Students of BK College of Art and Crafts transformed this playground into a recreational zone for children using recycled materials. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 3: Not so long ago in the remote village of Paradsinga in Madhya Pradesh was a plot of land used for open defecation and gambling.

Fifteen students of B.K College of Art and Crafts have transformed it into a beautiful park and recreational zone for children. The students travelled all the way from Bhubaneswar to with their teacher Satyabhama Majhi to carry out the task.

It all began when an offer to this effect came from Majhi’s friend, Shweta Bhattad, who is working for the Gram Art Project in Madhya Pradesh.

The project aims at uniting artists and the rural people for developmental works in their communities. “My friend had told me about the situation of the children in the village. They were not involved in any recreational activity. While the boys had taken to tobacco, the girls were bound to their homes. But Shweta told me that there was a plot of land that could be utilised for the purpose,” said Majhi.

When he discussed the situation with a few of her students, they decided to take it on themselves. “It was not easy. It took us a lot of time to make the people understand that we did not have any intention other than helping them. Thereafter we began with cleaning the ground,” said Rasmiranjan Mohanty, a student of the ceramic department and part of the project. With some support from local residents, Bhattad, Majhi and the students began making art installations on the ground and setting up play structures and custom-designed equipment using objects gathered from the village.

The children of the village also joined hands with the artists. A volleyball and basketball court was also made. A separate space was constructed for hopscotch, a game popular among the village girls. The area was beautifully decorated with red mud and white stones.

The artists faced some opposition from the gamblers. “They would disturb us often and not let us work. Finally, we went to the gram panchayat for help and the issue was sorted,” said Majhi. Solar lights were also installed on the ground by the panchayat.

For the students, the self-funded 10-day trip that concluded recently was a memorable experience.

“We made a lot of friends. The children bid us adieu with big smiles and that was our reward,” said another artist from the group, Swagatika Mishra.