“I want to help preserve the endangered Tamil language,” said P. Pattarasan, during our Hearts of the World workshop at S.S.S.P. orphanage in Tambaram, Chennai. “That is why I painted Kannadasan in my heart. Because he is a legendary poet and I want to be a successful poet also, so that I can save our language by writing the poetry of love.”

P. Pattarasan’s painted heart

Interviewing the kids about their paintings.

Children in Chennai are so enthusiastic, full of energy and posses a special, wild kind of spirit. They approached painting, something they had never done before with confidence and an extraordinary, intrinsic talent. 

Next stop on our itinerary is be Auroville, the “City of Dawn”, the “Universal Community”. We will travel to Sadhana forest to paint with kids who are taught “un-schooling.” More soon~