Youth Jumbish '09

The month of November saw one main event dominating the goings on at the Pravah Jaipur Initiative. On a cool winters day on Saturday the 21st around five hundred young people descended on The Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur to celebrate Jashn-e-Jaipur : A Youth Jumbish. The event was organized by ourselves and local NGO Muskaan, in collaboration with Taabar and Jawahar Kala Kendra. We were delighted to host our annual youth festival!

The event ran all day and was an opportunity to celebrate the aspirations, the power and possibilities of youth. The theme was one of social justice, equality and active citizenship. We witnessed many skits and performances which had been designed by young people from the participating schools, colleges and NGO’s. The performances were designed to highlight a whole spectrum of social issues. They included domestic violence, disability, women’s education, no to tobacco, rural migration and swine flu to name only a few. The methodologies used were equally varied. Songs, dancing, puppetry, theatre and poster making all played their part. The creative side of things was also balanced with much facilitated discussion amongst the audience as people shared their own experiences and understandings of various issues. A further dash of color was added as face panting activities took place outside lead by a friendly team of young volunteers.

The following schools and colleges were involved: Biryani College, Umang School, Taabar, Satya Sai College, Stani College, Bhawani Niketan, Maharani College, IGM College, LBS College. They were also complimented by a number of NGO’s and other organisations as well which included Taabar, Digantar, Adhar, Doosra Dashak and of course ourselves and Muskaan.

The Events of Youth Jumbish '09

As soon as the audience had amassed in the hall after being registered by our trusty team of volunteers in the foyer, Meenakshi gave an introductory speech and facilitated an ice breaking energizer to get them all in good voice. Without further ado, the newly formed band at Pravah went into ‘Tum Chalo, Hum Chalen”. The crowds enthusiastically clapped along although were perhaps a little perplexed seeing British volunteer Joe Spence singing in Hindi! Jitendra then played his phenomenal new song ‘Bariso Mega’ which he had recently penned in the run up to the festival. Bariso Mega is a song which explores the importance of rainfall for human beings and how it in some way connects us all, regardless of our way of life. It is also a stirring plea for people to come together in difficult times, to have respect nature and appreciate the beauty that exists on the planet.



It was then time for Pravah’s very own youth group, the Khulla Manch to take to the stage and perform their devised play ‘The Ideal Citizen’.

Active Citizenship Awards!!!

The Youth Jumbish is not only a time for performance and awareness raising, it is also a time whereby young people who have already shown outstanding contributions in the field of active citizenship can be formally recognized. Let us share a few examples which took place on the 21st...



Jitesh

Jitsesh is taking action by holding events in his village and also setting up a youth resource centre there. “I believe that this will bridge the gap between the environment outside the village and the environment inside the village. It will provide a platform to share information, build ones capacity as a leader and disseminate vital information about schemes policies which affect them. It will encourage and provide the means for people to get involved with the Gram Panchayat and make most of the provision that already exists. People’s voices need to be heard” says Jitesh. The multi faceted project has already seen a whole village take to the streets to clean away the litter. Amazing!


Dinesh

Dinesh works as a photographer for DNA newspaper. Recently he was covering the fire at a Jaipur Oil Depot when he was called into a very different kind of action. Upon reaching the blaze he came across a number of people who had been seriously wounded. Using his motorbike and the acquiring the help two other guys, Dinesh spent the following hours rushing people to a nearby hospital, saving seven lives in the process. It was a humbling act of bravery and the audience was completely taken aback as he retold the whole harrowing story. A huge achievement, well done Dinesh!


Bhavya

Bhavya Soni was disturbed by some of the actions and attitudes that were occurring towards females in his college. Eve teasing was a common place and Bhavya wasn’t prepared to let it go unchallenged. Bhavya inspired individuals from around the college to come together, openly discuss the issue of eve teasing and eventually form a group. From then on, those individuals would use their free time to make sure that nobody was being harassed and would intervene if they saw something untoward. This raised the profile of the issue in the college and lead to positive shifts in people’s awareness and behavior.

Memorable performances!!!

Umang kids were show stealers from the moment they entered. Sitting in the right-hand corner with their colors and their enthusiasm, they brought a certain life to a place. And that life tripled when the music started and they moved with energy and grace on the beats of ‘Chak De’. The audience reverberated with their spirit with the whistles and claps of adulation.



“They walk aimlessly. They sleep at city arcades; they are vulnerable for any type of exploitation by the adults and criminals. Their childhood turns into a shrouded childhood”. One of the partners who helped to organize the Youth Festival was TAABAR. The Jaipur based NGO advocates for the well being, protection and empowerment of street children.

A team of young people from TAABAR worked alongside a director to bring a powerful piece of live theatre to the occasion. The play told the harrowing story of how a young boy fled his home after being subjected to abuse, alcoholism and dire poverty at the hands of his family. It documented his journey. After being befriended on the street by a gang of local youths, the young boy became exposed to drugs, crime and exploitative labor. This story had a happy ending however when he was rescued and taken to an orphanage where he could be cared for. For so many other children though, the prospect of help still escapes them. People still slip through the cracks.



The news has been alive with news of fresh cases of swine flu in Rajasthan. For this reason, LBS College decided to make it the subject of an awareness raising skit. The play used theatre to explain to the audience about the various ways swine flu can be transmitted and explained some of precautionary measures people can take in order to avoid infection. In the days surrounding the main event, many of Jaipur’s schools had closed down so as to prevent the disease spreading amongst its pupils. This was a blow to the organizers of the Youth Jumbish as many of those schools would have otherwise been in attendance on the 21st.



Doosra Dashak came a long way to be with us at the festival, traveling all the way from a rural village in the heart of Rajasthan. We were particularly pleased that they could be there to represent Rajasthan’s rural communities. They performed a play on ‘superstition’ and how such false information can negatively impact people’s lives. In their play it showed how people can be diverted from seeking appropriate medical attention based on the old assumptions that spirits or demons are responsible for ill health.



‘ADHYATM’ is a new band, fronted by singer songwriter Jitendra Sharma alongside Vaibhav and Elwin on rhythm guitar and drums respectively. Amazingly this was their debut as live performers. They managed to bring the house down with their rousing rhythms and ear for a melody.