“When people ask me why the name kanthari, I say just take a bite off one and you will know how a small thing can make such a huge difference,” says Sabriye Tenberken, the German national who co-founded kanthari.
The centre, which offers a 7-month leadership programme for visionaries who have overcome adversity and are keen to drive ethical and social change, is prepping their tenth batch of kantharis. The change-makers come from the margins of the society and are selected on the basis of their drive and passion to bring about real change in their societies, and not on their educational qualifications. The current batch has 23 visionaries from 13 countries.
Elaborating on the concept, Sabriye says it rose from the belief that the world needs “a little more spice.” “People need something that burns a bit but will also motivate them to be alert, to think and to question. Something that takes them out of their normal conventional self and become alert to the aspects in society that have to be changed,” she says.
In keeping with this spirit, kanthari organises Spread the Spice, An International Fest for Social Change, a day-long event, on Saturday at Manaveeyam Veedhi. It coincides with the ‘Daan Utsav’— India’s festival of giving — celebrated from October 2nd to 8th. Spread the Spice highlights social issues from different regions of the world, combined with possible solutions that are creative and relevant. The event seeks the participation of the public through dialogues, interactive sessions and games with focus on five key issues – women empowerment, alternative education, disability rights, critical thinking and environment.
Francis Gikufu from Nairobi, Kenya, represents the critical thinking group and his team has several ideas to promote the concept. “Critical thinking is the first step in bringing about a social change. We will encourage the people of the city to raise questions about everything happening in the society. Our guests include people with disabilities and women who have broken the societal barriers and have become change-makers. An LGBTQ group will perform during the event,” says Francis.
Paul Kronenberg and Sabriye Tenberken, founders of kanthari
Having faced a challenging and difficult childhood, Odunayo Aliu from Nigeria became a staunch advocate of free and quality education for children. She is part of the alternative education team. “Our theme for the event is ‘learning revolution’. We will showcase education systems across the world in our stalls to help people see the flaws in the present school system and show them viable alternatives to conventional learning practices,” says Odunayo.
Satya Illa from Hyderabad, the youngest among the 2018 batch of kantharis, is part of the environment team and he is promoting sustainable energy practices such as bio-gas plants and solar energy. His team-mate, Dave Odour, aims to open city dwellers’ eyes to the environmental issues in and around the place with a focus on the pollution of the Vellayani lake. The artist is making a sculpture from waste materials scavenged from the lake as well as displaying photographs that draw attention to the plight of the water body.
Priyanka Singh from Delhi is part of the women’s empowerment team that is all set to engage their visitors with discussions and interactive sessions on gender issues and equality. “We want to convey the message of not restricting women from exploring the world in the name of protecting them. With over-protection, woman all over that country are denied the opportunity to expand their horizons,” she opines.
Accessibility is the key objective to be put forward by the disability rights team. Kelinda War from Meghalaya, part of the team, says “Our focus is to sensitise people about accessibility for the disabled in the society. We will also spread awareness about cerebral palsy on World Cerebral Palsy Day that fall son October 6. We will introduce people to centres, organisations and people who work with those afflicted by cerebral palsy in the city.”
To cynics, these changemakers may seem like being too small for big ideas, but Sabriye begs to differ. “They might seem small, but they make a huge difference wherever they are, just like kanthari,” she says.
An encounter with the people and places in the city
