After a few days rest and figuring out the next leg of the trip we went back to Milana and did an art workshop for the women living with HIV and AIDs. Previously we had discussed some of the things they wish they could communicate to others. With this workshop I hoped to get them communicating their feelings first for their own emotional well being and second as a means to help others understand.As usual, I had a basic plan and had spent time thinking about how best to try and connect, but beyond that I had no idea if I would be able to give them something of value. I never have any doubt that art has value to be shared in all things, but whether I know enough to connect people to that is always the uncertainty. I suppose that's the exciting part of it all.So I had copied some images of watercolors I painted in the past in response to different social issues that I felt I needed to express something about. Those pieces are all here on the blog in previous posts. Lilly translated my English to Kannada for the women. We sat down, had some tea, shared some smiles and then sat down. I went over what I wished to do and Lilly related this to the women. I opened up the laptop and went through a handful of images, one at a time and shared them with the ladies. For each one, I explained the context of what I was reacting to and how that painful or sad emotion was translated into an image to try and make people think. Thanks to Lilly, the words and sentiments were beautifully translated and at once the women connected. To come in and talk to a group of women who are dealing with issues I can't even imagine, and try and share something that I think can be useful for them was a daunting task, so I tried to share how I deal with issues that I can't outright fix in a theraputic and communicative way through art.That the women responded is thanks to Lilly's excellent translation. I spoke to them of the multiple meanings and symbolism of each image, and also heard them connect their own experiences to what they saw. I didn't try and say that I know what they are going through or that I can make it go away. Rather I shared the power of art, through my own attempts to express and make people think. I could have taken from better artists than myself and shown their work, but it seemed to make more sense to share my own.We had a really good discussion, after which each woman got a sheet of paper and some colors. I went to the marker board and spoke went through an example of happiness. I got them started and asked what types of things symbolize happiness. They responed with smiles, christmas tree, food, sunlight etc. I filled the board with simple sketches of these. Then switched to sorry and anger and changed each of them in turn to express that. Next the women started their own drawings, expressing what they wanted. While I want people to explore and create for themselves in these workshops, I also want to give them enough in this short time to get started and feel comfortable with a process that they can continue in the future on their own. So as the women drew, I went around and helped give them ideas on how to visually represent different things they wished to express.I didn't have a clear sense of what the women might create. The process was organic and down to these women's willingness to participate. That they gave us that kind of love and were so open to try something that many adults might thing too childish was what made it work. They expressed joy at the upcoming Christmas holidays, visiting daughters and mothers. There was also sorrow at their infected children's condition and anger and frustration at a lack of drugs for survival. There were even messages in a world context of an appreciation for home and sorrow for the conflicts of people.Each time we get to share with people it is special. This day was truly amazing. In the summer of 2008 it was beautiful to connect to people through music with my friends Andy, Omar and Mike. Here it was beautiful to try and share something of what makes me and my life in a way that is meaningful to people I may never have met otherwise, whose experience is now a part of mine.Afterwards, we head out and met a lion, before visiting the cartoon museum (a museum of Indian Cartoonists). The cartoon museum was exciting just for the chance to connect to artists with a rich history in India. While animation is big in India, it is cartoonists and painters with whom I feel I am more interested in, in terms of artistic content. It is here that I can see a rich history of communicating important and personal stories. Just to have a brief visit and to speak to Narendraji there was fun. He showed us some beautiful Indian Cartoons (political and newspaper cartoons). There are some books, but these are not easily available. I did get one publisher's name so I'll try and look further into it. I also want to go to the National Book Trust store which publishes amazing children's books under the Children's Book Trust name. These books are not available at most stores, but the art and ideas in them tends to be far superior to anything I've seen in locally published childrens's books at other bookstores here.That evening we hopped on a train to Burhanpur.