,
He takes me and throws me against the hard wall.

I fall to the floor with my bones nearly broken,
And my daddy continues with more bad words spoken.

"I'm sorry!", I scream but it’s now much too late
His face has been twisted into unimaginable hate.

The hurt and the pain again and again
Oh please God, have mercy! Oh please let it end!

And he finally stops and heads for the door,
While I lay there motionless sprawled on the floor.

My name is Sarah and I am but three,
Tonight my daddy murdered me.

Can you be angry for the cause of a girl child?

Mahakavi Bharathi wanted us to practice anger (ரௌதரம் பழகு). It is difficult not to be angry looking at the suffering of girl children in our country.

Girls are denied access to health services and education, and also face extremely high levels of violence, abuse, and harassment.

At NalandaWay Foundation we made a choice. We chose to be angry for the cause of our girls. Thus was born the Kannama Project. A campaign to make our girls creative, independent and empowered. To give them hope that they can do it.

Last year’s between December 2010 and April 2011, twenty five champions joined our fight. 648 donors helped raise Rs. 13,24,551/- (US $ 26,490/-) that was used towards arts based rehabilitation programmes for 270 marginalised girl children across Tamil Nadu. Click on this link to read about the activities that were conducted and their outcomes.

Today with Bharathi’s blessings we begin our campaign once again. We are extremely privileged to have the support of 25 of our friends who would champion the cause this year.

Our champions;

• Akhila Krishnamurthy, Chennai
• Anil Srinivasan, Chennai
• Anuradha Iqbal and Iqbal Mohammad, Lovedale, Ooty
• Derek Jose, Bangalore
• Harriet Richards, Australia
• Hemalatha Chakrapani
• ISoft, Chennai
• Jaideep, Mumbai
• Janaki Sabesh, Chennai
• Krishnan, UK
• Kirthi Valliur, Hyderabad
• Murlidhar, Chennai
• Ram Ganesan, USA
• Reema Rajan, Hyderabad
• Patrick Matthews, Chennai
• Sandhya Bhaskar, Canada
• Shilpa Kannan, New Delhi
• Sonal Nair, Chennai
• Sudhakar, Chennai
• Sriram Ayer, Chennai
• Ramya Ragavan, USA
• Varsha Narasimhan, Chennai
• Vidya Rajaram, USA

Join us in our fight. Show your anger by contributing to the Kannama Project.

Visit www.nalandaway.org/kannama2011 to make a donation today.

Sincerely,

Sriram

NalandaWay Desk Calendar 2012

NalandaWay Desk Calendar 2012

View more presentations from Sriram Ayer.

Background

Twelve disadvantaged children were trained to experiment with point & shoot digital cameras at the campus of Light and Life Academy and around the Nilgiris, over a period of 5 days. For all except one child, this was the first ever exposure to handling a camera. The result is a credit to their inherent talent and limitless enthusiasm. These photos in the calendar are not only an exhibition of their talent, but also their expressions of hope, creativity and empowerment.

Specifications

DESK CALENDAR (18.5 CMS X 17 CMS)
COST: RS. 200/-

For orders

Please mail your requests to ramya@nalandaway.org. We could include your company's branding if your order is above 100 nos.

Story telling workshops and peformances

Story-telling. It really does conjure up some truly fond memories, doesn’t it? Tales from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchatantra, Aesop’s Fables, fairy tales – an entire plethora of stories that we’ve grown up with. Told to us by beloved grandparents, parents, kindergarten teachers, favourite uncles and aunts. Heart-warming memories that stay with us, sometimes forever.

These sentiments were completely in keeping with the story-telling session that was organized as part of Art Arattai Aarpattam 2011 on Saturday, July 30. What made it so much fun? Why, the story-tellers, of course! We had Geeta Ramanujam, executive director of the Bangalore-based Kathalaya, teaming up with Sweden-based Ola Henricsson to bring alive, some of our favourite stories from years long past. The story-telling was followed by a fun-filled performance by Alf Mouwitz and his daughter, Anastasia, from the Buratino Puppet Theater, Sweden.

Preceding the shows was the workshop on how story-telling can be used as an effective tool by educators, meant for teachers and parents, conducted by Geeta and Ola. It was wonderful to see so many people participating in the session and more amazing to watch Geeta transform into every animal that she was describing – be it the crow, the bee, the snake, the rabbit, the peacock – name it and there she was, bringing it alive, right before our eyes. It was truly educational to see how she held the audience spell-bound with her tips on how story-telling can be used so effectively to connect with audiences of smaller age-groups. Geeta’s session was followed by Ola’s, who took us through some well-loved (though maybe a little forgotten) Swedish folktales, including the one about how the bear has such a short tail and the one with the fox and the rooster. The interactive session that followed these sessions offered interesting insights into the kind of challenges that educators face today, when it comes to catching and retaining the attention of children. We are very thankful to both Geeta and Ola for the time that they spent interacting with the participants and answering their various queries.

And then the fun began! Saturday, the last day, was action-packed with 3 shows - each show had a story-telling session by Geeta and Ola followed by the puppet show and magic show by Alf and Anastasia. And our hearts flip-flopped a million times all through the day as we saw our young audiences trudge expectantly into the hall, holding their teachers’ hands or their parents’ hands or each others. Our first two shows for the day largely saw participation from schools while the evening show was open to the public – and what amazing participation it was! We had children ranging from 4 years upwards and absolutely loved the way they participated in the story-telling sessions and the puppet and magic shows. We loved more, the way they worked with Alf to create magic as they chanted offe, puffe, duff, duff and helped him change circles to squares, the king of spades to the queen of hearts and so on. The story-telling sessions made us realize how easy and simple working with children can really be – if only we make the effort to understand what they want, what they enjoy and what makes them smile. If only we, as parents and teachers, understand how best to help a child deal with his / her environment.

Unfortunately, this seems to be something that the educational system largely lacks nowadays. The focus on the numbers game is so absolute that the child pretty much has no choice but to be a part of a rat race that he/she doesn’t even choose in the first place. And once it begins, forget it. It’s all about being in the top students in class, juggling millions of tuition classes, figuring out what to be when grown up (just out of curiosity, how many children do you know, who say they want to be happy when they grow up?) – I’m sure you get the drift. The truth is that childhood, as it is, isn’t an easy thing to deal with. Are we, as parents and teachers, aiding children in their attempt to make more sense of their world? Or is it to the contrary? Just a thought.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to the end of Art Arattai Aarpattam 2011. It has been a tremendous journey over the last two weeks for all of us associated with the festival. We are grateful to everyone of you who has made this journey with us. And sincerely hope that you’ve enjoyed it as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing you the entire experience of the arts festival.

Competititions

The first week of Art Arattai Aarpattam 2011 has been incredible for all of us. We’ve learnt a lot, had the opportunity to listen to established artists from different fields and watched some of the best movies made for children. Enter week two and it was time to up the ante a bit, we thought. And what better way to add to the excitement than to have a series of competitions that would not only give the children the platform to showcase their talents, but to also tweak that latent (or maybe not so latent, in some instances) competitive spirit in them.

Week 2 at Art Arattai Aarpattam 2011 saw various schools participating in each of the competitions, namely Gram Slam (music), Curtain Call (skit), A Matter of Opinion (debate), Mix it Up (variety entertainment) and Posterize It (poster-making). The participation completely outbeat all our expectations, both in terms of the kind of numbers as well as the very enthusiasm with which children took part. Every child, every team and every school put in tons of effort into the contests and it has indeed been very heartening to watch them perform.

What was also equally exciting was the sheer variety of performances that we saw. The music contest, for example, had some teams singing folk songs while others rendered semi-classical and well-known classical songs. Similarly, the variety entertainment also saw the teams donning on their creative hats, as they put together various interesting pieces that included dance, music, mimicry, mime and theatre. The skit and debate competitions also saw tremendous display of talent. What made the skit contest, which was based on the theme Save, more interesting, were the various interpretations that we saw of the theme. And the debate contest brought to the fore, some incredibly good and confident speakers who argued the finer points of their respective topics. Their passion floored us all. And indeed, brings back fond memories of what it was like when we were one of them.

Needless to say, the entire second week exposed us to an ocean of talent in each of these contests. And what has been important for us is that so many students have so effectively leveraged the platform that we aimed to create for them. Besides this, we are wowed by the number of government schools who have participated throughout the festival, be it in the film screenings, lecture demonstrations, the competitions – whatever the activity. The very aim of Art Arattai Aarpattam is to provide an equal platform to students from all schools, government or private, and it was wonderful to watch them participate with so much josh in all of it. And when the students all got onto the stage to shake a leg as the children of the Government’s Home, Royapuram, put on one of their trademark foot-tapping performances – well, suffice to say that our hearts overflowed with affection for all these children who were having such a good time, and showed us they were having a good time!

We are very thankful to all our judges who took the time to be with us for these events. And we’re certain that they’ve all enjoyed these competitions. It may be a cliché to say that every participant is a winner. But I guess there is a reason why there are clichés in the first place – the very truth contained in them!

Patti Vadai Kakka Nari - 24/-7/11

So it’s officially the end of the first week of Art Arattai Aarpattam 2011. And what a brilliant ride it’s been so far we’ve loved every moment of it – the chaos, the confusion, the tension, the arguments, you name it. And yet, crazy bunch that we are, we keep coming back for more. You, of course, do know why we keep coming back for more. We keep coming back because we see how much fun the children are having. And nothing compares to the sense of fulfillment that we feel each day, when these children go back to their respective homes, after a day spent learning some aspect about the art. They love it. We love them. We love it. Ergo, we would do every single thing for them again.

This evening at Art Arattai Aarpattam saw the staging of the well-loved tale from the Panchatantra, Paati, Vada, Kaka, Nari with a slight twist in the tale. Well, maybe a little more than a slight twist. Moving away from the popular version, the play had the entire kingdom of the jungle gearing up for a walkathon for the ultimate prize – paati sutta vada. Paati, who ran the factory, is famous for her mouth-watering paruppu vadas, which gained rapid popularity once she set up the manufacturing unit in memoriam of Jack, her true love who sank on the fateful Titanic and whose last wish (which remained unfulfilled) was to eat paati’s paruppu vada. The rest, as they say, is history. Or her-story, as you may want to call it.

So once the lion king announces the grand prize for the winner of the 50-km walkathon, several things happen simultaneously – the crows decide to steal the vada, the cunning foxes do too, a duck promises his young son that he will win the vada for him, the hares and the turtles debate whether speed will emerge the winner or will it be wisdom that will save the day. The chosen crow does steal the vada, which is an elaborate preparation (as you are likely to think, from the way that the paati’s monkeys make the batter and paati herself fries it). The rest of the play deals with how there is an animal-hunt launched by the king for the vada while the crow suffers pangs of guilt for easily doing away with a prize that so many animals are working hard to win. He has a change of heart and returns the vada to the cops and then we watch the exciting 50-km marathon as all the animals vie with each other to win the ultimate prize. Needless to say, it was wisdom that ruled the race.

What made the show special is that it was staged by children from the Government homes that NalandaWay works with across the state. They had worked hard to learn their lines, they had rehearsed hard and they were all set to have a rocking evening. Thanks to them, so did we. Because the performances were absolutely amazing – right from the lovable lion to the paati who still croons My Heart Will Go On to photographs of Leonardo di Caprio, from the wise turtles to the spirited hares, from the law-keeping roosters and hens to the conscience-stricken crow. Every child who played a role in the drama today played it to perfection. And they had so much fun along the way that the audience couldn’t but get caught up in all the fun!

An interesting insight that came up through the journey to this evening’s show is the emergence of natural leaders – four of the older boys who were part of the cast were also co-directors of the play. This is one of the most inherent qualities of theatre. It helps us see who are those that can lead others and this quality, is vital for us as we work with children from lesser-privileged backgrounds. Because these youngsters, who have the ability to lead others, help us work with the younger ones, who tend to trust them more naturally. Like we said earlier, the arts are an incredible journey of self-discovery, enabling to find within ourselves, strengths and qualities that we aren’t aware of. And it is our endeavor at NalandaWay to leverage the power of the arts to help rehabilitate these children into mainstream society and help them find avenues that help them create their own identities.
The next week promises to be equally full of action, as we continue the film screenings and also get into the contests – music, theatre and debate. If you haven’t made it to the fest yet, here is your chance to come and cheer the kids on as they participate in these exciting contests that we’ve lined up for them.

Sing Along with Krishna Iyer and Jeeva - 23/07/11

Saturday evening at Art Arattai Aarpattam 2011 was one of the most-awaited events of the festival – the sing-along session with Krishna Iyer and Jeeva, two of Chennai’s best story-tellers.

The response that we’ve received over the last couple of days for the show, in terms of ticket sales, has been very heartening. And the pace rapidly picked up at the venue as people arrived in full anticipation of a fun-filled evening. In fact, the excitement in the air was almost tangible as we watched the children walking into Museum Theatre, holding their parents’ hands or in many cases, their friends’ hands. We love the way a 5-or-so-year old girl leaned across and whispered to her friend “So you and I sit together and your mother and my mother will sit together”. How can this not bring back memories from our own childhood, where we’ve said or done similar things?

Today’s event saw participation from a slightly different set of children – in that we had little ones ranging right from 2 years of age upto about 10, while our other sessions have had slightly older children. Krishna Iyer, Jeeva and the gang got the kids right into the groove with the very first number – the traditional version of the ABCD rhyme, followed by a faster, peppier version which gradually led to other well-known rhymes, including Hickory Dickory Dock, Mary had a little lamb, etc. The ‘cooler’, ‘trendier’ version of Five Little Monkeys had even the adults tapping their feet in time with the beat, even as the little ones crooned in chorus No more monkeys jumping on the bed. The Riddles and Rhymes session which came next was also thoroughly enjoyed by the children and this was clear in the glee with which they answered every riddle that was posed to them and the lusty voices in which they sang We solved a riddle. The fish-ie dance, which was, in fact, performed not once, but twice, was also thoroughly enjoyed by the children.

Parents joined the fun with the tiny tots as the team onstage had them all putting their right hands in, then out, and doing the hokey pokey and turning themselves around…watching a child having fun with his or her parent has got to be one of those things that brings such unadulterated joy to the watcher – and that’s what we saw this evening. And what fun it was to watch the kids as they went on a lion hunt with Krishna Iyer and crossed a tree, a bridge and a river, the brave little souls - till they came to the dark cave with the big, scary lion…and how they ran back after that! We don’t blame you if you think this to be literal  for those of us who were there, it did seem pretty real!

Isn’t what we saw today the true point of education? Having fun along the way? This is something we at NalandaWay feel very strongly about. Children need to have fun as they learn – and learn some of the more important aspects of life. Like confidence, motivation, decision-making, etc,. And the arts can really help them pick up these life skills in a much more seamless way. Simply because the arts are a process of self-discovery.

Some memories that will probably stay with us for a long time – the image of a father twirling his little boy around and the boy twirling the father around in turn, a sweet little girl who just kept jumping up and down keeping the beat with just about every song that was being sung, another father holding his little princess in his arms and happily jigging away without a care in the world. Mastercard sure said it when they used the line There are some things in life money can’t buy.