For the artist within

Each time you hum a tune to yourself, the singer in you feels good. Each time there's a spring in your step and a rhythm in your walk, th...

Each time you hum a tune to yourself, the singer in you feels good. Each time there8217;s a spring in your step and a rhythm in your walk, the dancer in you smiles. And each time you doodle, bored with the talk happening around you, the painter in you breathes again.

Yes, there8217;s an artist within each of us. Beneath those layers of decorum and correct behaviour, wrapped in cloaks of shyness and apprehension. And it needs an expression, more often than we are willing to give it.

Recognising this inherent artist is the Network of Wellbeing, as they work towards bringing this latent talent to the fore. They have been conducting a workshop called the Jagruti Jaatra since December 1998 with the collaboration of the University Women8217;s Association, Pune. Designed by Ganpati Date, with assistance from Deepa Lagoo, the Jaatra is an experiment in awakening the artist and the art within each of us. The concluding episode of this workshop is to be held on May 30 at the University Women8217;s Association Hall, Gokhale Nagar.

The three-hour session in their workshop does not follow a structured pattern, other than the loose form of a narrative, with Date and Lagoo in the roles of sutradhars. Even the introduction of the members is not the stereotypical formal self-description. It could be elicited from the participants through a range of exercises that eventually see them opening up to the others, and connecting with the artist in themselves. From there it takes off, involving games, discussions, song and dance sequences, dialogue 8211; anything that is an expression of the participant.

8220;Art here is the awareness of spontaneity, balance, grace, rhythm, pace and attention to detail in one8217;s own life and one8217;s relationship with the environment. It is not aimed at technical expertise or correctness,8221; explains Lagoo. 8220;It8217;s a process of evolution and experimentation,8221; adds Date, 8220;and the ultimate beneficiary is the self.8221;

8220;Jaatra is actually a form of folk art from West Bengal, where the audience sits around the stage. The participants make their entry and exit through the audience, symbolising that the performer is not removed from the viewer,8221; explains Date; and that was the fountainhead of inspiration for this concept.

Not just an opportunity to unwind and relax, the Jaatra takes on more significant and deeper implications. In a way, it is a rehearsal of how people would actually like to be 8211; sans inhibitions 8211; and helps them assimilate such freedom, spontaneity and creativity in their daily life too. 8220;And people have been moved,8221; points out Lagoo. 8220;What we offer is a space where participants can unearth the hidden artist through various improvisations in sound, movement and enactment and experience the joy of a collective creative expression.

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8220;For those in whom the artist has awakened, the Jaatra provides opportunities to explore ways of joining others. This requires a basic belief that something creative can emerge from the spontaneous artistic collaboration of all those present and a willingness to join others in such a expression,8221; she continues.

In fact, that is the first problem encountered 8211; people feel they cannot mix with others, and the sutradhars have to help find common ground. What they also have to understand is that Jaatra is not to demonstrate any artistic superiority, but essentially to make it possible for various artists to come alive. Sometimes, the responses can be stilted or deliberate, and this has to be taken care of. 8220;We have to be observant of people,8221; agrees Date.

While it is each individual8217;s responsibility to himself to ensure that the artist awakened here does not get stifled again by the pressures of norms, conditioned behaviour and fear, the Jaatra hopes that its stage is the birthplace of a more alive and responsive human being.