Date: December 2015 – April 2016
Place: Sri Aurobindo Centre of New Education, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
In December 2015 the governing team of Sri Aurobindo Centre of New Education (SACNE), Jodhpur, Rajasthan chose ‘The Genius of India’ as the theme to explore some of the Upanishadic and Yogic wisdom via the performing and visual arts today’s children only have a vague concept of. Our research started along with some of the teachers through a series of study circles. We considered this as a necessity for today’s children, youth and adults who are kept confined within a world of toxic temptations, fear of uncertainty, competitions, greed and sloth through conditionings sponsored by a profit-driven environment. We discovered an ocean of wisdom in Indian texts replete with illuminating legends. Following months of study and contemplation, in the month of March 2016 we adapted the first draft of our play-script in which we included three stories weaved together as one.
Through this play we began our enquiry into the ways of discovering the unique inner genius one is born with. This quest in stage drama quickly transformed into a quest for all in their real life drama. Preparation for the play and discussions with children and teachers made them understand the manner in which they are being brought up in a society that is marred by competition and uniformity. Through several reflective sessions they realized how children today are made into mere data collection machines consequently becoming subservient to the unconscious industry-driven society. They were able to clearly perceive how their attention has been distracted, kept away from the luminous possibilities that can result from the study of Indian texts. This, they realized, is being done by environing them with advertisements, movies and television programmes that kindle and strengthen the base nature of humans. At the very least we all recognized that the new quest for the higher self within gave us some sense of ethereal joy, which is greater than the fleeting pleasures of succumbing to temptations hovering all around. The entire preparation of the play left our children and teachers with the desire to pursue the single-most important expedition – that of discovering their true role in life within the core of their being and not only in the available career options.Besides delving into myriad aspects of the self, we also explored various areas of study such as attributes of the characters (in the play), rehearsals, music, dance, acting, stage-craft, lights and sound, management, performance and assimilation.
Beginning with in-class dialogues on our theme ‘The Genius of India’ Alka Thanvi, HOD Sanskrit SACNE, Jodhpur, kindled the students’ curiosity orienting them towards what the ever-evolving culture of this eastern land, India, has in store for them as legacy . . . what they have been missing on . . .
Adaptation of three Upanishadic stories weaved together became our working script, and all the participants were facilitated to take part in the process of directing the play with self-awareness and common sense. Sikandar Khan, the school drama teacher has been bringing all the acts in the play together in a beautiful fashion.Meanwhile following various experiments with music, Mohammad Rizwan, the school music teacher and approximately 60 children composed two moving songs and background music for the play; their beautiful singing rendering the performance even more fascinating and accessible.
The choreography of five dances made all the participating children revere the possibilities of depicting any given theme via the ‘Abhinayas’ of Bharat Natyam, the classical dance form. The dedication of Rajni and Ankita, the school dance teachers, and Mahima, the school psychologist, kept the children engrossed in the search for a new movement to express their inner discovery. All the dance performances rendered a heightened determination and confidence in the quest of the play.
Stagecraft raised several enquiries on lifestyle and into the social, geographical, climatic and architectural conditions of a time when education was imparted via the inner uplifting influence of teachers who lived as true embodiments of the values they lived by. Meanwhile, constant in-between dialogues during the artwork sessions kept us all researching, contemplating, experimenting, designing and re-designing. Some 20 students along with Kavita, Kiran Arora, Lakshmi and Ronika, the Art & Craft faculty at SACNE Jodhpur, were facilitated by Kiran, an art in education enthusiast and artist, to create a Gurukula environment within and around. Following days of preparations, the students finally raised a beautiful Gurukula on stage on the day of the grand rehearsal. Besides inspiring the entire team, the quiet work of the Arts faculty added great value to the visual aspects of presenting the genius of India.
Amidst multidirectional simultaneous movements, Meera Singh, the Director at SACNE, Jodhpur, ensured that everyone remembers that this is not just another annual school programme but one more step towards implementing the process in integral education via the performing and visual arts. Her unwavering belief in the process of Theatre in Education Programme gives us immense confidence and the freedom to realize the possibilities of our potential.The project’s harmonious culmination could not have been accomplished without the collective support of all those teachers who executed this movement seamlessly. We thank them for constantly inspiring us.
This entire endeavour worked us up to realize that the wisdom of this eastern land, India, has been silently bringing forth for ages many global humans who discerned their inner guiding spirit that gave them a great sense of universality . . . and that ‘this possibility lies within all of us . . .’
The preparation and execution of the project was assisted by Ravi Shanker, a theatre in education enthusiast, stage and voice actor and now a part of India Council for Integral Education (ICIE) as Creative Director for theatre in integral education, and by Kiran, an art in education enthusiast, artist and resource facilitator at ICIE.