Date: Nov 29—Dec 01, 2013
Location: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry
The photo album
A video of the journey
Twenty-two people from all over India, belonging to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ujjain, Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore (and of course, Pondicherry!) came forward to attend THE HIDDEN ME workshop, held from November 29 to December 1, 2013, at Puducherry. The entire programme brought with it a plethora of unique experiences, a journey through ‘The Road Not Taken’, a space to explore, a medium to connect, a sway of thoughts and an ocean of words!
Day 1
- We began with a few moments of silence. The participants were enthusiastic to welcome the man of ever-flowing wisdom and a great sense of humour—Vijaybhai! He engaged the participants in the very first exercise that made them plunge into their hidden selves—complete in no more than ten words “I am _____”.
The responses led to some thought-provoking questions from him and the participants found themselves enjoying his maze of mysteries instantly!
Soon after, the participants had to draw or paint something that symbolizes them, and then pick up one representation other than their own. They were asked to interpret the drawing they picked, and try to assess what kind of a person the artist of that drawing must be. The drawing bit brought out tremendous creativity, even among those who hadn’t drawn a single line in life before. Post lunch, our participants watched a video on nature and its bounties, and had to immediately write what they soaked in from the awe-inspiring visuals. This was followed by an inspiring talk on ‘Who am I?’ by Alok da, kindling a thinking spark in everyone’s minds.
During the tea break, carefully-folded, sparkly-but-small i
nvitations to the evening mehfil were handed out to everybody. To honour the traditional and artistic setting that included candles, incense, diyas, flowers, and music, everyone was asked to dress in white and sport flowers on them. At the gathering in the evening, there was music, laughter, bonhomie, sharing of stories and a parcel that contained interesting questions like “What makes you most uncomfortable, or any incident in your life that you would like to forget, but can’t?” aroused an air of curiosity to unfold and uncover the sometimes challenging and other times mischievous tasks that might be hidden in those chits.
Day 2
An aura of a fresh day brimming with excitement brought in surprises. It was a day of finding the hidden me in outdoor settings, and the workshop did begin in the van, with the participants noting down what sights, sounds and smells caught their attention along the way.
As we reached the vicinity of Lake Ousteri, everyone boarded the two passenger boats. The journey continued at varied levels, and everyone mounted the boat ready for a lake ‘darshan’. We reached a lonely island spotted with humungous trees. Storks in pink and white perched all around and black crows dotted the grassland.
Next stop was the organic farming site, Matrikunj. Baburam-ji, the gifted organic agriculturalist and herbalist, welcomed the ‘explorers’ and meticulously briefed them about the exquisite plantations and the ayurvedic effects of certain herbal trees there. The participants noticed that below each plant, an inverted earthen pot was marked with the plant’s scientific name. Every participant was asked to bring back with them a leaf from any plant that they truly liked, for an introspective activity later.
We then landed at ‘SHARANAM’ and assembled for the ‘blindfolded’ walk, wherein two people were to walk together, one with eyes covered and the other free, and feel the shrubs around, the ground beneath and the obstacles ahead and later walk back, switching roles of one as a leader and the other as a follower. The exercise had a very powerful impact on the participants, and many saw with closed eyes, what they never did with open ones.
Day 3
Our last day began with ‘Talk the Walk’. Here the participants were divided into groups and each group was asked to take a fifteen-minute walk in absolute silence observing every single detail, be it subtle, specific or colossal. When the groups returned they wrote their experience and shared them, some very interesting stories surfaced. What was interesting and stirring was how people walked along the same road and observed some similar and some very different things.
The next activity was to absorb a piece of music for a while, extract the energy from it and to immediately put it down freely on paper, and soon, its outcome was reflected in the interesting responses from the listeners. For the afternoon session, people were asked to wear something ‘different’ which is not a part of their usual attire. In addition, the participants were taken through a journey of listening (to rhythmic as well as ‘cacophonic’ instruments), smell, and touch games. After concentrating on each object for a minute, they were to observe the impact the stimulus of the sound or smell or texture had on them.
There was another session for which the group was blindfolded and asked to dance freely to the changing music being played in the background. They would then be asked to ‘freeze’ and observe the physical sensation along with the emotional and mental space.
As the last session arrived, it was time to share and narrate the delightful journey each had taken over the past 3 days and now the participants were asked to relate the ‘facts’, about their work, their place, their roles in their regular lives… Pleasant and memorable moments captured on camera were showcased in a slideshow of snapshots. It made everyone feel that it is just not about time to bid goodbye, but with a hope deep inside to stay in touch!
The participants’ feedback was rousing and thought-provoking almost on the lines of the entire workshop, exhibiting a gamut of emotions.