CHENNAI: On the seventh floor of the Government Children’s Hospital, Chennai, piles of concrete and bricks lie in the ward opposite the thalassemia and hemophilia daycare ward. This will soon become the creative arts therapy ward, with mirrors on one side, paintings on the wall, and wooden floors for the children from cancer and palliative care to practice theatre, dance or music. This will be India’s first creative arts therapy ward for children.
With The Little Theatre (TLT), a 27-year-old non-profit theatrical organisation, the hospital hopes to make this a positive space for the children undergoing harsh and long-term treatment.The 8,000-sq ft ward was conceived by TLT’s managing trustee and founder, Ayesha Rau, this year, due to their three-year relationship with the hospital through TLT’s hospital clowning programme. “What we learned from clowning is that being cooped up in the hospital for so long takes away all control from kids. There are needles, painful treatment and sadness all around them. It’s our job as clowns to bring control back to the patients. Children always want to get to a state of joy, and it is easy to do that with them. We are gentle with them and try to provide them some relief,” said Krishnakumar Balasubramaniam, artistic director of TLT, who was trained by Hillary Chaplin, a trainer from The Goofs, a New York clowning troupe.
The organisation hopes to bring in theatre actors, dancers and singers for workshops to give the children a creative outlet during their hospitalisation. Rau hopes to set up a drawing board outside the ward for the children to draw on and display their work, and put on stage lights so that the children can put up proper shows. The air-conditioning system is designed by an ex-TLT parent and IIT graduate, Manzur Bhavnagarwala, which makes sure that pathogens are not spread among patients. With the cancer and palliative wards located just above the seventh floor, these patients can easily go to the ward without straining themselves.
“These children are highly traumatised. They see the worried expression of their mothers, other children suffering from treatment, and the effects of their treatment. Their morality goes down. The parents, who also go through a lot, will see their child perform and gain confidence despite their chronic illness,” said Dr AT Arasur, director of the hospital, adding that physical activity helps them get out of the state of depression that they fall into. As their treatment prevents them from going to school, this gives them a space to interact with other children and enjoy themselves.
“Currently, we are looking for sponsors for the ward. We would love for more hospitals to have this feature in future. We hope to provide these children quality workshops and help them during their recovery and illness,” said Rau. The ward will open early next year.
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What is creative arts therapy
It’s a form of expressive therapy that uses creative processes, such as art, story-telling, dance and music, to help kids’ physical and mental well-being. It has shown to significantly reduce pain and depression symptoms in cancer patients, and many studies have shown that this form of therapy also helps children with autism. The hospital will also open the ward for them.