When was the last time you unlearned and re-learned something? We so often get busy in this fast-paced world that we don’t take time to unlearn, learn and relearn new things. So this month’s Utsav event was all about that.

As we started working from the office this month after almost 2 years of working virtually, inclusivity at the workplace was something new to most of us. We’re a team with employees from all walks of life and after a long gap working together face to face with each other, we had a lot to unlearn and relearn from each other.

What other fun way can there be to learn or to unlearn other than some fun games? Akila Sankar, the co-founder of WinVinaya Foundation, started-off the event with some really interesting and fun-filled, inclusive games.

The first game was ‘Grab a hand’ where each of us had to hold hands with the left hand below the other person’s hand and the right above the other person’s hand, form a circle and take 3 steps in and 3 steps out on the facilitator’s cue. As simple as it may sound, this game taught all of us what feeling like a team meant. It meant feeling comfortable with each other as a team as well staying connected along with each one’s individual space when required. Also, that a team is interdependent and needs each other sometimes on the giving end and sometimes on the receiving end to progress.

The second game ‘Catch the Bag’ was all about giving and receiving. 10+ people played the game including – one who was visually challenged and another who was deaf. There were 4 cushion bags. Each person had to throw a cushion bag to another person, who would throw it to one more and so on.  Each player should remember the order in which the bag was thrown. Akila made us follow the same sequence of throws a few times, reversed the sequence a few times, threw one bag in one sequence, simultaneously threw another bag in reverse sequence,…  Bags were going all over the place. It was total fun.
Well, how did we make this inclusive?  We called the name – when we threw the bag to our visually challenged friend and waved – when we threw the bag to our deaf friend.  As you would have guessed it – this game was about how “give and take” works in workplaces, the challenges involved in taking and offering help, and how one can be inclusive by being aware of our teammates and using simple techniques such as calling out or waving!

The last game was ‘Grab a chair’: the musical chair with a twist. How do you make a game like musical chairs inclusive of a deaf person? Simple- the facilitator stood with a scarf in her hand in the middle of all the chairs. Every time she asked us to run, she held up the scarf which meant run for the deaf person and every time she let her hand down, it meant, to stop, it was so much fun, and also reminded us about how important it is to stay focused, to grab the opportunities and how one can be inclusive just by being aware and taking simple steps as simple as holding up a bright colored scarf.

It was so much learning with loads of fun for each one of us, where we learned what it means to unlearn typical game rules on being inclusive; of what we thought we already knew and re-learning that important life lessons need not be learned in seminars and workshops alone but even in simple games! The event concluded with all of us sharing our reflections after each game and a fun chat over some yummy snacking!

Scroll down to catch a glimpse of all the fun-learning we had!