A Song of Nature’s Children: A glimpse into the lives of Garo and Hajong

During visits to Netrokona's Baromari- Laxmipur village for various social welfare projects, Sultana Razia, founder of Lightshore Foundation, observed the lives of the Garo and Hajong community.

Parents wanted their children to receive a proper education. Razia decided she would help raise funds to build a school in the area.

"In my earlier visits, I noticed that the kids were always doodling or drawing something with their pens. Even when they were supposed to study or read from their textbooks, I caught them drawing one thing or another.  They didn't even have colouring pencils or anything. They just drew whatever came to mind," said Razia.

To help the children express their creativity and to raise funds to build a school in the area, Razia, through her Foundation, and with the help of other artists, organised a two-day art camp, which resulted in about a hundred crayon pastel drawings by the children.

The children were mentored by artist Morshed Mishu. "This was art in its purest form," he said.

These artworks are currently being exhibited in a show titled 'A Song of Nature's Children' at the EMK Centre in Dhanmondi.

Can a group of children, all under the age of 10 and with very little contact with the outside world, create mesmerising works of art? If you thought no, like I initially did, you would be wrong.

I had walked in to review the artworks on display, but through this experience I learnt that a child's art should never be judged, critiqued or analysed. Rather, one should appreciate them for the effort put in; and marvelled at because of their innocence and creativity.

The recurring theme in the show was nature. "We never wanted to condition the kids into drawing something other than what they wanted to draw intrinsically. We wanted them to draw whatever came to them naturally and I believe that is why they flourished," said Mishu.

They expressed their daily interaction with nature. When fifth grader Taslima Khatun drew a parrot, she portrayed how their people wake up to the sweet sound of hundreds of birds chirping during sunrise.

Some drew pictures of elephants munching on banana tree leaves with their trunks because that was something they had witnessed in real life.

Many of the drawings featured the picturesque views of their hamlet with hills in the distance, a blue water canal dividing two sides, a soft orange sun rising behind the hills, and the religious idols they saw during festivals and ceremonies. The children allowed us to see a glimpse into their lives.

"You know, even I was inspired by them. They had this desire to observe and learn from us. Every time I was drawing something, they would surround me and just try to learn whatever they could. They openly sketched their thoughts. Sometimes art is just that," explained Mishu.

Yes, the drawings do not look professional, but they're not supposed to. Yes, they may not sell enough to raise the necessary amount of funds for the school building. But it is a start. There can only be a holistic development of Bangladesh when the next generation, from the farthest corners of the country, can have access to the basic necessities of life.

Mishu believes that setting up a school in that region could also see a drop in crime.

"While mentoring the children at the art camp, one night, I saw kids, probably in their teens, smuggling packages from the border. Setting up a school in this region can go a long way. It won't only give the children access to basic education, it could give the kids purpose," he said.

A Song of Nature's Children is open to all, until 6 March, from 9:30 AM to 6 PM, except Fridays.