I have wondered if there is psychological factor driving one to work hard towards making their aspirations come true. Our society is mainly fuelled by the notion of success and growth.
Pooja started painting while she was in third grade. Her passion for painting and sketching continued every summer. She obtained her formal education in fine arts. She always felt that studying fine arts in school robbed the real art space. Nevertheless, by the time she graduated from high school, Pooja Gupta was a water-color queen (and revered for the same in her undergraduate).
Maria Papova, thinker of the modern times has taught that one should be always allowed to change their mind. I have been fortunate interacting with such people. Pooja also switched from commerce to film making. At present she is working on wildlife conservation and related projects, she made a remarkable insight, while paintings invites attention and appreciation, film making captures the real emotion thereby enabling a direct call to action. Unlike painting, film making invites participation towards a solution.
Pencil work by Pooja
The end product of her degree was a film on caged birds that questioned the concept of captivating birds and animals. This work provided positive reinforcement and she extended her niche covering nature and animals. Through extensive networking, she got the opportunity to make a movie on mangrove trees in Andaman Island after tsunami.
She has gone back to science with love for it than she ever had at school. Her story is yet another reminder to the society questioning how education ruins curiosity. Fortunately, she found her way back. She is instilling the same interest in young kids by organizing educational field tours. Traditional school is not for everyone, she observes. This resonates with sentiments expressed by Abhisheka. Hence this effort made by her in the direction of alternative education will hopefully bring a new of generation of truly learned individuals.
She believes Art is a practice and not an exam. She is on a mission to use art of film making for science. She works towards the goals of creating awareness, spreading education, inciting appreciation (for nature), and satisfying curiosity. I sincerely hope that her work spirals a butterfly effect that culminates in rescuing an ecosystem from destruction.
Digital work by Pooja
Her story, along with several others is a reminder for me that, certainly amongst us, will find our way to do things that we really want despite having been fed to the education factory.
The destruction in natural resources and environment are often justified by causes of growth and development. People like Pooja might train a new, more sensible generation, which understands the value of preservation in development of society and economy.
Here is the link a team initiative she is involved in: https://http://www.facebook.com/earthcolab/
About the Author:
Ipsa Jain is Ph.D. student at IISc. Wants to gather and spread interestingness. Prefers drawing and painting over writing. Posts on Facebook and Instagram as Ipsawonders.
