‘Radical Ecological Democracy (RED)’ for freedom, equity and sustainability

 Nirantara Foundation is a long standing theatre group that has kept Mysore culturally alive and active. The band of enthusiastic youngsters are kept on their toe through involving them in  several constructive activities such as conducting workshops, publishing books, making documentaries and voicing for the needy. They have actively participated in many of the people’s struggles in the region, like the fight against the Coal based Thermal Power Plant at Chamalapura, near Mysore.
The founders, Mr. Prasad Kundur and Mr. Suguna stand behind so many budding talents form the city. They call workshops to identify young talents and help them recognize their own capacities. Nirantara has been a stepping stone for a number of visual and performing artists who have flourished in their carriers.

Brain storming on defining "freedom"

 For the past eight years they have been organizing this month long workshop for the college students of Mysore under the name Sahajaranga.   The aim is to draw youth into pragmatic consciousness about the changing world we live in.  The work shop, though branded as a theatre course tries to expose the participants to a number of contemporary issues through thought-provoking lecture-demonstrations by eminent people from various fields.  About 40 students are enrolled every year and would including students from professional and post graduation courses. The workshops are based on different theme every year and “freedom and equality" was the theme for this year.

Activity for sensitising about environmental issues

A theatre production follows the workshop as an essential outcome which is socially relevant.  They are converted to street plays and intimate theatre mode for convenience to be performed more than once and travel through various colleges across the state. While the exercise helps the participants gain confidence in themselves, a social message trickles down the community.

 Luckily enough the foundation has great concern for Nature and concepts of sustainable management of resources and Manu K will be given a whole day to spend with the participants. He of took on the issue by making every one express what freedom to them meant. The definitions crystallized the socio-cultural and economical background of the individual. Every body had a struggle- some for an access to mobile phone, some for getting home late and some to pick up a suitable course for their own carrier.   He made very clear that we live as hypocrites when it comes to enjoying freedom and controlling others for our gains. The youngsters figured out that freedom of expression was the greatest form of freedom. He then tried interpolating freedom at individual levels upon that of the community or the state which was more or less same to every one in a broad sense. 

"constructive freedom of expression"

He set the participants into a game ‘Tiger and the deer’ to explain certain inequities in Nature, which is caused by the limitations of an individual animal and how animals coins upon them for survival. Yet they have some norms and principals in their ‘animal-ness’. On the other hand it is we in the name of compassion and for the sake of profits change those value systems and rules of the game to meet our selfish end. Issues such as food distribution and food security world wide were discussed at great length.

 In the post lunch session the participants were introduced to evolution of Social democracy and its practice world wide. The current economic struggles world wide was compared with that of the Indian economy with since globalization. The reforms had down sides since the growth created more jobless.

He mentioned that the northern countries achieved their living standards by exploiting their erstwhile colonies. India like China can never achieve those standards. The only alternative to achieve ecological sustainability and equity in India is to instill the value of Radical Ecological Democracy- which respects cultural diversity, cooperation rather than competition as the basis of human relations and all forms of life. We quoted noted environmentalist and writer Mr. Ashish Kothari and expressed the need to evolve a society that has dignity of labor and seek happiness and satisfaction through social and cultural interaction rather than only material interaction.

At one point the participants were felt getting over loaded with information and issues. They were taken out for a small energizing exercise. They were broken into small teams and asked to put up a collage on the ground with material picked up from the premises.  Being in the clutches of hard held debates the youngsters were free to express their inner feelings.

Film show

In the evening there was a screening of Philippe Diaz’s ‘The End of Poverty’ a long documentary that is produced with a great concern about the future of the hungry populations of the Southern countries.

Photo courtesy: Nirantara Foundation