By Shivani Singh:
I was just working on some of the articles that interest the nation at large — Scams, Inflation , Nuclear deals , but there was nothing that interests us at large — the youth. Nothing that promises the youth a hope for a better future. Nothing that really is working to change the situation we are stuck in. It was then that I came across the opportunity to cover an event by Lok (India’s only creative arts group created and managed by the youth which has a natonal presence.) — which would eventually lead the Project Yuva. On January 3rd, 2010 “Lok” was formed by Soumyajit Majumdar, a Mass Communication and Videography student St.Xaviers, Kolkata with his artistically and creatively inclined friends mostly from St.Xaviers college, Jadavpur University, Presidency college, Loreto college and some other premiere schools and colleges of Kolkata. It involves young minds engaged in photography, filmmaking, music, theatre, dance, creative writing, fine arts etc.
This was only started with a hope in the heart and a vision in the mind of Soumyajit, he turned it into reality and now it is immensely growing in popularity all over the country. The people associated with Lok wanted it to be into a national movement so that there could be a start towards the world we wish to live in. Lok spread to Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and other cities within a year of its inception and now it has become the only youth based creative arts movement in India. It is managed only by a group of young individuals like us. They have also been working in international projects like Project Well, USA among others. This group is slowly changing the face of progress and initiatives taken by the youth in the past.
When I went to attend its opening in the city of Pune, I was a bit apprehensive but when I finally got to witness it — it was something that really inspired me. There was a group of boys with a mere guitar and a script in hand. Soumyajit, Narotam, Sangat and Ud — these young individuals just changed the entire ambience of the place and mesmerized the entire audience with their skit. They narrated a beautiful story- an inspiring one with the help of rhymes, guitars — a music which was one of its kind. After having listening to rock, pop, jazz, hip hop — their style of music and narrating was heaven (Katha style of Indian story telling). It was a different world altogether — the elders present in the ceremony appreciated the way they presented it as well. It was so appealing that even people who were passing the venue came in and stayed to attend. The play was adapted from the movie Autograph which brought out the political aspects and the reaction of the youth very clearly.
They have a vision to have a youth festival not like the ones held these days but something that would also allow interaction and exchange of ideas among the young individuals and not just a competitive festival. The presence of a renowned theatre director Hartnan De Souza really gave the initiative a new direction as he offered to help them— in participating in other youth movements around the city– and also applauded their skills.
Seeing this I was really happy — the youth can make a difference if it takes proper initiative. Project Yuva — dream young is a starter and May many more achievements come its way. We as the youth should take up these initiatives and make the change we want to see in the world. Do help these initiatives in whatever way you can.