Doing nothing is perhaps the most productive activity one can undertake. Being still, quietening your mind, may sound easy, but needs some attitude to make it happen. Writer Dr. Sulochana Nalapat could never do this. “I have a tough time turning off my mind and just being still. But Unni (C.K. Unnikrishnan Nair, her late husband) could spend hours sitting and gazing out of the window. There was a stillness that nestled in his heart, a kind of silence that made those with him relax. He was never perturbed at work or at home. I have always seen him like that…” she breaks off for a second and then adds, “On July 6 it’s been three years since he left us. And when we, my three children (Anuradha, Anupama and Arun) and I, decided to do something to perpetuate his memory the first thing that came to our mind was this stillness.”
Stillness became the corner stone of a project, aptly called The Stillness Project. The Space Within the Heart It aims to support children gain a deep understanding of the ecosystem in which they live; develop a sense of wonder, respect and empathy for the earth, plants, animals, and people, and to instil creativity and compassion in their daily lives. “Recent studies have found that people who have more active ‘mirror neurons’ tend to be empathetic. It is this mirror neuron system that plays an important role in our ability to empathise and socialise with others. It is said that this needs to be fired, nurtured or it can fade out as a child grows. The Stillness Project attempts to keep the mirror neurons alive in children, with the help of parents and teachers.”
The project was launched in December 2015. Ten students each from class eight, nine and ten of High Range School, Munnar, were taken on a trip along with a couple of teachers, to Viriparai and Gundumalai, close to Munnar. “It was a three-day affair. In the morning the children would be picked up in their school bus and taken to areas that they must have been to before. It was an experiential exploration of one of the three major rivers nourishing Munnar; its eco-system, to trace its origin, history, stories and myths surrounding the river and its tributaries. It was lovely to watch the children amidst the woods, looking at trees, understanding Nature. Back to school in the evening the children were engaged in activities based on the day’s trip. Conversations, writings, games, art, all that sparked off were linked to a knowledge system, a way of life. The three-day project was effective to sensitise and create awareness of Nature.”
Efforts to include city schools in the project have not been successful. “Some teachers did evince interest in the project but did not get the approval of the managements and parents. Children in school go through the same routine and everyone seems happy to let that be.”
For the second part of the project they moved to a farm house at Neendur, Kottayam, in April this year. “The aim was to enable the children to explore the different ecosystems in a farm and to see how they are connected and feed off each other. They stayed at the farm for two days along with their teachers. They woke up early in the morning, helped in milking the cows, feeding them and were part of the farm’s life.”
They created a Mandala design that represents the ecosystem there, “And most interesting was the conversation-based mock play in which the children took part sitting inside an abandoned ‘kettuvallam.’ The river was used as a metaphor for man’s life and his journey. They also pondered over the various ways of looking at an object. We saw a discernible change in the children.”
Dr. Sulochana who helms this project with her children has just completed a monograph on her mother Balamani Amma for Sahitya Akademi. But it is this project that really excites her and takes her forward in life. “These new thoughts, new experiences are so stimulating. The days I spent with the children made me realise once again that each child is a stem cell that has remarkable potential. And we need to make them realise this potential of the stem cell,” says Dr. Sulochana.
