Calcutta and Mumbai

The past week included many long, hot days with little “free time.” Some of the highlights of the Calcutta trip included school and gallery visits.

70% of India’s population live in rural areas. One day we visited two schools in a poor village outside of the city. One of the schools was a Muslim school and the other was a school for girls. Everywhere we visited we were warmly welcomed. Most schools in India have English language programs. In every school that we have visited, the children have been enthusiastic and eager to practice their English speaking skills with us. Similar to the schools that I visited in Costa Rica, the classrooms are very bare with only a few books. Therefore, although their English speaking skills are pretty good, their ability to read English is poor. There is a great need for programs that will bring books into classrooms like these. It makes me sad to think of my school library that is filled with boxes upon boxes of past years reading series kits. These materials sit on the shelves for years untouched and will eventually be thrown out. I intend to figure out how to get books/materials shipped to India inexpensively. I am confident that gathering ‘expired’ reading materials from schools around the country would not be terribly difficult. Like the Green Ganges Project, this presents another potential project that I can work on upon return from India/Sri Lanka.

In both Calcutta and Mumbai, I have been able to get out quite a bit to explore India’s contemporary art scene. I was happy to discover that there are a plethora of Indian artists who include the various themes that I am researching into their artworks. In some galleries, photographs are not permitted. Therefore, because I cannot post images of certain artworks on this blog, I have included various links to some of the artists that I learned about. It’s worth taking a minute to check it out.
A great gallery that I visited in Delhi:
http://www.galleryespace.com/

Chintan Upadhyay, a fantastic artist that I discovered at Gallery Espace.
http://www.artnet.com/artist/424655811/chintan-upadhyay.html

Pushpamala N, an Indian contemporary artist who practices in the Feminist Art tradition:
http://www.noorderlicht.com/eng/fest06/asian/pushpamala/index.html


Shortly after we arrived in Mumbai, we visited the residence where Gandi lived and worked. Gandi’s granddaughter, Ela, was present and gave us an interesting lecture. Of particular interest to me were the artworks that she showed us. Every year, the Mahatma Ghandi Association holds a nationwide art contest for students who incorporate non-violence themes into their artwork.

Only 8 more days in India, then we’re off to Sri Lanka.