By: Sanjana B
These are unprecedented times but the enlivening effects of art and literature are here to rescue us. The Plated Project an Instagram campaign is curating heart-warming stories of hope and courage through art on the plates. 21DaysofHope, as they call it, is the reality of the times we are living in, looked at from an artists lens. We bring to you a select few from their treasure, to make your day a lot better than perhaps you’d hoped.
The one dedicated to the health workers and doctors was an obvious first. It depicts an offer by ‘OYO Rooms, an Indian hotel chain for free rooms to health care providers fighting COVID-19. “We are grateful for the bravery and sacrifices all medical personnel are making to save lives and stop the spread of COVID-19,” the founder-CEO of OYO Rooms had said.
The schools are all closed and children are restless at home. To lift the burden off from the parents many online literary platforms have released a variety of free children’s books. ‘Book authors and publishers are coming up with unique screen-free ways to keep the kids engaged through the most tried and tested method — stories. Audible, an audiobook platform has made hundreds of titles free till schools open. Children’s book publisher Karadi Tales has even free streaming of popular audiobooks from their ‘Will You Read With Me’ series’.
The Spring has arrived without expecting such magnitude of silence. With no Ophelias singing in the gardens, all flowers are rotting away sooner than usual. Millions of street vendors like flower-sellers do have any way of earning their daily wages. This plate depicts the misery of many such vendors. But, there are also stories of hope. A Kerala man has waived rent for the 100 shops he owned bearing a loss of 12 lakh rupees. “I’ve been a trader here in Kozhikode for almost 57 years. At times like this, we have to stop thinking about profits and simply stand with humanity,” he said.
The fear of a pandemic-induced lockdown has taken over nearly everyone’s mind. Nobody wants to step out, but it’s impossible to get through a month without enough groceries. At such testing times, people helping people and pooling their resources is keeping the hope alive. In Darjeeling, the iconic Glenary’s bakery distributed bread to several shelter homes. In Punjab, Police officials bought vegetables from a vendor and distributed among the elderly and needy.
COVID-19 has put all our faith at stake. Farmers especially are bearing the brunt of a sudden lockdown. The plate art above is dedicated to the farmers of India who live the life of struggle to provide food to a population of more than one billion. The ones like a ‘farmer in Nashik’ who is distributing wheat harvested from 1 acre of his 3-acre land to the needy. You can lend help by supporting groups like Chitrika that are trying to mobilise help for farmers in AP, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
(Sanjana is a student of journalism and a documentary film lover)
