On September 10th 2012, the final year students
of the Department of Journalism, Madras Christian College started off their
campaign with a bang. ‘Aakkam 2012’ was finally brought center stage and with
God’s grace day 1 started off on a very positive note.
We pay
our tribute ‘to the hands that mould’.
On that bright, Monday morning the final year students along
with 3 of our professor’s set off to Kancheepuram, the weaver’s abode of Tamil
Nadu. We arrived at Kancheepuram around 11 a.m and made our way to Khadi Kraft.
We had planned an interesting day at Kancheepuram and we were definitely on
schedule.
At Khadi Kraft we saw a gathering of about 25 artisans who had come to listen to what we had to say. Everyone was gathered in a quaint hall and we waited anxiously for our chief guest to arrive. Soon, our chief guest entered the hall and all who were gathered rose to pay respect to our esteemed guest. The chief guest for the day was none other than Ms. Vidya Sastry, CEO, Craft Council Of India. She was delighted to be here and sat down with the artisans. Soon she began talking to the artisans about the Craft Council of India, about what they do, about the government schemes, about us as well as our campaign. This talk went on for a while and then the artisans spoke to us as well. They spoke to us about themselves, their families, their craft and most importantly the problems faced by them in doing their craft. After this discussion session ended we all sat down together in the community for lunch.
Soon after lunch, all of us students went up to the artisans with I.D application forms from the government. These forms would entitle each artisan to an I.D card which would assure him/her of insurance, of opportunities to sell their wares at expos, exhibitions etc. Each student went up to an artisan and helped him/her to fill up the form. This session helped us interact with the artisans on a more personal note and we learned more about them and their lives. Soon after the form filling session concluded, we thanked the artisans for coming for this delightfully informative session and we asked them to sign on the hand-made ‘Aakkam’ banner. After this we all went outside to have a small photo session with the artisans. With that we concluded day 1 of our campaign.
We soon packed up and left Kancheepuram, holding on to the memories of the day that had gone by so quickly. We came to Kacheepuram as a bunch of enthusiastic students, wishing to know more about the artisan community here. We left this place as individuals filled with knowledge of the plight of these artisans and when we left we made sure we paid our tributes to them. We left with a feeling of satisfaction and new found respect for these people and for the craft that they practice.
At Khadi Kraft we saw a gathering of about 25 artisans who had come to listen to what we had to say. Everyone was gathered in a quaint hall and we waited anxiously for our chief guest to arrive. Soon, our chief guest entered the hall and all who were gathered rose to pay respect to our esteemed guest. The chief guest for the day was none other than Ms. Vidya Sastry, CEO, Craft Council Of India. She was delighted to be here and sat down with the artisans. Soon she began talking to the artisans about the Craft Council of India, about what they do, about the government schemes, about us as well as our campaign. This talk went on for a while and then the artisans spoke to us as well. They spoke to us about themselves, their families, their craft and most importantly the problems faced by them in doing their craft. After this discussion session ended we all sat down together in the community for lunch.
Soon after lunch, all of us students went up to the artisans with I.D application forms from the government. These forms would entitle each artisan to an I.D card which would assure him/her of insurance, of opportunities to sell their wares at expos, exhibitions etc. Each student went up to an artisan and helped him/her to fill up the form. This session helped us interact with the artisans on a more personal note and we learned more about them and their lives. Soon after the form filling session concluded, we thanked the artisans for coming for this delightfully informative session and we asked them to sign on the hand-made ‘Aakkam’ banner. After this we all went outside to have a small photo session with the artisans. With that we concluded day 1 of our campaign.
We soon packed up and left Kancheepuram, holding on to the memories of the day that had gone by so quickly. We came to Kacheepuram as a bunch of enthusiastic students, wishing to know more about the artisan community here. We left this place as individuals filled with knowledge of the plight of these artisans and when we left we made sure we paid our tributes to them. We left with a feeling of satisfaction and new found respect for these people and for the craft that they practice.
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