The blog
An assortment of thoughts, opinions and stories
Books I’ve enjoyed, notes from my workshops, and stories about writing, dance and travel
Unit Plans
There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, like teaching. You can be so joyously idealistic in everything you choose to teach! Planning my units on narrative and imaginative writing, and descriptive writing was almost as inspiring as…
Picnic!
I insist that the way I left school in the morning set my mood. People (read ‘teachers and students’) hate duty that takes them out of school into the hot sunshine. I exclaimed, “Picnic!”…
Board Exam
Ought I to be nervous? Concerned? Stressed? My students are writing their board exams. I wished them luck, gave them a pep talk and some last minute ‘tips’. One student asked me for a…
Miss Julie
Outstanding. To create passion like this and alternate between expressed passion and subdued passion is incredible. Miss Julie – headstrong and confused – wavering between strength and weakness – is a work of art.…
Trams in Kolkata
The first time I went to Kolkata, I also went to Darjeeling. I was much younger then, and I was really just visiting my father’s city, the place he grew up. We went in…
Vegetarian and Unadventurous
I’ve always tried to be adventurous with food, but to be honest, I am completely unadventurous. I try, I swallow, I sometimes even appreciate. But I also suffer from an overactive imagination. I remember…
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
Why does ‘easy to read’ somehow strike me as a slightly negative comment in the context of this book? Yet, I would not say I disliked the book. The gentle humour made me chuckle…
Sylvie and the Songman
What a crazy book. And that’s a compliment. There were parts of the book that I read only because I wanted to finish the book. I pushed myself to read, page after page, completing…
My Camera Journey
Somehow, digital cameras have turned me away from photography. It is, somehow, I don’t know… Too technical? Too easy to get a good shot? Or perhaps a part of me loved the exclusivity of…
A Note of Music
Everything is made out of notes, vibrations. Many people think the universe started with a great big bang. What’s that if it isn’t a note, albeit a rather loud one? Somewhere there’s probably a…