It was not a cold morning, so when I reached school, I was more than a little surprised to see that it resembled a hill-station once more. Once again, there was no school. I stepped out of the warm bus and was astounded to see that when I breathed, there was steam coming out of my nostrils! Perhaps it's necessary to mention here that sometimes, when everyone else can create steam by breathing out, I often can't. My breath, I've concluded before, simply is not warm enough. "Good morning," two colleagues greeted me. I was still so caught up with the smoke coming out from my nostrils that I did not even think about my unconventional response to their greeting. "Good morning, I feel like a dragon!" … [Read more...]
Colour your Ideas
My first workshop as part of the Creepy House Reading Challenge is this Sunday! A workshop for the little ones (age 5-7), I call it ... Read Aloud and Colour your Thoughts! Sunday 12th January, 2014. 11:00 am - noon Stories are always more fun when they have pictures. When they have more pictures, they are more interesting! So read a story, or listen to a story and imagine... Whatever you imagine, put down on paper. Draw and colour images from what you read – fill your ideas with colour! The best illustration will receive a prize. If the children are old enough and comfortable enough, I will ask them to read. If not, I'll read out to them. The children will be given paper and crayons. I'm excited to see what they come up with! … [Read more...]
The White Horse of Zennor and Other Stories
I love short stories! I wrote in my diary not very long ago, I think short stories are far more exciting to write because they capture a spark of imagination that lasts right through the moment of the story. A full-length novel... It begins with the spark, but for me involves more laborious imagination and less exciting inspiration. I've read The White Horse of Zennor and Other Stories before, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Writing about the sea is an old idea. I think, of course, of Tennyson and so many others. Michael Morpurgo captures the same excitement and thrill of the sea in stories that mix the traditional and the modern. Magic, folk-tales and a very willing suspension of disbelief come together to create stories that are filled with wonder. The first story, The Giant's Necklace, made me sad, but it was so gently told, with such great sensitivity, … [Read more...]
All Because of Jackson
There's a bubble of contentment within me whenever I read Dick King-Smith, and All Because of Jackson is no different. Filled with delightful pictures and dreams, All Because of Jackson is the story of a rabbit. Of course, with Dick King-Smith, it has to be about an animal. An animal that is perfectly ordinary, but different. Different because Jackson the rabbit wants to be a sailor. No rabbit becomes a sailor! Human beings eat rabbits!But Jackson wants to be a sailor. And so he does. All Because of Jackson is a twenty-minute voyage of joy! … [Read more...]
Moon Pie
Every page of Simon Mason's Moon Pie rang true. On the book-cover, I remember reading that someone called it an 'ultra-modern' story. I was not sure what to expect. I certainly did not expect this kind of brutal honesty. It made me shake my head and cry. Eleven-year-old Martha is puzzled by her father's strange behaviour. Martha's mother is dead, and the girl assumes that her father is grieving and so, naturally, behaving strangely. But Martha's mother always said that someone had to think straight, someone had to keep his head. So Martha has to keep her head. After all, she is eleven, she tells herself. She is old enough to take care of herself, to take care of her five-year-old brother Tug and to make endless lists of things to do to maintain order despite her father's strange behaviour. She is eleven. She cooks, makes lists and tries to do the things on the list. One … [Read more...]
The Story-Catcher in 2013
PMC Award!
When we introduce my teacher, we always talk about the prestigious Iyal Isai Nadagam award that she received. We have so many things to say about her, about countries she's toured and things she has achieved. This time, we had the privilege of being present when Guru Mythili Raghavan received an award from the Pune Municipal Corporation - the Pandita Rohini Bhate Puraskar. Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi was the chief guest, felicitating first Guru Prabhatai Marathe and then five other recipients of the award. Pune's mayor Chanchala Kodre came in late for the function and faced poet Ashok Vajpeyi's brilliant sarcasm with respect to the role of the government in promoting classical Indian dance and music. Proud to be Guru Mythili Raghavan's student! … [Read more...]
A Mouse Called Wolf
Whenever I read Dick King-Smith, I think about C.S. Lewis's oft-quoted “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” How true it is! Whoever heard of a singing mouse? From the single line on the book cover, reading the book is like a joyful ride into a story that moves from the first page to the last in the course of about half an hour. When Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse was born, he was the littlest of all, so his mother wanted to give him a grand name. Her nest was was made of a chewed up sheet of music and somehow, a little bit had remained unchewed. It said 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mo'. Of course, Mary Mouse knew that the last three letters were missing because what could the name be but Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse? Wolfgang Amadeus had to have a nickname, of course. His name was rather a mouthful. And so, his twelve siblings nicknamed … [Read more...]
Simon the Coldheart
What is it about Georgette Heyer that she can turn imagination into language so brilliantly? I reread another Georgette Heyer, before reading Simon the Coldheart, and found myself skipping large sections of it. I think time has made me a little uncomfortable with the romance that she portrays. I squirm more than a little, and run my eyes over the pages sometimes, without reading much. I realise I don't like her ideas of mastery in romance or the way in which so many of the heroines just seem to give in. Yet, I enjoy Georgette Heyer.Why? Each page sparkles with fun. I love the humour; laughter rises to my throat time and time again. Those are the answers that come to me instinctively. But Simon the Coldheart is not one of those novels. It's not one of those with joyous gurgles of laughter. It's one in which the romantic element kicks in quite late in the novel. But I read on and on, … [Read more...]
British Library Workshops
As part of the Reading Challenge organised by the British Library, I will be conducting four workshops! Age-group 5-7 Read Aloud and Colour your Thoughts! 12th January, 2014 Stories are always more fun when they have pictures. When they have more pictures, they are more interesting! So read a story, or listen to a story and imagine... Whatever you imagine, put down on paper. Draw and colour images from what you read – fill your ideas with colour! The best illustration will receive a prize. Show and Tell 9th February, 2014 Bring something from home and talk about it to the other children. Build your confidence as you talk about something you love. After that, let your imagination go wild. Look at the toys around you in the Junior Section of the library and try to talk about what you … [Read more...]
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