This Mumbai-based teenager is teaching art to senior citizens

Tanisha teaches quilling to the senior citizens

Old age is second childhood. Every weekend, on holidays, and whenever she can squeeze in some time after completing her school work, 17-year-old Tanisha Desai hosts workshops to fill senior children's lives with colour through her initiative, The Art of Ageing.

The Santacruz-based art enthusiast has been hosting similar workshops for children to raise funds for an orphanage since 2020. "Recently, I signed up my grandmother [Usha Desai] and myself for an art workshop. On reaching there, I saw that everyone in that room was about my age, apart from my grandmother. She is 80 years old, and despite having been an artist when she was young, she was struggling to create the artwork. She kept asking me questions, observed me closely as I made my artwork, but found it difficult to do the same thing because her hands were shivering," Tanisha recalls.

Usha Desai and her friend participate in the first workshop

While Usha managed to complete the artwork gradually with her help, Tanisha realised the gap in the society when it came to hosting experiences and workshops for the senior citizens. In an attempt to bridge this gap, she launched her free-for-all art workshops for those who are 60 years and above. "We held the first workshop online, where I taught them how to draw butterflies. It was a wholesome experience. By the end of the class, everyone was holding up their artworks, discussing ideas, and showing off to each other what they had created," Tanisha smiles.

Her workshops include different types of art like tote bag making, quilling, comics, and more. "It is relatively easy to teach art to people who are in their sixties. But I have participants as old as 85 years. With my grandmother, it was easy because she was previously an artist. Most who join have little to no experience in this. So, they end up asking me to repeat what I taught often. If it's an offline workshop in my house or at the Senior Citizens Centre [Santacruz], I also approach personally to go over the entire process again as and when needed," she shares.

Tanisha Desai

These workshops not only hone motor skills, but also build a sense of community and purpose. "That I can contribute to their happiness is the most rewarding feeling. As they engage with each other, it provides a solution to boredom and loneliness, which is, unfortunately, a common plight. Their creativity blooms with each session, as do their motor skills, cognitive abilities, and over well-being. It fills me with joy to see them leave the session proudly, holding their masterpieces and smiling cheerfully. Those smiles can light up the world; they surely light up mine," she beams.

Using these workshops as an analysis for the next step in the initiative, Tanisha will soon launch art kits for senior citizens. The first prototype, which is now ready, is a collage kit. She will introduce comic-making, sketching and calligraphy in the kits to follow.

Age group: 60 years and above
Message: 9322251904 (for more details on the workshop)

Also Read: International Day for Older Persons: This cultural programme in Mumbai will showcase the talent of senior citizens