Sowing Educational Roots

Maheen Afshan. F

That’s what Jananie Baskaran wants the title of her biography to be. Born and raised in Muscat, Oman, Jananie moved to Toronto when she was 13-yearsold. With an honours degree in Health Sciences, she works as a healthcare professional in Toronto. Being involved in arts since a ripe age had Jananie develop a passion for photography. And it is with the same passion did she make up her mind to help transform a children’s life through education.

In a chat with Brew, Jananie talks about how her life took a turn through photography, how important it is to educate children, her definition of Women’s Day and a lot more.

I work as a healthcare professional in Toronto. Since a young age, I’ve always been involved in the arts in some form. I learnt Bharatanatyam and have always stayed involved in dance. And now my interest in arts has shifted towards photography and storytelling.

What was it that pulled you towards photography?

I used to love sketching at a young age. I used sketching to express my thoughts and creative ideas. As I grew older, I remember been given a camera during one of my family vacations and I loved the liberty it gave me to capture moments and tell stories that couldn’t be explained in words. It also helped me think in alternative perspectives to the norm.

How has photography transformed you?

Being involved in the arts is a therapeutic experience and photography is no exception. It has helped me overcome tough days and given me the confidence to continue pursuing my dreams regardless of who supported me. Photography has made me more open minded and has given me the opportunity to connect with artists from all across the world. I’ve always been an introvert, so photography became my medium to express myself and connect with like-minded artists from all across the world.

Which would you say was your stand-out experience as a photographer?

Undoubtedly, my venture with Palm Roots would have to be the highlight. Since I don’t take up event gigs, its a challenge to continuously create content to stand out as a photographer. But, once I found an aspect of photography that captured my interest through Palm Roots, it made my work more noticeable.

Talk to us about Palm Roots.

Palm Roots is my brainchild!

It will always be an initiative that remains close to my heart.

Since I spent most of my life in the Middle East and Canada, I’ve learnt about my culture, language and traditions through my parents, books and people in my environment. Everything I had learnt about Jaffna (my parents’ hometown) in addition to the war and rehabilitation was through media and word of mouth; until 2013, when I had the opportunity to visit Jaffna for the first time. I expected to see people in Jaffna in utter devastation after what they had experienced for many years of their life. Instead, the people I met in Jaffna were some of the most strong-willed people I had come across. They were so motivated to build back their life regardless of horrendous experiences they had gone through. This made me realize how blessed I was to have the life I had in Toronto and things I had taken for granted so far.

We always complain about little things because our focus is usually on what we lack. Whereas, the amount of happiness, strength and gratitude that people in Jaffna had after experiencing trauma was unbelievable. Children in Jaffna were dedicated to pursuing an education and succeed in life and that motivated me to become a catalyst to their success.

Once I returned back to Toronto, I wanted to share these stories and inspire people to be more grateful for the life they had in Canada. In addition, I wanted to raise funds to support educationbased projects for children who were not able to continue schooling due to the financial struggles and challenges beyond their control in Jaffna.

So, I initiated Palm Roots – a photography-based auction and exhibit where I sold photos from my travels to raise funds for education-based projects in North / East Sri Lanka.

What was the response you received initially for Palm Roots and after its success?

Since this idea was one of a kind and hadn’t been done before, it was a challenge to gain the support of donors. There were trust issues related to making sure that the funds raised reached students who were truly in need or having confidence that their contribution would truly make a difference in a child’s life. However, once I took on the responsibility of providing each donor with receipts and proper follow up documentation of how their contribution was creating an impact in someone’s life, I instantly gained the support of people. For my first fundraiser, I raised about $2300 CAD and my most recent one raised close to $22,000 CAD. The growth in funds raised and support I received for Palm Roots was drastic and truly humbling.

Typically, charity work is a sector that people focus on post-retirement or imagine people in non-profit as someone much older than me. I wanted people from my generation to be inspired to give back and become more involved with people in their countries of origin and the best way was to involve creativity in it. From a marketing point of view, creativity adds a wow factor to the charity aspect and adds curiosity to the initiative.

Talk to us about the earlier stages of Palm Roots where combining creativity and charity was a new concept.

I had two intentions behind combining creativity with charity. Firstly, it was to prove that artforms could be used as a tool to create change in society and convey messages about societal issues. And secondly, to prove charity work and social entrepreneurship isn’t boring! Combining a photography exhibit with fundraising was a one of its kind experiences for most people. It attracted an audience ranging from young artists/entrepreneurs, curious to see the combination of art and charity to the more successful, accomplished entrepreneurs who attended the event to contribute to education-based projects and support a young artist. Being a new concept, it proved to be an advantage I had over other fundraisers and charity-based initiative. The key to finding success with fundraising is to always find newer ways to present ideas and connect with the target audience from different age groups.

Women’s Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the achievements of anyone who identifies themselves as a woman. I personally believe that we are gradually moving towards celebrating women and their accomplishments on a regular basis so I choose to celebrate women’s day everyday. In addition to celebrating achievements, women’s day should be used to raise awareness about the discrimination we still face as women and highlight the lack of equality and contribution women have in global development.

How do you think women should be celebrated across the globe?

In my opinion, women don’t require grand gestures of celebration to remind them of their value. One of the most beautiful traits we have is our selflessness. We go above and beyond for our family and people we love and equally achieve goals beyond imagination with minimum expectation. Regardless of, if they are home makers or CEOs, women selflessly dedicate their life to their dreams. The best way to celebrate women across the globe is little gestures of appreciation everyday - whether it is something tangible, words of appreciation or titles that outline their true potential.

Where do you see yourself heading in 2020?

I hope to move higher in career and simultaneously keep building a brand for myself. I want to see Palm Roots reach a wider range of audience, internationally as well and I truly believe that this recognition by Brew Magazine is a beautiful reminder that my dreams are manifesting! I hope the world that’s currently in standstill due to COVID-19 soon gets back to normal and we’re all able to live in a more healthy and appreciative life hereon.

If there’s one thing you wish that people would do more, what would it be?

Letting love & kindness conquer the ego. Sometimes we take life way too seriously or think we have to present ourselves a certain way to maintain a reputation. We let our ego overpower our ability to be kind. It is a great trait to look out for yourself but I believe its equally important to be kind, always spread love and be more empathetic to each other. With COVID-19 taking over the world at the moment, we have all become aware of how important it is to be compassionate and sacrifice certain parts of our life for the well-being of the world. Regardless of who we are in societal hierarchy, a virus changed our status and turned us all into vulnerable beings. The most important asset we have in life is our physical and mental health; not the material assets or accomplishments we gain.

I recently came across powerful words by Bruce Lee where he talks about how important it is to empty our mind and keep flowing like water. Be kind and never let anything else get in the way of living life on your own terms. Just keep flowing.

What’s your idea of vacation?

My idea of a vacation is being away from everyday work chores, either by a body of water or a country I’ve never visited before. Most of my conversations revolve around work or creative projects. So, I cherish my time away with my loved ones, where I am a complete stranger in an environment free from expectations!