Thursday 18 February 2016

17th Feb - The tea and cake were real...

'Ball' again to the power n
B10 Market, Vasant Kunj

Participants: Abhilash, Ishaan, Pritha, Rea, Shena
Observer : Mallika


Another Do another ‘ball’ another seemingly endless game…
It’s a fine balance indeed – between having fun and sharing fun. The twain are brethren of course – and never was this more apparent than at the Do at B-10 Vasant Kunj market. The DOers were having so much fun, that the game could have lasted forever just between the lot of them. The added bonus of onlookers, busy shoppers and shopkeepers joining in – well, that just ensured that the game DID in fact, go on and on and on – with no one seeming to want it to end. Rea got tired (after she spied B&R ice-cream, one might add), Shena got tired (just because she did) and YET the game continued… Young Ishaan was a star – not just with amazing ‘catches’ but for his immediate grasp of how best to share the game with others.
There was the cricket duo who produced a bat for us, the few who stuck around for ages playing, the old gentleman who let go of his cane in order to catch and throw the ‘ball’, the affable sabjiwala who is keeping the ‘ball’ for us till next time and generous Rachna and her son Manan who not only played with us, but also hosted us for tea and cake (she bakes!) afterwards.

The crew from Lost & Found handed out information about upcoming events at the C2 Vasant Kunj Community Centre. Read more about their great work at FB: https://www.facebook.com/MiloDekhoKhelo/?fref=ts









8th February - Class-ical Ball

'Ball' again again again & Slow Motion Walk/Race
Monday Market, C2 Vasant Kunj

Participants: Mallika, Monka, Abhilash, Govind, Jaya, Simran, Jahnvi, Virkein, Nalin, Nalin's mother, Juee, 

( wow thats a lot!)

We met in front of the mini cooper showroom. All new TDWK-ers! It was a great day for TDWK. I quickly explained the two tasks we were going to indulge in - the invisible catch and the slow walk and we proceeded. We started playing invisible catch in the middle of the Monday market. People looked curiously at us. They were bemused, amused, hesitant and eventually, they joined in. The kids are always the first ones to start believing with you, to start playing. The adults remain reluctant for longer. Some oblige because they have been caught in an embarrassing moment by us, some just walk away and then there are the precious few who want to know more about you.

The 'Do-ers' played the game for a very long time. Slowly, the young boys around joined in, started buying into the belief, started seeing the ball and at one point, there was in fact, a complete suspension of disbelief  wherein they played themselves, without our 'help' seeing, catching, missing and finding the ball again and again. The slow walks took many forms... and we had a line of children who did everything we did. Quietly. Intently. They just wanted to do. 

There is always a tension of classes when one goes to markets. I remember feeling this a year or so ago when we had gone to Sarojini Nagar with a TDWK. Young men ( and even older ones) so keen and curious to join, especially if there are women around, but can't make up their mind if they would like to be cheeky or if they would like to be friendly. There is always a huge class tension between 'us' actors and 'them' audience members. One sabzi wala purposely poked his thela into Simran, another purposely ran into her... there is misplaced 'playfulness' during the game. It is always the sellers who get more involved than the buyers but the class barrier between the sellers and the Do-ers is a difficult one to cross over. The children of course just want to have a good time. So they join, follow, obey, play. 








Monday 15 February 2016

29th January - FREE COFFEE!

Mirror & The Imaginary Ball Again Again
SDA MARKET (opposite IIT)

Participants - Shruti, Shivam, Rea, Archana, Shena
Observer - Niranjani




The mirror exercise was fun for us to do, but did not create too much of an impact as the space was already quite still and slow moving.

The imaginary ball, of course, was the usual ice-breaker fun that it always is. One gentleman stopped in the middle of the game and pontificated : “The most important thing in life is to put a smile on peoples’ faces, and you all are doing that, please carry on.”


Folks from the coffee shop #nofilter played with us through their window on the first floor.. and then they came down and invited us up for free coffee! Which we enjoyed muchly! Ah the benefits of having a good time…