We did see a tigress on our very first safari at Tadoba this time around.When I went to Ranthambhor, as part of a school excursion, we were divided into ten groups. Nine groups saw a tiger. Mine didn't.Then I went to Kanha. Three safaris there - and I didn't see a tiger.Then, Nagarhole. Three safaris there - and I didn't see a tiger.Then, Tadoba. After the first two safaris, when I didn't see a tiger, I had a conversation with my sister. "I don't know why people are so obsessed with tigers, really. Of course, I want to see one too, but the forest itself is so beautiful!" "And every animal is a joy to see!" "And the unpredictability of the jungle is in itself fascinating!" "And the trees, the light ..."And then we saw the tiger.I've seen a tiger in the wild three times. I had tears in my eyes each time.Tyger, tyger burning bright In the forests of the night What immortal … [Read more...]
The All-New Media Page!
I'm delighted to have a brand new page on my website - the media page!From Let's Play! onwards, there have been several articles about my writing and about me. Finally, they come together on the media page of my website!Sakal Times, DNA, The Times of India, Mid-Day ... And hopefully many more to come! … [Read more...]
Back from the Wild – Again
Green forests. Dense.Tall grass. Just a few metres away, a tiger could be hiding and we wouldn't even know. Anticipation is thrilling.Spider webs glinting in the sunshine. A huge black spider poised on her web eats a grasshopper.The black ibis with its red hood and impressive beak pecks away in the grass.Sambhar - first the doe, then the stag - cross the road in front of us. They pause in the middle of the road to look at us. The way we go look at the animals, maybe they thought they'd step out today and look at humans.A yellow oriole flies above us, below the screeching green parakeets.The chestnut-headed bee-eater, flies and lands, flies and lands. In Marathi, they call it a 'crazy parrot' because of its peculiar habit of flying so briefly and perching again, time and time again. It doesn't seem to know what it wants.A crocodile, still as a log, floats in the water.An … [Read more...]
Bookaroo Festival of Children’s Literature, Pune – 2013
Twenty-two speakers from five countries and 11 cities are going to be interacting with children, bringing children and books together. It's happening in Pune!Dates: 3oth November and 1st DecemberVenue: Sambhaji Park, Jangali Maharaj Road, PuneI'm looking forward to it! … [Read more...]
The Children’s Hour
I picked up the DVD about nine years ago because I saw Audrey Hepburn's picture on the cover. I like Hepburn. I knew I would like the film.I did not know how much it would haunt me, though.The Children's Hour is one of those very few movies whose story I have retold time and time again. Watching it again a couple of days ago, I was as disturbed as I was the first time I watched it. I was moved to tears more than once. Emotion, passion, frustration, desire, love, fear - everything comes together in The Children's Hour.I knew what was going to happen and sobbed in anticipation. I saw what happened and something within me seemed to wither.It's not a film that should have a blurb because anything you say is either insufficient or too much.I would leave it at this - I had no idea that a black and white film made in the 60s could be so bold, powerful and disturbing. … [Read more...]
Perspective
In the little primary school in Perani where we worked, money is of course a problem. Going there with students from an international school put things into stark contrast.The base of the four walls of the classroom is painted black. The black area is about three and a half feet high. One of the services students from my school rendered was to paint vertical white lines on the black area of the wall to divide it into sections."We often fall short of notebooks," we were informed. "So, the children have slates to work with at home. Here in school, the black wall becomes their slate."The students measured and painted the white lines. For their work, they were thanked profusely by teachers and students alike. The next day, it was somehow heartwarming to see that the children had already started working on their new-found blackboards.One of my students commented, "In our school, we … [Read more...]
Painting Gates
Children are morbid. There's no other word for it sometimes.A little boy, Tamilbaradhi, was watching a student of mine painting a gate."Don't touch the gate," I warned him.He nodded, knowingly, but seemed to expect me to say more."The beautiful, freshly painted gate will get spoilt," I clarified.Tamilbaradi frowned. That was not what he expected. "My hand will get stuck to it," he said, eagerly.Fresh oil paint, small child (about three years old) - I agreed. "Yes, your hand will get stuck to it.""And I will never be able to pull it away," continued Tamilbaradi, happily.I paused."And then, my hand will have to be cut off for me to be free!" he pronounced, delighted.This from a three-year old child.Children are morbid. … [Read more...]
Half an Egg
Last week, I was at Pondicherry with 56 students and 4 colleagues. We volunteered to work for Habitat for Humanity, building a road, painting houses and painting gates, among other things. It was an experience of a lifetime.Working with my students at a primary school, we witnessed the mid-day meal. The midday meal proudly provides not just rice and a watery dish of pulses, but also an egg.On our first day at the midday meal, we watched a child distributing an egg to each child. There were three eggs short. Six children got only half an egg. No one complained. In fact, two children raised their hand and volunteered to take just half. My eyes moistened. I was with students who threw plates full of food away if they did not like it.The next day, I was at the midday meal once more. And once more there were too few eggs. The boy distributing the eggs counted and gave four children half … [Read more...]
After the Story Games
With the One-Word-Story-Game and the One-Phrase-Story-Game, my purpose was to point out how powerless we feel when we can't control language. I spoke about different aspects of language as power and why we feel more in control when we have a whole phrase to ourselves, rather than a single word.Then, I moved to the third group and whispered to them, "I want you to explain 'triangle' without using the words 'sides' and 'three'."The students thought about it for a while. Finally, they said, "This is a closed figure, closely associated with Bermuda."Of course it was clear enough. The other students got it very easily.I smiled. "Wouldn't it have been easier to draw it?"They hadn't thought of it. And thinking about why they hadn't thought of it perhaps brings us to what Theory of Knowledge tries to do. … [Read more...]
Language
Teaching Language as a Way of Knowing, I wanted to introduce to my students what a powerful tool language is. In keeping with that, I also wanted to bring out how powerless you feel when you don't have control over a language. So I played some stuff that I learned at the Storytelling workshop I attended recently.The first round was the One-Word-Story-Game. In a group, each participant is allowed to contribute just one word at a time. It's particularly frustrating when you know you can't contribute something meaningful. For instance, suppose you're third in the group. The first person says 'Once'. The second person says 'upon'. How much choice do you have? I wanted students to experience this powerlessness that comes with limited language. So, I made a group of six play it. I asked them to create all of four sentences to make a story. The theme was magic."Creativity ..." "... lived … [Read more...]