Helloooooo India!

by | Jan 30, 2021 | Visual Arts

Sometimes opportunities present themselves that are just too good to resist. And sometimes good people come together in strange and beautiful ways. That happened on January 22, 2021, when we partnered with 7 Sisters International, a nonprofit in Assam, India, that provides care for trafficked girls in South Asia, for a one-time arts project. How did this happen? Their founder was a friend and peer of our founder when they both served in the United States Air Force. Our India-born Sharmila Karamchandani was thrilled to teach a class in her native Hindi, despite the 12 1/2 hour time difference. She tells the story so well, which we lifted and edited from her Facebook post. Video and photos follow. And I love this video of Sharmila teaching this class in Hindi.

 

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to facilitate a visual art workshop through Heard for 7 Sisters International. [I]t was Saturday morning for them and Friday night for me. I felt fortunate to facilitate this workshop in my home country and in my national language Hindi. There were around 20 girls who attended the workshop. We made puppets. Each one made two puppets, One of themselves and the second one of the person who had positively influenced them the most.
They all sat on the floor with very little space in-between. After demonstrating what they were asked to make, soon innocent giggles warmed up my heart to see them all engrossed in cutting, thinking, making their puppets. They shared their supplies and also exchanged silly talks amongst each other…I wish I was there in person to bask in all the joy and happiness they emitted through the rectangular boxes on my screen. We created our puppets for an hour while listening to Bollywood dance songs.
Then came the time to share…which happens to be my favorite part of these workshops as there is so much wisdom imparted by these young souls. They each came on camera and shared their puppets one by one…some were bold and chatty, some shy and pensive, some apprehensive to come on camera…but they all shared and their counselor was happily surprised to see some of the quiet ones talk and share. I was so enamored by their innocence, silly child-like qualities, and creativity, and one yet a part of my heart was deeply saddened by the thought of what these girls must have endured in their young lives.
I was so impressed by their creativity, craftsmanship, and sharing. There made some unique puppets–a puppet of 7 sisters international building as this girl expressed was the best thing that happened to her; a puppet was made of “inspiring quotes” as that influenced this person the most; puppets of founders Janice and Donald and one of their Counselor Anna…Some made puppets of their sisters and other girls in the room, one created a puppet of God, one puppet was of a tik-tok (Social media platform) celebrity. One unique puppet was of a pigeon according to this girl was her guardian angel always flying above her to protect her.
They shared three things about themselves through their puppets…the atmosphere was light as they were being silly and goofy just like how children should be…a few said they love to read, to cook, one said she loves to sleep and quarrel, a lot of them liked to go out and see new places, to sing, to dance, eat chocolates and talk to their friends, counselors, and family members. I am grateful for organizations like 7 Sisters International that provide a safe space for girls who have been through such a rough childhood. Grateful to
Heard for this partnership and grateful to Jane Hess Collins for bringing me this opportunity to work in my home country. My heart is filled with gratitude and blessings for the girls whom I wish a lot of healing and a great life ahead.
Last but not least, I made a puppet too of my mom Anjana Khushalani who always inspires me to see the best in every situation, think positive, have faith in good karma, to never stop learning, and be kind to everyone ?