Founded in 2015, Pehchaan The Street School is a non-profit organisation based in Delhi-NCR, dedicatedly trying its best to bridging the massive gap between education and opportunities for several underprivileged students.
It has been operating for eleven years without any government support, thanks to the humbleness of the noble citizens who decide to contribute in any way possible, be it through volunteering, internships or generous donations.
The True Importance of Art
Art has been a part of our lives since time immemorial. Ever since the days of the early humans, various forms of creativity have been used as a staple means of communication. The importance of art can be understood by the fact that it made its way into human society even before verbal language became a thing.
Art’s Unfortunate Portrayal as a Luxury
It is highly unfortunate that nowadays, creative work is seen as more of a luxury than a basic necessity for a vibrant life. Renowned gallery exhibits and prominent masterpieces have played a part in portraying art as a hobby of the rich to collect.
But it’s not like that at all. Even for a child, the very first thing that they use to establish their contact with the world is through creativity. They see shapes and colours in ways that most adults can’t. These little things make them curious about the vast world around them, kickstarting their journey of life.
Shapes bring recognition, colours get associated with emotions, and these feelings remain attached to them right until the very end.
The Theoretical Deadlock in Indian Society
Indian society has been moving farther away from creativity, which is as true as it is sad. Parents often focus on their children memorising facts or focusing purely on the analytical part of academia, which, although not wrong, massively hinders the emotional and artistic development of a child, leading to a number of problems in the future.
Although there has been a lot of awareness regarding the reincorporation of art into mainstream society, we still have a long way to go in order to make it a complete reality.
Pehchaan’s Dedication Towards Keeping the Creative Flame Alive
We at Pehchaan The Street School are aware of this, and are doing our very best to ensure the overall development of the young learners, not just in the analytical aspect but the creative one as well.
Instead of forcing the students to adapt to the conventional learning methods of memorising and mugging up, we make sure to keep their artistic flame alive through various means.
The ‘Bedazzle’ Workshop at Rohini Centre
This philosophy took centre stage during the ‘Bedazzle Art Workshop’, organised in collaboration with Jyoti Jain at the Rohini Centre. The students were encouraged to stimulate their artistic sides, as the team made sure that their imagination was left free to run wild in every possible direction.
This workshop was far from a standard ‘art and craft session’. The young minds created beautiful decorative keychains all by themselves. A total of 30 students participated, ensuring collective development as much as individual uplifting.
Of course, a wild day of art demands an energy replenishment afterwards. Hence, cupcakes and biscuits were distributed to make sure every child regains their vigour and energy to get ready for a new day of all-round learning and joy.
Why is This The Only Way Forward?
The ‘Bedazzle Art Workshop’ demonstrates perfectly the need to bring back a balanced approach to education into our mainstream culture.
Students are not machines, and hence can’t be limited to just the analytical parts of life, while art goes unnoticed. There is much more to life than textbooks, and creativity is the only way to see the world for what it truly is.
We at Pehchaan The Street School remain committed to ensuring that every student gets to witness the colour present around them, helping them imagine a brighter and more colourful future for themselves as well as the collective society.
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