At first I had decided to call this piece of reflection “Preface” to spare myself the rigour of having to think of a name for this piece of reflection. As I was typing it out though, it occurred to me that it is indeed a preface, as I am only making a beginning of what I am going to supply here according to my light and ability. The rest is going to follow in detail from my cohorts, whom we call the facilitators collective.

It was Wednesday, the day that we all gather to nourish our intellectual, mental, physical, and…

While having a casual conversation with Sanyukta, I shared with her my experience of being part of a group reading Paulo Freire’s book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. She caught on to this and remarked that Aagaaz’s Facilitator’s Collective could read this book. I asked her if I could be part of the readings, because I enjoy reading Freire, and with a group that I have wanted to get to know more and be associated with made me excited. After a few days (I don’t remember the timeline exactly!!), she asked me if I would be interested in initiating the reading…

That is the dictionary meaning of ‘clown’.

A ‘clowning workshop’ would therefore expect one to be a clown.

That is, an expectation to be physical (in the nature of doing somersaults and cartwheels), goof around and draw laughs. I was gearing up for a physically demanding but light hearted session, having to apply some make up on my face maybe, something I genuinely abhor. Of course, this imagery of a clown, came from past experiences of clowns in circuses and malls. The latter being mostly a hard-up individual engaged by a shop owner to attract children and doing his best…

ऊंची उड़ान अपने सवालों के संग
भरने चली अपने रंग

हमने lockdown में आगाज़ में Online Learning Sessions लेना शुरू किया जिसमे हमने अलग अलग चीज़ों पर बात करते हैं और कई सवाल पूछते हैं।

हम सीख रहे हैं की कैसे documention करते हैं, Zoom को कैसे use करते हैं, screen कैसे share करते हैं , वगेरह। हर एक चीज़ जो session में होती है, उसे अपनी notebook में लिखना ताकि हम बाद में अपने नोट्स भी पढ़ सकें। हम पहले ये सही से नहीं करते थे , पर अब धीरे धीरे हम डायरी मेनटेन करना सीख रहे हैं। सेशन…

Learnings of an Improv Comedian trying to host drama jams without being too dramatic

February 2020.
For the past two years my Sundays had a set pattern — Wake up late, go for Improv rehearsal in the afternoon and Improv Comedy show in the evening. While the words “Improv” and “set pattern” may not go together, this was my schedule in the pre-pandemic world as an Improv Comedian with the Playground Improv Collective.

We had performed over 70 shows across multiple venues in Delhi-NCR, and I must say with all humility that most shows went really well. As performers we…

The following is an excerpt from an article based on Aagaaz’s work that appeared in Learning Curve, a publication on education run by the Azim Premji University. The full article can be found here.

Why Duniya Sabki?

A citizen is anyone who inhabits a nation and enjoys its rights and privileges, no matter what intersectionalities he or she belongs to. All citizens have the responsibility to actively hold the state accountable to uphold the values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. This possibility of affirmative action in a society rife with diverse identities, perspectives and interests is not possible without…

Reflections by Smrithi Nair

As part of the Dramatics Society in Lady Shri Ram College, theatre has made up a huge chunk of my life for the past three years. Last year, like everything else in the world, my life too came to a standstill. While trying to adjust to the world shifting online, the lack of human connection and a safe space, I felt lost and alone. Ironically, I was not alone in this feeling.

One of the very first things I learnt at Aagaaz was that everyone has multiple stories and reducing people to fit into your imagination…

Hello! आज मैं आप सबको कुछ बताना चाहती हूं जो मैंने एक्सपीरियंस किया है। एक ऐसी जगह जहाँ पर हम रोज़ कुछ न कुछ सीख रहे हैं, अपने एक्सपीरियंस से, अपने काम से । मैं निज़ामुद्दीन में बच्चों के साथ काम करती हूँ। शुरू शुरू में मुझे कई चीज़ें समझ नही आती थीं। “क्या करूँ”, “कैसे करूँ”, और सबसे ज़रूरी सवाल — “क्या मैं बच्चों के साथ काम कर सकती हूँ?” या “क्या मैं बच्चों के साथ काम करना भी चाहती हूँ?” बस यही सवाल मेरे मन में रहते थे।

मैंने बच्चों के साथ पहले भी काम किया है। मैं…