Children tell Mumbai to save water or else

‘Change from shower to bucket bath’, ‘Turn off the tap while brushing’, ‘Use fewer utensils’, are some of the hand-painted messages by children in an effort to address the need to conserve water, which is a major cause for concern the world over, and especially in the city.

Almost 45 children belonging to two different clubs—Apun Ka Klub and Drawing from Within, belonging to two different strata of society—underprivileged children from the Simla Nagar slum and the privileged ones, have come forward to create an awareness for the need for water conservation through an interactive art installation on canvas titled Cube of Concern. It is on display at Harish Mahindra Children’s Park near Amarsons Garden at Breach Candy till May 23.

“Children are effective at influencing their parents and family and an awareness towards such issues will make a change in their lives today and bring about a change in their immediate surroundings too in the long run,” says artist, art educator Shital Mehta, the brain behind the project.

According to Mehta, in a city where every drop of water counts, such awareness will save us from a severe water crisis.

Children from Apun Ka Klub interacted with those from Drawing from Within and shared their views on water and its conservation.

The interaction between these two groups brought about awareness and a deep consciousness of the problems of water faced by all. It is through their eyes that one can see the simple, most basic ways water can be saved, through the art installation.

“It was a revelation that people in the slums get water for just one hour a day and have to manage their daily chores with that,” says Alomi Parikh, a Std VII student of JB Petit High School for Girls (Fort).

So moved was she on hearing about the water problem faced by children living there, that she went about writing the message ‘use lesser utensils’ as part of the awareness drive and has now made it a daily habit to not use too many plates and glasses each time she has her meals and is now inculcating the habits among her family members too.

These acrylic on canvas paintings in Cube of Concern portray simple ways to address the issue—understand, study the habit and make a promise. A pledge book kept alongside lists the numerous ways of conserving water and asks people to tick any issue that they are committed to and follow it wholeheartedly. It also invites visiting children to initiate action by making four simple water-conscious pledges.

Pledges include: Don’t let the water run while you lather your hands; put clothes for wash only when dirty enough; turn off the tap while brushing, among many others.

Taking a leaf from the several messages on display, Mehta elaborates; using a bucket of water for bathing uses merely 3 litres of water and helps us save almost 70-90 litres which we would have wasted by taking a shower. Earlier on display at the Kala Ghoda fest in February this year, it had invited 4,200 pledges from people who promised to make a change in their daily habits.

“The children have expressed a desire to donate the artwork to the children’s ward at hospitals to spread the message,” says Mehta.