Focus on Mental Ability

Unseen

Focus on Mental Ability

The very first public engagement initiative by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance (India Alliance) was held from 18 – 20 December 2012 in Kolkata. The event was organized in association with Manovikas Kendra, a non-government and a not-for profit organization working on special education for physically and intellectually challenged children and young adults, for over 38 years. Titled “Unseen”, the event focused on mental ability through the popular medium of documentaries, short films and theater as well as interactions with eminent experts in the field from different parts of the world.

The event commenced on 18th December at GD Birla Sabhagar with a welcome address by Professor Anuradha Lohia, CEO of the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance. She briefly introduced both the organisations and the purpose of the initiative, which was to reach out to general public and spread awareness on various biomedical issues relevant to human health. She extended a warm welcome to Dr G D Gautama, the Information Commissioner, Government of West Bengal- the chief guest for the inaugural session. Dr Gautama spoke about the forward strides that India is taking economically and the necessity to match this growth with changes in attitude of people towards science and health. After Dr GD Gautama lit the lamp and inaugurated the event, Dr Arundhati Sarkar, head of Manochetna, learning disability centre of Manovikas Kendra presented the vote of thanks.

The program on the first day started with a small film on Manovikas Kendra showcasing the efforts of the organization in the field of special education. This was followed by the first session of short films. The films presented at the event were curated by psychiatrist and renowned film-theater personality Dr Mohan Agashe, acclaimed German Director, Mr Gregor Kern of the popular short film festival on disability held in Munich, ‘The way we live’ and the noted film curator Mr SV Raman. While Mr Raman conducted the session, Dr Agashe and Mr Kern introduced each film, followed by the screenings and discussions with the audience. The films showcased on the first day include ‘About a boy, a girl and a cat’ (a German film directed by Josef Fojt), ‘Three of us’ (an Indian film directed by Umesh Kulkarni), ‘Living Rights: Yoshi’ (a film from Netherlands directed by Duco Tellegen) and ‘Earthlings, whom are you voting for?’ (a film from Czech Republic directed by Linda Kalistova Jablonska). The films were intense accounts of lives of people with disabilities, some even with a hint of unexpected humour. Following the screening of the films, there was active interaction with the audience, comprising of patients suffering from mild mental disorders, care givers and family members of patients, special educators, school children and general public.

The evening closed with a performance “I am half of who I am” by Mr Andrew Dawson, a performer from UK who has been awarded with the Wellcome Trust Public engagement grant. Mr Dawson’s act included monologue, performance and short screenings and revolved around how conditions like cerebral palsy, stroke or spinal injury reduces a person to half of who he is.

The second day of the event was also held at GD Birla Sabhagar on the evening of the 19th. The session started with a talk by Dr Daniel Glaser, head of the special projects in Public Engagement at the Wellcome Trust, UK. With the intriguing title, “Why scientists don’t own your brain”, Dr Glaser got the audience thinking about whether or not they would donate their brain for scientific research and the need for it. With a PhD in neuroscience, Dr Glaser was successful in engaging with the audience and clarifying any doubts / fears they may have about experimenting on brain.

The second screening of short films followed this. Like the previous day, Mr Raman conducted the session and the films introduced by Mr Kern and Dr Agashe. The films screened in this session included: ‘One more, one less’ (a Spanish film directed by Alvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro), ‘I will not leave you till I die’ (a Polish film directed by Maciej Adamek) and ‘The boy inside’ (a Canadian film by Marianne Kaplan, who herself is a mother of a boy with Asperger syndrome). All the three films showcased the struggles and the everyday realities of disabled children and the care givers and the courage each one of them shows in dealing with these. The second day also saw the audience actively interacting. Some of the points of discussion were: the importance of accepting physically and intellectually challenged individuals as one of us and the necessity of support systems for them to try and lead a life as normal as possible.

The day ended with a public lecture by Dr Mohan Agashe on “Cinema as a diet for mental ability”. Dr Agashe, an Indian theater and film actor and a Psychiatrist by training talked about how powerful the visual medium is in driving home a message and reaching out to a broad audience. He showed small clips of numerous short films to emphasize how a lot can be said very emphatically in a very short time using cinema.

The venue for the third and the final day of the event was Manovikas Kendra. This gave an opportunity to the children being taught here to showcase their talents to the audience, who greatly appreciated the abilities of these differently abled children. After the introduction by Dr Arundhati Sarkar, the orchestra comprising of the students of Manovikas Kendra treated the audience to spirited music. This was followed by a demonstration of dance therapy for hearing impaired children conducted by Ms Suman Sarawgi, a trained classical dancer and therapist.

The second part of the day included the final showing of short films with the screening of ‘Body and Soul’ (an English film directed by Alice Elliott) a touching tale of two disabled women who not only support each other to live an independent life but also fight for the rights of such.

The day and the event ended with a panel discussion focusing on differently abled children. The panel members included Dr Daniel Glaser, Dr Mohan Agashe, Ms Khullar (Principal, Akshar), Ms Seema Sapru (Principal, Heritage School), Ms Jane Goodman (Special educator, USA), and Mr Raman moderated the discussion. While Ms Khullar, principal of an inclusive school-Akshar, talked about the different barriers that these children and such schools have to face, Ms Sapru, principal of another inclusive school took the audience through her personal experiences with the differently abled children as a teacher with no training in special education. While Dr Glaser shared his views on the need for more awareness and public engagement on such issues, special educator Ms Goodman talked about the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. This led to a detailed discussion on the importance of special educators in helping these kids perform to the best of their abilities. Dr Agashe talked about the need for more social awareness on such issues and the need to sensitize the society. There was active participation by the audience in the discussion. Few took this opportunity to clarify some of the questions they have on mental disorders that were expertly answered by the clinicians and scientists present. Some of the other main points of discussion were: the stigma surrounding disabilities in Indian scenario, how facilities for children and adults with disabilities should be improved in India, and the need for society as a whole to fight for more understanding of the needs of such people and put pressure on the governments to act on these needs. The highlight of the interaction was participation by school children who volunteered to take some of the ideas in the discussion forward and spread awareness in their own way.

‘Unseen’ is a novel public engagement event by the India Alliance attempting to address unasked questions with regard to mental retardation and associated syndromes. The programme was compiled to appeal to both people affected by the problem as well as the general public. The short films screened at the event showcased the differing realities of the life of disabled persons, where as the interaction focused on the need of public to be sensitive to the needs, challenges and lives of such persons. The active participation by the audience suggests that the India Alliance has succeeded to some measure in inspiring the community to be aware of and to participate in discussions on these important issues. On this encouraging note, the India Alliance is keen on continuing its efforts towards public engagement initiatives to create a bridge between scientists and non-specialists on important biomedical issues.

Prepared by

Dr Ponnari Gottipati

Grants Adviser,

India Alliance