I visited Chartres last about ten years ago. When I told my French family that, they were concerned. Would I like to go to the same place again? Should we try to do something else instead? Was there something else I had in mind? I shook my head. I remembered how struck I was by the grandeur of the cathedral and I knew I would love to go again. The problem, always, is that the memory retains so little. Or maybe it isn't a problem. It allows us to experience things afresh, almost as if it is for the first time, with just a warm sense of familiarity that adds to the experience rather than taking away from it. From my previous visit, I remembered only the cathedral, not the beautiful town or the typical crisscross architecture of so many of its buildings. I didn't remember shop-signs tucked away into corners or beauty on the pavements on which we walked. This time, just like at … [Read more...]
Paris
I have so many stories about Paris by night. During the exchange programme, we were sorely disappointed because Paris by night turned out to be just Paris by evening because we went in May and were told we couldn't stay too late. As a result, as soon as the lights of Paris started coming on, we were indoors once more. To make up for that, a few years later, my sister took me to see the Eiffel Tower by night, and that was another experience altogether. In winter, it's much easier to sit and gaze at the lights of Paris, for night falls conveniently early. Shortly after dusk, two days before Christmas, we made our way towards the Seine and took the famous boat ride through the city. Ah ... Paris! It is special, this city full of magical lights! People talk about the charm of Christmas and how everything is lit up and festive in December, but even without the added festivity, the … [Read more...]
Travelling to France during the Strikes
Only yesterday I read about Paris transport being set to return to normal after a 45-day strike. 45 days. It's a long time. For part of this time, we were in France too, and there, we learned about why these strikes are important to so many people. Despite my faltering, rusty French, we spoke about the gilets jaunes, about the importance of protests and the effect of the proposed pension reforms on teachers, rail workers and others. For many, Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020 were perhaps the worst times to visit France. The country witnessed the longest strike in decades and of course travel plans went awry. A co-passenger on my flight to Paris told me of a friend who visited France for just a day and could not even see the Eiffel Tower because of the strikes. As for me, I realised once more how lucky I am. What began with an exchange programme between Fergusson College and a … [Read more...]
My Year in Travel
I've seen and experienced so much this year! I brought 2019 in in beautiful Pench, shivering in the cold and rejoicing in the sight of a jackal and a leopard amongst so many other wonderful wild animals. Later the same month, we travelled to Sikkim and Kolkata, a city I love. I also wrote a travel article about our experiences in north Sikkim, reliving the adventures we had. For work, too, I travelled quite a bit - to Mumbai of course, but also to Goa, Aurangabad, Bhusaval, Akola, Chandrapur ... I love it! And finally, we ended the year in Europe, which I visited after seven years. I've written extensively about other visits; this one was special in its own way. On the flight to Paris, someone sitting next to me told me about a friend who hadn't been able to see anything - not even the Eiffel Tower - because of the train strikes in France. Thanks to our wonderful, wonderful … [Read more...]
Top Ten: Young Adult Books
Being a young adult is to inhabit a complex and confusing world. When books address this phase of life beautifully, they can be breathtaking. Here are my top ten YA books of 2019. Stargirl Writer: Jerry SpinelliPublisher: Laurel Leaf Thinking about Stargirl makes me smile, for the character of Stargirl is impossibly sweet, impossibly wonderful. Leo loves her, but unlike her, he is bound by this world. He seeks the approval and acceptance of people around him and he wants Stargirl to be normal, even though he assures her that he loves how not-normal she is.For a while, Stargirl tries, for she loves Leo too. But that is not who she is. How can Stargirl be normal? In a different context, I could ask, how do you keep a wave upon the sand? Read my review of StargirlBuy Stargirl Wolf Cry Writer: Julia GoldingPublisher: Frost Wolf From an author I love comes … [Read more...]
Top Ten: Middle-Grade Books
Narrowing down to my top ten middle-grade books is always the hardest of all! Some of these books are younger than others, as always, because age ranges are hard to define. A few of these would be borderline chapter books; a few would be borderline young adult. The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop Writer: Clare BaldingIllustrator: Tony RossPublisher: Penguin UK As a child, I loved the Animal Ark series so much that I longed to be a vet. When I learned that studying medicine involved cutting things up, I balked. Yet, animals were special to me, and I would go as far as to say that they are special to most children.The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is a charming story of love for animals. It is a tale of friendship and grit: friendship among animals, people, and animals and people. Once more, it is a story that explores the idea that children can do … [Read more...]
Top Ten: Chapter Books
Calling all the books that I've listed here 'chapter books' is perhaps unfair. Some are quite a bit longer than others. I'm uncomfortable defining books on the basis of age too, as reading levels differ widely even within one school, let alone across schools, areas and countries. I think, broadly, this list comprises books that I enjoyed reading as an adult and would probably have loved when I was eight or nine. Me and Mister P Writer: Maria Farrer Illustrator: Daniel RieleyPublisher: Oxford University Press What can I say about the delightful Mister P? Though I read Me and Mister P almost a year ago, it is one of those timeless books that stay with you, a classic.When Arthur discovers a polar bear at his doorstep, the warmest of friendships begins to blossom. Mister P does not say a word, but something special is born out of those wonderful bear hugs and the … [Read more...]
My Year in Dance
2019 was not an easy year for me as a dancer. In February, I fell and sprained an already weak ankle and nursed a swollen ankle for three months or more. I continued to teach, but practising and performing were out of the question. I was restless, of course, but I do know that I gained much from the experience. For one, for the first time in many years, I watched our troupe perform. I wrote about it in a Facebook post, and it sums up what I feel. So often, when we perform, people come and tell us how much they enjoyed the show. When I listen to their wonderful responses, particularly if I'm happy with the performance myself, I long to be two people. I long to watch, while also dancing. I want to see us.At today's performance, I will.Anyone who's ever worked as part of a troupe knows this: there's no 'me' and 'you' when we dance together. We go together, we dance together.And so, … [Read more...]
My Year in Writing
Being a writer is never easy. Things take too long, and there's little to show for it. Long silences, endless waiting and wondering, a general feeling of isolation ... Yet, the highs are so high that they make everything worth it. In 2019, among the biggest highs for me was the discovery of warm, supportive groups on social media. I didn't even know that this was something part of me needed, simply because I'm so used to the feeling of submitting stories into the void and never hearing back from editors and publishers. Rejection, too, is equally normal. Form rejections are terrible, but silence is worse. Then, I discovered that people set targets for themselves - of how many rejections they will get each year. A hundred rejections - that's a normal target. And this was new to me. It opened my eyes to wonderful new possibilities. Instead of agonising over perfection, why not send … [Read more...]
Dance Exams
We didn't have dance exams when we were children, and I think I'm glad of that. Sometimes, though, I wonder - if we had appeared for exams, would we have been more driven to learn? Or would we have wanted to stop learning dance? I was one of those kids who loved exams, but I was also one of those kids who hated dance, so I have no way of knowing. Now, though, as I watch children say the adavu shollu kattu and respond to the examiners' questions, I realise how many things I enjoy about being on the opposite side of students appearing for their dance exams. Here are a few that come to mind. The littlest ones sometimes wear dupattas for the first time for their exam. They beam as they stand before the examiners, dressed up in dangling earrings and kajal. Some are like mannequins, barely touching anything they're wearing; others continually pat the dupatta around their waists. I … [Read more...]
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