Vathsala

The Foundation Project implemented by IFA will engage students from grades three to five at Government Lower Primary School, Srinivagilu, Koramangala, Bengaluru. Titled Gadigallida Abhivyaktigalu–Bahubahaasha Tragatigalu – Expressions without Borders - in Multilingual Classrooms, this 15-month initiative aims to foster curiosity in learning and the appreciation of linguistic diversity by encouraging students to express themselves in their mother tongue and engage with translations in the State language of Kannada. Vathsala is the Project Coordinator for this foundation project. 

Vathsala, fondly known as Vasu Vatsale, is a multifaceted teacher, Kannada writer, storyteller, poet, children's author, editor, and organiser. Alongside her profession, she has earned postgraduate degrees in Kannada and English and is currently pursuing a PhD on "Sita in the Five Mahakavyas" at Mysore University. A passionate writer since her school days, she has published numerous works across genres, including short stories, poems, children's literature, and edited volumes. Her contributions have earned her several accolades, including the Kannada Seva Ratna, Vasudeva Bhoopala Datti award, and the G.B. Hombala award. Given her experience, she is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA. 

The school operates with a well-equipped infrastructure and currently serves around 52 students. As an urban institution, it is staffed by two dedicated teachers, one of whom is nearing retirement. Despite limited personnel, the school has successfully organised cultural programmes in collaboration with various organisations and continues to strive for inclusive and effective education.

However, the school faces the unique challenge of serving a linguistically and culturally diverse student population, many of whom are children of migrant workers from states such as West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Odisha and beyond including Nepal. These students often enter the classroom with little familiarity with Kannada, the medium of instruction, making language acquisition and engagement a significant hurdle. Committed to inclusive education, the school strives to meet curriculum goals while addressing these barriers through creative and responsive methods. The project supports this effort by fostering a multilingual classroom environment where children’s home languages are not only acknowledged but appreciated. By bridging their cultural identities with formal education, the initiative helps children preserve their linguistic heritage while building confidence and connection within the academic space.

The first phase begins with the creation of a multilingual lexicon. Students, with support from their families, will collect commonly used words, idioms, and expressions from their mother tongues. These will be documented and categorised thematically, forming a living dictionary that reflects the linguistic diversity of the classroom. This lexicon will be used as a resource to support communication and learning across languages, helping children feel seen and heard. The process fosters pride in identity, encourages collaboration, and strengthens the connection between school and home.

In the second phase, students will gather folktales from their communities, stories that have been passed down through generations, rich with cultural meaning. These tales will be shared with classmates and translated not only into Kannada but also into the languages spoken in the classroom, such as Nepali, Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Bihari, and Odia. This multilingual storytelling approach allows children to hear the cultural narratives of their peers in their own languages, promoting mutual respect and curiosity. The translated stories will be compiled into a student-created anthology, reinforcing creative expression and linguistic understanding.

The third phase integrates visual and performing arts. Art workshops will help children illustrate their stories through drawings and storyboards, while theatre sessions will guide them in dramatising their translated narratives. Music activities will involve collecting and performing folk songs and lullabies from students’ cultures, with parents joining in. These expressive forms make learning tangible and joyful, allowing children to explore language through imagination and performance.

The final phase culminates in a public showcase of stories, illustrations, songs, and plays. This celebration marks the journey of students with language, identity, and creativity. It empowers children from marginalised communities to build knowledge through their own voices and experiences, fostering unity in diversity and enriching the educational landscape.

The outcome of this project will be a publication, series of performances and an exhibition. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be copies of the photographs, copies of the publication, and the video documentation of the entire project.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Education programme in the manner in which it attempts to connect students and schools to the cultural knowledge of the local communities they live in. 

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens promptly and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.

This Foundation Project is made possible in partnership with InterGlobe Foundation.