REPORT SUMMER CAMP 2005
A dream of few Kashmiri individuals, their intent for creating safe spaces and the need to empower the youth by providing them a platform for free expression, manifested in Children’s Summer Camp 2005 from 24th –30th June 2005. The Camp was organized in the lush green environs of Gulmarg tourist resort in the Kashmir Valley. Fifty five children ( 30 from three Kashmiri Pandit migrant camps in New Delhi, Jammu and Nagrota and 25 Kashmiri Muslim children from the Valley) met for the first time. For each of these children living across the divide in their respective political realities, the collective was a new experience. The harmony
created helped to transcended sixteen years of animosity and faultlines. A new space for knowing, learning and understanding each other was opened. The innovative initiative was unique in its approach, structure and form. Various stakeholders to the conflict, the State, civil society groups, Kashmir Pandit and Muslim communities, educational Institutions and media got together to create a space for dialogue and interaction between the youth across the divide. To do so in the midst of guns and violence as well as with meager resources was a challenging task. Nevertheless when hands of friendship and young brave hearts joined in solidarity, new beginnings were made. As one of the children’s coordinator said, “Maybe the children will find a new path and alternatives for resolving differences. The adults have failed; let us hope that the children will have new answers and holistic vision”.
RECOLLECTION
The journey, in the midst of prevailing hostility between the two ethnic communities and continuing violence in the Valley, started way back in 2002-2003 when some Kashmiri professionals, both Hindu (Pandit) and Muslim met in New Delhi to listen to each other. They were concerned about the violent situation ‘back home’, the shrunken space for free expression, the despair among their people and sense of perceived injustice held within hearts and minds. They desired ‘to do something about it’. The first step off course was to meet regularly and remove the jungle of cobwebs existing between them. Regular Sunday meetings in New Delhi’s coffee outlets, dialoguing and listening to each other’s trauma helped in healing wounds and overcoming bitterness and imagined image of the ‘other’. They spoke from the position of listening and to learn and understand each other’s perception. The idea was not to forget and forgive, not to fix blames or ask for justice, but to help each other lighten the emotional burden of shared histories and evolve a ‘politics of understanding’ that “my peace cannot be without your peace and we all are important for the future of Kashmir”. The process helped each of them to rehumanise the other. Indeed a process of reconciliation had begun.
How did this transformation happen? As already mentioned, listening and being honest was an important factor for the group to bond. Secondly none from the group had any pre-conceived formulas for resolving the conflict, neither anyone leveled accusations on each other. Reflections on our meetings and post listening sessions always led each one of us think as to ‘are we clinging on to perceptions and notions which no longer hold any relevance’. These queries and introspection brought about an inner transformation and a desire to search for alternatives that can help break the cycle of violence and revenge.
The group realized that it was difficult to engage with mind sets that refuse to listen to other perspectives, internalize the pain of others and transcend the desire to always negate the pain of other. And for mind sets to change it is important that perceptions change. And perceptions could only change if platforms were created for exchange of views and a space created for free expression. Moreover the collective and individual experience of each member had revealed that it was important to travel the journey itself and not what the end result could be. The group however also realized the limitations in engaging with the first or second generation of Kashmiris as most still carried the baggage of ‘hatred and bitterness’ and clung to political positions. And as the group had no intentions to resolve the conflict but only open safe spaces for perceptions to change, we were able to explore and search for commonalities. The common need was to open spaces for new thinking and urge the young minds to reflect on ways of creating a culture of peace, non-violence and co-existence. The group decided to, in partnership with Kashmiri children and youth (the third generation) walk the path of love, compassion, mutual trust and forgiveness. For that is where the hope was, that is to engage with the third generation Kashmiris.
BIRTH OF YAKJAH
The group named itself Yakjah. It is a Kashmiri word, which means ‘together’. However it has a deeper spiritual connotation as well. It also means ‘to be one’. After arriving at a consensus that the Yakjah will engage with children and youth for creating new spaces, creative mediums like theater, filmmaking, art, photography, creative writing and storytelling were chosen as tools for the initiative.
The group started visiting some Kashmiri Pandit migrant camps in New Delhi to interact with children. It was a challenging to do. The parents suspected we were representing some political party or trying to coerce them to return to Kashmir. Yakjah had to convince that there was no political agenda but only a positive action to create space for children to express themselves and provide a platform for them to do so. Off course the positive creative action was a political action but it had nothing to do with party politics or about preferring one view over the other. To recover a collective space for expression, mutual trust, recognisation of each other’s pain and build a bridge for friendship was Yakjah’s politics. Families and parents in the camps slowly started to under stand what Yakjah stood for.
CHILD VOICES AGAINST COMMUNALISM
Our frequent visits in 2002 helped build a rapport with the children and their parents. Everybody in Yakjah raised financial resources for the visits from their personal money. Around that time in the year 2003, Sanjay Kumar, Founder Pandies’ Theater was conducting theater workshops with children in New Delhi schools and slums. The focus of the workshop was ‘Child Voices Against Communalism’. Yakjah requested Pandies to support them and conduct workshops with Kashmiri children as well. Yakjah had no idea from where they would raise resources to do these workshops. Sanjay Kumar offered not to charge Yakjah for conducting the workshops. However we had to bear the expenses of arranging logistics in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir. As all members in Yakjah were determined to go ahead with the idea of theater workshops, we contributed money for this idea to be manifested.
Sanjay and his team conducted set of three workshops with children in,
New Delhi
1) Bapu Dham, Chanakya Puri Migrant Camp for Kashmiri Pandits.
2) Krishna Market Camp, Lajpat Nagar.
Jammu
1) Muthee Camp, Jammu.
2) Apna Ghar, Jammu.
Kashmir
1) Yateem Trust, Srinagar.
2) Sada Bahar Cultural Group, Badgam.
Children created their own scripts. These were on:
1) Police corruption,
2) Political values
3) Migrant Camp life and Ration Card (A ration card is proof of identity and on the basis of it residents of camp get their monthly allowance and rice) corruption.
4) Communal Harmony between Hindu and Muslims.
It was then that new members from Kashmir and Jammu joined Yakjah. They coordinated with Sanjay who traveled to Kashmir and Jammu to conduct the workshops. The children went through rigorous exercises to learn about facial expressions, emotions and concept of space and time. Through story telling sessions, the children discussed and deliberated on the themes, which were then given form and content to be developed into respective plays. The credit goes to the children who inspite of their studies and school schedule, showed keen interest and commitment to take out time for creativity. The credit also goes to the coordinators, parents and community in lending unflinching support to the children.
In December 2003, the four groups came to New Delhi to participate in Pandies Theater festival, which was held on 2nd and 3rd December. In New Delhi children from public, government schools and slums participated in the festival. Yakjah approached Shri Mangat Ram Sharma, Minister of Transport in the government of Jammu and Kashmir for supporting the initiative. He sponsored a bus for the group of Kashmiri children. The bus came from Srinagar to New Delhi, picking the Jammu children on the way. The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation offered food for the children on the way from Srinagar to Jammu and for some days during their stay in New Delhi. Food on way from Jammu to New Delhi and for some days in New Delhi was arranged by voluntary contribution by Yakjah members and Indian Women Press Corps, New Delhi. Children traveling from Srinagar to Jammu stayed overnight both ways in the University of Jammu. In New Delhi the entire group stayed in Save Our Souls (SOS) villages, Faridabad. The expenses for local travel from Faridabad to the venue in New Delhi and for a guided tour of the city were, once again borne by Yakjah members. Few like-minded individuals (Al-Sarwat School, District Anantnag, South Kashmir and Jewels- Hotelier/Cinema Owner in Jammu) also contributed through donations. Details about logistics are being shared to communicate that possibilities of affecting change is not a utopian dream but a reality if people, including the State and civil society synergies and work collectively for rebuilding, reconciliation and peace. [1]
For the Muslim children, most of them orphans, coming from Valley it was a first time experience. Their journey with Kashmiri Pandit children and later with children from New Delhi was the first step towards getting familiar with each other’s world[2]. For the Kashmiri Pandit children too, interaction with Muslim children from the Valley was a first ever experience. For both, it was first tentative and hesitant step towards sharing and learning about each other. It was also an opportunity to openly express their respective understanding of everyday lived in experiences and realities in one common space. Within the ‘safe space’ children were able to shed their fears and reach out to each other openly and with lot of warmth. In the process stereotypes and myths about each other melted. For instance when some children from the Valley felt uncomfortable having their meals in Jammu saying that it was ‘made by Hindus therefore they could have it’, were seen sharing the same tea cups with Pandits children on their return journey. Perhaps the inherent fear that they might ‘loose their faith and expecting something dramatic to happen in the process’ realized that by sharing ‘nothing was lost’ from within, but in fact expanded to acquire a much more humane dimensions.
However, Yakjah and Pandies realized that while the children, through brainstorming discussions and candid sharing of views and perceptions, became aware of the existing differences and discovered new faultlines, especially those based on religion and learnt about each other’s perspective on various issues including gender and faith, it was not enough. There was an urgent need to engage with each other so as to search for alternatives, discuss and deliberate on how to live with the differences, which they said could not be wished away. “There has to be acceptance and acknowledgement of differences. And in doing so mere tolerance for each other has to be replaced by a degree of proactive respect and acceptance of differences. Keeping this in mind it was recommended in December 2003 that a collective workshop, including diverse children’s groups from Jammu and Kashmir with a focus on understanding and living with differences should be envisaged, designed and planned.
UNDERSTANDING DIFFRENCES
In the year 2004 Yakjah was unable to engage with children and bring out a production due to lack of resources. However they continued to meet regularly among themselves and with the children.
It was in April 2005 that a collective workshop seemed possible. Resources remained a challenge as neither Yakjah nor Pandies’ had any funds to take the responsibility of an initiative. But the changing political situation, political peace process between India and Pakistan, opening of Muzzafarabad road between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan Administered Kashmir, for reunion of divided families, growing desire for peace within Kashmir and strong support for people-to-people dialogue compelled Yakjah to bring the children together once again under one theme and cause A decision was taken to conduct the workshop not in New Delhi –a neutral zone but in Gulmarg, Kashmir, the emotional zone. By now Yakjah had its name expanded to Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network.
INITIATING THE JOURNEY
There is a reason for defining Gulmarg as the ‘emotional zone’. For the Kashmir Muslim children who have grown up witnessing violence in their lives, the importance of going to picnics and outgoing with family, friends and school trips/excursions is of great value, fun and memorable. Gulmarg symbolizes ‘fun, laughter and freedom’. For Kashmiri Pandit who have grown up in cramped camp conditions, with no open and green space for playing and spending leisure time. For them Kashmir Valley remains a ‘heaven seen in pictures or on Television, Gulmarg is the hallmark of beauty and vastness that they visualize as their homeland. Gulmarg was also chosen because of its reputation as a place where militancy has not touched and the area is relatively safe. Physical security of the children was prime consideration. However we decided against any ‘armed security from the State’ because Yakjah held that the presence of security personnel would have limited and restricted children’s ‘sense of harmony and peace’, for which they had come together to share one common space. It was important for the ‘space had to be emotionally and psychologically secure rather than physically’. We were aware of the risk involved in taking such a decision. But risks and challenges are/were two factors, which we are/were prepared to take for peace and harmony to return in Kashmir.
The biggest challenge came just before we started preparing for the camp. There were two blasts, one in Srinagar and the other in Phulwama town. Both blasts were outside school premises, invoking fear and terror in the minds of children and parents, especially Kashmiri Pandits. Some parents refused permission for their children to participate in the camp. Some coordinators too did not feel comfortable in going to the Valley. We understood their concern but did not pressurize. We had concerns too. But our strongest strength perhaps lies in our will and determination to counter the idea of terror by an equally potential idea of a positive action. We drew our strength from the children and coordinators from the Valley who assured us that they would stand by us for reconciliation and peace. These groups were:
1. Kashmir Valley
a) Help line Human Welfare society, Bijbehara, District Anantnag, South Kashmir.
b) Gazi Memorial School, Bijbehara, District Anantnag, South Kashmir.
c) Human Aid Society, District Baramulla, North Kashmir.
d) Al –Abbas Society, District Baramulla, North Kashmir.
2. Jammu
a) Muthee Migrant Camp, District Jammu.
b) Nagrota Migrant Camp, District Jammu.
c) Apna Ghar, Gandhinagar, Jammu, District Jammu.
3. New Delhi
a) Bapu Dham Migrant Camp, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
The next challenge off course was resources and logistics. Yakjah believes that all stakeholders for peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir should be involved in a way that it does not exclude anyone. This kind of approach where people outside the governments synergize to build peace would create an enabling environment for not only the formal dialogue to take place but most importantly help in building human relationships. The public peace process involving citizens, civil society groups, non-government organizations and various departments of the government by bringing in their respective resources, skills expertise and commitment will help transform ground realties in terms of opening spaces for healing and for reconciliation to begin.
As such, we as members of Yakjah, remain committed to give time, energies and unflinching resolve for the process. And we look towards individuals from the Kashmiri community, Kashmiri civil society and friends of Kashmiris, either in their official or personal capacity, to offer financial support, their skills, aptitude and infrastructural strength for realizing the initiative and keep the process going. Hence Yakjah members approached well-wishers and friends in various government departments, educational institutes, media and civil society groups as well as friends and groups of different faiths working in different conflict regions of the world for peace and justice. Our efforts were reciprocated and there was tremendous support and positive response from everyone. “This is our duty too”, said Mehbooba Mufti, President, Peoples’ Democratic Party. Once we had commitment from her and Gulmarg Development Authority, Ministry of Tourism, Armed Police (for tents), Government College for Education, University of Jammu, Commercial Broadcasting Service, Radio Kashmir, Mother Teresa Educational Institute and Director Information, we went ahead with the plans. We also had the moral support of some friends of Yakjah who understood the dynamics of the process, Yakjah’s approach towards the idea of peace and ideology of non-violence. We received unconditional support from them. They were: Roma Wani, Additional Secretary Planning and Administration, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Colonel Pramod Kumar A, Company Commander 3 Rashtriya Rifles, Coomi Kapoor, President Indian Women Press Corps, Dr. M.K.Magazine, renowned Kashmiri doctor and philanthropist based in New Delhi, Inter –Faith Friends from Taiwan, Mehraj-u-din Kallu, Shabir Wani, Sports Instructor, Bashir Manzar, Editor Kashmir Images, M.L.Tantary, News Editor, Doordarshan, Gurmeet Kaur, Lecturer College of Education, Karamat Qayoom, Veteran Journalist based in Baramulla, North Kashmir, A.R. Hanjoora, Advocate and Social Activist.
The words of encouragement and material help motivated and inspired the children and members of Yakjah. Yakjah then stepped into the second phase of the initiative-structuring the camp activities and schedule.
SRUCTURE OF THE CAMP
The main component of the camp was the theatre workshop. It was designed and structured after brainstorming sessions with Pandies team. Besides story writing sessions, art activity, trekking, a faith tour, screening of a film, ‘Patri pe Bachpan’, (Childhood on Streets) were also included.
We had a preliminary workshop with Pandies team to familiarize them about the children’s groups participating in the camp, Kashmiri ethos and culture. Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the situation, no political themes were selected. The entire approach was humanitarian, focusing on to create a ‘free and safe space’ where children could express themselves, learn to know, understand and accept differences.
Keeping in mind the number of children, it was decided that the entire group would be divided into four smaller sub-groups. The children in each group would be intermingled. Each group would be given a story outline on which they will have to build their story. The story would be discussed with the larger group and script for the play formulated on the end product. The four stores would then be interlinked to make an eighty-minute production to be performed by the entire group collectivity. Having briefed Pandies it was now time to once again reconfirm with children and their coordinators about logistic details and work plan.
THE JOURNEY TO THE VALLEY……………
23rd JUNE 2005
Three Yakjah members from New Delhi, six children and five members from Pandies Theatre boarded the bus from New Delhi at 17.00 hours. The weather conditions were very hostile. Heat wave had claimed many lives in some parts of the country. New Delhi was also reeling under intense hot weather conditions. Arming ourselves with water bottles, juices and snacks we set forth towards Jammu. The night journey was uneventful.
24th JUNE 2005
We reached University of Jammu at 7.00 in the morning on 24th June. Five girls from Kargil who live in Apna Ghar joined us in the morning in Jammu University. After a quick breakfast provided to us by Jammu University, we proceeded for Valley. It was important to reach Srinagar before sunset. Muthee camp children who were waiting near the Jammu stadium joined us. Later on the way we picked up Nagrota camp children from Nagrota, a small town around 25 Kms. from Jammu city
APNA GHAR CHILDREN
Children, all girls in Apna Ghar belong to Kargil in Ladakh, the least developed region of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. During the Kargil war in 1999, many children from this region were orphaned. Three girls who were part of the Yakjah group had lost their fathers and two belonged to families who could not afford to provide basic health, educational and survival need of their children. All the girls were Buddhist.
MUTHEE CAMP CHILDREN
Six boys from Muthee camp joined the group in Jammu. Some of them were new to Yakjah; some were already familiar, as they had participated in the 2003 initiative. These children’s parents had migrated from Kashmir in 1990 when militancy had started. They belonged to different villages of the Valley. One of them was a Sikh boy from Tral, South Kashmir; another was a Muslim boy from Kupwara (The Migration camp have only Kashmiri Pandits, few Muslim families also live there). The rest of the boys were Pandits. One could see the bond between the children was very strong. All of them desired to be the torchbearers of peace in Kashmir and harmony between different Kashmiri communities.
Pradeep Dutta, Jammu based journalist and Yakjah member has been interacting with Muthee camp and Apna Ghar children. Repeated visits over two years have helped in building a rapport and bond with the families and children. Initially when Yakjah had stared visiting the camp in 2003, there was a resigned approach to the initiative. “We can do nothing about the situation. It is all in the hands of politicians. They are responsible for everything”, was the dominant rhetoric. There was also a stubborn resistance to extending a hand of friendship towards ‘them’ (the Muslims). But after the collective journey to New Delhi in 2003, living and collectively performing with children from the Valley, most of the myths about each other dispelled. So this time, they took on the leadership role in accommodating and instilling within the new members and young members, the cheerful, positive attitude towards the camp in Gulmarg.
NAGROTA CAMP CHILDREN
Children from Nagrota (situated on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, about 25 kilometers from Jammu city) were the new entrants. There were fourteen children from Nagrota, a mix of boys and girls in the age group from 8 years to 16 years. All of them were Kashmiri Pandits and most of them were going to the Kashmir Valley for the first time. All most all the children were born post –exodus in the camps in Jammu. The families (parents and grandparents) of the children were waiting on the roadside with water, juice and Khehwa (Kashmir tea) to greet the bus when it reached Nagrota. There was excitement, happiness, a wishful hope and a little fear. The grandparents of the children, who held beautiful memories of the Kashmir they had left, cried with happiness. However the mothers requested us to take care of the children. “We are scared that our little ones are going to Valley. But we have full trust in God and he would take care of the children and the initiative”, they said. The credit for the taking the responsibility, motivating the parents and urging them to ‘ cast fears aside’ and take the first step towards ‘communicating with Muslim friends’, came from Chandji Kher and Chaman Lal Kothari. Chandji Kher is actively involved in reconciliation efforts through his organization Vitasta Samaj Sewa.
After refreshments and blessings from the parents and grandparents, we left for our destination. Children from Nagrota met the children from Muthee camp and Apna Ghar for the first time. “Its amazing that for the last sixteen years we have never interacted with each other, inspite of the fact that we all are migrants”, said Chaman Lal Kothari. Infact for him and Renuka Bhat, a computer professional in New Delhi and Yakjah member, the journey was the first one after they left their homes in 1990. There was trepidation and uncertainty. But nostalgia remained the overarching sentiment. “We are going home”, Renuka whispered with eagerness. While as Kothari, with tears brimming at the corner of his eyes, said, “We may not be able to go to our villages but even to set foot on Kashmir’s soil is that I have been dreaming of for the last decade. The conversation led to where and how they used to live and after they migrated how they had to survive.
After lunch at a place called Peerah on the National Highway, we crossed the Bannihal tunnel which pierces through the Pir Panjal ranges. The long dark opened to clear blue skies. A board on the other side of the tunnel said, ‘Welcome to Kashmir Valley’. The scenic beauty of the place, and the overwhelming feeling of having entered the Kashmir Valley, once again triggered tears and as well as a sense of joy besieged the group. There was lot of clapping and cheers.
We reached Qazi Kund, at about six in the evening. Now the distance from Srinagar was merely three hours away. We had to pick up children from Bijbehara, almost two hours away, and then proceed to Gulmarg. It was very late and we were worried about driving in the Valley after dusk. By the time we reached Bijbehara, children after a daylong singing, were tired and had gone to sleep. The children from Gazi Memorial School, who had been waiting for us since afternoon, were excited to see the bus when we arrived in Bijbehara at eight in the evening. Ready in their uniforms and bags, they climbed on to the bus chanting prayers.
GAZI MEMORIAL SCHOOL, BIJBEHARA
It is a very small school. Its strength is about 200 children. It provides education to children from low income group families. The school was identified by Human Welfare Helpline Society base din Bijbehara. Its founder is Javed Ahmed Tak, a paraplegic. He was shot at by militants in the spine and is confined to a wheel chair. Many children from Gazi Memorial come to him for studying private tuitions for which he charges them nothing. The children from Gazi Memorial were new entrants to the Yakjah initiative.
THE ICE BREAKING
The prayer songs and excited voices of children woke the group from Jammu and New Delhi. Perhaps they were expecting a group of subdued boys and girls to be joining them in Kashmir. They were definitely taken by surprise, especially by the girls in the group who were outshining the boys in their recitations and vocal capabilities. After the initial outburst of prayers, game of Antakshari songs from Hindi movies took the credence. Two competitive groups were formed and each other’s knowledge about songs tested. After some rounds of play, some boys from Muthee camp, sensing that the group from Bijbehara was winning, switched sides. With the ice broken between the two groups, a space was created for accommodation and mutual acceptance of each other’s presence. . The process happened in the most healthy and natural way without any intervention by Yakjah members. While Yakjah members had been worrying about and anticipation hostility, the children resolved the enmity in less than an hour.
It was 10 p.m. and pitch dark. The bus was resounding with children’s high pitched songs, something that was unheard in Kashmir. “We only listen to gunshots and blasts here. And nightlife is totally forbidden for us. The security forces can target in the dark’, said Rahil, a young enthusiast from Bijbehara. He added that he was recently in Gulmarg with his school for a picnic. “However picnics are a recent phenomenon. My father tells me that seven –eight years ago people could not travel to Gulmarg without security cover, because the area and the road leading to Gulmarg was dangerous. There were many militants in the area”, he informed. His conversation markedly was laden with dichotomy. While he feared the security forces, he also mentioned them as the protectors against militants. Perhaps that is what life in Kashmir is all about. Clearly there was a palpable fear of guns from both sides and the will to survive through it.
However Jatinder Singh from Muthee camp had many questions to ask. Expressing his thoughts he questioned, “We traveled from Jammu and have almost reached Gulmarg. We do watch on Television and hear about violence and militants in Kashmir. But today we saw that children like us also live here. So why can’t we live here”. He added with frustration, “I feel connected to this land. This is where my heart is. I keep on telling my parents to go back to Kashmir. If only we could”. Rahil listening to Jatinder’s feelings turned to him and said, “Yes you can come back. There is nothing to fear. Tell your parents to abandon fear and come back. We will welcome you”. It was overwhelming experience as one silently listened to the conversation between the children.
We reached Gulmarg at 11.30 in the night. Ten brave hearts from Baramulla were waiting for the group since afternoon. They sang welcome songs and hugged the mehman (guests) with love and enthusiasm. The credit goes to Bashir Mir, their coordinator and teacher for instilling patience, hospitality and values based on human goodness in them. After brief introduction, dinner was served. After a hot food, as the weather was chilling and quite cold, everyone slipped into their sleeping bags in the 14 tents, pitched in two straight lines and went to sleep. As Sanjay Kumar said, “The cold and sight of vast meadows hit our soft New Delhi sensibilities’. The heat of Delhi and Jammu seemed distant. Children’s subdued but excited whispers seemed to be carried to the nearby silent woods. Nature seemed to cradle the children in a happy soundless thereafter. One wondered what the children were dreaming about. Perhaps the dreams were about the next day’s activities, a trip to the town or about the lost years of togetherness. But one was almost sure; at least it seemed so, that after age the woeful ‘Soul of Kashmir’ was at rest and at peace.
BARAMULLA CHILDREN
Children from Baramulla were mostly orphans. Bashir Mir of Human Aid Society who actively is involved with taking care orphans along Al-Abbas Society ( mostly children from Shia community were from this organization) also based in Baramulla with had coordinated the children from Baramulla. All children from Baramulla were also new entrants to the Yakjah initiative.
25th JUNE
The first day all the children gathered for formal introductions. Bashir Mir of Human Aid Society moderated the introductions. Each child-introduced himself/ herself and the institution and region they came from. They added an adjective before their names which described them the best. Children enjoyed doing this ice –breaking exercise. Members of Yakjah ( Renuka Bhat, Syed Shahnawaz Shah, Mohsin Majid Mogal, Basit Umer Shah, Armeen and Ashima Kaul) while introducing the concept of the group and its brief history as to how the initiative began in New Delhi, urged the children to network and be the torchbearers of the idea of Yakjah. Later each coordinator described the profile and vision of their respective organization or institution. The children were also asked to choose a partner from a group other than their group and at the end of the camp to present the profile of the person they had chosen as their partner.
Later the children were divided into five groups for theatre activity. [3]These were inclusive groups, with each group representing children from different regions, ethnicity, religion and gender.
The Five Groups of children formed were as follows:
Group I
Vipin Bhat – Mutthi Camp
Amit Verma – Mutthi Camp
Ganzom – Apna Ghar
Tsering – Apna Ghar
Palzes – Apna Ghar
Zubbair Abbas – Baramulla
Ishfaq Ahmad Bhat – Baramulla
Zeeshan Ali – Baramulla
Owais raja –Brijbehara
Ankush Raina – Nagrota
Mrinal Kaul – Nagrota
Group II
Neeraj Gautam – Mutthi Camp
Arun Pandit – New Delhi
Tanya Bhat – New Delhi
Priyanka – Delhi
Sonam – Apna Ghar
Giomath – Apna Ghar
Ishrat – Brijbehara
Sofia Aksa – Brijbehara
Shiraza Gul – Baramulla
Nusrat Rashid – Baramulla
Khurshid Ahmad – Baramulla
Group III
Jitendra Singh – Mutthi Camp
Ankur Pandit – New Delhi
Agastya Bhatia – New Delhi
Muzzamil – Brijbehara
Rahil Hussain– Brijbehara
Yasin – Brijbehara
Rahul – Nagrota
Kanchan – Nagrota
Sunaina – Nagrota
Sandeep – Nagrota
Rahul - Nagrota
Group IV
Hamid Mir -Mutthi
Namit Raina – New Delhi
Naveed – Brijbehara
Arshid – Brijbehara
Ilyas – Brijbehara
Rehana – Srinagar
Humaira – Baramulla
Neha – Nagrota
Akshay – Nagrota
Rohit – Nagrota
Group V
Raj Kumar – Mutthi Camp
Ashish – Mutthi
Vivek Kanth – New Delhi
Junaid Yusuf – Brijbehara
Irfaan Nizar – Brijbehara
Tahoora Yusuf – Brijbehara
Danish Mushtaq – Brijbehara
Tazamul Islam – Brijbehara
Shakeel Ahmadwana – Baramulla
Ikhlak Ahmad Bhatt – Baramulla
Rubyina Bano – Baramulla
Rukshana Bashir –Baramulla
Each group was facilitated by one of the members of pandies group. These were as follows:
Group I – Maina
Group II - Sanjay
Group III - Isha
Group IV - Afzal
Group V - Anuradha
The groups were given the task of carefully selecting one word. [4]
Evenings were spent singing and chatting with each other.
26th JUNE
The second day started with morning prayers. The children were instructed a day before that everyday, a group representing the city or camp they had come from would prepare and lead the morning prayers. After the morning prayers the children were asked to draw, paint or sketch. There was a dual reason to devote some time during the camp for art work. One reason was to use art as a tool for therapy and communication for children to express their views and thoughts. The other was to use the art activity as a first stepping step towards developing and laying the foundation for the theme ‘Understanding Differences’, the theme for the theater activity. The idea was to use art and story telling as base line activity to be later assimilated in the larger theater activity.
The theme of the ‘Art Workshop’ was ‘My Life’. Children were asked to conceptualize and draw or paint about their life and relationships within school, family and society. Some children who had difficulty in understanding the theme, as they had never participated in an art workshop before were asked to highlight most poignant moment of their lives, what have been their experiences or what is the kind of life they wish to have?
Children spent first half of the day painting and sketching. After lunch children shared with everyone what and why they had they drawn a particular painting. Most children had drawn landscapes or hospitals. The migrant Kashmiri Pandit children shared that they miss the open spaces in the migrant camps and therefore wished that they could come back to ‘green Kashmir Valley’. And that is what the theme of their paintings was. Rahil from Bijbehara drew flags of India and Pakistan with a caption that friendship between the two would mean peace in Kashmir. Agastya Bhatia from New Delhi asked Rahil how friendship between India and Pakistan would change his life. Rahil promptly answered that friendship between India and Pakistan directly affects his life because he is a Kashmiri and he wants peace to prevail in the Valley.
Atmosphere in the group became emotional when Rehana Akhtar unable to control her tears and uncontrollable sobs narrated her own and her mother’s pain on trying to survive after her father’s death in a crossfire in 1993 in Sopore, popularly known as the Apple town of Kashmir. She had drawn a hospital so that she could take care of the sick and ailing, as she did not want anyone to suffer like her. In contrast Rohit from Nagrota camp had drawn houses burning in the Valley. Pointing to his painting he said that ‘these are Pandit houses being burnt by militants’. However he added, ‘But no one can burn this soil and land of Kashmir, which would always remain and take care of everybody’. For each child the art workshop was a new beginning to learn and know about each other.
In the evening children were guided to a historic Church in Gulmarg. It was surprising to learn that almost all children, apart from 2 or 3 children, none of them had ever been to a church or knew much about the Christian faith. Some children said that they had seen a church in Hindi films. Yakjah members briefly told them about who Jesus was and how religions, whether it is Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism or Christianity basically and essentially propagated service and love for all Beings.
27th June
The children went for a trek in the forest on the third day. Mohsin Majid Mogul, Camp Instructor and other members-Renuka Bhat, Syed Shahnawaz and Basit Umer Shah too accompanied. Amidst the scenic pine forests, sitting on the soft earth, Mohsin initiated a discussion on environment and human beings relation with nature. The children listened aptly to what Mohsin told them. Later they coined a slogan- Jahan raho, Jab raho, Yakjah raho (Wherever you are and when ever be ‘together’). The reached back at the campsite at about 10 am. After breakfast, Sanjay Kumar spent time with children and initiated them onto basic theatre concepts and discussed the theme of the workshop with them.
After lunch there was a story telling session. Children were divided into five groups and four of them were given a theme[5] respectively to build the theme into story plots. A basic story outline was given on which the children, through discussions[6] had to expand and script to form a play.
In the evening children watched a film “Patri par Bachpan”, (Childhood on the street) a film made by street children on street children. After the screening there was an enriching discussion. Children interpreted the film and expressed themselves freely. They also suggested that each one of them must identify a street child in their neighborhood and include him/her in subsequent camps.
28th June
Besides the theatre activity,[7] children went to a local temple. Once again it was a holistic experience for all children. Muslim children visited a temple for the first time in their lives. They eagerly gathered information and laboriously wrote in their note books about the names of various Hindu Gods and Goddesses, rites and rituals in performing a Hindu Pooja (prayer) and also requested the Priest to play some Bhajans( Prayer Songs) They had lot of queries, which the local priest tried his best to answer. Later as the group walked back to the tents, the solemn solidarity amongst the children was unmistakable.
29th June
At Daybreak children went for a Nature walk in the woods. They came back exhausted only to face a rude encounter with an eminent theater personality from Delhi who was insisting to shoot the rehearsals for a commercial film. When Sanjay and Yakjah members refused permission, he attempted to instigate one of the coordinators on whose behest he had come to shoot. His rigid and stubborn attitude resulted in polarizing the children, albeit very briefly. They joined hands and succeeded in ousting him out of the camp. While precious time was lost, children nevertheless restarted the rehearsals with fresh rigor and stamina.
Children remained occupied the entire day with rehearsals.[8] It was incredible the way Sanjay Kumar was able to infuse immense enthusiasm and energies within the children. It was challenging to bring out an eighty minute production in only a week’s time. Clearly the children displayed undying commitment and moreover they also seemed to be enjoying the collective exploration of creativity.
Besides the various activities the common space was utilized for learning and knowing each other. Children were engaging with each other and finding out how the so-called ‘other’ lived in the valley or in the migrant camps. They discovered what they had heard about each other was mostly imaginary. “We did not know that Muslims are such nice people. After meeting them, we do not want to leave Kashmir”, said some of the children from migrant camps in Jammu. And the children from Valley cried when they learned about the cramped living condition of the migrant children. “There is no need for them to fear. Everything is okay and they should return to their homes in Valley”, they said.
It was encouraging to observe how the children co-lived in those seven days of together. They argued, debated and at times stuck together with their respective groups but there were times when they played and danced together. They also helped each other in keeping their tents tidy.
An incident on 29th perhaps was a vivid glimpse of what the human spirit can endure and cherish. Mudassar, owner of Pine, a local hotelier in Gulmarg invited the entire Yakjah group for dinner. Perhaps for most children, especially from the Valley this was a new experience. They had fun and frolic, enjoying every moment. When the time came to go back to the tents, children realized that soon (in about three days) they would have to say good byes to each other and leave for their homes. The thought and prospect of parting made them sad and many of them broke into tears. Two boys from Muthee camp in Jammu were hospitalized that night. They were stressed and had respiratory problem due to excessive crying. Everyone prayed for their recovery, especially children from Bijbehara and Baramulla who offered namaz for them. One of them, Ashish could not participate in the main play. However he won the hearts of the audience when he performed a comical skit with the two other Muthee camp children on the final day.
30th June
The last day was spent mostly in doing rehearsals[9]. Children had displayed lot of patience and commitment. Amidst all kind of tough camp conditions, been the youngest of them all did not show weariness. Their enthusiasm was written large on their faces.
1st July
After breakfast, the children made graffiti on a four meter white cloth. The various peace slogans with their signatures looked colorful and now are a memorable memento with Yakjah. Lot of photographs were taken with the canteen staff who had fed delicious three meals to the entire Yakjah family, with children barging into the canteen premises with familiar ease, with such love and happiness. Yakjah and children would remain ever grateful to their hospitality and would remember them always with fondness. After the snapshots it was time to proceed to Srinagar for the performance. [10]Children bid adieu to Gulmarg with lot of cheerfulness and gaiety.
After seven days of intense theatre and other activities, it was difficult to believe that fifty –five children who belonged to communities, estranged and divided for the last sixteen years and who were growing up in spaces which were ravaged with violence, bitterness and whose communities and families were waging a deep struggle for survival of their existence, identity and culture, had taken to each other as fish to water. Children, clearly inspite of the differences were able to foster new friendship rather than brew hostility and animosity. Clearly their choices were different from the adult world that they had till then grown up in. Their politics was different. They were for unity and co-existence. They chose to build bridges than built walls. In fact they were determined to break existing space and make space for a new kind of politics. A politics based on inclusitivity and values of co-existence. This was remarkable considering that the children had grown in exclusive spaces with sharp demarcation of internal borders within their hearts and minds. However, these
But what had happened was in the jinxed traditions of theatre activity. One of the Mutthi boys Ashish had fallen seriously ill the night before, it seemed a cardiac problem. Apparently the boy had a history of irregular cardiac function and it must have gotten aggravated the night before after the hectic dancing. The condition was rather bad the night before, the Yakjah seniors had taken him to a hospital (fortunately the huge army presence ensured that there was a hospital in the vicinity). He was unconscious. He wanted one of the Mutthi boys to be with him and was closest to Raj and Neeraj. In the morning Neeraj was with him.
We got up to real gloom. Everybody looked tired and glum. Agastya, Ashima’s son, felt it would not be possible to rehearse under the circumstances. As in charge I realized that this attitude could not be allowed to gather root but at the same time had to be given play. So we gave it some time and through the breakfast listened to various versions of what happened last night. Ashima, Anuradha and I sat down for a while realizing that difficult decisions had to be taken regarding the participation of Ashish, later Shahnawaz too joined us. Ashish was doing an important role in Anuradha’s episode and it didn’t seem possible that he would be able to do it. I was in favour of it waiting a little; they all felt that replacement would have to be made. We decided to wait till lunch. My primary concern was to get the flock together; more Mutthi children had gone to Ashish. To leave someone from the 2-3 children (isha’s group) who were not participating, get the Mutthi kids back with the promise that some would go and visit again in the afternoon. But somebody had to go 3 kms. away. Armeen seemed too tired, he had been driving all night, Shahnawaz was away and we seemed stuck. Maina and isha returned with friends around noon and the problem was there with no one resolving. I tried doing whatever we could but without the Mutthi boys it was precious little. Raj, who had been there most of the night with Neeraj had gone to make a call in the market returned to the camp around 12.30, I asked him to have a quick lunch and go to the camp, leave a boy there and get everyone back. There was a walking track and the whole task would take about one hour he said. All the boys returned and we took stock before starting work. Ashima felt that I must replace Ashish, even if he got back he would be very weak and it would be bad both for him and the production if he was onstage. I felt that it would be a downer for the group and if he did return at night then it would be difficult explaining. I decided that if he was okay we would ask him to do a small skit that he and Raj kept doing but not risk the success of the project. I decided to cast Hamid, a boy on whose talent I had a lot of faith and who I felt was not being fully utilized in Afzal’s episode. This required reworking and re-organizing which I decided to do myself. Neeraj and Raj wanted to go once and look up Ashish, I insisted that they go in a car with someone and be back in an hour. It took me that much time to fix anuradha’s episode with Hamid.
It was towards evening that we were ready for run-throughs. I asked for three run-throughs realising that more than two would be impossible. I kept the first one sketchy (hoping for a third), I elided over the parts that were good and ready and focused on those that were weak or just prepared.
It was getting cloudy and for the second time in our stay rains seemed likely. We were in the open. We started the run-through. Soon it started to rain, pulling my hood over my head we continued, there was fear that the children might fall ill but really had to take the chance. We took the run-through. Despite halts, despite the rain, the enthusiasm and the performance levels were really high. Run-through over and I called the rehearsals off. I felt in my bones that we had a good thing going and if all went well this would be a hit.
In the mean time Ashish returned from the hospital. We decided that Ashima and I the two people most closely involved should talk to him. After a bit we also called in Anuradha as he was in her group. We sat and talked, he seemed a bit disheartened at being dropped from the play but we told him it was in his interest as the doctors had advised that he should steer clear of anything that could excite him and there was the larger interest of the project in mind. We also assured him that the little comic skit he and Raj had prepared and performed would be allowed if he was up to it. Shahnawaz called Ashima and I sat on with Ashish a little longer. A brief meeting was held at night to assuage the ego of Basheer and we seemed finally set for the next day. There was talk of a run-through in the morning but I knew that would not be possible. Ashima and I decided that it would be best to reach the venue in Srinagar and take charge and have a final run-through there.
discriminations and segregations were obviously not deep rooted, for they melted as soon as the children dialogued through theatre, art and storytelling in one common space of mutual love, trust and understanding.
It is in this context, the four main thematic ideas for the play were based on differences.
They were:
1) Gender discrimination.
2) Child labor.
3) Class discrimination and
4) Disability.
Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the relationships and existing hostile environment, deliberately children were not given any political themes. But interestingly when children build the plots and storylines the politics came from them. However it was a politics of reunion and understanding differences and yet accepting them.
THE PERFORMANCE
There were people from the media, Kashmir University, Kashmir Radio and Doordarshan (Television), social organizations, education, families of the children and friends to give moral support for the initiative. It was a mesmerized audience that watched spell bound as fifty-five children performed[11] flawlessly. However the idea to create a space for children did not stem from the desire to impart skills for theatre or judge them for their creative theatre abilities. But the idea was to create a collective space where children across existing divisions were empowered to collectively address issues, explore new and alternate ways for a social change. The idea was also to provide a space for ‘children of the conflict’, to express themselves and their choices freely.
After the performance it was time to say goodbyes. Ashraf Sahil from Radio Kashmir gifted Pen sets to the children. Yakjah wanted to give souvenirs, gifts and certificates to the children but due to lack of funds it was not possible. The pressure of paying the transport and the journey back to New Delhi with empty pockets was looming large on each Yakjah member’s mind. This is when help from Roma Wani and Taiwanese friends (CHAN Hsiu-Yin with whom a week long workshop in Henry Martin Institute in Hyderabad resulted in an incredible effort by her. She mobilized her friends in Taiwan from different faith traditions to donate money to Yakjah. Her personal journey as a Christian in Taiwan has been of intense introspection and reaching out to dialogue with people from other faith religions). Yakjah appreciates the gesture of these noble souls.
However rewards and gifts was not what the children seemed to be wanting. All of them wept,[12] inconsolably and did not want to part. They exchanged addresses and promised to communicate with each other regularly. Soon thereafter the children from Bijbehara and Baramulla left for their places. And the children from Nagrota, Jammu and New Delhi were taken in a Police bus for short sight seeing tour of the city. They visited the famous Moghal gardens, Dal Lake and the Hazratbal shrine. It was an overwhelming experience for the children and those Yakjah members as well as coordinators who visited their home after sixteen years. More tears followed. The night spent in Srinagar was indeed a memorable for everyone. Next day after a hearty breakfast, the group left for Jammu. The same night the New Delhi group took a night bus.
FOLLOW UP
Yakjah had planned many other activities but due to constraint of time and resources, these have been able to materialize. One of them was to form a children’s Peace Committee. This is an initiative that Yakjah wishes to do in the future. There is also a desire to start a newsletter for children.
Apart from these ideas, Yakjah plans to organize a ‘Yakjah Festival’ in the year 2006. Activities including a Film made by children, an art exhibition and Theatre production are being planned for the purpose.
Another desirable activity on agenda is to initiate a sub-regional dialogue between the Youth of Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu.
[1] Media Report-
[2] Annexure 1 – Review of Article
[3] Sanjay Kumar Report- “We started our work at 11. Pulling out “games” from the pandies repertoire. We begin with games that are physical. The purpose being to get the body and mind of the child in focus and co-ordination and also help remove peer positions. Any body can perform well in these exercises. It was obvious from the word go that we had an extraordinary batch of 55 kids, highly participative, wanting to learn and absolutely unspoilt unlike the kids of Delhi’s schools. The “Bomb and shield” was a huge success (I as facilitator went a bit overboard as after a while all the children were tired and so was I). It was quite hot under the direct sun in the meadow (though not as hot as it would the following couple of days). We took a water break a little after 12.15. Assembling after the break we put the kids through a partial images exercise. A facilitator strikes a pose, - it is an incomplete image, another joins to “complete the picture.” The first withdraws and a child is asked to “draw” a “new complete picture.” The second also withdraws to be replaced by another child and the children continue the game of making pictures with themselves. Close interaction has begun as queries are sought, explanations provided, comments given – the facilitator ensures that no child feels under fire and it all goes on the form of a game. Interacting with the other, putting pressure on one’s face and body to elicit a particular response have begun. We break for lunch.
The lunch fare was simple. Boiled rice with lentils and one veggie (usually cauliflower with something else thrown in) and this continued through the workshop. Our organizers maintained a camp like atmosphere and the children were told that they would be given their thalis and a tumbler each for which they would be responsible. We were fortunately spared this treatment.
We reassemble at 3. And continue with individual images exercises
The children formed a circle and were given words that they expressed through their body and face, forming an image corresponding to the word. The words were chosen with care.
We had decided in our own workshop that we would avoid steering the children into zones of personal trauma and of political conflict. Rather we would wait for them to take us in that direction, if they so desired. Two basic reasons: it is a highly sensitive area and we had once on an earlier occasion lost a chunk of our work because of such carelessness and that could happen again esp. if their co-ordinators took umbrage. More importantly, the traumas of these children are really heart-breaking as some have even seen the slaughter of their parents. No one really has the right to steer a child into such zones till the child him/herself beckons. We began with simple words girl – boy, sister-brother and move on to concepts – what do I want to be when I grow up? What do my parents want me to be? How will I realize what I want to be? On the one hand this exercise is used for surfacing and honing basic drama skills, they also serve to show the contiguity of words and emotions generally seen as opposite and incompatible. Some distinguishing characteristics of these children from this exercise: a very high number of Kashmiri Pandit kids want to be army personnel – probably see them epitomizing power and also the means of realizing their own dream of getting back their homeland, Muslim kids of the valley of pursuing classical professions specially becoming a doctor, many girls from both communities want to teach and most stress the importance of education in realizing their dreams. We break for tea. On resumption we did what we had felt would be the most important task of the workshop – divide the children into five groups. These groups would remain till the end of the workshop and the episodes of the play would also be done by each of these groups. We had feared that the children would protest a lot but really none protested except our friends from mutthi who wanted to be together and create a play by themselves that had to be refused as against the very idea of the workshop
[4] Groups completed, we moved to group work. Image and machine exercises followed. Each of the 5 groups was given a word (carefully pre-selected) - mera parivaar, mera shahar, mera school, mera ghar, mera pados, (my family, my city, my school, my home and my neighborhood. Each group was first asked to make an image/picture of the concept collectively and then they were asked to chose any one of the rest and make a “machine.” In machines sounds and movements are allowed the children can even use one or two rhetorical words – the idea by and large is to achieve complex communication without language. The other groups are to guess the theme of the image/machine and that constitutes its success. A discussion follows each image and machine
[5] Sanjay Kumar’s Report- [Class: a poor boy who wants to study but is asked to work by his family.
Gender discriminations: a mother who does all the housework, sister’s perspective.
Love stories: perspective of boy/girl – class angle.
Physically challenged children and their problems: child afflicted with polio.]
[6] The beginnings of the stories were provided by the facilitator.
We started by collecting the children and the chief facilitator for the task explained what they were to do. We split for group work. Groups IV and V opted to subdivide and work on two stories and the other groups worked together on one short story. This was a really long workshop section. One person per group (and sub-group) was chosen as writer, it was her/his task to see that everybody was consulted and their inputs went into the short stories. In group V there was a problem as the Mutthi boys dominated and the Muslim children felt suppressed. The facilitator sorted the problem by creating subgroups where each would have their voices even though it violated somewhat the principle on which we had based the groups.
We got seven short stories. Six in Hindi and one in Urdu (one sub-group of group v). It became clear to us with this section that a lot of them spoke Kashmiri, the Jammu kids were not so fluent but understood Kashmiri, Hindi/ Urdu were spoken, what might surprise some but didn’t us as we have worked with Kashmiri kids before, most of them were quite comfortable understanding English and the prayer songs of the Kashmiri kids – Baramulla were, at least some in English – in fact, English has quite a status of power language – deliberately I would now and then give workshop instructions in English and most were comfortable with it. (Interestingly some co-ordinators of the children wanted me to use English). We were into late evening; each story was presented and thoroughly discussed by the children. Probing, at times even irritating questions were asked. Each was working for his group and keen to show how good they were, bonhomie had been established at the intra-level of the groups.
Group I worked on the theme of love. Simple, unadulterated Bollywood (Hindi Films) stuff told from the boy’s perspective. Effective it worked.
Group II worked on gender. Social stereotypes condemn women to house work but this story, shows how the mother and daughter combine trumps the father son duo. It’s the daughter who does well in life studying behind the father’s back and the son who ends in alcohol. The daughter works and saves the family under the guidance of the mother. Heavy but good stuff.
Group III also chose gender and worked from the perspective of a girl who has to face the vagaries of a step mother. She does not lose heart and works to win her step mother’s heart by becoming an achiever in life and helping the mother whose legitimate son rejects her.
Group IV worked on the class perspective. The story of a boy who desires to study but has to work in dhaba (way side eating shop) because his father feels that that is their lot. He studies. With the help of a benefactor he goes on to become a doctor and devotes his life to the treatment of those who cannot afford the same. The second sub group came up with a variant of the same.
Group V came up with the most interesting story. One group had a story of love, fairly usual. It was the second that took one’s breath away. Beginning with the theme of disability the story went on to explore the haunting themes of migrancy and terrorism to thrall everyone. The story is of polio hit lame girl (obviously Kashmiri Pandit) who lives in Srinagar. Her father is threatened by militants (aatankwadi) and asked to cough up money if he wants to live. Unable to pay he is killed. Living in fear, the girl, her mother and her brother decide finally to move to Jammu to her maternal uncle under his repeated advice. Historical, temporal correctness was maintained. They migrate in 1993 and the girl is at that time 9 years old. The girl grows in Jammu. This was then and then we move to now. The now 19 year old girl wants to come back to Kashmir to visit the Amarnath shrine. Her uncle discourages, pointing out the threat of militants but she persists and makes good her visit. She finds nothing but love. This is not the Kashmir of yore. Things have changed. The girl returns to settle in Kashmir. The greatest wish fulfillment of the Kashmiri Pandit community but what was really touching was their perception of Kashmir as a land of love and hatred and suspicion persisting only in the minds of the older generation.
Children from Kashmir wanted to know how they could say with certitude that killers were terrorists (aatankwadi), they could be dacoits or anyone else (state goons). Also it was unfair to put the blame for the happenings in the valley on one community. The Jammu boys spoke in response that this the earlier state and now things had changed radically as their play showed. But the others were not satisfied.
Touching though some hackles had been raised. Shahnawaz at this point itself warned us (and would continue to warn us till the performance itself) that the terrorist bit would upset people. Ashima felt that if we totally avoid these areas when the kids were bringing them in, the purpose of this exercise would be defeated. She felt she had to do a perspective exercise to show everyone that we tend to see things from a bias – what is a to one is b to another, what is terrorist to one may not be so to another. But we were well into dinnertime and that had to wait for the next day.
[7] Sanjay Kumar’s Report – “we had seven stories. We had decided that we would, in the final play, have 4 episodes based on the children’s work. My group would be used to tie the episodes together into an organic whole as I was responsible for the whole and my group had the maximum singing talent that could be used for the purpose of creating a meta-narrative that would keep the interest alive.
Group I (maina) – would work on the love story. They could take the children from group v who had worked on the same theme. This did not happen as they were required there. Two pretty Kashmiri girls from my group from Brijbehari (aksa and ishrat) doubled in their play as the love interest and the boy’s mother.
Group III (isha) - worked on gender trying to make a play on its short story. In the final analysis they also brought in a touch of disability. This group had the most problems. It was the only group where all the children could not come on stage and most of the play had to be reworked by maina and i.
Group IV (afzal) – worked on class dramatizing their story. It built up slow. Afzal put a lot in it and in the final analysis more than passed muster. My intervention was limited to a few suggestions here and there.
Group V (anuradha) – they had come up with the most volatile story. They would have truckloads of problems as they try to combine the two subgroups (read Pandit and Muslim). But again they came up with the pick of the episodes.
The first morning session went in deciding this and the as soon as the work started I was confronted with problems. Isha’s group was indulging in all kinds of rebellion but more importantly group v kids, the Muslim children primarily from Baramulla were insisting that they would not act in the play – reason they had problems with the term terrorist. (The problem that had cropped up in the short story). Co-ordinator Basheer came to me and said that not he or his colleagues but the children had problem with the word. I comfortably told him that the word would be removed. He seemed a bit surprised (pleasantly?) by the promptness of my assurance. In fact, anuradha had already changed the word to dacoits (daku).
Having promised the return of the workshop at 3.30, we had a quick lunch and disappeared to our hotel for a much needed bath. The children too were given time by the camp commander to bathe and wash clothes after lunch.
The 3.30 session began with ashima’s perspective exercise and afzal’s forum.
Placing herself in the centre of a circle comprising all the participants, Ashima sought from them what they could see of her. Later she was replaced by Maina. The exercise became a good point of entry to discuss difference. How we all tend to look at the same thing in different ways and that does not mean that any of the perspectives – “meanings” are wrong. Also we need to allow others their perspectives, their positions. Afzal followed with his forum exercise. The idea was to step out – just a bit – and look at gender within the ambit of difference. He did an eve-tease on Isha and then we asked the children to replace her and do what they would like to have done within the ambit of the given situation. Alternatives of calling boyfriend, parents, police, and bystanders – all were tried and their pros and cons discussed. It was successful but did not catch fire the way it usually does, probably the children were focused elsewhere. Gender is a major issue here as many of us had noticed earlier too and realized that here it needs separate handling. We must in the future device a special nuanced package to deal with gender with kids in the valley.
The session after tea was brief as the children were being taken for a film by our organizers – two short award winning films. In this time we started work with our groups. Each facilitator choosing writers for script and telling their respective groups to get the scripts moving and give them a written version by the morning. Here onwards through the next day my experiences were more or less limited to my group, except for crisis management of which a lot was required. In the time that I had I told my group my group what was expected of us – that our task was actually the most difficult (did not want them to feel deprived since they were not doing an “episode”). I asked them to give me songs. Neeraj and Ankur were both of the opinion that may be more children from Jammu – mutthi camp be called as they were really talented. I assured them I would if need arose. The Kashmiri girls and the girls from Ladakh gave us a song each. The Kashmiri song was about the emotion of love and was really a hit right up to the final presentation. The Ladakh song was about a soldier missing his home and his beloved. Vipin and Amit told me that they knew a song about national integration really suited for the project but they would give me the lyrics the next day after asking their friends from mutthi. It seemed to be quite perfect – a song each in three languages – Kashmiri, Ladakhi and Hindi. We discussed the diverse plots for which we would have to prepare fillers – one about a lower class boy (a waiter in dhaba), about the plight of a step daughter (not very sure at this stage), a story of love (in the Bollywood style) and the politically charged one about migrancy and extremism. As the children parted towards the evening for the film, the facilitators retired to their tent. A lot was to be done. The scripts, the sequence, a cogent whole.
[8] Sanjay Kumar’s Report- “This was to be the most difficult day. I was preparing my own interludes with my group in discussion with them. The heartening thing was that we had the three songs finalized and they were all sounding grand. Maina’s episode was the first to near completion, but I also felt that it was too short and also it was totally fun and games – Bollywood style, I decided that if the others were all taking up issues it might just be a good idea to let one be but the problem of length had to be addressed. Renuka, one of the Yakjah seniors wanted to act in this episode and expressed her desire through maina. I welcomed the idea and asked maina to incorporate another character in the play in the form of the boy’s grandmother. On the performance she was really good and took the episode away.
Afzal’s group was shaping well; the class angle was being well emphasized. They were using the ploy of a beneficent master as a deux ex machina but some emergent points were really good without being belabored. The young boy whose father is against his son’s education feels that people of their class and region are always sidelined in the matter of jobs - you have to be rich and powerful to get work. However, the employer funds his studies and he becomes a doctor choosing to work in his village. It was still half-baked, the talented Hamid was using a Bollywood song rather well, it also needed filling up but seemed well on the road.
Anuradha’s episode had the best storyline though it was beset by other problems. Using the device of a handicapped girl this story explored the innards of many of the problems that beset the two communities in
Kashmir. The Kashmiri boys were still unhappy with the way the last part of the story was evolving. And then there was the problem of the domination of the boys from mutthi, they were older and really talented while this worked to advantage in many cases it also led to problems in others, in this group their domination was excessive (even to the extent of bullying the youngsters and asking for more of their friends from mutthi and Delhi to join their group. The first problem was efficiently dealt by the co-ordinator by referring it back to the group and asking particularly the youngsters from the valley to suggest alternate endings. The kids felt that the murderers should be dealt with like common criminals and without any glory. So when the pandit girl returns to her village from Jammu its her brother who together with his neighbors from the past catches the second of his father’s murderers, an important change was to make the inspector who helps the pandit children a Muslim (earlier he was Hindu), this was ideologically stronger and also correct in the sense that policeman in the remoter parts of Kashmir valley would be more likely to be a Kashmiri Muslim. Potentially strong, this story needed work to click as drama.
Isha’s group required the most intervention. The Jammu (Nagrota) sector girls were being unable to strike a rapport with the others (including the boys from mutthi), and the narrative was getting linear and too simple. I gave suggestions to this group. First to add an extra dimension to the story by making the step brother (the son of the girl’s step mother from an earlier marriage) mentally challenged, we would have the girl-child and challenged child as two victims in the plot – this would make the episode more endearing as Jeetu (playing the retarded child) was a good actor. Second, co-opt the step mother instead of excluding her – giving play not only to her evil but also to her insecurities. They worked a good climax where the daughter and the mother stand together.
To my own – we decided to open the play from where we were (Neeraj’s idea – the boy was turning out to be quite a director’s delight) with children from diverse backgrounds (identifiably Jammu, Delhi, Ladakh and Srinagar) in a camp in Gulmarg. Suspicious and awkward they move towards total love and participation. The beginning and the direction identified, created the opening situation. Since the sequence was a bit unclear to begin with on this day, we decided to create appropriate interventions keeping in mind the themes of the various episodes. The love song of Kashmiri girls along with a few teenage lines on the philosophy of love would serve as an elegant precursor to love episode. The play would logically end with the song asking for the participation of all communities in the process of normalization and living together. And this could follow the episode about migrancy and extremism. We came up with a small interventionist piece on gender as we were unsure – practically till the next day where Isha’s group was headed. The Ladakhi girls song of a soldier’s nostalgia would serve well to communicate the sense of passing days and the group getting close knit and hating the idea of parting. Sitting and discussing we thought that Afzal’s group would provide a good beginning and we could transit easily from our opening into it by using the ploy of a disgruntled boy working in a dhaba (there was one right next to the camp) in the opening situation itself.
Backbreaking work it was. Towards the middle of the day we moved to the platform/stage that was there I a corner of the camp area. Hot blazing sun, though the breeze was nice – I was thoroughly tanned with skin peeling off the face. Didn’t quite know when lunch was had – took a bite sometime, tea was brought for me (and whichever group was with me at that time). In the evening I decided to put on stage whatever each group had prepared and where they had reached. Electricity failed and we continued work in candle light.
[9] Sanjay Kumar’s Report “the penultimate day - tough on the body, on the mind and on emotions. A lot of people from the electronic media had been invited and we had our first coverage in the form Srinagar Doordarshan – talking with the children, interviewing some of us. The chief correspondent was also a writer in his own right and wished to have an interactive story reading session with the children to which we all agreed for the next morning.
One by one I took the various episodes and took them closer to completion. Isha’s episode was completed and took a bulk of the morning session. I moved on to the other episodes giving final touches. After the earlier day’s work, Afzal’s episode seemed to have worked quite well. Maina’s episode was further lengthened and the comic situations with additions of some dialogues. Renuka’s involvement had been a real good input.
Rehearsal work continued. The children’s involvement was touching. It took a late night reflection to remind me that we were actually in an extreme situation and these kids belonged to hostile communities. The tension of theatre work took away the tensions of the situation.
Intense work on each episode, on each of the interludes, on each of the songs and towards the evening I was somewhat ready for the first raw run-through which had to take place not too late as we had been invited by a restaurateur for dinner that night. The last song about integration was going so well that I decoded that we would have the whole group participate for the last stanza. As the song begins everyone starts moving onstage and the last stanza sung by all. After which they take a bow and move on to their and their camp instructors’ introduction as the organizers had planned
As we were finishing the run through Basheer walked past the stage saying that his children would have to leave the next afternoon as they had their exams the next day and besides the permission taken from parents was only till that day. Angry, hard-worked and also on creative high, I decided to call his bluff saying I had had enough of this nonsense and if they had to go I too would go Srinagar and leave for Delhi by the morning flight. No, no other children could replace them; too much work had gone on them, besides the whole purpose of the project would be defeated. All would go the day after and perform is Srinagar or there would be no performance. Basheer was a bit taken aback and tried to blame Shahnawaz and the others for not telling them though he had told them at the beginning itself and more children would be available. I stuck to my guns – knowing somewhere back that he was really appreciative of the work – both the labour and the emerging product – to let it not happen. As the news of the exchange traveled he came in for flack from the other co-ordinators esp. the one from Brijbehara. As I came back towards the dhaba for a cup of tea before going for dinner, Shahnawaz said that Basheer was saying that he would get more children from the same camp if these had to go – I stuck to my position (Shahnawaz was saying it deliberately to keep Basheer in humor). Basheer made “calls” to parents and trust members and got “permission” to everybody’s happiness.
[10] Sanjay Kumar’s report- “This is not going to be easy to describe. Our feelings were so mixed. So much had happened. It was like living out a life. Yes it was coming to an end. We would all remember these days. The children were inconsolable. Crying, holding each others hands, avowals of everlasting friendship, commitment, love. Somebody pinch they were from opposed communities. There was total camaraderie, hats off to Yakjah – that’s what it means anyway. Sorrow touched by tremendous sense of coming achievement. Would the project succeed, not just literally but actually in terms of the pending performance? Important questions on all our minds. We all got into a bus. Armeen offered to take pandies in his car but we declined, no way were we going to let the kids be alone now. Heard that Afzal had been crying copiously with the kids. Maina and isha too were affected. This bus was not as rickety, or was it we were actually past caring. On the way down, standing next to Anuradha and I, Renuka started crying. We tried consoling but no avail, the silent tears would not stop. She told us that her village was close and she had never visited Kashmir since her emigration. The bus stopped on the way, an angry Naushad got off his bike and entered the bus. Some of the children had thrown banana peels recklessly out of the window and they landed on top of some vehicles. With warning to behave we started again.
[11] Sanjay Kumar’s Report-“ Under three hours of driving and we had reached our destination - B.Ed. ( Bachelor in Education) college, Srinagar where we were to perform at 3.00 pm. Together with the rest of the pandies members I checked the auditorium. It was quite nice, intimate with a capacity of about 300.
Shahnawaz had requested a microphone system from the radio station that had arrived. It had no foot mikes and besides these children had good voices and the Audi was not only the acoustics were fairly good, so I decided, in the good old traditions of theatre to have no mikes. We had been given a largish hall close where all the children assembled. Wings were there on both sides of the stage, however the right side did not have a room (had been converted to a store) or an exit outwards, a curtain backdrop ensured that one could cross over from one side to the other without being seen by the audience. I immediately had it lowered. On the left side there was a room next to the stage which could be used as a green room. We decided that we would use this mainly as a transit point. The children would get ready in the hall where they were. The group whose episode was next would wait in the room next to the stage. The next group would wait in the lawn outside and the rest in the hall. As an episode finished the children of that group would quietly enter the Audi from the backdoors and watch.
And as the final song started they would move in single files across the aisles from the two sides of the Audi onto the stage where they would all join in the last bit of the song. I decided to keep myself free. It isn’t often that I get the chance to watch a performance, in Delhi it’s always the lights room or a console and the pressure is tremendous. Whenever I do I take the chance to watch and in this one I wasn’t working for anything. I had a quick talk with the group leaders. They were to take charge of their respective groups – see that everyone was ready well before time, moving to the lawn and then to the adjoining room as decided, the in-charge would remain in the wings/adjoining room till his/her performance got over. I pulled Maina out and handed her the over-all charge of co-ordination. Her group would be under Renuka’s charge, apart from her their own groups isha and Afzal would help her, asked Renuka to stay behind as long as possible. Anuradha (who had in the mean time gone with Basit to buy our tickets for a bus back to Delhi, the children were taking a halt at Jammu and besides our bodies now wanted a sleeper-bus, could not get that but managed a deluxe one anyway) too wanted to watch, so Afzal (whose episode was first) was asked to take charge of hers (last) too.
The hall had already started filling (an hour before performance) up. Media people had started coming in. every one was keen on seeing this show and it was covered by all the Television Channels that cover the valley – national and local (7 atleast). Yakjah had taken a decision to keep the famous politicians out, even though Mehbooba Mufti had been gracious enough to provide the food for the workshop. They felt that this could endanger the lives of the children and moreover did not want to be seen as allied to any party (they had studiously avoided any overt connection with any party, not just political party but even the army which is seen as an extension of the Indian state here). I could see that we had more than a full-house on hand. Worry – would the children be able to walk through the auditorium? Knowing them I knew they would do it.
The hall was over-full. The crews and cameras were in place. Started hearing Mohsin’s voice welcoming all and introducing the project. And the show started. Anuradha and I sat in the third row. It was mesmerizing. No glitches, no lines forgotten, no fudges. Each episode flowed into the other, the songs were a hit (more about the last one later) and laughter was obtained at all the right points. Afzal’s episode was keenly absorbed with its subtle sub-textual assertion of jobs being difficult to obtain for the poor and the marginalized despite education but it ends with the boy’s success. Maina’s episode went really well, the audience doubled over at its antics and the obvious take-offs and parodies of Bollywood. Vipin and aksa, as lovers, were very good but it was really the friend Ankush “daid foota,” (one and a half inch) and the “daaadi” (grandmother) Renuka, who just walked away with the episode to everyone’s thrall. In the third, Jeetu’s antics were good ruptures to the message – well delivered by Kanchan and Sunaina. As we came to the last episode, we were apprehensive, it was brilliant and it was politically and emotionally over-charged. The response was overwhelming. Pin drop silence, tears had started flowing and as we came to the last song the entire audience was on its feet with hardly anyone who wasn’t crying – the show got what it richly deserved – a standing ovation. Flowed into the introductions, of the kids and their co-ordinators. Nobody left till Mohsin finished. The camera crews were waiting, both Shahnawaz and Ashima insisted that I should talk to them alone on behalf of the project, Yakjah and pandies (it was again a joint decision to keep away from the camera and not be seen as publicity seekers in the valley). I remember giving 7 or 8 bytes to diverse crews – some long and some short. We were into the end of our work or was it just the beginning. The children were inconsolable, with it being the lot of Ashima and particularly Renuka to pacify them together with some of the older ones who were also crying behind their backs. Parting with them as with Yakjah members was painful. Though we were to meet the Jammu kids and some of the older members the next day as they came to the bus stand.
[12] Media Reports in Annexure II
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