Two pictures I could not resist sharing …
Goodbye, Gangtok …
We woke up at 4:30 this morning. This far east, it is not as early as it sounds to my Western Ghat friends. The sun rose soon after, and we stood at the window and watched the clouds. We saw the Khangchendzonga. She played with us, hiding in the clouds and peeking out again. We […]
The Story-Catcher in Gangtok
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Storytelling Workshop
Important update The 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 350 Sorry for the […]
Two Workshops Yesterday!
Here are some of the photographs from yesterday’s workshops! Weekend with Words by Varsha Seshan at JustBooks Aundh Storytelling with Varsha at Friends Library Mark the next ones! JustBooks, Aundh: The second session of Weekend with Words is today at 10:30 am British Library: The second session of Read Something New! is today at 3 […]
No Holy Cows in Business
Yesterday, my father Sekhar Seshan launched his second co-authored book – No Holy Cows in Business – at MCCIA, Senapati Bapat Road. NO HOLY COWS in Business – 9 Principles of Entrepreneurship by Kiran Bhat & Sekhar Seshan ISBN 978-93-83572-20-5 Price: Rs. 200 Publisher: Vishwakarma Publications [www.vpindia.co.in] I hope to have a shelf full of Seshan […]
Charlotte’s Web
No other title do they know, The refrain is scarcely new – Tho the chances are their knowledge Came from a book review; They ask me if I’ve read it – I humbly whisper “No” (Thank God, again I’ve said it!) They clap their hands and glow. – From Louis L’Amour’s “I Haven’t Read Gone […]
The Sandfather
I love books that make my throat hurt with an aching sob. I love underplayed emotion that grips me tight when I imagine everything the character is facing without needing to be told. I love getting inside the skin of a character about whom I know nothing. The Sandfather by Linda Newbury filled me with […]
Day One: Read Something New!
Spending a Sunday afternoon with enthusiastic children at the British Library is such a joy! The idea of this workshop was to get over Geronimo Stilton and Wimpy Kid, and begin to read something new. I know too many children who finish their Geronimo Stiltons and then say they have nothing more to read. With […]
Fortune Cookie
I have always loved fortune cookies. The cookie may taste like nothing, true. Yet, it’s nice to believe that the fortune inside is somehow, in some obscure and incomprehensible functioning of the universe, meant for you. No, I don’t like to imagine fortunes being manufactured and machine-cut before being inserted into cookies. Despite my desire to find connections […]
Workshops Ahead
Here is what my next two weekends look like! Workshop Details Weekend with Words: Age-group: 9-12 Registration Fee: Rs. 500 Read Something New! Age-group: 8-12 Registration fee: Rs. 1,200 for members; Rs. 2,200 for non-members (complimentary six-month gold membership with each registration) Storytelling with Varsha: Postponed from 15th August 2014 to 23rd August 2014 Age-group: […]
Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission
If you watched and loved Captain Planet as a child, I know you will feel as warmly about Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission as I did. When I watched the heroism and drama of Captain Planet, I loved the idea of people getting together to save the world. This book feels something like that. The downside of the book […]