Hyderabad: UDAAN festival attempts to de-stigmatise mental health

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The event brought together the community of mental health professionals, students, allies, and the like around art, music, thought, and experience, under one roof.

Hyderabad: People painting on canvas, children laughing, people dancing their hearts out, positive and inclusive conversations about mental health, music and stand-up performances: these were the scenes at the fairground, namally on Sunday.

With the dialogue on mental health improving of late, the city organized the first mental health festival of its kind, ‘UDAAN’, as an attempt to destigmatize mental health and build a positive and constructive dialogue around it.

Hosted by the non-profit Bright Side Foundation, the event brought together the community of mental health professionals, students, allies and the like around art, music, thought and experience under one roof.

“You see that people often misinterpret the terms ‘mental problems’ and ‘mental health’ and use them in the same context. We call it the ‘mental health party‘ as the event tries to celebrate the positive attributes of mental health, mental well-being and advocates for self-care,” says Swetha Desiraju, founder of Bright Side.

The festival included nine sessions, each of which was fun and focused on different aspects of mental health. The ‘Whose Cues’ session emphasized people who experience emotions differently, with individuals investigating a sense of self-expression and self-love. ‘Inside Eight’ was another session that focused on helping one understand their emotions from the inside out and guiding them to happiness in eight simple steps.

‘Movement is Universal’ engaged participants with dance therapy that teaches them to live in the moment and connect with themselves. ‘Art Station’ was where people expressed themselves through their sketches. The stories from the ‘Story Time’ session captivated the audience.

“People don’t prioritize their mental health as much as their physical health. Just like we have gyms to take care of our physical health, I hope that these kinds of events will be held frequently as it is important to have frequent conversations related to mental health,” said Uday, one of the participants.

There was also an event for children called ‘Taare Zamren Par’ which emphasized understanding their emotions in a fun but effective approach to creating origami pieces. A ‘drag lab’ that included performances by Patruni Sastry and others.

“It is vital that children understand and express their emotions at an early age. Self-expression, gratitude, the feeling of belonging, the practice of gratitude, the balance of feelings is all we try to preach,” said Fizahussain, a psychologist from the city.

The day concluded with an open mic performance by comedian Syed Bashaar, a live performance by the band ‘Nations Rock Beat’ and other singing performances.