A new day and a new beginning! Well, this line always sounds good when placed in the beginning. Well, I hope to learn more lines to start little essays with! And I hope to learn till I continue to live. The day I die will be the day I stop learning. Great thinkers and writers all alike say great things. But the only great thing about these great sayings is that we realise them once we experience them.
One similar experience like this has knocked on our doors yet again, asking us ‘would you like to be a part of Yuva Ekta this year?’ And our answer to this has always been a more than positive affirmation. More so, because each year it promises to bring something new, keeping the tradition alive! Every year, students from the Salaam Balak Trust, Arushi and various other schools across Delhi come together under one banner of active citizenship. More so, it is a unanimous callout for youth activity.
This year it promises to reach out to the community. We plan to reach a wider audience and cater primarily to community issues. The first few days of the workshop have been focused primarily on finding out the various issues people face in their respective communities. These problems have been expressed by using various theatrical means including little plays, short stills and many more.
It all started off with a little introduction on the first day. We just met the kids and students from the Salaam Balak Trust and Arushi. Like always, the name game has been a tradition to our existence. But beyond that this day was focused on finding specific community problems that these students face. The next three days were followed with group activities and group expression. This, not only helped us combine as a group, but also helped open up individual inhibitions.
For many kids, this year is their first one at these workshops. For many, it is like a family. For those who are new to the family, their kinship ties are slowly and steadily growing. And more importantly, the task at hand this year requires all of us to focus on our internal strengths before we can go out into the community to locate problems. A full planned out survey will be designed and all of us will be a part of the research team. Our focus is to notify community problems to the people living in and around that community. More so, the Residents Welfare Association will be given a report of our follow up.
This outreach towards the community has always been a part of these workshops. But this year, there is a little bit of a difference. This time, the students get a chance to interact with the people in a manner that is cohesive and organized. This will surely help us as a unit to express people’s problems to them better. The priceless expression of which will be performed as street play to be staged within that community and also elsewhere.
It is simply magical when one of the youngest countries in the world, calls upon its greatest workfore ‘the youth’ to be a part of four phenomenal words… YUVA EKTA, YOUTH UNITE!
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Photo Credits: Tanushree Singh
Rijul Kataria