Some moments in life are beyond words. Our visit to the Magic Planet & Different Art Centre as a part of the practicum of EDU-07: Perspectives of Learning and Teaching was a collection of million such moments...!! As Helen Keller said, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."
Different Art Centre is a unique example of inclusive education. As prospective teachers, we read and learn a lot about individual differences and the necessity to incorporate elements that cater to the varying demands of individual learners in the curriculum. However, considering the educational scenario as a whole, the initiatives to address the aptitudes and challenges of children with special needs are still in the budding stage.
We, the 8 teacher trainees of the Department of English, accompanied by our teacher Dr. Jayapraveen J., visited the centre yesterday. It is located at Kazhakoottam, Thiruvananthapuram and established by the renowned magician Sri. Gopinath Muthukad with the mission of "acting as a window of opportunity in identifying, training and refining the basic talents of differently abled children in various art forms." Here, children with special needs are treated not as "differently abled" but as "specially abled". It follows 7 art stages for refining and strengthening their raw talents through special and appropriate methods. They are Different Thought Centre (Education Centre), India Fort (Art of Drama), Beethoven Bungalow (Art of Music), Jaleo Mahal (Dance Art), Angelo's Artree (Colours and Creativity), Camille Cascade (Film making) and Wonder Wings (Creative Stage).
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| From the Beethoven Bungalow |
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| The Charm of Dance - Jaleo Mahal |
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| The World of Magic |
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| Instrumental Music from India Fort |
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On the Wings of Creativity -
Angelo's Artree |
The centre channelises the students' talents according to their aptitudes and provides training in music, dance, drama, magic, drawing, film making and instrumental music accordingly. Now three batches of students, 300 students in total, get trained at the centre in various arts. They have become so skilled in the respective arts that they perform for the visitors as well as for programmes elsewhere. The best part of the whole initiative is that the specially abled children including those with visual/hearing/speech impairments, those affected by autism, cerebral palsy and such other conditions are all trained to be self-sufficient. They earn a monthly salary and have become the bread-winners of the family. It signals an unimaginable transformation from the point where specially abled children were kept closed within the four walls of a household to the point of empowering them and keeping them close to the heart of the society.
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| MPower - The Stage of Skills |
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| The Noble Vision and Mission |
What engrossed me the most was the satisfaction on the faces of the children while they performed. It was a state of ecstasy that they created for me. At the Beethoven Bungalow, they began their performance with my favourite Malayalam song "Vathilpazhuthilooten munnil" which they sang as a group. And somewhere deep, I felt an instant connection with their souls....
Teachers including Mini teacher, Vishnu Sir, Dileep Sir and many others took great care of them and trained them in various arts. Evenwhile they were performing on stage, the teachers stood nearby, encouraging them and sometimes, holding them gently and soothingly. Perhaps, that very care is the thing we fail to give to the people around, especially in the hustle and bustle of modern life.. And here is a team that passionately strives to place the specially abled children within the mainstream... Shri. Gopinath Muthukad communicated with us through a video message and said that the vision of the centre is to empower atleast 1000 such children by 2025.
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| They Say It All.... |
While returning, I reflected on the words painted on one of the walls of the centre. "We all are different and that's beautiful". Perhaps the ability to realize the truth and love the differences make the centre an epitome of humanity and godliness.
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