Where to buy coconut shell jhoomars made by street kids

WHAT's ON tells you about a special bazaar that sells crafts designed by street children using scrap

Labour of love
WHAT's ON tells you about a special bazaar that sells crafts designed by street children using scrap

A special bazaar that sits this Friday will make Mumbai shoppers realise that the street kid who knocks incessantly on your car window, begging you to buy a mogra gajra, can actually be an artist.

Khar store Dhoop is all set to host a sale of crafts created by a group of street kids using scrap. Garmi Ki Chutti

is an annual event at Dhoop, a workshop where kids are introduced to a variety of crafts. What was different this year was that proprietor Aradhana Nagpal decided to work with street kids.

"Everyone is talented, it just has to be nurtured. Besides, it can provide the street kids with an additional income," says Menon, a rock musician who funded the workshops.

The kids who were trained by Nagpal at the workshop are all from the Pardi tribal community, and have had little access to education. "It is a marginalised nomadic community that has been residing around Churchgate's streets for four generations now.

They sleep on the streets and sell gajras at signals or books in local trains for a living," says Shah. Most are from Solapur and speak a mix of Marathi and Gujarati. Hamara Footpath has been teaching them languages and skills.

The idea of using scrap to make art came to Nagpal when she chanced on some of her grandmother's bangles that didn't fit her and she had no use for. She broke them and glued them on to empty bottles. That's one of the skills she taught this bunch of kids, using material that was easy to gather.

Shah says managing the kids was a tough task but their enthusiasm and smiles made it worth it. "Street kids pick up things at double speed. They have started searching for materials around where they live already, so that they can continue with craft designing."

At: 101, Khar Sheetal, Khar (West).
On: May 29, from 12 pm to 5 pm.
Call: 26498646

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