'Pipilika People'

Pipilika as a program started with the intent to have parents experience the arts with their children. The seeds were sown from multiple requests from parents who were for one curious to know what their children were up to at the centre. 

Considering the arts have always been a rich source for learning in India. We have only started scratching the surface in looking at the ‘Arts’ for ‘Therapy’. It has only made its entry as a form of ‘therapy’, a couple of years ago. 

As a team, hands on experience with the arts and children have constantly kept us on the move, recharging our batteries along the way. The experiences seem to seep into many layers within, that have triggered a sense of order within mindful chaos. There was a need to bridge that gap for parents. We had to awaken our subliminal inertia, experience the magical churning within, enjoy it with acceptance and it was important to do this together. Ideally speaking, every child requires meaningful and holistic learning spaces, which we believe is possible if all those engaging with a child is somewhere on the same page. It was imperative to share this learning space with our direct beneficiaries, having jumped into that stream, we had to learn to swim together.
For parents, the main intent of the program was to give themselves at least two hours a week to ‘let go’, ‘be at ease’ and experience the arts in a safe and comfortable space of acceptance. 

This year the program has been extended as a training and capacity building program for the entire team and the support staff. By creating a window for collective experiential learning of the arts; the program has given us a neutral space to sync up on our creative energies as a larger team. We have seen some rather unexpected sides to each other. The openness of the support staff to sessions have sometimes thrown us off guard but most often been humbling.   

 

After a years’ process of learnings and unlearnings through months of trial and error, the program has taken on a more fluid form this year. Besides the usual suspects of in-house facilitators, we have invited external facilitators; experts in their fields to conduct regular sessions. As we unfold this process of learning their constant inputs and feedback have enriched the program with new insights and ideas.    

We have been blessed to have Sumathi Ramjee, Arts Based therapist and Ashirwad Acharekar, percussionist and Carnatic singer facilitate some wonderful yet introspective sessions on visual arts, music and drumming.

Vikram Shidhar, Ratnakar Baggi, Ravi Srinivasan and frequent flyers from Space Theatre Ensemble - Goa for creating fun- out-of-the-box sessions on storytelling, theatre and play.

 The last three slots have seen sessions exploring impromptu costume parties to one-min skits, playing traditional board games and hopscotch during sessions on theatre and play to introspective and personal sharing of stories with storytelling, we created myriad paintings and played with our shadows to create puppets, got messy making funny shaped pots during pottery and cooked date biscuits and spicy mixtures,  baked rainbow sprinkled cupcakes and cookies, hopped and skipped while we tried hard to keep in-sync during sessions on folk dances and created foot tapping rhythms during sessions on music and movement. We have also had special sessions on rubik's cube to masks, mirrors, film-screenings, outdoor visits and more. It truly has been a rich cauldron for us to meet the arts and experience it together.   

A special feature introduced this year are regular over-nighters once every slot. Children from the Pipilika program stay overnight with the regular program children. It has been a small yet important milestone for the parents more so than the children. Children eased-in with fun activities, dinner and bedtime while most parents took some time to ease out for a few hours without their lil’ wonders by their side. 

With this collective spirit of learning and experiencing the arts together, we would like to extend our gratitude to all the parents, facilitators, care-givers and all those visible and invisible people who have made Pipilika possible. 
 
 Few words from our 'Pipilika People'
  'Pipilika is a space of possibilities, a space which allows you to be you.  The different art forms that we play with are like mirrors in which we get to see ourselves; touch something deep within which the clever mind doesn't have an access to. Here the children are the teachers, the teachers are the students, the parents are the pillars and the support staff are the bridges. Pipilika, you rock!' - Ashirwad Acharekar, Facilitator

'Pipilika has helped put myself out there, openly share my thoughts and it gives me a lot to think about through the week. I often go back home and try'em out.'  - Manasa, facilitator-in-training

'Nannege thumba santhosha aguthaide. nanu idhu schoodays alli maduthaide. Threga eega madhanee antha thumba kooshi aguthadei. Nanneege lifeali theruga athtra baruthe antha ankondela' - Shiela, support-staff

 ('It makes me very happy, i did most of these things in my schooldays. Even in my widest dreams I didn't think I would be allowed to be a child again. I didn't think I would get that experience that in my life again') 

'Opened the doors to freedom, breaking limiting beliefs and uninhibited expression of all that you feel at the moment.'  - Achuta, parent and facilitator

'A mood, a dance, a swaying song,

A space that's surreal and yet so real,

Where I receive much more than I give,

A lesson or two on how to live,

Be it Ahan's statutory warning,

Or Arvind's joyous being,

Or Shivesh's thoughtful chuckling,

Or Karthik's mindful humming,

The cent percent total participation,

From the entire staff congregation,

The awakening of the inner child in us,

Making every moment momentous,

Such is the magical space of Piplika,

My heartfelt gratitude to Snehadhara!' 

- Sumathi Ramjee - Facilitator