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Students of NMAM Institute of Technology performing a street play to create awareness about suicide prevention
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Through this week college students from six States staged impactful and engaging street plays that put the spotlight on mental health and suicide prevention among their peers and how and where could they seek help.
Scripted collectively by students of three Mumbai-based colleges – Whistling Woods International, Garware Institute of Career Education and Development, and Atlas SkillTech University – and endorsed by a team of psychologists, the street play focusses on a youth’s unrequited love and his descent into depression. Those around him either fail to see his symptoms or avoid him for his negativity, even as he screams silently that he wants to live and be happy. The play ends with a message to normalise conversations around mental health because people want their suffering to end, not their lives. “You are not alone’ is conveyed powerfully with a hashtag: We are #Ear for you
Given the rise in student deaths by suicide in India in the past five years and the growing concern over the mental health of the country’s young population, the initiative to empower students to champion mental health in colleges through street plays was launched earlier on September 10 to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day.
The street play was first performed at Garware Institute, on campuses in the University of Mumbai, and since then has travelled to Sophia College and Atlas in Mumbai; the Dolphin (PG) Institute of Biomedical & Natural Sciences, Dehradun; the B K Birla College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Kalyan, Maharashtra; NITTE University, Mangalore; the Rungta College of Engineering & Technology in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh; and the Sambhram Institute of Technology, Bengaluru.
Students of NMAM Institute of Technology performing a street play to create awareness about suicide prevention
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
In each city, local college students from various backgrounds came together to showcase their talent and enact the play. They tweaked the songs and dialogues to be region-specific but retained the emphasis on the need for open and meaningful dialogues with those in distress.
The culminating performance of the week-long staging will take place at PR Pote Patil Engineering College & Research in Amravati, Maharashtra and Indraprastha Engineering College, Delhi-NCR on September 15.
“The street plays work as an effective tool to communicate the importance of mental health and create a supportive environment for those who may be struggling,” says Pearl Fotedar, Delhi-based life skills counsellor.
Initiated by Aditya Birla Foundation, the exercise to involve college students from different parts of the country was launched as a social enterprise, Mpower, six years ago. It is a community of student volunteers who focus on outreach programmes and work within their own community by counselling and creating awareness for peer empowerment.
“Mental health has long been relegated to the shadows; it’s crucial to remember that our students are not just scholars but individuals with emotional lives that need nurturing,” says Advaitesha Birla, who conceived the idea of uniting the student community and contributing to an inclusive society. It is a step towards creating a positive atmosphere that encourages peer-to-peer interactions and adopts a proactive approach to mental well-being of the student community, she adds.
Students of Garware College performing street play in Mumbai University campus to create awareness about suicide prevention
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Mpower has active cells in colleges in Pilani, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Goa and Delhi that coordinate and strive to bring about a cultural shift and a change in the mind-set of people by addressing misconceptions, fostering positive attitudes, disseminating correct information, alleviating stigma related to mental illnesses, encouraging help-seeking behaviour and providing a mental health-friendly environment on the campus.
“Activities undertaken are subjective as a concept and are impact-driven. Collectively, every action and every stakeholder (including parents, siblings, teachers, friends) help to empower people living with psychosocial difficulties to lead meaningful lives, without social exclusion,” says Pearl, adding “busting the stigma is crucial”.
Need for empathy
National Crime Records Bureau data reveals 12,526 students died by suicide in 2020 and the number rose to 13,089 in 2021.
Number of students dying by suicide is up by 70% between 2011 and now
This year 23 student deaths have been reported in the coaching hub Kota, and two IIT Delhi students died by suicide in last two months
Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling the 24×7 helpline at Aasra 9820466726; Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health – 011-4076 9002, Monday-Saturday, 10am to 7.30pm.
Students of NMAM Institute of Technology performing street play to create awareness about suicide prevention
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
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