Week 35 - 36 /2026
24th to 29th Aug 2026 & 30th Aug to 6th Sep 2026
24th to 29th Aug – Rewilding Storytelling Residency 30th Aug to 6th Sep – Office work & Vadodara workshop
⁂
Last two weeks went with existential questions about self and work - am I an artist? A storyteller? An educator?
24th to 29th I was in the ‘Rewilding Storyteller’ residency. Before and after that, I met artist and designer friends and was able to see their work and inquiries, and thinking that I also have similar profound inquiries and something to express.
I got my first chance to express through engagement with children, designing sessions for them. That gave me confidence, belonging, and I made that path my primary path to work on. But I realized that I have other paths and options too - writing is one of them. I liked writing and zine-making/self-publishing from very early on. I remember publishing my own handwritten magazine in my school days. Oral storytelling and theatre are other ways to express myself. I found out that working on one theme and doing an exhibition is a very interesting way to reflect and express, while I did a timed exhibition with children.
Actually, I wanted to write, act, make - and that is why I started working with children. I was afraid and felt small to take ‘artist’ as a career path. Education was the escape, but slowly I got hooked to it - it gave me philosophical meaning to work, and pedagogy became my artistic practice. But you cannot do everything as an educator, and now I am feeling suffocated. It is because everything is driven by the job market, society’s expectations. I want to flourish my other creative practices also.
it started with escape from home –> urge for creative expression –> engagement with children as medium –> developing own philosophical understanding of education –> now finding new mediums and practices
I have philosophical inquiries, I have an urge to explore more mediums and materials - in all of this, exploring myself. I could have joined design college if I had been aware of the interesting courses they offer - for example, the course called Creative Education, Earth Education, and Communication at Srishti.
After meeting Srivi, Padmani, Harini MS, Sanath, and Adhavan, I am more and more interested in joining and learning at a design course. Let me put it this way: I want to work with a mentor on creative projects. For the last few years I’ve been feeling stuck in this typical ’education reform’ kind of work. I find time and opportunities to do creative projects, but there is still a lot of potential in me. I want to explore that without going into organizations or larger economic agendas - free-flowing.
My work is not linear - it intersects at education philosophy, pedagogy/learning experience design (experiential learning methodologies, which include theatre, children’s literature, nature exploration, project-based learning), and creative practices (writing, zine-making, theatre, storytelling).
I feel that after spending a decade in the field, I now want to shape my work in a more philosophical and artistic way. Will it be valuable for the world? Will it be useful for someone? Will I be able to? I don’t know.
Anyway, let’s come back to the present. This week most of our team members will come back from travel and we will meet in person. This week I will try not to travel much for the workshops and come regularly to the office. I need to focus on some tasks that require focus.
The home situation is again not well. It gives me anxiety. I am trying to stay stress-free from work and home through spending time with N and doing art, writing, listening to music, visiting parks, and walking.
I will start doing yoga this week.
Looking forward to the team at the office; I am looking forward to working on a story for the Rewilding Fellowship.
Looking forward to spending more time with N.
24th to 29th Aug – Rewilding Storytelling Residency 30th Aug to 6th Sep – Office work & Vadodara workshop