Ukkattha Fest 2022 Report
Remembering|Reclaiming|Rejoicing
Project Mukti team and students at Ukkattha Annual Fest 2022, Nav Nirman Buddha Vihar
Project Mukti was established with the intention to create a safe and nurturing environment for women and children from the underprivileged communities to learn, unlearn and explore. Our motto is Equity, Empowerment and Excellence.
We started working extensively with children from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been roughly over 2 years and we have seen how much struggle each parent has put in order to have their children continue with their education even while the government schools were shut down, the children were cut off from learning, and left to do household work and play in the bastis.
As a team that comes from underprivileged communities ourselves, we know the struggle that each parent puts in to see a better future for their child. But are their struggles acknowledged? Are the children appreciated enough? Is everyone’s excellence celebrated?
Excellence is often misunderstood in a meritocratic society. While meritocracy normally aims at conforming to the status quo, excellence always breaks away from it. Historically, different marginalized groups, despite the harsh and unfair social conditions, have always strived for excellence both, individually and communally. Striving for excellence has been an act of exercising freedom in an unequal society. It has stood as a commitment to self and community growth.
Ukkattha was an opportunity that we all as a team felt was needed for everyone of us to celebrate our journeys - the whole Project Mukti team, children that we work with, and their parents, siblings and friends. Ukkattha is a Pali word which means Excellence. It is also an ancient Buddhist town in Kosala, once free from all taxes, built in the night by the light of the torches, and now forgotten in the ruins of history.
From the moment we decided on celebrating our journeys, we had seen and experienced different emotions within our own team members. I remember not being able to participate in any school event or bringing back any trophy or certificate home. I knew my parents weren’t able to afford a new dress either for me to participate in those events. We created different categories of awards (to make sure every child and every parent goes back home happily) and Project Mukti T-shirts for all children.
Finding a physical space for the event was the most challenging. During our practice sessions, we were asked by the colony people not to use gardens or community spaces because our children came from a particular locality. There were moments when we had to return home heartbroken after being denied permission to use community halls and school grounds for the final event in the South Delhi region. Finally, through a friend and close ally Ms. Sunita Kamal, we were able to get permission to use the ground in front of Nav Nirman Buddha Vihar in RK Puram Sector 3. We couldn’t have asked for more as this place was perfect for celebrating the immense potential in our children.
We started the event by chanting Buddha Vandana during which Sanghapali from the PM team, Shobha ji - one of the parents and our student Kartik lit the candles in front of the frames of Babasaheb, the Phules and the Constitution of India.
The day finally arrived and everyone was so excited for the event. Two of our Project Mukti children, Poonam and Shiva, compered the whole event. And the award function was facilitated by our brilliant education team, Gurveen, Maya, Iram and Rajeshwari.
We had children perform to the Welcome song, Sonyana Bharli Oti by Kadubai Kharat, Jai Jai Bhim from Shudra The Rising, Ginni Mahi’s Fan Babasaheb di and Enjoy Enjaami by Arivu and Dhee. A group of children also sang “Kabira Kahe” from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar movie.
We would like to thank all the friends (social activists, students, student leaders, Ph.D scholars, alumni of various universities and academics) who encouraged and motivated our children and distributed the trophies in the following categories: Academic Excellence, Creative Thinker, Problem Solver, Independent Learner, Team Player
