A workshop at the other end of town now! This one does not revolve just around reading; it’s about word-building. How good is your vocabulary? How quickly can you think of words everyone knows? How easily can you express yourself? Join me for a weekend workshop at JustBooks, Aundh! Dates: 23rd and 24th August, 2014 […]
Arangetram – Chaitrali, Diaspina and Purvi
“How was the Arangetram? How did Chaitrali do?” my mother asked. I had one word in response, “Moving.” And it was moving for more reasons than one. When Chaitrali, despite her hearing and speaking disability made her speech, many of us were in tears. “I thank the didis,” she said, painstakingly. “Varsha didi … Nisha didi […]
Arangetram
The Academy of Indian Dances welcomes you to the Arangetram of Chaitrali, Diya and Purvi. Chaitrali is a special girl with a hearing disability despite which she has persevered and come to this stage. Her Arangetram is a proud moment for her parents, her guru, and somehow by extension, all of us. Diya and Purvi […]
Storytelling on Independence Day
I’m conducting a free storytelling session on Independence Day! Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road, Pune Time: 6 pm to 7 pm Age-group: 5-8 years
Esty’s Gold
I never stay up reading. I love books and I enjoy reading, but staying up beyond my bed-time? No, that’s not me. I remember when I was reading the fifth Harry Potter, I had one chapter left to finish and I went to sleep, to the horror of some of my friends. Maybe that was […]
Tilly’s Moonlight Fox
When I started reading Tilly’s Moonlight Fox, I did not quite like it. Both the story and the writing style seemed outdated. The kind of finish that so many new books have was not there. But the book grew on me. It’s the kind of book that you should read when you are eight or […]
Rainbow!
For so long, for so many years, I’ve been looking at the sunshine and the rain and thinking, “The sky owes me a rainbow. It is too hot to wear a raincoat, but if I don’t wear one, I’ll get wet. The sky owes me a rainbow.” But I didn’t see one. For years. And […]
The Lost Island of Tamarind
The first word that comes to mind while reading The Lost Island of Tamarind is ‘vivid’. I don’t usually like descriptive stories. I feel, “Sure, things around look like that; the weather is like that; the people look like that. Get on with the story!” The Lost Island of Tamarind was not one of those. It was […]
Read Something New!
Back to British Library with my next reading workshop! Dates: 17th August, 24th August, 7th September and 14th September Time: 3 pm – 5 pm Age-group: 9-12 Registration fee: Rs. 1,200 for members; Rs. 2,200 for non-members (You get a complimentary Gold 6-month membership free when you register) See you there!
Monsoon!
I love the rain. It’s magical. My mother got three stems of lavender hibiscus from my grandmother and we dumped them in a mug of water. Days passed. Finally, when the leaves were wilted and the twig was mouldy, we felt guilty enough to stick them into a pot of mud. The next day, there […]
Day One: Abhinaya
The day was full of surprises, with just two participants for our workshop. We had questions about whether we should cancel. We decided against it, and perhaps it was a good thing. The workshop was an experience. Things that we had planned could not take place simply because there were not enough people. Yet, it […]
Abhinaya – A Workshop on Indian Classical Dance
This weekend, we bring to you a dance workshop – Abhinaya …
Performances and Workshops
Many books on dance talk about how the layman likes quick movements and rhythmic pieces. There is a certain amount of condescension when dancers write about quick eye-movements and complicated-looking footwork because all of that is eye-wash. It is easy showmanship for an uninitiated audience. The true connoisseurs of art, say dancers, are those who […]
Small Change for Stuart
When crossword puzzles, triplets and magic come together, the combination is a delightful mixture of commonsense, logic and madness. Small Change for Stuart is about a very short boy with slightly crazy parents. The parents do not realise that their short son is going to be traumatised through life because his first initial and surname […]
Great-Great Grandmother
Anyone on Facebook knows that babies are born all the time. Pictures are put up and everybody makes appropriate appreciative comments. But not everyday is a great-great grandmother born. I had the privilege of knowing my great-grandfather, who lived to be a 105. His amazing life spanned from 1895 to 2000. He supported Gandhi during […]
Technician
I have lost track of the number of times I have been in charge of lights and sound. As a small performing troupe, we can’t always afford a professional lights and sound manager. And we most certainly cannot afford to have a technician with us for all our practices. At IIM Indore, it was fascinating. […]
The Famous Adventures of Jack
When a little girl called Jill is told that she has to meet Jack, she begins a wonderful journey of stories with Mother Greenwood and a few Jacks here and there. The Famous Adventures of Jack by Berlie Doherty is a collection of new tales that have the same charm, predictability and comfort of well-loved […]
Double Decker Train
I saw a double-decker train after so long today! I did not even know they still ran! I remember when I went on one as a child. The extreme excitement and anticipation. The dread that we would actually have to sit down. Blue train, blue seats, silver stairs. Running up and down those stairs, careful […]
The Feeling After Reading a Good Book
I sit on the sofa looking at the wall in front of me. Hundreds of images cover the wall. A young brown girl. The book does not say anywhere that she is brown. In fact, she is English. But her great-great-aunt – or was it another relation? – used to wash the socks of tramps. […]
Nayanabhinaya
What is Nayanabhinaya? Divide the word and we get “Nayana” (eyes) and “Abhinaya” (loosely translated as expression). The eyes are an essential part of Indian classical dance, and that is one of the reasons why they are highlighted with thick kohl. The eyes express emotion and create beauty. Learn the basics of Nayanabhinaya at our […]