Teenager Kiyan Kapur brings emotional wellness to Pune classrooms

At an age when most teenagers are still figuring out who they want to be 17yearold Kiyan Kapur is leading a movement to make emotional wellness as normal as school lessons His Wellness Whispers Initiative and its flagship project The Wellness Council are built on a simple but progressive idea that wellbeing should begin early and it should be funKapur started the initiative as a passion project in Symbiosis School Pune where he currently studies What began as an experiment among younger students through playful exercises in empathy and selfawareness has since grown into a programme thatrsquos reached over 500 children Now itrsquos expanding across 12 more schoolsldquoThe world talks a lot about mental health but itrsquos mostly aimed at teenagers or adultsrdquo Kapur says ldquoI kept thinking lsquowhat about younger kidsrsquo Theyrsquore still forming their sense of self If we can help them understand emotions early we can help them grow with clarity and kindnessrdquoAt the heart of The Wellness Council is what Kapur calls ldquoplugandplay wellnessrdquo mdash simple joyful classroom activities that teach children to recognise express and manage emotions Gratitude journalling sessions invite them to write about what made them smile that day In ldquoPass the Complimentrdquo students take turns saying something kind about each other instead of passing a parcelOther games involve blindfolded trust relays emotionbased charades and discussions on how to channel feelings rather than suppress themldquoI wanted to take wellness out of the lecture formatrdquo he says ldquoKids shouldnrsquot think of it as something serious or a punishment When they laugh and play while learning about empathy or sadness it stays with themrdquoTeachers have noticed that classrooms feel calmer Parents too have reported subtle shifts in children pausing to check on friends expressing gratitude at home or becoming more mindful in conflictFor Kapur this philosophy grew naturally out of the environment he was raised in His parents Nikhil and Sharmilee Kapur are the founders of the holistic wellness destination Atmantan Wellness Centre Nikhil a fivetime Ironman triathlete is a sports nutritionist who focuses on preventive health Sharmilee is a pranic healer and spiritual wellness advocate who has written Words That Bring You Home exploring emotional healingTheir combined influence shaped Kapurrsquos early awareness of balance and compassion ldquoMy parents live what they teach and naturally itrsquos been inculcated into my lifestylerdquo he says ldquoBut they never made it formal or heavy It was just part of life Thatrsquos what I want The Wellness Whispers initiative to feel like mdash naturalrdquoEven though Kapur is the head boy of his school he admits he wasnrsquot always this confident ldquoIn first grade I was too shy to even wish my teachersrdquo he laughsldquoSchool really transformed me Over the years I started enjoying connecting with people being part of the student council and helping friends I realised how much a positive school environment can shape you I wanted to create that same feeling for othersrdquoKapur trains senior students in government schools to continue the programme after his team leaves ldquoThe idea is that even if wersquore gone the culture of wellness staysrdquo he explainsAsked whether he plans to continue the initiative after finishing school Kapur pauses ldquoIrsquom still figuring that outrdquo he admits ldquoMaybe Irsquoll expand it to colleges or start something bigger someday For now I just want these kids to enjoy learning and become secure within themselvesrdquoIn a world where ldquomental healthrdquo often arrives as a workshop worksheet or wellness week The Wellness Whispers feels refreshingly organic with its grassroots approach designed by a teenager who still remembers what itrsquos like to sit on the other side of the classroomBy stripping wellness of jargon and formality Kapur is building a generation of children who see kindness gratitude and emotional literacy not as lessons but as habits