The Hindu : New Delhi News : Creative messages on a unique ‘Wall of Expressions’

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Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
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Creative messages on a unique ‘Wall of Expressions’

Parul Sharma

Last day of “Talimi Mela” on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus for people to convey their thoughts, opinions

NEW DELHI: Creating the right “ambience” for people to convey their thoughts and opinions, a group of young like-minded people has erected a “Wall of Expressions” on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus. On the iron fencing right outside the Ansari Auditorium lawns – the main venue of the seven-day “Talimi Mela” that ended on Tuesday – many Jamia students as well as locals in the neighbourhood have written interesting and creative messages on different themes on the unique “wall”.

Old, worn-out saris have been put up on the iron grills, serving as the background for visitors to write or paste their opinion on different themes like “The big question of your life”, “One thing you won’t ever compromise with”, “Are you an active citizen?”, “Is violence justified for the right cause?” and “On what basis you decide right and wrong?”

“The idea is to express yourself. In our busy lives, we don’t get time to communicate. How many of our unique ideas do we share with others? We wanted to give a common platform to common people where they can give their opinion freely,” said a member of the group, Shadab Azmi, who completed his graduation from Jamia.

“The idea is to bring together people’s thoughts on different themes. Initially people did not take the activity seriously, but over the last couple of days, a lot of people have come to write down messages,” said Sana Siddiqui, a lawyer, who is enrolled in a part time course at the University.

During the “Talimi Mela”, different departments at Jamia had put up several stalls, like the one by the Department of Fine Arts and Art Education where about 50 B.F.A and M.F.A students have displayed their works for sale. “The art galleries in Delhi are way too expensive and have been booked in advance. This was a good opportunity for us to exhibit our works. The response has been encouraging,” said Rahul Chauhan, an MFA student.

Through its stall, the Faculty of Law has been spreading legal awareness on different laws and the rights of citizens.

“The most common query from students was how to file an application under the Right to Information Act. People also want to know how to file a First Information Report and learn about laws on consumer protection,” said Meghna Roy, a law student. The Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre at Jamia had also set up two stalls to increase awareness on HIV/AIDS among the community.

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