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From looking at the (very significant) role of the media involved in exacerbating and de-escalating the conflict, to reconstruction of history, to discussions on discrimination, power and prejudice. From role-playing and simulation exercises (simulations are make-belief situations and settings, which are structured to bear some resemblance to real problems and environments) about Kashmir and nuclear programmes to writing “I”-messages and conflict mediation training. The essential values and principles of an ideal community were outlined; respect; understanding; honesty and trust; communication. Documentaries such as ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Ram Ke Naam’ by Anand Patwardhan were shown (followed by a discussion with the filmmaker), films such as ‘Vox Populi,’ (a short film about the filmmaker’s trip to Lahore) by Vinay Sitapati and ‘Aakrosh,’ a film on communalism and the Gujarat riots were screened.
Peace education exercises were conducted by Michael Shank, alongside workshops on conflict analysis and resolution, and Activism 101. These workshops centered on understanding power dynamics, identifying violence, deconstructing prejudice, mediation and conflict resolution skills, and eventually led towards building just communities by being ‘change agents.’ Michael’s workshops would usually start, and sometimes end with ‘organic sound exercises.’ The group would form two concentric circles, standing in utter silence, listening and focusing upon the sounds that made up their immediate environment. The sound would be reproduced, rhythmically reverberating louder and/or softer as the mood depended. By the end of the exercise, all involved would be using their entire bodies as a means of expression. We learnt the importance of integrating the maxims of ‘Educate, Empower and Engage’ in all our future initiatives. Michael, (the big friendly giant), who taught us how to be reflective and active; verbal and visual; global and sequential; intuitive and informational simultaneously. He taught us how to dream. To speak the universal language. To communicate. To unite. To climb fences and break barriers. To fly without the fear of falling.
I remembered my favourite trust-building-activity; groups of six would be formed, fashioning a ring, creating a ‘trust circle.’ One person stood in the center (with his feet placed together) – with eyes closed and arms crossed in front of his chest – and leaned forward or backwards creating a swinging momentum (similar to a pendulum). In essence, he couldn’t do anything to prevent the free-fall; he had to trust the circle of people around him to keep him from falling.
Trust. Respect. Honesty. Understanding. Communication. (“Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and walk around in them” – to kill a mockingbird). I learned to integrate these within me, pouring them into my life, my views, my ideas and beliefs. I learnt how to write my name in Hindi. I visited ancient temples and let the serene beauty wash over me, soaking me in its historic charm. I learnt to understand that not everything can be demarcated along lines of black and white; I learnt to comprehend the existence of shades of grey.
The shared historical heritage was examined with great detailed perspective. A trip to Aurangabad was arranged, where we were treated to the sight of the gorgeous cave temples, carefully preserved at Ajanta and Ellora. Cave paintings depicting scenes of the court, the kingdom, shrines, and war were found at Ajanta while at Ellora we witnessed the astounding carvings, which displayed brilliant skill and craftsmanship, dating thousands of years back.
The last two days of the conference were spent defining and discussing post-conference-initiatives. Where do we go from here? What happens after the conference? Do these ten days lead up to anything else? We all felt that what we had shared was too precious and important to be lost somewhere in the annals of memory and space, but must be preserved and shared with the rest of the world.
Saying goodbye is never easy. How do you say goodbye to a place that became your home? How to say goodbye to people you just might never see again? Those people who at first seemed so ‘different’ and ‘alien,’ those people who you lived with, ate breakfast every morning with, whispered goodnight to before falling asleep, laughed with, exchanged jokes and stories with, traded myths and folklore, told and re-told stories, those people who now seem like an intrinsic part of you, a part so precious that you can’t think of not preserving it within, preserving with loving care. How do you say goodbye to memories and moments? How do you let go of power and enthusiastic charge and love, all of which swirl around you, overpowering you with sheer energy? What does one do then, when numbness settles in? When you can’t think about the word ‘never’ because it’s just too final?
The way you relate to a place has much to do with the feel of the place itself. I’d known that India is very similar to Pakistan and simultaneously very different too, but I hadn’t anticipated the various parallel levels of similitude and concurrently divergent portals of distinction. A lot of it had to do with not feeling the foreign-ness of a different country but rather associating and identifying with the geography and topographical landscape of India. It rarely felt different or alien except for the signs in Hindi (written in the Devnagri script) which served as constant reminders that we were in India; a separate and different country. We would more often than not get away with being temporary ‘Indians,’ blended together by our (almost) identical looks, mingling accents, clothes, and absolute ease with one another. Someone confided to me in Bombay that the reason he felt so comfortable in India was because “it’s the only country apart from my own, where I can speak my own language and be completely understood.”
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Writer Profile
Hira Nabi
for one day, i want to be a paan wala. just for one day. i want to stand behind the makeshift stall/counter, and have a zillion Lil vials, vessels and caskets in front of me, filled with oddments, spices, colourful condiments, old world scents, and indigenous flavours =)
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challenges and opportunities nadeem malik | Dec 28th, 2004
hira nabi a good writer.she has full commanad and full pay concentration of that subject and scriptes.she contoral words and her dynamic idea.we apperceate and best wishes
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