Often incandescent and ineffable, art finds bearing in almost everything around. Which is probably why it invariably touches the realms of one’s inside. However most of the times we conveniently sleepwalk through many such experiences that mordantly influence us. Galvanising many such feelings are these artists who’ve taken their creativity to a level where it isn’t just aesthetic but also therapeutic.A Dramatic effectCirca 1992. Mehnoor Yar Khan, a drama therapist and founder member of Rainbow Inc, Hyderabad was working with a womens organisation in Jerusalem, she witnessed the physical and psychological violence that children were subjected to both outside and inside their homes. “There wasn’t a single safe place for children to express themselves or just hang out,” she says. This concern became the root cause of a pilot project that she came up with—Children and Therapy through theatre and video.From 1993 to 1999, she worked with the Culture and Free Thought Association in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip where she researched the use of drama techniquesin healing. She came up with a manual in Arabic and English called ‘I am the sea, who are you?’ “Each one of us has hidden thoughts, ideas, and a lot more that we find difficult to talk about. We shut these aspects within us and ignore them. If and when they surface, they can leave us depressed and overwhelmed,” she says. Her workshop ‘I want to be me’ puts participants through a series of drama techniques like Forum theater, Image theatre, Rainbow of Desire, Stop and Think, Softly Softly, Stop and Think, Imporvisations, role reversal, Playing with time, Mirroring, etc. “Over the years drama has moved beyond mere performance. Agusto Boal (author of Theatre of the Oppressed) introduced “forum theatre” in which some one from the audience takes over the role of one of the actors and present her/his idea in performance taking the play to a new direction. This form of theatre is pedagogic, explains Khan. In the past 15 years, Khan has worked in Palestine, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and India.Dance with meFor Tripura Kashyap, one of the first dance therapists in the country, holistic healing begins with movement. “Every human is born with movement in his body. Dance therapy channels the energy of these natural movements to attain therapeutic goals. Since positive movement generates positive emotion, participants at dance therapy workshops are put through various creative motions and drills, during which they become aware of their own bodies and its resilience,” says the Bangalore-based Kashyap, who conducts workshops across India. Kashyap trained in dance therapy at Hancock Centre in the US and holds a degree in psychology.One session in Delhi for adults, organised by Rainbow Inc, starts with basic activities like blowing a balloon, something many grown-ups haven’t done for ages. As the next step, Kashyap asks the group to keep their balloons afloat n the air using body parts except the hand. The men and women, ranging from the early-twenties to late-forties prance around the room behind drifting balloons, unwittingly using muscles that have not been exercised for years. Other drills include newspapers and dupattas. Painting away the painOne of the highpoints in most of these therapies is the ability to focus on the process and not the result. Originally from London, Susan Bulough Khare, in Pune has been using art as therapy for the past two decades. A qualified B Ed teacher, Bullogh was working in Ireland with refugees in 1970s. “We were using art techniques to bring about equality and anti racism,” she says. After working psychiatric units in England, Khare went to Ireland. “I was working on a project with women who were undergoing bereavement counselling in Dublin. While on this project we came to India to research on the Indian jewellary in 1989,” she says. And this trip triggered her jourey to discover therapeutic value of art. “During my research I realised how specific piece of jewellery reminded someone of something,” she says. She started working on varied techniques like how different visuals evoked different feelings. But the main thing was to get people to make spontaneous pieces of art. Khare therefore uses the visual medium to bring to surface the underlying anxieties and traumas and treats them at different levels. “I may ask the participants to paint unjustifiably and this small act becomes the vehicle for talking,” she says. Khare takes four, five sessions every week around 12 students in each batch. “Just doing things together, sharing experiences and participation add onto the experience,” she says. In India Khare has been extensively working Madhavi Kapoor foundation and has conducted numerous teacher training classes too.Adithy, a practising psychologist has attended around five sessions with Khare and says, “I have seen it help me and others find direction in life. It helps you come out of inhibitions and get a fresh perspective in life,” she says.Inputs by Dipanita Nath in Delhi) Healing with HorsesThey started with just a few horses in August 1999, and have today blossomed into one of the top riding schools in the country. Japalouppe Equestrian Centre, located on a 50 acre stud farm in Talegaon, Pune is run primarily by Lorraine More and Rohan, a mother and son duo. They, along with a team of skilled instructors, offer training to horse riding enthusiasts.Equine therapy is a relatively new concept in India, and one that Rohan strongly believes in. Rohan, whose specialty lies in working with little kids and nervous riders, says, “Riding helps everyone by giving them a tremendous sense of achievement and worthiness”. Japalouppe has had people suffering from epilepsy and downs syndrome come to them. They have also trained a blind girl and a young boy who is deaf and mute. “Conducting these sessions is very challenging,” adds Lorraine.
