It was a chance discovery that
happened on one of Harshada Kerkar’s photowalks in the areas of Khazanbhat and
Khamrabhat in Campal. The sheer contrast of the natural beauty of the place
combined with the filth of garbage that had almost engulfed the entire area
sparked an idea in Harshada’s mind; an idea that recently came to fruition.
Harshada says, “I thought to myself, ‘how beautiful this place can be if
cleaned and freed of garbage’. With help from the Rotary Club and the fire
brigade, we conducted a cleanliness drive for about four hours. Unfortunately,
we could achieve only 2-5% of what we had planned. The creek is not only full
of garbage but is also home to a few crocodiles.”
During the cleanliness drive,
Harshada worked with the underprivileged kids from the area to create unique
art work. The team provided the kids with the stationery material and many
young budding artists were discovered that day. Harshada chose to keep in touch
with the kids even after the cleanliness drive. As a follow-up exercise,
recently, seven of the kids from that same area attended a half-day art
workshop conducted by Harshada at her art gallery. Harshada says, “Every day,
though they look at the polluted nullah, the beauty of their minds remains
intact. Their paintings are inspired by nature, tribal and mystic motifs. The
idea is to offer them an art space to give vent to their imagination and
experience the beauty of art.”
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These seven little kids are
bravely suffering the agony of living in unliveable spaces on the banks of
polluted waters along the St Inez creek in the areas of Khazanbhat and
Khamrabhat. Armed with an infectious sense of optimism and enviable power of
imagination forged with extraordinary talent, Rizwan, Ramkumar, Mark, Sachin,
Anil, Jeetu and Deepak are battling this challenge called life. It is nothing
short of a miracle that their spirits are not dampened with the surroundings
that they live in. Through art, the kids are rediscovering the joy of living.
The exhibition also showcases the
beautiful portraits of the kids of Khazanbhat captured by the students of
Prasad Pankar’s CMYK Academy. The paintings and photograph exhibition was
inaugurated at the Harshada Art Gallery on Saturday, April 11 and will go till
April 14, 2015. The proceeds from the exhibition will go to the young artists.
