Ebbani from Rey Valley International School was the first to arrive. "Thirteen more children are coming," she informed me.I was anxious, anxious enough to have considered (night before last) cancelling the whole thing. I had never dealt with such young children before, and the children from Rey Valley who were coming to Rachna Books were children from LKG, UKG, and Grade I.Finally, I loved how everything turned out. There were thirteen children in all, not the 14 that Ebbani expected, and each of them was special. I feel like such a foreigner; I remember so few of the names! Even so, I see their bright faces, looking up at me. I see how they respond to the cover of The Story-Catcher. I can see them imagining with me, contributing to my stories. And my heart warms.The entire concept of bringing children to a bookstore is charming. Every year, Rey Valley brings its children to the … [Read more...]
Beautiful Gangtok – Day Two
When I was a child, my parents and I went to Darjeeling. We did a very touristy thing - went on a 'Fun Ten' tour of ten points in Darjeeling that visitors must see. This included a ride in a cable car and a visit to the zoo that housed a red panda. When we got back to the hotel, the diligent diary-writer that I was, I asked my parents and sister to rate what they liked the most.Today, I realise how unfair that was on my parents. I was able to choose my favourites quite easily as a child, but at Gangtok today ...I look out of the hotel window. To my right are snow-capped mountains. To my left are snow-capped mountains in the distance. Everywhere, leading to those beautiful mountains are mountains covered with trees.We went to Rumtek Monastery. Waterfalls everywhere. We even went especially to see one. The smell of bamboos in the rain. The spray from the waterfall.We went to … [Read more...]
Gangtok!
Rain, clouds, mist. The spectacular, fascinating Teesta river. Hot momos on the way. Welcome to Gangtok.While we were in New Jalpaiguri, I was more than a little nervous. The driver we had was aggressive and noisy, and seemed to think the road belonged to him. Would we get to Gangtok safely?The moment we started on the mountain roads, though, we could not have asked for a better driver.At one point of time, he leaned forward and peered. I thought he was looking in the rear-view mirror. It was raining and the roads were bad. Maybe there was someone behind us who wanted to pass. That's what I thought. And then, I saw a few pebbles tumbling down. Our driver paused for a moment, and I realised. He was wondering whether we could cross before the landslide!And I thought ST bus drivers were scary! … [Read more...]
Pocahontas
Intrigued by the title of the series 'Before They Became Famous', I picked up Caroline Corby's Pocahontas. Just to make things clear, I haven't watched the movie. In fact, I know nothing about the movie except the song "Colours of the Wind".The book I read was lovely.'Pocahontas' means 'curious, lively, inquisitive', and this was one of those historical novels in which the character came alive. Each character was real to me. There were no detailed explanations to teach me about the customs and livelihood, but there were enough clues to help me find my way, and that made the experience of the novel that much more exciting.A young girl, oscillating between disgrace and honour, is a character that is inspiring, to say the least. Pocahontas, before she became famous, seems to have been exactly like that, at least in Caroline Corby's imagination! … [Read more...]
No Such Thing as Dragons
An unusual book, No Such Thing as Dragons puzzled me. I think the promise that the book cover held (yes, I always judge a book by its cover) led me to expect more. I found that the characters had so much potential, and the plot could have been much more exciting, considering the lovely seed of the story.Since there is no such thing as dragons, the dragon-hunter knows that the best person to keep his secrets is a mute boy. The dragon-hunter has grand stories of courage and bravery, which he spreads from town to town as he goes through Christendom ridding the world of dragons. Sold for a purse of gold, the mute boy Ansel is told over and over again by his new master that there is not such thing as dragons. A town they go to has a different story to tell, though.Packed with surprises, No Such Thing as Dragons is a story that keeps you running at the same pace as the narrative. Yet, I am … [Read more...]
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg
Neverland. I remember my father reading out bits and pieces of Peter Pan to me. And I remember having an enormous book, probably as big as I was myself, with beautiful pictures of Neverland, Wendy and dreadful Tinker Bell whom I disliked so much, even though she was so pretty.Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg took me straight back to that vision of Neverland. It helps that the book in my hands was one of those where I could have spent hours just looking at the pictures and smelling the pages. With its thick glossy paper, and several double pages of vivid, detailed pictures, the story came alive.Like so many tales from Disney, Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg was filled with emotions that are essentially, beautifully human. I enjoyed the tale of adventure and sacrifice. I got so absorbed in the story after a while that I finished the book and then turned back to look at the … [Read more...]
Day Two: Storytelling Workshop
We read aloud, acted, spoke, coloured, stamped and drew. I heard two stories about a zoo, and we read a lovely story about two rabbits and a fairy princess. What a feast of stories it was! The three-day storytelling workshop had: 1. Tikki tikki tembo 2. The Witch and her Two Daughters (adapted from two folktales by Varsha Seshan) 3. The Three Engines 4. The Hunter and his Five Sons 5. The Little Corner Shop (by Varsha Seshan) 6. The Fox and the Farm (by Varsha Seshan) 7. The Lady of the Lake (loosely based on a traditional tale) 8. A Bear that Growls (loosely based on a traditional tale)Coming up:Vocabulary Workshop Dates: Today and tomorrow, 27th and 28th August, 2014 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Time: 4 pm to 5:30 pm Age-group: 8-12 Fee: Rs 350 … [Read more...]
Day One: Storytelling Workshop
Children aged between five and eight are such an enthusiastic and energetic bunch! I enjoyed myself thoroughly telling them three more stories, one of which was "The Little Corner Shop" from The Story-Catcher. It is so heartwarming when children fall in love with a story that is your own!Coming up:Storytelling Workshop - Day Two Date: Today, 26th August, 2014 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Time: 11 am to noon Age-group: 5-8 Fee: Rs 350Vocabulary Workshop Date: 27th and 28th August, 2014 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Time: 4 pm to 5:30 pm Age-group: 8-12 Fee: Rs 350 … [Read more...]
Photographs from Yesterday’s Workshops
Sunday morning saw the end of my two-day workshop, Weekend with Words, at JustBooks Aundh. With Word Search, Word-Building and Word Train, we came to the end of a fun workshop!At the British Library, we had a day based on Roald Dahl!Today, we have: Storytelling Workshop Time: 11 am to noon Age-group: 5-8 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Registration Fee: Rs. 350 … [Read more...]
Storytelling Workshop
Important updateThe timing of my storytelling workshop has changed from evening to morning, thanks to the rain we have every evening. Here are the details once more:Dates: 25th and 26th August, 2014 Time: 11 am to noonAge-group: 5-8 years Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road, Pune Registration fee: Rs 350Sorry for the inconvenience! … [Read more...]