How to solve a problem like Himani
Written by Mala Kumar | Illustrated by students of HPS Suyalgarh and curated by Ruchi Shah (TWSB)
This book was done as a part of the art workshops that I was conducting at their school. This entire project was in
collaboration with The Walking School Bus and Pratham Books. While testing a reading app in their school we thought
it would be good to have some original and local content as a part of the reading exercises. As a partner we collaborated
with Pratham Books who helped write and publish the book, digitally and physically. Mala Kumar accompanied us on the trip
with Pratham Books who helped write and publish the book, digitally and physically. Mala Kumar accompanied us on the trip
and had an opportunity to interact with the children. I conducted a workshop on local innovation or ‘jugaad’.
This project was about collaboration and resistance. I democratized the process of how and who designs content. The audience was allowed to create visuals for what they were reading. I also wanted art to be taken more seriously as a form of expression - this was achieved partially by training the teachers as well. Through a series of facilitated art workshops I created a contextual library of patterns, trees, animals, houses etc. for each region - which helped in enriching the visuals with familiar content.
Two things that made this book unique were; it was the first book entirely drawn by local children that I curated for TWSB which was published by Pratham Books. And secondly the imaginative rural solutions that students designed were converted into a STEM story that takes young readers step-by-step, through how any problem could be solved.
The children walking home from school Himalyan Public Sschool, Suyalgarh in Satkhol Village.
Books that I selected for setting up a library and reading room in the school.
A student enjoying one of the books in the library.
The TWSB team coming together for a huddle before the day activities began.
Workshop and interaction on 'jugaad' . We discussed the rural problems with possible solutions.
Art workshop, where I started teaching patterns, working with different materials and drawing from observation. Later we moved the class outdoors where students had to come up with frugal innovations and sketch things from memory and other elements from things present in and around the school.
