I went to Drishya (Yelahanka New Town),a school for under privileged children, and make the younger kids draw for me. They all spoke kannada, so I had to explain what I wanted them to do to the teacher, and she explained it to them. I first asked them to draw themselves, and then an alien. When instructing them, the teacher explained what an alien was, how it lived on another planet far away and she told them to use their imagination about how they might look. So the kids made aliens I had expected, with extra eyes/ horns/ with tails/ wings/ hoofs, all kinds of wacky things. And then some drew disabled people. I asked them if they had met anyone like that on Earth. They said yes, at the Baptiste Hospital, and in the village they lived in.
An alien has curly hair and funny ears/ Doesn't have eyes, and sees with a stick/ Can't walk, has funny feet
It is very politically incorrect and wrong for me to call people with disabilities aliens, but how do I use what the kids made without hurting someones sentiments? It is not my intention to reinforce segregations in society, but pretending they don't exist doesn't make them go away. Everyone is alien for someone else, but it affects lives of some more than others. These kids I spoke to were quite young, and didn't have any personal prejudiced, they drew from observation. Any physical difference arouses curiosity.
I must remember to take pictures
Draw an alien/ Draw yourself
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