THE BEGINNING

We came, we saw, but we didn't conquer! Instead we talked, interacted, discussed, deliberated and even planned ahead. "We" are the thirteen- odd bunch of youngsters who have 'come' into Open Space's maiden internship programme. We soon 'saw' that this is far from the conventional internships one would expect for budding lawyers, psychologists, journalists, architects etc. yet – it does somehow cater to not just our varied interests, but also to our career plans!
Little cliques were formed almost instantly, which was precisely what our coordinator Rakesh Ganguli did not want, so he got us to do an 'ice-breaker' session. We all had to pair up with someone we did not know and were given ten minutes to find out about each other. Then, with only our memory retaining skills to aid us, we had to introduce each other. Whereas it was easy for the group to differentiate between the first pair i.e. Rakesh and Mahalakshmi, we decided that for all the other almost 'all-girl' groups, things would get quite mixed up if we literally 'stepped into the other's shoes'. So followed the other introductions which all began with "My friend's name is …" with hilarious little anecdotes and at times, successful attempts at prompting!
We discovered that each person had to something unique to offer, be it in Music (quite a few guitar players!) dance, public speaking, experiences etc.
The next exercise was that of 'The World Café'. What could possibly unite a bunch of youngsters from Kashmir to Kerala, Gujarat to Manipur with interests ranging from football to Human Rights? What motivated all of us to join this internship? To find out we were divided into groups of four or five which were delegated to discuss it. One person in the end was to summarize the group's and each individual's cause. 'Gender Rights' 'Environment' 'Human Rights' 'Open mind' 'learning experience'- were some of the phrases that were frequently heard.
A discussion and a reading of our tentative schedule followed this. Apart from our 3x3x3 schedule (3 hours a day for 3 days a week for 3 months!) our sessions had to be planned bearing in mind our exams (esp. for Mahalakshmi) our holidays (for every person who loves a break!) and organizing the various resource persons (For Rakesh).

Lastly, our project topics were told to us. We are to be again divided into 3(!) groups where each shall select any of the following topics:

i) Document the lives and livelihoods of the informal sector
ii) Document the lives of prominent individuals who have made a difference to Pune, and
iii) Bring out a tabloid centered on cultural diversity in India’s, esp. Pune's youth looking into consumption patterns, norms and pop culture, languages etc.

So, here we are – set out to explore (not conquer!) the many complexities of Art, film, drama, Gender issues, cultural diversity, Mother Nature, the disadvantaged sections on our society, Human Rights, Information, Youth, Development or to put it more simply …Life in itself!

By – Chiteisri Devi