Katherine Rose and Eliza Hilton are founder directors of the Delhi-based Flow India Pvt. Ltd (estb.2010), an education company that runs unique experiential learning programmes — Kids Museum Club, I Love Indian Art and Inspiring Delhi, and its School Museum Programme launched earlier this year specifically for K-12 students — to connect science and the humanities with the real world. An affiliate of the London-based Flow Associates Ltd, Flow India started as a consultancy firm supported by institutions like the British Council, the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). Since then the company has worked with nearly 2,500 students and teachers through its programmes.

Newspeg. Flow India recently signed a collaboration agreement with Teach for India — the well-known nationwide initiative under which selected graduates and/or industry professionals commit two years to teach full-time in under-resourced schools — to extend the Flow School Programme to selected Teach for India schools. The first chapter of the joint programme will be launched in November, with a visit to National Science Centre, Delhi. Earlier this year, in August, Flow India launched its School Museum Programme signing up Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushp Vihar (Delhi), as its first client school.

Genesis. In 2008, Rose (an art history graduate of Edinburgh University and a postgraduate in museum and gallery education from the Institute of Education, London), and Hilton (a classics graduate of Oxford University with a Masters in development studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University), brainstormed to develop an education initiative which would offer a better alternative to ‘facts cramming’ approaches. A desire to connect school education with the heritage and material culture of India was also imperative. “The idea germinated during a visit to the Ajanta & Ellora caves (north Maharashtra). The Buddhist paintings, architecture and temples of Ajanta and Ellora made a deep impact. However there was little information and history of these heritage sites available,” says Rose.

Business model. The Flow School Programme includes in-depth creative enquiry programmes conducted in schools, and off-site experiences at museums and heritage sites involving group activities, creative writing, story-telling, role-play etc. The fee per excursion is Rs.1,500 per child and negotiable for package deals.

Direct speech. “Our work is based on the theory of Flow — invented by Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalvi. Flow theory posits that people are happiest when they are in a state of flow — an experience characterised by great absorption, engagement, fulfilment, and skill during which temporal concerns (time, food, ego-self, etc) become inconsequential. By engaging children with a range of challenges and out-of-school environments, we help them to develop knowledge and skills in tandem,” says Hilton.

Future plans. “Currently we are engaged in the promotion of our Flow Museums Programme with school managements in Delhi and are also supporting them by enriching their history teaching through creative curriculum development. But we are also excited about our partnership with Teach for India which gives us a chance to work with children in government schools,” says Rose.

Wind in your sails!

Swati Roy (Delhi)