PWB India Team – Calcutta week 2

As we headed into our second week in Calcutta we had a packed timetable. Over the course of the week we had to teach at 6 different schools and perform 3 street shows. Each morning we convened over breakfast and discussed our workshop ideas, and then with the help of Emily in her role as curriculum officer we organised who would teach what at each session, who would assist, who would be in charge of warmups and games, and who would be time keeper.

That done, we then had to learn to navigate Calcutta’s interesting and varied public transport systems in order to at least try to get to our destinations on time. One option is the Metro, a Russian-built underground rail line that runs in a straight line, up and down the western side of the city. However, due to space restrictions, passengers on the metro are not allowed to carry anything larger than a small handbag, which for a group of people teaching hula hoops and staff (to name just two) caused a few challenges. A couple of times we managed to sweet talk the soldier/policeman dude at the gate by demonstrating all the ways in which we could save space (two people standing inside the hoops, for example) but on other occasions it seemed more sensible to not push our luck.

Local buses would have been straightforward if we’d understood the routes that they travelled on, and they have interesting rules all of their own. Auto-rickshaws are another option, however the autos in Calcutta only move on set routes, like little buses, so you can’t just get one to where you want to go. A couple of times we managed to get 9 people (including the driver) into one very small auto. All those acro-balance skill shares really paid off when it came to keeping people from falling out into the road.

One way or another, we managed to get to work mostly on time, and then the fun began! Over the course of our only full week in Calcutta we taught workshops in self-defence, singing, hula hooping, iso-hoops, contact staff, contact juggling and ball rolling, acro-balance, tumbling, clowning, ball and scarf juggling and poi spinning. Our time was divided between working with the Hope Foundation at their various boys and girls schools, the police-run nabadisha schools and an NGO called The Children of Topsia. The kids were incredibly enthusiastic to see us, and one of the most immediate challenges was in getting them to calm down enough to have a go at what we were teaching. From the very first our teaching and attention-holding abilities were really put to the test, but once it came time for the show and tell sessions at the end of each class it was hugely gratifying to see how much the kids had taken on board.

On Sunday, after a couple of days working in Topsia, a predominantly Muslim slum area, we performed our show in the local park. People were hanging off the railings around the outside to see what we were doing! First we played some games with the kids, and some of us painted faces, then the kids performed some dramas and dances that they had worked on. Once that was done it was time for us to perform. It went extremely well, our energy and enthusiasm was really high, and we closed to tumultuous applause.

The next day, our last day of work in Calcutta, we performed our show again, this time in the street outside the Life Skills Cafe, one of Hope Foundation’s vocational training projects. In the cafe kids who have progressed from the Hope schools can work both in the kitchen and as waitresses to give them transferable skills that will make them more employable and help them to change their situations. There was a carnival atmosphere in the street, the kids put up bunting and before long we were hemmed in by a marvellous crowd. Both the show and the following fire show went beautifully, and we finished our time in Calcutta on a really high note, surrounded by smiling faces, kids and adults alike.

Calcutta is an amazing city, and we were a little sad to be leaving it so soon, but we are all really excited about heading to Varanasi and meeting the challenges that are yet to come.