Pablo Picasso once said that every child is an artist…the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. Can you remember a time when you were a child, completely absorbed and excited by a rainbow of colors and a blank sheet of paper? There were no inhibitions, no comparisons, and only your imagination guiding your innate creativity. Now imagine if you were blessed with an incredible art teacher, someone that never really taught you how to create art, but instead guided the expression of your inner self. There are some children from the most economically privileged and the most economically underprivileged backgrounds in Mumbai who have found that incredible teacher.  Shital Mehta, or as some of us like to call her, “Shital Mom”, has been “teaching” art to these children for more than twenty years, and most recently, has merged artistic expression with compassion, kindness, and gratitude. Her vibrant stories on Saturday’s Global Awakin Call were uplifting and rejuvenating, and in fact, many of us felt our own inner artists awaken by the end of the conversation.                                   

"I realized that as a teacher I had an obligation to unlock and churn out the creativity in a child because every human being is creative. It’s just that you need to tune into that creativity. There is an unparalleled joy that you feel from creating something of your own and I would say that whatever you create is never right or wrong. In fact, I would say it’s always right.”

Shital grew up with a mother that served children in the nearby slums by tutoring them in the subjects that they struggled with most, English and math. Although Shital’s mom was a Sanskrit scholar, she taught herself English for the sole purpose of teaching other students. Her mother’s influence in Shital’s life is telling. For 22 years, Shital worked as an art teacher at one of south Mumbai’s prestigious grade schools while also sharing her gift with children from nearby slum communities by teaching them right out of her home. Her approach to connecting with children, whether economically privileged or not, stayed the same.

“There was no difference in working with the community children from the nearby slums. Every child is a child and every child can create. Art is a medium that is understood without these barriers.”

When they were gifted the opportunity to create in a beautiful, open space, Shital experienced the therapeutic joy from children living in 10 by 10 box sized homes. Over time, the children’s mothers have also started observing and understanding the power of art in their children’s lives because they have witnessed changes in their behavior and overall mood. Today Shital and other friends teach these children classical dance, music, and other art forms that speak to the child’s inner calling.

In recent years, Shital has challenged her own ideas of what children can grasp and express through the “Cube of Compassion” and “Cube of Gratitude”. In Mumbai, every year the Khala Goda Arts Festival, a nine-day festival that draws over 150,000 people from all over the city, magically sweeps in the city’s inhabitants to experience art in its most interpretive forms. Inspired by her daughter Lahar and son-in-law, Siddharth, Shital wondered whether she could encourage her young students to express compassion and gratitude in creative and innovative ways.

Uncertain whether anything of this kind would work, Shital was pleasantly surprised and humbled when she sat down with her young students between the ages of six and thirteen. They talked about kindness and compassion and knew exactly what it meant, regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds.

“I introduced the smile deck, which worked really well because it became like a game. Each child would pull a card and then share their story in a circle of sharing.

One child hugged a woman that was cleaning her building and said “thank you”. The child shared that the woman was in tears and couldn’t believe someone would hug her and say thank you like this. Equally moved by this interaction was the child, who never thought she could hug this woman so freely and with so much love.

Another child was in a rickshaw with his grandmother and then they both asked the rickshaw driver to stop in front of a restaurant and buy himself a cold drink. The rickshaw driver was confused and surprised and wasn’t sure if they meant to ask him to purchase cold drinks for them.”

What began as a game slowly transformed into a realization that every moment held an opportunity to give and be compassionate. As the weeks progressed, the children became more and more innovative and subtle in how they could give to others. Initially, they thought of giving in material ways but later, they started giving their presence.

What profoundly inspired Shital was the resourcefulness and creativity of the children in the slum community. She expected them to react by asking what could they do without money. But then Shital realized this was her own mental block. When she shared her idea to spread kindness with these children, their immediate reaction was, “Of course didi (sister), we can also do this!” Even though they did not have the extra money to treat strangers to cold drinks, they had the enthusiasm and loving presence to offer a helping hand to someone that was pushing a heavy cart uphill or to an elderly neighbor that was too sick to pick up medicine or to a mother in their community that was allowed to take a break from sweeping and cleaning.

The whole thing grew at an unexpected level and together, Shital and the children put up one act of kindness for every child on a their Cube of Compassion. Children from both income groups shared their stories with the visitors and it became an installation from the children for the children and their parents.

“It became like a movement because everyone got involved in doing acts of kindness near the installation. I was out of the picture at this point, the children were communicating with other children and inspiring them and it got subtler and subtler in their acts of kindness. It went from, “I bought a slice of pizza for someone to my friend was very upset and I sat down with her and listened to her.”

Shital’s personal transformation that has resulted from her cultivation of compassion and kindness with the children might be the most inspiring story. She shared an experience when she thought she had lost her cell phone. For a split second, the thought crossed her mind that someone had stolen it. As soon as the children noticed that she was worried and searching for something, they responded, “Don’t worry didi, we are here with you! We will help you find your cell phone.”

“I will never forget that. In my weak moments, there is so much strength around me in the form of community. As we get connected with children we realize that the kind of energy they have, the joy and enthusiasm that they’re in all the time is something we need to learn. And the unconditional love and faith they have in you! It’s so rewarding and I’m grateful to them for teaching me this life skill.”