ARUNA FROM THE IFA INTERVIEWS NEERAJ KABI 

ON 

ARTS EDUCATION

As a young actor in Pune, Neeraj Kabi entered into the world of arts education primarily for sustenance. As he toured various schools, bringing theatre and elocution to classrooms in Kendriya Vidyalayas, Neeraj observed that middle-class children were disconnected from being children and were often ashamed and embarrassed of their background. Seeing their lives transforming through the arts became a catalyst for Neeraj’s long-term commitment to arts education. He subsequently moved to Mumbai where he initiated a project in his neighbourhood, going door to door, offering arts education services to help children feel good about themselves, feel empowered and also learn a bit about the arts. He started Pravaha Theatre Laboratory, a space where the children could “flow” into their lives through their emotions, thought, and physicality without restrictions. In its early days Pravaha started with a pool of 35 children; workshops involved a range of arts including puppetry, kalari payattu, chhau, Kathakali, painting, and performing excerpts from Indian and foreign writers. The idea of these workshops was to work on “joy” and not “fun.” Neeraj’s team created a profile for each child with observations about their daily activities and shared the raw output of these workshops with parents. He notes with some satisfaction that though some parents, expecting art to be neat, clean and refined went away disappointed, out of initial 35 children, at least 12 went on to develop careers in the arts because of this exposure and approach.

Neeraj is interested in locating the artistic experience within scientific parameters by mapping the cognitive processes that underlie basic theatrical skills such as visualisation and emoting. He opines that when children are made aware of bodily and scientific processes behind gestures and performance they are able to connect it up with everyday life, an approach that leads them to see things in an artistic manner. So, in Pravaha, painting rain, for instance, is a multi-step process. Children would lie on the ground for 3-4 weekends doing nothing but listening to the rain. Then they would get wet in the rain and the mud. After three months they would get canvas and paints. For Neeraj, when the child says, “I have a feeling, how do it put it in colours,” that’s when the artistic process begins. They understand how important rains are for the farmer. A year later they write a poem on it.

Neeraj offers three types of workshops for young adults. The Speech and Voice workshop is based on the philosophy of speech rather than on language or how well one speaks. It enables children to express themselves better and to reach out. Another workshop, English Theatre in Indian Traditions works through teaching the foundations of bharatnatyam, odissi, kalari payattu and carnatic music, which are integrated with performances of plays by Shakspeare and Oscar Wilde. The Complete Theatre Workshop that integrates a variety of art forms brings the holistic theatre experience to children.

Funding is a source of anxiety for Neeraj, who prefers to work in give-and-take partnership model with the corporate sector.  Though he would like to attract corporate patronage by involving the corporate sector in a participatory role, Neeraj is eager to remain self-reliant and independent.