THE STORY OF THE MAGIC MELTING POT BEGAN ONE DAY...
Not so long time back, once anthropologist Gorden Childe coined the term Melting Pot as a culture symbol. While searching for an apt title for my endeavour that primarily spoke of various traditions and culture and the history beyond them- MELTING POT seemed just right. Thus, was born an idea that gradually was stirred in a cauldron- adding spices of oodles of hardwork, thinking, presentations, craft ideas and innovation to inspire all - from young to old. The final results were satisfying with happy visitors- inspring many more happy hours of hardwork for the future.
As with the focus of my research- the workshops centre around primarily folktales and oral traditions. Each workshop uses minimum props as the maximum emphasis is upon creating communication at an individual level and between other listeners- which can be a kid or a grandparent. The idea was also to reach beyond my university students whom I meet while teaching and spread awareness about history, traditions and culture amidst the many more outside the boundaries of clasrooms.
The various craft ideas not only inspire the kids to learn about new projects, but also takes them closer to an understanding of the history behind each culture symbol- quite like the many folktales that the workshops explore. Beginning with a small step and lots of inspiration from various anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and media persons, MELTING POT's efforts were covered in its very first two months by two English newspapers--
The Indian Express, Pune and Cityplus (of Dainik Jagran Media group)
1) The Indian Express.
Workshop on- 'Ancient Civilisations, Culture and Crafts' (Pune Newsline, page 3, date- May 28, 2012)
2) 'The Importance of Storytelling in Modern Communication'- Cityplus- Kondhwa-Wanowrie (Of Dainik Jagran)
Today, it has a website and a facebook page as well-
https://www.facebook.com/meltingpothistory
Thus started a small journey- with tiny steps and lots of determination..
...AND AS THE COOKING CONTINUES- SO DOES THE
JOURNEY-...
-Dr. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai
Visual Anthropologist (MA, MDMC, PhD)
