Deepwaliday

In the morning scrub everything clean
turn it out
beat it down
Our cricket pitch -
dustbath with holes -
where the dogs sleep.  We sweep.
Every tumbling leaf is vanished

Holyday is no holiday
PWB play circus.
PWB play face painting.
PWB play pleasecanyoudoashowforthevisitors
inanhour’stimeafteraheavylunch?
PWB play it well.
PWB beam our sweaty faces around
and drink fresh juice
PWB finish.
Deepwali Puja begins…

Deepwali
The festival of lights
Brights on every window ledge
balcony edge
buried in the sand
sneaky in the trees all around.

Deepwali
The festival of sugar
Sweetness & light
Syrupy smiles
Sticky hands are never satisfied
-still grab for more than they should.
As if it is expected?

Dance for your dinner
clap-click-wiggle-yum!
We firedance off into the night.

Anna

Invisible city

A low distant clatter, Mr JCB
Yanking open the earth’s dusty eyes
Small voices nearby
Names yelled out in chorus
Prodding.  Sleep.  Away
Laughter
Running water
Eyuw eyuw eyuw
The early morning peacock yell
My splintered dreams know it well
From my balcony bed
Mosquito net (invisible tent)

You should see us all in our invisible city
Tentish devices
Comfort contraptions
Our see-through community, temporary housing project

Pack it away for the new day

After the sun…

The invisable tents come to play
A herd of different sizes all
Sharing the same night sky
A low red moonface
And the honking goose in the tree

Anna

A day at Karm Marg

I wake to the sounds of birds and children going about their morning chores, diggers yawning into motion on the dusty farmland around.  Morning yoga on the balcony in the hazy air breaths fresh life into my limbs.  We take tea and breakfast (beaten rice with turmeric and onion) and digest the newspaper.

The children have a school holiday and so a cricket match takes shape – 10 overs each of lost balls, over-ruled decisions and playground tactics.  Warming up in the shape I spy bright parakeets flapping above me – stay focussed.  We develop ideas for a skipping workshop and explore tumbling and juggling through the rope.

We rest listening to the guitar class that is in full swing under a tree.  Emily, Jonny and I pass clubs for a while and draw a small crowd: the lads who work the screenprints and the women from the village who come to use the sewing machines also seem to have the day off.  A few of the older boys join in and an impromptu club swinging session ensues.  I am continually inspired by the rate at which these children learn; Vikranta, Vinod and Rajesh pick up wrist wraps in seconds.

We eat a lunch of rice and dahl on the grass and discuss how we can best approach todays workshops – emphasize inclusion and involvement.  We consider how to use our resources and designate roles for all the team to support the workshop leaders.

We begin with a group warm up and game to stretch our bodies and minds.  The kids are full of passion and energy, and have extraordinary characters.  Todays scheduled workshops are contact juggling, hula hoop and diabolo.  The contrast in atmosphere from one group to another is huge; from the calm circle palming and rolling balls; to the whipping of diabolos and Steve’s teaching style and the hip shaking hula.

After workshops free time commences, a whirl of juggling balls, skipping ropes and excited children.  Time for tea and biscuit, and a team debriefing of how each workshop went.  An evening meal of chapatis and vegetables is filling and satisfying.  Back in the team room a video and power-cut are the staple before bed.  Hot masala tea and biscuit lull me gently to sleep under the stars, ready for another day.

Thom

1st PWB show in India was a stonker

On the 21st October in the beautiful surrounds of the Karm Marg home we put on a show of many acts of comedy, skill, poise and magic.  It was a fantastic event that all enjoyed very much.  Unfortunately we were all performing so we don’t have any pictures but we do have a video.  An edited version will be on the website as I get the time.

The day was a Hindu festival called Dassera, so as it got dark the children burnt the image of Ravana (a ten headed god of Lanka) – much like we burn Guy Fawkes.  His crime was to steal Ram’s wife Seta and take her to Sri Lanka.  After the burning the Bollywood music started blaring and we danced, hands in the air, with the children.

On another note the Karm Marg home is a long way from the nearest internet access, so please be patient with replies to any emails.

Matt x

PWB the charity

Great news; today as I was sitting in my hotel room in Delhi (under the consent whirle of the ceiling fan) I got a phone call from the charity commission.  Due to the current state of the post he’d kindly called (unbeknown to him that the post to India takes even longer) to say that Performers Without Borders is a charity!

Our charity number is 1121236.

More details and what this means will be on the website soon (as soon as I can find somewhere to plug my laptop in).

Matt
Delhi

PWB at the Big Green Gathering

Performers Without Borders (PWB) performed at the recent Big Green Gathering near Cheddar. It was a beautiful sunny festival with fun had by all. We raised over £110 by putting down a hat at the end of our shows.

PWB would like to thank the Big Green Gathering for letting us perform and our lovely audiences for their attention and donations.

Have a look at pictures 1 and pictures 2.

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PWB Team application form available

Are you interested in joining the PWB Team and undertaking an adventure of a life time on the India’07 project? The application pack and application form are available on the PWB website: http://www.performerswithoutborders.org.uk/get-involved.html