PROJECT PROPOSAL

YATRA ART AND CULTURE FOUNDATION

INTRODUCTION

'Yatra' - Sanskrit for pilgrimage or journey. For us, it represents the journey we began
when we started to explore the arts and develop our own creative expression through
our foundation.

The Yatra Art and Culture Foundation is an educational trust in the village of
Kuilapalayam on the boundary of Auroville and close to Pondicherry in Southern India.
For us at Yatra, “creativity” is a holy word. It embraces the activities of observation,
imagination, experimentation and transformation. It enables us to do something
different, in our own way, according to our own ideas, thoughts, and feelings – all the
while helping young minds to do the same. All our daily activities are undertaken in a
creative way, leading to a richer and more enjoyable life. And one way we teach and
encourage creativity and imagination is through the arts, especially those linked to local
Tamil culture.

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

Over the years Yatra has grown from the seed of an idea, an idea to help both nurture
participation in traditional arts of all forms and to help the young remain close to their
cultural roots. In today's fast paced, technology driven environment we feel it is
important that the youngsters don't forget their heritage. By teaching them through
activities such as dance, music, drama and painting in particular, Yatra aims to give
them knowledge and skills which they in turn may pass on to future generations.

The children often perform and exhibit what they are taught and what they themselves
have helped to create at local festivals and in outreach villages – further spreading our
enthusiasm and demonstrating their abilities no matter how great or small.

The regularity of our activities imparts discipline, readying youngsters for the future;
while encouraging a healthy balance between serious studies and creative and
enjoyable pastimes.

Our tutors are handpicked by us to ensure that they fit in with our ideals. We are often
assisted by volunteers, both local and international, who always bring valuable new
energy and ideas.

The Yatra evening tuition classes were one of the first activities we engaged in. We
identified a need for a place where local school children could quietly complete their

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homework. Often in the village homes are small, busy and noisy, which does not
provide the ideal place for concentration. The students who come to Yatra hail from a
variety of backgrounds; some of whom could be considered quite underprivileged, while
others are not. We do not differentiate nor do we show any preferential treatment. At
Yatra everyone is equal.

Painting classes are undertaken by artist Danasu. He teaches the children about
composition and colours, forms and technique; while at the same time encouraging self
expression. When possible he also takes the children on painting field trips. This is one
of the activities which suffers for a lack of funds due to the nature and quantity of
materials required.

Our other activities have been developing more slowly as they require the attention of
qualified tutors and hence more funding: Bharatnatyam, Veena, tabla, and other forms
of music.

However, the well established Street Theatre group is lead by our founder and director
Yatra Srinivassan (Srini), who is an experienced and educated film director and
producer and who has performed both on stage, in films and on television. It is Srini,
along with his wife Adhilakshmi and Priyadharshini studying medicine who are the
driving force behind the foundation. The theatre group's performances throughout Tamil
Nadu – in villages and at schools – have touched over 12,000 people so far with
messages covering many topics – health, sanitation, environment and difficult issues
such as abuse and alcohol/drugs.

With the exception of the evening tuition, which is an important element of the children's
education and helps towards their grades, all other activities are show-cased
periodically throughout the year culminating in an annual event at Yatra itself. All of
which are provided free of charge to both the public and participants.

TARGET POPULATION

Quite simply our target population for the activities staged at Yatra is the children of the
local villages, no matter what their age. We have been catering for 3 to 16 year olds for
the entirety of our existence. At the same time we have been recently trying to
encourage participation of Aurovilian children too in order to promote the unity and
cooperation between Auroville and the surrounding bioregion. To this end an integrated
crew recently performed at the Sangaman Festival.

With regards to the outreach of the results of the children's efforts, we would dearly love
to be able to share their performances both locally and throughout the country.

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Yatra Art and Culture Foundation wishes to be able to continue to provide village
children with the possibility to participate in, develop and learn through art while
retaining their cultural identity. Only with adequate funding will this dream of
continuance and regularity be possible. It is through the following regularly sponsored
activities that we hope to achieve our goal: Classes for Bharatnatyam Classical Dance;
Painting and Drawing; Traditional Music – veena, tabla, singing; Drama – acting,
theatre and film production; and Evening Tuition.

Using the visual and performing arts, Yatra seeks to additionally educate children and
build community awareness around health, environmental, and social issues. Research
shows that the arts are beneficial in the areas of creative thinking, problem solving, self-
discipline, self-expression, coping skills, and social development. As many children from
low-income households have fewer opportunities to develop these skills, Yatra’s
programs help foster beneficial development in the local children through the arts,
encouraging and empowering them to pursue their own future goals and dreams.

Yatra is also working to encourage more volunteer participation in terms of being able to
offer different kinds of activities which will also enable the children to experience arts,
culture and language from other countries. To this end we recently had a couple from
Eastern Europe who demonstrated the art of 'clowns'. We have also been lucky to have
others who have provided interactive demonstrations on other kinds of crafts and
lessons in English language and French. However this kind of volunteer activity is not a
given, which is why we focus the majority of our efforts on regular activities at the
foundation.

Yatra also wishes to create a Learning Library. This would be a library containing both
English and Tamil literature: fiction and non-fiction. It is intended to use such a library in
corroboration with the evening tuition classes to encourage and develop the children's
reading and cognitive abilities.

There have been many similar 'centres' sprout up around the bioregion, but it is Yatra
Art and Culture Foundation which has stood the test of time and which continues while
others efforts dwindle and fade. Endurance is one of the very essential aspects of the
Mother which we cherish and which drives us. In the end – we really care!

PRESENTATION

Through a variety of weekly activities, Yatra aims to guide child and community
education, development and awareness through the arts.

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Weekend Classes

Designed for school-aged children up to 16 years, Yatra’s programs help village

children explore their own creative talents through various forms of visual and
performing arts, since they often have no opportunity for creative expression in school.
Yatra proposes to offer/offers a variety of visual and performing arts classes and other
extra curriculum activities, including:

• Bharatnatyam dance
• Carnatic singing
• Veena/Tabla
• Drama
• Yoga classes
• Painting & drawing
• Film making
• Computer classes
• English/Tamil and other languages

Evening Tuition

In addition to arts classes, Yatra offers Evening Tuition. This is a free after-school
homework help program for school-age children. Evening Tuition encourages a child’s
concentration on their studies without the distractions of home. Qualified teachers and
mature students are present daily to offer guidance and tutoring. The teachers are
presently exploring the possibilities of spending 30 minutes per day on other learning
activities like: story reading, encyclopedia topic discovery and more. This will help the
children have a chance to think out of the box away from mainstream educational
methods and content, and of course help to broaden their horizons. For this the
proposed 'Learning Library' needs to be established.

Village Outreach

Visual productions are much more fun than traditional informational lectures or print
materials. With this in mind, Yatra’s short films and street theater productions are a
valuable medium in creating relevant and entertaining educational programs on social
and environmental issues, especially for those who may be illiterate. The Yatra Street
Theater team has won several prestigious awards for best script, direction, and acting
and has worked with numerous NGOs to develop fun yet educational awareness
programs on issues including:

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• Sanitation and Personal Hygiene
• Water Conservation and Management
• Solid Waste Management
• Alcoholism
• Dowry and Woman’s Empowerment

The team is constantly evolving and changing as students of drama at Yatra hone their
skills and develop their confidence enough to participate.

Cultural Events

Recitals and cultural events at Yatra, in Auroville and around Tamil Nadu and
Pondicherry provide the children with opportunities to showcase their new creative skills
and bring the community together.

BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS

In order to move forward, secure its efforts and to develop its activities further, the
following budgetary constraints apply:

Monthly Budget (for existing classes)

Activity Cost
Bharatnatyam Teacher 3500
Carnatic Singing 3000
Veena Teacher 4000
Music (Thappattam / Parai) 3000
Evening Tuition Teacher ( 3 teachers @ Rs,1,500/-) 4500
Painting Class 3000
Yoga Class 2500
Computer Teacher 2000
Drama Class 2000
Total 27500

The Director, Team and Children of Yatra Art and Culture Foundation,
Near New Creation, Kuilapalayam, Auroville- – 605 101
Tamil Nadu, India
Phone: 2623071 / Mobile 9751033162
e-mail: yatra@auroville.org.in / www.yatraarts.org

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thank you for your kind attention!