Kalakrida: Empowering children through art
As temperatures soared in the Garden City leaving its residents wishing for the summer holidays from their childhood, children from government schools living in and around Jakkur were drawing, dancing and singing their way through the heat.
Organised by the Ahum Trust in collaboration with the Satya Foundation, Kalakrida is a 15-day, art-intensive summer camp for children from the ages of 10 to 18.
The summer camp hosts a range of activities such as movement, music, creative writing, theatre, konnakol (performing percussion syllables vocally in South Indian Carnatic music), painting and lmmaking. This year, the camp began on April 15 and ended on May 4 with a nal performance by the children showcasing their newly acquired skills.
“We wanted to give these children a space to explore avenues that might be interesting to them as well as keep them o£ the streets,” says Anuradha Venkataraman, the founder of Ahum Trust and a classical dancer.
During summer holidays children don’t have school and their parents are working, Anuradha said. “Their neighbourhoods might not be healthy or conducive for them. Our aim was to engage them for a couple hours for a few days and give them the opportunity to explore their creativity.”
When Kalakrida was started in 2016, 30 children participated. This edition saw over 100 children participating in the workshop. Two sessions were conducted by artists every creativity.
The workshop is all about fun and
day where movement, music and creative writing occupied the morning hours while painting, konnakol and theatre took up the evening hours.
Artistes such as Priyanka Chandrasekhar, Preethi Bhardwaj, Sampada Marballi, Rashmi Ravikumar, Shradha Raj, Pavithra Prashanth, Navya Varma and Shwetha were this year’s facilitators and they taught the children a little about their respective vocations.
Recalling a fond memory from a previous camp, Anuradha says, “We had a boy who was quite inattentive and disruptive during sessions. When the painting class began however, he was completely engrossed. He painted a scene from a mutton shop that was particularly striking.”
“It just proved to us that given the right environment and tools, the talent and creativity of these children can ¦ourish.”
Talking about how she has seen some of the regular participants grow over the last few years, Anuradha notes that apart from being able to express themselves freely, the children develop an innate sense of self.
“Their condence is boosted not only in their performances, but also in their academics and everyday life. For instance, some participants who have been attending the camp for the last seven years emceed last year’s nal performance.”
While Kalakrida has been crowdfunded for the last seven years, this was the rst time they were sponsored by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.
Anuradha has big plans for the future. As Kalakrida is back on its feet after the isolation of the pandemic years, Ahum Trust plans to conduct a research-based study on the impact of the summer camp. She also aims to take Kalakrida all over Bengaluru and host similar camps for children.