One of the most defining aspects of the on-going anti-CAA protests has been the creativity displayed. From poems to posters, people raising their voice against CAA have used the power of art to peacefully and effectively get their point across.
And one of those creative, powerful voices is that of a 9 year old kid, SmitKabeer, who captured the spirit of protests in a beautiful painting.
SmitKabeer is a homeschooler who loves to play the tabla and lawn tennis. The son of Shubhangi Chetna and Chetan Raj, he attended the anti-CAA protests conducted in Mumbai and drew the painting to share his experience about the same.
The beautiful painting is not only an indication of his talent, but also a brilliant summation of the anti-CAA protests that have brought together a diverse group of people from all walks of life.
Comedian, lyricists, and writer Varun Grover, whose poem Hum Kaagaz Nahi Dikhaenge is actually one of SmitKabeer’s favourites, also shared the photo on Instagram and called it ‘inspirational’.
Made with ink on a 2’×3′ paper by a boy who asks a lot of questions (and is lucky to have parents who answer them with compassion and trust), understands the basics of the protests, and is willing to put his time and energy and art into spreading love – this is truly inspirational.
In conversation with ScoopWhoop, SmitKabeer’s mother, artist and illustrator Shubhangi Chetna talked about how he has always expressed himself through his drawings and writings. In fact, his mom shared that some of his earlier paintings on Aarey and Amazon, have even been published in LokSatta.
He reads a lot, so asks a lot of questions. For CAA ad NRC, we went to the protest and told him, see there are many people with us. So he drew this.
No doubt the way to save democracy is to teach the future generation what it means to live in an independent, inclusive world.