Kishore Kumar Khatri always had a penchant for visuals. As a child, he would doodle abstractions and draw images that struck his fancy.

He was born in an educated household in the small town of Dhoronaro in Sindh’s Umerkot district, which abuts the Thar Desert. His father is a doctor and his mother a homemaker, who ensured that their three children acquired a decent education.

As the youngest child, Kishore got more leeway than his two siblings, with his parents more indulgent of his artistic pursuits. 

But it wasn’t until he was in grade six, while still enrolled in the local government school, that a teacher took notice of his precocious talent. It had often expressed itself in school assignments, such as Kishore creating a fruit basket sketch when the task had been to draw an apple.

Kishore, who recently turned 40, says the encouragement of his school teacher, combined with his family’s support, made him realise that he had been blessed with a unique gift. “It happened due to the encouragement of my elders and I try to encourage my students in a similar manner,” he tells Eos. 

Kishore Kumar Khatri’s chalk drawings are not only helping his students in Umerkot grasp difficult concepts, their popularity is also garnering interest from educationists around Pakistan to revisit traditional learning practices

But with educational opportunities limited — art classes didn’t take place in his school or college — it seemed he was set to take the conventional path. Moreover, his artistic pursuits were limited to sketching and drawing on chalkboards, as paints and pastels were an expensive and time-consuming undertaking.

Kishore finished his school and graduation from Umerkot, before getting a Bachelors in Education from the Allama Iqbal Open University. A period of lull saw him work at his elder brother’s photo studio.

His fortunes changed when he was appointed as an art teacher at a private school in Umerkot, albeit at a measly sum, to teach students of grades six to ten.

He had to use chisel-tip and fine-tip markers to sketch and draw on the whiteboard. “It requires more effort and time than chalk drawings, but at least my students enjoyed the lessons,” he tells Eos.

Unbeknownst to him, he was incorporating some of the most recommended techniques in his education: the visual diagram followed by an explanation, after which the students followed suit.

He was soon teaching science, with his diagrams extremely popular among students, as it exposed them to kinesthetic, or tactile, learning.

For Kishore, the love and affection he received from his students would stay with him forever. Even to this day, he tells Eos, he regularly gets messages from his ex-students and fellow teachers from the school, lauding his unique and unconventional style of teaching.

However, it was difficult for him to sustain his family — he had a wife and kid — on his salary. So, when the opportunity came in 2022, he joined a government school, located on the outskirts of Umerkot, as a primary school teacher.

His science classes were an absolute hit, as he drew life-size figures on the chalkboard and explained the various processes of the human body. He even uses chalk-art to explain simple concepts from the English language.

Kishore says chalk-based art comes naturally to him, although he hastens to add that it isn’t as easy as it looks. “You have to deal with the residual chalk powder, which is messy and can also cause allergies, the supplies might run out or the class might not have adequate space for art activities,” he says.

One of Kishore’s strongest desires is to see the Government Boys Primary School Manoo Malhi, where he teaches, get an upgrade on its walls, which were damaged during the floods. The residual dampness means that they won’t hold up the many artworks created by Kishore’s students, which he wants displayed across the school.

“By incorporating visual and pictorial-based learning, we can create a more inclusive, engaging and effective learning environment for students,” asserts Kishore.

It has increased student engagement and motivation, says Kishore, before adding that scientific studies have proven chalk-based art to be beneficial for the development of motor skills and cognition, along with enhancing creativity and critical thinking.

His commitment to his students is unflinching, as he is one of the earliest people to arrive at school. He manages that despite not owning a vehicle and hitching a ride, daily, to travel the 15-20 minutes it takes to go from his house to the school.

It is just rewards, then, that this unconventional teacher from a small city in Sindh has suddenly become the darling of the education departments, in not only Sindh, but also Punjab.

A couple of months ago, images of the sketches and drawings he made during various classes were shared widely on social media. It earned him recognition from Sardar Ali Shah, the Sindh education minister.

Earlier this week, Kishore was the guest of the Punjab education minister, Rana Sikandar Hayat, and met various officials of the education department in Punjab to discuss his teaching methods.

Kishore is hopeful that his success will convince the government to not only recruit art teachers, but also provide them the training to promote visual and pictorial-based learning.

“The students need pencils and notebooks. But they also need good, trained teachers.”

It is only then that talent, such as Kishore’s, can truly blossom.

The writer is a teacher and a rights activist based in Mithi.
X: @ChandaniDolat

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 14th, 2024