Introducing Itihase Hatekhari: Interactions with Children in 2023

The brochure is a part of the IDSK-RLS project 'Revisiting the Craft of History Writing for Children (2023). In this brochure we have collated the responses of children on the three new books of 2023. We conducted several workshops around these books where they were encouraged to draw and/or write on the themes that our books cover – i.e., war, environment, and commodity histories. At present we have more than 100 feedback – including both the illustrations and the written responses. In this brochure we have selected 20 illustrations and organized them thematically, following the topics of the three books.

It is important to flag a few points. Students who attended the physical sessions did not have the opportunity to read the books before the workshops. They listened to our readings and discussions and then wrote/drew on the basis of their own understandings and imaginations. It is also important to keep in mind the profile of the students who attended the workshops. Although we had conducted our storytelling sessions at various places, in Kolkata and its surroundings, the socio-economic background of the students almost remained similar.

On 2 October 2023, we had our first interaction with children. We spent the entire day with students of schools run by the Sanghati collective (known as Sanghati School or Solidarity School) and Anandagoshthi (also known as the Saturday School). Sanghati is an initiative of the Bastibashi Sramajibi Adhikar Raksha Committee – a part of Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan (MASA). They run five schools for slum children in five different locations in Kolkata. Underprivileged children of these slums are mostly enrolled in public schools, but free classes at Sanghati schools assist them in the learning process. Most of the teachers at Sanghati also come from these slums and they have day-jobs in the informal labour sector of the city (mason, plumber, driver etc.). They are active participants of MASA and have finished high school or college. They take classes in the evening according to a predetermined schedule. Two of the five schools operate under flyovers and three operate at rented rooms in the slums. Anandagoshthi school is conducted in the premises of the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK). PhD students of the institute run this weekly school for children living in the adjacent slum. A total of 37 students attended the session. 

The second workshop (October 8, 2023) was with the students of Batighar Pathshala, Kalighat, Kolkata. The parents of these children are primarily engaged in sex work. Some of the students' parents are daily wagers working for Government-sponsored projects operating in the so-called 'redlight areas' of South Kolkata. These students also go to regular government schools and attend Batighar Pathshala for additional assistance. Batighar Pathshala operates every day in a rented room at Kalighat. 19 students attended the session. 

The third workshop (October 13, 2023) was held at Khidderpore. The majority of the students who attended this session were from local Muslim families. Their fathers work as construction workers, masons, house-painters, carpenters etc. Some of their mothers work as domestic helps in the nearby middle-class households. These students go to local schools and get free tuition in Nava Jyoti - a three-decade old charity organization. We collaborated with Nava Jyoti for this workshop. 35 students attended the session. 

The fourth workshop (October 15, 2023) was organised in Piali, a small town outside Kolkata, near Canning. Here we collaborated with a local community library called Pialir Boighor. The children who come to Pialir Boighor belong to similar financial backgrounds. The fathers of the children are daily labourers working at various construction sites in the city. When the fathers do not have a job for a longer period, their mothers come to the city to work as a domestic help. 21 students attended the session.