Deeksha Sehgal: Inspiring Creativity Through Every Thumbprint
Creativity often begins with something as simple as an idea, a colour, or a quote. For children especially, creative activities can open up new ways of understanding the world whilst building their confidence to experiment, explore and share what they feel. Originality comes then, in the subtlest of ideas of self and the world. It flips our perspectives, helps build a better sense of self and that of the environment around us.
This allows children the freedom to experiment without the fear of a single ‘right’ answer, and perceive themselves in ways that may not always find space in traditional classrooms. Through such fields of art, they can innovate with colours, shapes, textures and ideas while developing their own ways of articulating what they believe. More importantly, these experiences remind us that learning can be imaginative, interactive and joyful.
Creativity in its literal definition refers to “the use of skill and imagination to produce something new or to produce art.” In layman language it can simply be termed as a ray of light which is not reflected but is innate. It radiates through the smallest of the cracks in our wall of comfort which we build around ourselves, often unknowingly limiting our potential.
In our society, child development can be viewed as a tender bud which blooms into the flower of adulthood. What is important is that we water it with encouragement so that it can grow leaves of self expression and then a sturdy stem of originality.
This is exactly what we do at Pehchaan The Street School.
When our founder Akash Tandon started out initially our ideas were grand and in order to make our initiative reach that level we learnt what being resilient actually meant. Our volunteers now focus on creating opportunities for young minds to explore their views, express themselves and learn through their experiences which is why today our story serves as the biggest example to our students.
Recently, we collaborated with Deeksha Sehgal, a social media content creator who indulged in a thumb printing activity with our students at Mukherjee Nagar Centre. The students were encouraged to experiment with colours, shapes and patterns and turn them into their very own creative pieces of art. The activity gave them the freedom to explore art in a way that was playful and accessible, whilst also allowing each child to create something uniquely their own. This creative session was followed by refreshments, along with the distribution of notebooks and stationery kits for the students.
In conclusion, Deeksha’s collaboration showed us how even a simple activity can become a meaningful learning experience. By giving children the freedom to create and experiment, we can help them approach learning with greater confidence and curiosity. Each colourful thumbprint became a canvas for imagination, making us wonder what more children could achieve if given opportunities to create, learn and be heard.
A single thumbprint can become a work of art. Help us create more opportunities for children to turn their ideas into something beautiful. Join us at Pehchaan The Street School.
Written By: Janya