Narrative Practices India: A Conversation with Jehanzeb Baldiwala

Jehanzeb: In July, 2020, six colleagues, we came together to bring together Narrative Practices India. Our hope was to create a space for people to explore narrative ideas in practices, and for us to explore how they might look in the diverse context of this region (south East Asian content) and in diverse spaces, in therapy spaces, but also how they might look as practices that might be adapted in contexts of writing, in journalism, in teaching, in other kinds of activist spaces and community spaces. And it’s been a little over a year now, so we have lots of exciting training that we offer.

For further interest:

NPI Website

Jehanzeb: Our hope is to nurture safe spaces and collective accountability, explore the possibilities of people’s preferred ways of being, engage with the idea of imperfect solidarity, and this idea of holding complexity. And, to think how we do that in this really difficult world that we’re living in. Our hope of being a collective was in some ways to challenge the structures of organizations like hierarchy. We endeavor to make visible for people that problems are rooted in systems, oppression, structure rather than in themselves and in communities and in their bodies and in their identities. How do we help communities and people to notice, realize, and own the fact that they’re experts of their own lives and that they have this agency?

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Collaborations

Jehanzeb: The members of the collective as of now are a very diverse group. Raviraj & Aditi have an educational background in occupational therapy. Jill has an interest in autism. Prathama works in the context of disability. Shamin works in the school inclusion space. I (Jehanzeb) work with children and their families and adults. I think collectively we have an interest in developing alternative professional discourses and identities in the supervision context. Our participants in trainings have been from many different spaces. Some of them are writers, some work in the school teaching context, and some are therapists. And, I think one of the things that we’re learning and hoping to draw attention to is the different kinds of systemic oppression that exists in our country (particularly), and cost being one of the big ones. Keeping that in mind, we collaborate with many organisations like Blue dawn, that provides accessible mental health services to marginalised communities; school population in the municipal corporations; and organisations that promote youth wellness. We’ve recently been collaborating with different modalities like mindfulness and narrative therapy while doing trauma work. The members of the collective as of now are a very diverse group. Raviraj & Aditi have an educational background in occupational therapy. Jill has an interest in autism. Prathama works in the context of disability. Shamin works in the school inclusion space. I (Jehanzeb) work with children and their families and adults. I think collectively we have an interest in developing alternative professional discourses and identities in the supervision context. Our participants in trainings have been from many different spaces. Some of them are writers, some work in the school teaching context, and some are therapists. And, I think one of the things that we’re learning and hoping to draw attention to is the different kinds of systemic oppression that exists in our country (particularly), and cost being one of the big ones. Keeping that in mind, we collaborate with many organisations like Blue dawn, that provides accessible mental health services to marginalised communities; school population in the municipal corporations; and organisations that promote youth wellness. We’ve recently been collaborating with different modalities like mindfulness and narrative therapy while doing trauma work.

For further interest:

People of the Collective

Cooking Rescued Us

Jehanzeb: There are year long diploma courses on Narrative Practices with supervision, supervision groups. We also have shorter workshops on narrative ideas and practices in the context of trauma, and introductory workshops etc.

Inclusive practices, we try to think of it in every possible way. For instance, the smallest things in terms of making communication more accessible and to reach multiple audiences. By ensuring that we have, not just flyers or texts, but we also have it presented in a way that it can be read and understood by a reader. Being mindful that we ask at every registration, if people have accessibility to means that we can take into consideration. Ensuring that we offer scholarships for people who are not able to financially afford the trainings. Ensuring within the trainings through diverse practices that everybody gets a space to voice their opinions and is able to hold space for different opinions. But, it’s such a journey for this whole idea of inclusion. Because, even that word comes from a space of power, that somebody has the power to include somebody else. But, we try to think about how do we construct spaces where it becomes possible for everybody to participate rather than a space where one person has to include another.

For further interest:

South Asian Diploma in Narrative Practices 2022

Workshops

Supervision

Jehanzeb: There are so many moments, from the moment we announced. I think there was a lot of excitement around the announcement Then, commencing the diploma was exciting, too. The diploma graduation ceremony was really memorable. I think the celebration, obviously of journey and the excitement for the participants. The graduation was a lot about witnessing each other, sharing ideas, and celebrating. I think for me (Jehanzeb), what’s most special is our Monday morning meetings where the six of us get together. The ability to discuss things, and come together in a particular way.

With regard to impact, that’s a tough question. I think it might be an interesting question to ask the participants of the diploma rather than us. I’m hoping that people are taking away the practices and creating wonderful things as they go along. There are people using narrative practices in the school space, the community space, with other communities like LGBTQI communities that have experienced marginalization. There was one participant working in the space of restorative justice. We do hope that the people, participants work with would in some way experience life in more preferred ways. I think that it’s exciting to see that it is materialising in different ways.

Jehanzeb: I think for us the metaphor (also our logo) of Rhizomes will always be something that’s close to what we believe in. The sense of community and connectedness that Rhizomes have; in how they grow and how they spread, and how they uproot certain existing oppressive systems also. That metaphor is also our journey. And, I think we hold a lot of gratitude for all the people who’ve been part of the journey. There was a lot of excitement and love from all the people that we have engaged with over the years and for what is going to come. An openness to support us in small ways like sharing posts, sending messages. That has meant a lot. And, the image of this Rhizome that connects many people together is a very strong metaphor and a representation of who we are.