We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

Tianbing Li

Friday, 4 November, 2011 the Alipore Nabadisha centre turned was a riot of colours. The children produced a brilliant array of artwork under the steady guidance of Arunima Di. A seemingly straightforward one hour session turned into a life lesson. The children learned to appreciate their surroundings.

The session began with the children making their drawings and colouring them with crayons. The instructions were to only partially colour and then bring the work to Arunimadi. She then took each one of these drawings and demonstrated to the children how by just adding a touch of watercolour the entire picture can be transformed and enhanced. For the children it was like a pandora’s box of possibilities opening up. This was followed by a one to one discussion that turned the regular act of drawing and colouring into the act of thinking — creating a picture that the mind desired.

Arunima di won many hearts and was only allowed to leave after she promised that she would come back again.