Start Date: December 27, 2024
End Date: December 31, 2024
Venue: Om Shanti Dhama Gurukulam, Karnataka
As part of their day-long workshop titled ‘Our Culture, Our Pride’, especially curated and conducted for students at Om Shanti Dhama Gurukulam, Karnataka, BhāratShakti team researched and curated a 20-poster exhibition on the theme – ‘The Greatness of Indian Culture’.
This exhibition posters were displayed at 2 different halls where the workshop was conducted. A total of 70 students (ages 12-17) participating in the workshop were divided into two groups, and were given time to go through the posters. About 20 adults including teachers and acharyas at the Gurukulam also went through the posters.
The posters included relevant passages and quotes covering several key aspects of Indian culture, including the following:
- Physical Education in Ancient India
- Aspiration for Strength
- Temple Heritage of India
- Temple as the Body of God
- Indian Sculpture and Painting
- Rich Variety of Art in India
- Music for the Divine
- Dance for the Divine
- The Future Belongs to the Young
- Duty of Every Indian
The text portion of the posters was carefully selected and/or written by Dr. Beloo Mehra. Ms. Biswajita Mohapatra assisted with the selection of relevant pictures and designing of the final posters. She also supervised the printing of the posters and getting them ready for final display. A day before the start of the exhibition, Ms. Biswajita Mohapatra along with two volunteers displayed the posters at two different halls at Om Shanti Dhama Gurukulam.
Separate time was allocated during the workshop for students to go through the exhibition posters and note down a few key points they found most intriguing and engaging. After that students went back into their respective groups with Dr. Beloo Mehra and Mr. Narendra Murty. They were asked to share one or two key points they learned from the exhibition and also ask any question that stirred in them as a result of what they read.
To illustrate a few key points from the posters, especially concerning music, dance and temple architecture, the facilitators also shared some interesting stories. This interactive approach helped deepen students’ understanding. Even after the workshop was over, a few students approached Dr. Beloo Mehra for further explanation or clarification. This suggested the effectiveness of such a teaching-learning approach.
