The Resurging Value of Civil Society for Indian Crafts
“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” – George Bernard Shaw
Bharat is an idea, a dream. It is constitutionally based on the principles of secularism and diversity. A lot of people declared that Bharat would never survive. How could a country sustain, which is a confluence of diverse religions, cultures, languages and ethnicities? It’s impossible! The differences would make people fight and kill each other. But we have not only survived for the last 70 years, but are growing faster than many countries which are based on one religion and one language. Interestingly, it is our diversity, which has held us together. It hasn’t been without its challenges though. Intolerance and sectarianism raises its ugly head off and on as witnessed in many instances; but Bharat has always prevailed.
Every new idea struggles to find its feet before it starts running. And even after finding its feet, there will be constant challenges. Perseverance is the key if we truly believe in something. After all, faith is all we have; otherwise nobody would step out of the assembly line to create value for themselves and society.
Prayag is a unique idea, a dream.
The vision behind Prayag was to celebrate digital inclusion of grassroots communities in India. Of course, we still have miles to go before 80 per cent of the unconnected rural India is connected, but that shouldn’t prevent us from savouring every positive development, every person at the grassroots level who is digitally enabled. Prayag was designed as a mela for thousands of people representing NGOs, innovators, government bodies, folk artistes, media, academia, finance sector, students and more.
Prayag is a Hindi word, which means confluence. It symbolises the inherent theme of the mela, which was confluence of ideas, thoughts, perspectives, energies, grassroots wisdom and innovations. And just like a neem tree, which is also referred to as ‘Ashwath’ in Sanskrit (meaning ‘something that never remains the same tomorrow’. The very principle of confluence is to effect change by way of assimilation.
Prayag was organised at Surajkund Ground, Faridabad, on February 25, 2017. Glimpses from the day are available here.
A number of activities had been planned such as workshops, discussions, book launch, digital folk music festival ‘Surlok’, games, poetry sessions and many interesting activities to keep people engaged throughout the day. While we could not host all workshops and sessions on Prayag due to lack of efficient planning on our end (for which we are extremely apologetic but have learnt our lessons), there were various other activities and stalls that kept the audience and visitors engaged.
A large group of organic farmers from villages around Delhi had come together at Prayag with their organic products. The idea was not just to sell them, but also promote the concept of organic food to urban populations who, often under the umbrella or consumerism, forget how nutritious, convenient, accessible and affordable organic food and healthy eating habits are.
Gift-culture and un-conferencing was the undertone of the mela. Participants were being encouraged to gift, contribute and provide for the next person who may not be as privileged as them. On the other hand, un-conferencing abhors restrictive planning. Nature thrives on freedom and randomness; and so does creativity. Prayag was conceived as a special lucid space where none of the activities necessarily needed to have a specific plan or destination. People were creating values and enriching one another organically.
A bamboo tunnel greeted the visitors right at the entrance of Prayag. It was symbolically a journey through the basic concept of confluence. And then a few yards up ahead, a maze dis-oriented and confused the visitors. Through the process of creativity, there comes a point when ideas become so inextricably jumbled that a way out seems impossible. But gradually a form emerges from chaos and provides a new way of thinking. Prayag was a space to generate and drive this new way of thinking. With every stall and even decoration, which was achieved with recycled waste material and old sarees, we were trying to attempt change in mindset.
Prayag saw more than 300 stalls showcasing or selling different products and services; it saw winners of Manthan Awards, eNGO Challenge, District Collector Digital Champion Awards and CIRC Awards being felicitated; it saw an cultural evening of folk dance and music and it saw exchange of ideas of thoughts across sectors.
It won’t be wrong to say that we were aiming straight for the sun by attempting a mela of this nature and scale. It was logistically a feat that had never been embarked upon by any NGO worth its salt. Many dream, but very few believe in its realisation. And only a handful actually set themselves on the path to make it happen.
Unfortunately, we had not accounted for the unique challenges that a venue of the size of Surajkund mela ground would pose. Despite all planning and preparations, we were ill-prepared for them. We couldn’t achieve the numbers that we had aimed for. A lot of activities and workshops had to be cancelled.
So was Prayag a huge disaster? I would dither from saying so.
What is the measure of success? Is it just in numbers, or yardsticks weighing beyond numbers? We may not have achieved the 10,000 mark, but it has been an enriching experience for 3000 people who participated. A lot of things may have gone wrong causing, heartburn to a lot of people, but a lot of things have also gone right which have added value to their lives. And above all, Prayag lived up to its theme of confluence. People came together to share their lives, thoughts, perspectives, experiences and wisdom at Prayag. We recognised and awarded more than 50 innovators in one single day. All these innovators used the fertile space of Prayag to inspire more innovators. Maybe we could’ve achieved a few more things in our favour, but life is about constantly learning. Whenever, we have tried to control the organic rhythm of life, nature has a way of reminding us otherwise. Prayag has been a learning experience for all of us. It has been like climbing the Mount Everest, irrespective of the outcome. It has been an enriching journey.
So should we stop dreaming? If we stop dreaming then we would be betraying the very principle of life that is the hallmark of our evolution. World was not created in a day. It went through many ups and downs before evolving into a habitable place for human beings. Rome was not built in a day. One of the greatest inventors in the history of mankind, Thomas Edison failed many times before cracking the formula of incandescent light bulb.
We realise that we tried to achieve too much in a single day, and lack of proper signages and floor plan to guide people towards their respective interests at Prayag reflected our lack of planning. What the Haryana government plans for an entire year before hosting the annual Surajkund Mela at the same venue with enormous human and financial resources and participation from lakhs of people, is what we tried to achieve through Prayag in three months. We can only say we have learnt our lesson, the hard way. We write to assure you that Prayag has only helped us emerge as a more learned organisation and we will live up to our reputation of an organisation known to recognise, felicitate and nurture grassroots knowledge and wisdom.
Prayag is not just a mela. It is an idea, a dream that would make way for the digital enrichment of grassroots communities languishing in the throes of digital exclusion. We may have fallen short of the vision; but by no means did we fail.
We thank you for all the support you have given to us so far and welcome your suggestions to make Prayag better for the years to come.
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