For peace on earth

“I realised that there were Indian scientists,engineers etc who comprised a large section of the people who were involved in the making of these nuclear weapons,” says Khastgir. That is when she realised that it was a problem that has to be dealt with from the roots itself. “I was extremely shocked when India first tested a nuclear weapon,” she recollects.

So,Khastgir,who is also known as a peace activist,kept frequenting India even during her stay in America. She decided that she wanted to come to India and help people discover “invention” in better ways than making bombs.

“My father was an art teacher in Dehra Dun and I was sent to Santiniketan to study. He had great faith in Tagore and Nandalal Bose’s idea of education,” she reminisces. So,when Khastgir,then divorced,finally returned to India,she decided to spread her message through what she knew best — art.

The whole nuclear fiasco and her arrest had made Khastgir question her lifestyle,her priorities and education itself. “After I was released I started to live alone and it was then that I saw the connection between creativity and education,” says Khastgir,who had been a teacher at Patha Bhavan.

“My education at Santiniketan had always taught me to respect nature. I started to respect handicrafts more later,as I realised they made a beautiful connection between nature and creativity,” she adds. So,she embarked upon the path of educating people of all age groups through art.

“I make posters,encourage students to make posters and find innovating ways of expressing ideas through art,” says Khastgir,who used to travel around the state and the country,promoting the connection between art and education —- a concept still new in India before age started holding her back.

“Now,I invite groups to come to my place where I urge them to give creativity a free run,” says the artist who had several exhibitions of her protest art in places like Jadavpur University.

Despite age playing spoilsport,Khastgir travels to schools carrying with her posters painted by herself,art work and slides drawing students to the ill-effects of nuclear activities.

“Most people don’t have complete knowledge of how nuclear process acts and then affects the surroundings. What better way to convey this to children than through art,” she reasons. She also trains people to become non-formal teachers,teaching them to make toys,handicrafts and,of course,posters.

Also her works end up promoting several dying forms of art like puppet making. “I have made puppets and carry them to my demonstrations so that the sessions don’t become too tedious or boring. I also teach children and youngsters the art of the puppeteer and also the process of puppet making,” she adds.

“Education through liberal arts is something that’s still catching up in India and West Bengal,especially,though Santiniketan used to be a seat of the same in the past,” she explains.

She hopes,and so do we,that she succeeds in teaching the generations to come,ways of using creativity in a positive way.