Hit by pandemic and paucity, Kolkata's young hearts struggle to paint dreams at art workshop

Although he had all the essentials to finish his project, passers-by could notice that his sheet was blank. He would then take his pencil to scribble something and yet end up with the same outcome, a blank sheet.

While interacting with him, one finds out the reason for his confusion. It was not that he didn't know how to draw but the burden of his family's woes made it difficult to project it.

Rihan said, "In the past two years of the covid19 led pandemic, my dad, who fixes car tyres, was out of work and we weren't sure where our next meal would come from."

Rihan, who aspires to be an IAS officer, had shifted to Kolkata with his family six years ago from a town near Banaras in search of better education.

"In those days, we believed it was a wise decision, as my father was sure he would be gainfully employed in Kolkata," he said at the workshop organised by Apeejay Schools along with Apeejay Anand Children's Library at the lawns of the Apeejay House. The theme this year was “Sakaratmak Parivartan -  How has my life changed?”.
Rihan is a student at Indira academy, Kolkata and has been connected with a city-based NGO called 'HelpusHelpthem' which opens up the limited world of underprivileged students to diverse cultural and art related experiences.

While smiling in the face of adversity, Rihan told IBNS, "I have shared my dream of being an IAS officer with the NGO and they will help me."

Sitting a few steps ahead was Aliya Arif, a class 10 student of Park Circus Girls High School, who holds her dream of being an accomplished fashion designer close to her heart.

Aliya, daughter of an auto driver, while sketching a female figure, said, "I want to become a fashion designer because I know how to design dresses and stitch them, and I have a smart sense of fashion."

It was just recently that her parents brought a separate phone for Aliya, so that she could seamlessly complete her 10th grade exams and preparations.

"I couldn't attend all the online classes and only recently my dad bought me a phone, otherwise, being present in online classes was a big issue," she said.

Talking about her future plans, determined Aliya shared that she would work post college to pay for a fashion designing course that would help her fulfil her dreams.

 

Aliya's brother Mohammad Urdam was also part of the art workshop based on the theme of 'Sakaratmak Parivartan- How has my life changed?' on the grounds of Apeejay House Lawn, Park Street.

Speaking on the issues his family faced due to the pandemic, Urdam, a student of Jyotir Mai Vidya Mandir, said,"Online education wasn't approached quite seriously as he witnessed half the teachers not conducting classes.

With an interest in making it as an engineer, Urdam said a lot of his hopes were hinged on assistance from NGOs and other organisations that can provide him platforms which his parents cannot.

CEO of Apeejay Schools Kianjit Singh Pannu said, "The education system of various countries, including India wasn't quite ready to handle the setback brought by covid19, but steps are being taken to make students comfortable and used to physicals classes as online education can only go so far in helping students."

"Every student who comes back are usually lagging, therefore, their first priority is to make them feel happy and comfortable. Educators have to be non-judgemental and allow the students to move on but lower their gears, as halting is not the solution," he said.

The Apeejay Anand Art Workshop touched a milestone by going both national and international this year. As part of an international exchange programme, the workshop was attended by students from schools in Nepal and Pakistan.

The workshop was like a festival that commemorates the birthday of the late Mr. Anand Paul whom the family had lost  in a tragic accident at the tender age of 17.