Often, invitation cards say that ‘Arangetram’ means ‘ascending the stage’. Theoretically, all of us know that it is our first stage programme. Then why is it supposed to be so perfect? It is a beginning, an entrance. We often widen our eyes and raise our eyebrows at students who perform their Arangetram ‘too early’. At […]
A Dream
Last night, I had a dream. My sister and I were walking through old streets towards a tall block of flats. Beyond the building was a meadow. The grass was tall, gleaming in the sunshine. The two of us sat down on a bench nearby. “How wonderful it would be to live in a flat […]
International Children’s Book Day
Yes, today is International Children’s Book Day, a time for me to look back at all the wonderful children’s books I’ve read this year!
Tolulope Popoola
“Your stories are too short.” “I want to know more!” “What happens after that?” “I would have liked some more description so that we get to know the people and place better.” It’s not uncommon for me to get responses like this to my writing, and so I snapped up the term ‘Flash Fiction’ as […]
Kung Fu Panda 2
There’s nothing like a happy movie to raise your spirits when you have a cold and feel like doing nothing. And Kung Fu Panda 2 was as delightful as the first! Inner peace. I like inner peace.
Toro! Toro!
Is it true that the most moving books must be placed during wartime? How strange that the moments of greatest human kindness come during the cruelest of times! Toro! Toro! is not like the other Morpurgos that I have read, insomuch that it is not about the second world war at all. Yet, it is about […]
Winding Up – Creepy House Reading Challenge
Today, I will be part of the award distribution, the final get-together of all the participants of the Creepy House Reading Challenge at the British Library, Pune. Four workshops over the course of two months with children aged anywhere between 5 and 13. What fun it was! We’ll talk about what we learned, how we […]
Parents and Kids Choice Awards
Do you like The Story-Catcher? If you’re a parent or a child who likes my collection of short stories, do nominate it for the Parents and Kids Choice Awards! The idea of the award is lovely – an award that is not inspired by sales and popularity, but by the place it holds in your […]
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
The best stories are the simplest ones of all. And who better than Michael Morpurgo to write simple stories so simply that they charm you? Boowie receives a letter from his grandmother, not very long after the death of his grandfather. It is undoubtedly the most remarkable letter of his life. As part of the […]
The Great Escape
The story of two dogs and a cat during the second world war brought to mind an aspect of war that I had never considered. What happened to all the animals, particularly pets, during the war? Startling statistics that Megan Rix has included after the novel reveal that there were far more animals killed during […]
Luck
Why are publishers so diffident about revealing the fact that a collection of short stories is just that – a collection of short stories and not a novel? I started reading Luck by Dhruba Hazarika with the distinct impression that it was a novel. I finished the first ‘chapter’ feeling deeply disturbed. I finished the […]
Twelve Minutes to Midnight
I’m still chuckling as I think about Twelve Minutes to Midnight. It’s been a while since my mind was so absorbed in a book that I kept waiting to get back to it. I even took it with me to the Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School and pored over it. I felt a little […]
Veda the Guitarist
Guitar through the Ages Where does the guitar we know and love come from? Unlike the piano and violin, it’s been around in different shapes and sizes, belonging equally to wandering folk musicians and to formal classical concert halls. The guitar grew up in the courts of Europe, lived through the Rennaisance and Industrial ages, […]
Yellow Shoes
Today is World Storytelling Day. Here is a story to celebrate the day! If you like it, use it. Read it out to children. Make them imagine and colour – spread the joy of storytelling! Alka sat down on the floor to tie her shoelaces. Weekends were fun. She could meet everyone, play […]
Waterslain Angels
When I was about ten, I read British Folk-Tales (not linking this to a place where you can buy it because Amazon is selling it at an incredible price of 11,000 rupees) by Kevin Crossley-Holland and enjoyed it. I had my favourite stories in the collection and I read them over and over again.A few […]
Girlie
When I was five years old, I moved from Vashi to Pune. There, I came across a strange word – ‘girlie’. If you didn’t know a girl’s name (yes, I went to a girls’ school), you would say, “Excuse me, girlie, what is your name?” The word felt awkward in my mouth. Girlie.What would I […]
Publicity and Me
Somehow, it seems as if I never do enough to publicize myself as an author. I sent links to my latest story, “Sacrifice” to friends and colleagues, and I put it up on Facebook and on my blog. I got responses, and a little feedback. ‘I REALLY liked the story!! 🙂 Looking forward to reading […]
Ace
I always link my book reviews to amazon.in for people to buy the book there, but when I searched for Dick King-Smith’s Ace, the first thing I found was a hardcover priced at ₹12,527.41 + ₹99 delivery charge! I did find a copy that’s cheaper, though, and that’s a mercy; however much I enjoyed the […]
Fantastic Mr Dahl
Yes, Mr Dahl is fantastic. What I find interesting about Fantastic Mr Dahl, though, is the way in which Michael Rosen examines what makes him fantastic. Is it the fact that he used a special yellow pencil and special yellow paper (because his favourite colour was yellow)? Or because he loathed Christmas and loved Easter? […]
Incredible Bus Journeys
Yes, I have travel woes. Often. I faced a bird-hit in Ahmedabad. A light-bulb shattering in my hair on a train journey. Floods in Bengal and trouble in Bihar caused a train-detour of twelve hours. Aircraft crew went on strike to watch a football match. And that’s just scratching the surface. Of late, thanks to […]