Art TO THE rescue
Shveta Va****st Gaur
Posted online: Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 1454 hrs Print Email
Often incandescent and ineffable, art finds bearing in almost
everything around. Which is probably why it invariably touches the
realms of one's inside. However most of the times we conveniently
sleepwalk through many such experiences that mordantly influence us.
Galvanising many such feelings are these artists who've taken their
creativity to a level where it isn't just aesthetic but also
therapeutic.
A Dramatic effect
Circa 1992. Mehnoor Yar Khan, a drama therapist and founder member of
Rainbow Inc, Hyderabad was working with a womens organisation in
Jerusalem, she witnessed the physical and psychological violence that
children were subjected to both outside and inside their homes. "There
wasn't a single safe place for children to express themselves or just
hang out," she says. This concern became the root cause of a pilot
project that she came up with--Children and Therapy through theatre and
video.
From 1993 to 1999, she worked with the Culture and Free Thought
Association in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip where she researched the
use of drama techniquesin healing. She came up with a manual in Arabic
and English called 'I am the sea, who are you?' "Each one of us has
hidden thoughts, ideas, and a lot more that we find difficult to talk
about. We shut these aspects within us and ignore them. If and when
they surface, they can leave us depressed and overwhelmed," she says.
Her workshop 'I want to be me' puts participants through a series of
drama techniques like Forum theater, Image theatre, Rainbow of Desire,
Stop and Think, Softly Softly, Stop and Think, Im****visations, role
reversal, Playing with time, Mirroring, etc.
"Over the years drama has moved beyond mere performance. Agusto Boal
(author of Theatre of the Oppressed) introduced "forum theatre" in
which some one from the audience takes over the role of one of the
actors and present her/his idea in performance taking the play to a
new direction. This form of theatre is pedagogic, explains Khan. In
the past 15 years, Khan has worked in Palestine, Cambodia, Sri Lanka,
Lebanon and India.
Dance with me
For Tripura Kashyap, one of the first dance therapists in the country,
holistic healing begins with movement. "Every human is born with
movement in his body. Dance therapy channels the energy of these
natural movements to attain therapeutic goals. Since positive movement
generates positive emotion, participants at dance therapy workshops
are put through various creative motions and drills, during which they
become aware of their own bodies and its resilience," says the
Bangalore-based Kashyap, who conducts workshops across India. Kashyap
trained in dance therapy at Hancock Centre in the US and holds a
degree in psychology.
One session in Delhi for adults, organised by Rainbow Inc, starts with
basic activities like blowing a balloon, something many grown-ups
haven't done for ages. As the next step, Kashyap asks the group to
keep their balloons afloat n the air using body parts except the hand.
The men and women, ranging from the early-twenties to late-forties
prance around the room behind drifting balloons, unwittingly using
muscles that have not been exercised for years. Other drills include
newspapers and dupattas.
Painting away the pain
One of the highpoints in most of these therapies is the ability to
focus on the process and not the result. Originally from London, Susan
Bulough Khare, in Pune has been using art as therapy for the past two
decades. A qualified B Ed teacher, Bullogh was working in Ireland with
refugees in 1970s. "We were using art techniques to bring about
equality and anti racism," she says. After working psychiatric units
in England, Khare went to Ireland. "I was working on a project with
women who were undergoing bereavement counselling in Dublin. While on
this project we came to India to research on the Indian jewellary in
1989," she says. And this trip triggered her jourey to discover
therapeutic value of art. "During my research I realised how specific
piece of jewellery reminded someone of something," she says. She
started working on varied techniques like how different visuals evoked
different feelings. But the main thing was to get people to make
spontaneous pieces of art. Khare therefore uses the visual medium to
bring to surface the underlying anxieties and traumas and treats them
at different levels. "I may ask the participants to paint
unjustifiably and this small act becomes the vehicle for talking," she
says. Khare takes four, five sessions every week around 12 students in
each batch. "Just doing things together, sharing experiences and
participation add onto the experience," she says. In India Khare has
been extensively working Madhavi Kapoor foundation and has conducted
numerous teacher training cl***** too.
Adithy, a practising psychologist has attended around five sessions
with Khare and says, "I have seen it help me and others find direction
in life. It helps you come out of inhibitions and get a fresh
perspective in life," she says.
Inputs by Dipanita Nath in Delhi)
Healing with Horses
They started with just a few horses in August 1999, and have today
blossomed into one of the top riding schools in the country.
Japalouppe Equestrian Centre, located on a 50 acre stud farm in
Talegaon, Pune is run primarily by Lorraine More and Rohan, a mother
and son duo. They, along with a team of skilled instructors, offer
training to horse riding enthusiasts.
Equine therapy is a relatively new concept in India, and one that
Rohan strongly believes in. Rohan, whose specialty lies in working
with little kids and nervous riders, says, "Riding helps everyone by
giving them a tremendous sense of achievement and worthiness".
Japalouppe has had people suffering from epilepsy and downs syndrome
come to them. They have also trained a blind girl and a young boy who
is deaf and mute. "Conducting these sessions is very challenging,"
adds Lorraine.
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