The Museum of Broken Tea Cups by Veda Gunjan;

Author:Veda, Gunjan;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SAGE Publications India Pvt, Ltd.
Published: 2020-02-04T07:20:47+00:00

Dear Reader,

Bang Bang Bang…I follow the sound of the hammer towards a building at the end of the campus. Like most other structures around it, it is single storeyed and completely at ease with the surrounding trees and plants; solid, yet unobtrusive. In front is a wide grassy patch, with a number of tables and benches engaged in cosy conversation under the cool shade of many trees—the dining area. Beyond, is a huge open field—empty now. But I know that as the clock reads 5 pm, it will be filled with hundreds of young boys and girls, running, exercising, climbing trees, playing cricket—in short, preparing their bodies and minds for the battle they are sure to encounter when they step out of this safe haven. Welcome to the Dalit Shakti Kendra Campus in Sanand, Gujarat.

Just 30 km from the traffic-choked, ever-expanding city of Ahmedabad, DSK is an oasis of peace and for the students who are enrolled here at any given time, of hope. Established in July 1999, as a joint initiative of Navsarjan and Jan Vikas, in the village of Nani Devti, DSK provides vocational training and life skills to almost 1000 boys and girls every year. Till date it has trained over 9500 children. Here, children mostly from economically weak and socially marginalized sections of society—often those who have been forced to drop out of school—learn to do secretarial work, bake, sew, photograph, prepare for police entrance exams, repair mobiles, create power point presentations, weld or even make furniture. More importantly however, they learn to read, think, question, reflect and introspect.

Furniture-making is one of the 23 odd courses offered here and so after the afternoon lunch break, I find myself gravitating towards the furniture workshop. It is easy to follow the sounds and find the place. What I see inside leaves me pleasantly surprised. A girl, she must be in her 20s, is busy hammering at what appears to be a door. A few feet from her, another young girl dressed in a green kurta with a Patiala salwar is sawing a piece of wood. In the last few years of my travel, only once before have I seen a woman sawing wood and making furniture. In Bangladesh, at the campus of the Gonoshasthya Kendra.

When the girls notice me, their hammer and saw come to a halt. We begin to chat. I learn that they are cousins from the district of Dwarka in Gujarat. They are also the first women to enrol in the furniture-making course being run by DSK. Till they came along, this workshop was populated only by boys. This despite the fact that half the students at DSK are female.

‘So why furniture-making?’ I ask them.

‘Actually, we came here for the sewing course. Suraj here is my mama’s daughter. One of her cousins had studied at DSK. One day she called me and asked if I would like to come here with her. Since I was simply sitting at home, I said yes,’ the younger, and later I realize, more garrulous of the two women tells me.

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