FACILITATOR  BACK

Facilitator is one who makes things easy, promotes thing. And to promote things one should have thorough knowledge of the thing he is promoting. When I landed on the land of theater, as I said, and became part of it, I knew what theatre had done to my mind, body and soul. I was thrown into the world of beaming energy; energy that continuously struggled and still struggling to be channelized. Who facilitated this tremendous energy in me? What infused energy in me? None other than theatre.

Theatre is in my vein. And when it started flowing in my vein I decided to promote it. That is the role of a facilitator. Without theatre I do not exist. And in order to keep myself alive I facilitate theatre. I wanted others to know it's importance, it's capacity; it's values and the wonders it can do. Theatre has done wonders for me and as a facilitator I want it to be equally beneficial to others.
Traveling with the role of facilitator I well remember an incident at Khandala, where participants were asked to narrate any incident of their life where they experienced energy within them. True to the expectation they said no. I took up a simple exercise and asked them to jerk their palm with fingers kept apart, slowly first and vigorously later. When the movement of the palm was at peak, all of a sudden, they were asked to stop and feel the sensation in their palm & fingers. There was energy emitting from the body, a tremendous energy. Making participants realize their energy is the work of facilitator.

Often we are unaware of our potentials. A normal Human being uses just 10 % of his brain, which has scientifically been proved. What about the rest 90 %? Can one imagine how much potential each individual has? But the question is how to reach that 90 %. And even if I succeed in developing few percentage of their brain or even make them understand how to make optimum use of it, my work of facilitator will be successful.

Again look at this incident. A young mother of two lovely daughters was nowhere whenever she looked back at her life. At every steps of her life her companion was 'adjustment'. She had the feeling that it is she who only makes adjustments despite being one of the earning members of the family. She was going through the training session in Khandala. She was given an exercise to run. That was a big hall where she was asked to run amidst her friends. She started running. She was asked to run faster but due to the sophisticated and delicate surroundings of the hall she was not. Without giving any time to think I asked to run as if someone is behind her; her life is in threat.

She started running faster. I was chasing her like anything and kept on saying to think that this is a do or die situation for her. Think that there is a snake behind you and if she will stop she will be no more. She was running very fast to save her but suddenly she fell down. She was breathing very fast. I went and sat in front of her and at the peak of my voice said…"do something….Otherwise he will byte you, do something. What will you do when you are left with nothing…" Suddenly somebody threw a glass near her. She picked up the glass in anger and within no seconds hit the ground assuming that the snake is in front of her. She was crying, shouting and was amazed to see what she has done. She was equally amazed to see what she could do.

The glass was broken into hundred pieces. That was an eye opener even for me to see the energy being channelized from her body to the glass, which led to its hundred pieces. Distance of the carpeted floor was not more than 1.5 feet from her hand position but pieces of glass was telling an all-together a different story. I then said…"snake is alive…. You are left with only chance to save yourself". Again someone threw a plastic nameplate. She yelled picked up the nameplate and in just one throw that broke into pieces. She yelled again and was quiet the very next moment. She was left alone for sometime

She kept sitting there looking at the glass pieces with her unblinking eyes. She had gained the power to kill the 'adjustment'. This was the word uttered when she was asked to say what she did. She said that she has killed adjustment. This is the role of a facilitator. I facilitate a situation to the participant, let him go through the situation, go through the agony, pain, frustration, everything; let him/her face the situation and compel him to make his/her own way or at least try out to make his way. That is the role of a facilitator. She realized that she has the capacity to say no, she has the capacity to fight for her and she has the judgment to decide what is good and what is bad.

But the role of facilitator does not stop there only. It works even after I am not present. This young woman, although had made adjustments in her life, realized that she was not always right. Looking back at her family life she realized how she had become mean in demanding whatever she did was right. She worked with a company, did her household chores, played the role of wife, mother and daughter-in-law efficiently…but ignored what other member of the family did for her. She reflected back, of course, after going through training, and realized that it was her father-in- law who took care of her children, while she was away at work. She never appreciated his contribution. But she realized where she was and as a facilitator she took initiative to facilitate her home with warmth, communication and interpersonal care. She quietly apologized her father-in-law by just touching his feet seeking his blessings, which even if done earlier lacked the feeling. A step was taken to change the tensed mood of the family.

In the same training programme at Khandala there was another woman who always took others opinion in doing everything. Her greatest parameter of either doing or not doing things was..’what other people will think about it'. Reaction of others was the foremost thing for her to decide her action, be that house or her office. She was too led to the previously focused training exercise of running fast as if someone was behind her and that her life will be ruined if he gets clutch of her. Obstacles of one nature or other were posed in her way and she kept herself safe but suddenly she hit something and lost her balance. She fell down very badly.

Some of the participants came forward to lend their support but was stopped by the young lady herself. She narrated later that when her friends were lending hand she felt as if she was handicapped. She thus deliberately refused to take their help. She said that she realized that when she can save herself from an unknown man she can even take care of herself. That acknowledgement of confidence in her and recognition of the strength that she can do things of her choice was the outcome of the running exercise. Moreover, she said that other's reaction makes her weaker and that, in future, she will never heed to what others say. Here again, I facilitated the situation, made the participants go through the simulated situation, let them feel what was happening, asked to reflect back what they did till that day and what they can do in future.

There are numerous incidents where theatre has brought changes in the personality of individuals. Can the street children dream of doing anything beside their daily work? Yes, they can do and they have done. MERA BACHPAN was their play and doing the play enlightened them. They were the children who performed the play and asked the audience to give back their childhood. They have not only got their childhood but in turn have become crusaders. They are contributing a lot to the society what an educated normal young cannot even think about it. One of the children, who is part of Germany trip, took charge of getting a play ready by the slum dwellers, residing in one of the suburban Railway plot. Initially, the children were asked to narrate what were the problems faced by them in their locality. They were heard patiently and then they were asked to enact what they said. Probing them leads them to see the problem in right perspective and in-depth information of the problem and the other related problems comes out

These problems when evaluated one by one by them took shape of the play. So, initially the children did enact their problems in pieces all that were polished by the young child, who was ready with the group to perform after two hours. A young child is promoting what I do in order to promote theatre and in turn facilitate a meaningful life. I think a chain reaction of facilitating the theatre has started that will continue without my presence too. .   BACK