During the Mandala therapeutic Art session, I noticed that participants had brought items such as soil, stones, matchsticks, sand, lentils, clothespins, salt, and puffed rice. On the final day of the three-day training organized by Heart-Mind Consultancy, they came carrying various bags filled with similar items. The activity was to design a mandala with a focus on nature. While creating the mandala, the participants were filled with joy. A retired Indian engineer (55 years old) was especially happy—he even started dancing with the children
We had boosted a post about the mandala art session on Facebook. He commented on the post, expressing his interest. After seeing his comment, I was also keen to meet him. He visited our office, and we became acquainted. He had observed how children were glued to mobile phones and found our program very inspiring. He asked if he could participate as well, and I agreed.
Although I initially had mixed feelings about introducing a new person to a children’s session, I said yes. He offered to bring printed materials. Coincidentally, my regular art teacher could not be contacted, and I did not know what had happened to her. So, I decided to conduct the session myself and planned to use art as a therapeutic medium.
The children, along with the elderly participant, attended the session. On the first day, the children spoke very little and created individual artworks. By the second day, the rapport had improved significantly, and they started laughing and engaging more. On the third day, they were asked to create nature-based art. They brought various items such as soil, stones, matchsticks, sand, lentils, clothespins, salt, and puffed rice packed in different bags. Creating the mandala brought immense joy to all of them. The elderly participant was so happy that he started dancing.
Sudip Ghimire
