Sometimes, I wonder whether secretly, I conduct creative writing workshops more to inspire myself than to inspire the children I work with. Whatever it is, I do know that I enjoy myself tremendously whenever I teach creative writing. I feed off the enthusiasm of the children and I come home ready to write, which is invigorating. Children and Writing Many children love to write. I was one of them, and I wrote all kinds of things, mainly inspired by what I read. I wrote about magic and school, and things that I thought would be moving - like earnest poetry about war and poverty. Writing is fun; it may even be good. But when publishing is so easy, I find that many parents and teachers think everything that children write is perfect. I don't always agree. Here are my pet peeves: Forced rhyme I … [Read more...]
The Little Rainmaker
It is the year 2028, and it hasn't rained for ten years. The last time it rained, Anoushqa was in her mother's womb. She kicked when it rained. That's her only experience of rain, an experience that she does not even remember. Sometimes, she wonders if rain is even real, or just part of one of her Grampa's stories. The Little Rainmaker is a heartwarming read. I was moved to tears on multiple occasions because it was impossible not to feel and live Anoushqa's passion. At ten, we're superheroes, aren't we? Self-doubt has not really begun to creep in yet. Even when it makes an appearance, we are confident that we can change the world. That's the joy of being ten! But when Anoushqa's Grampa dreams of seeing rain one last time, the ten-year-old does not know what to do. Enterprising as she is, can she really battle all the naysayers and make rain? Can she do the … [Read more...]
The Lies We Tell
I finished reading The Lies We Tell last night. I woke up this morning, still disturbed. For a moment, I just had a vague sense of unease that I could not place, but a few seconds later, I knew I was still in another place, in another character. I was still Irfan Ahmed. I read Talking of Muskaan two years ago, and it made such a powerful impression on me that I knew I had to read The Lies We Tell. Yet, halfway through the latter, I was frowning. I did not feel that the promise of the title was kept. Sure, all the tumultuous adolescent emotions felt authentic, but I did not want the book to be just another Young Adult novel that floats by, barely impacting me. I was disenchanted enough to look for reviews of the book, something I rarely do. Goodreads had one review; Amazon had one review, perhaps by the same person. Four stars. At that … [Read more...]
Bungee Cord Hair
Five months ago, an editor mentioned to me that publishers in India believe that Asian literature, apart from books written in the subcontinent, will not sell. I was taken aback by the idea, but I didn't know what to say. I had not thought about it at all, so I did not have an opinion. Naturally, the conversation got me thinking. What was the last book I read that was Asian, but not from the subcontinent? I thought of Chinese Cinderella and The Joy Luck Club. Both long ago. It was time to change that. I began with Pachinko and liked it a lot. I wanted to read more, particularly children's literature. The best place to begin, I thought, was the Scholastic Asian Book Award, so I began my research. I found only three books that were affordable, and wondered, would that be one of the reasons I haven't read much Asian literature that does not hail from the subcontinent? I began … [Read more...]
Reading Workshops: Why? What? How?
Many, many parents ask me what a reading workshop is. What happens during a reading workshop? Who should attend a reading workshop and why? What will the outcome of a reading workshop be? This post tries to explain all that. What children read and why Often, at reading workshops I conduct, we talk about books we love. I'm not very fond of the question 'What is your favourite book?' because I think it is impossible to have a favourite book. I do realise, however, that it's a promising start to a conversation, plus a way for me to get an idea of the interest and reading level of the group I'm working with. "What do you read?" I ask, attempting to be neutral in my question. I don't ask them how many enjoy reading because that feels like a trick question. They are already conditioned enough to know they are "supposed" to like reading. The question has to feel less threatening; … [Read more...]
World Read Aloud Day at the Writers’ Club
The Writers' Club at St. Mary's School meets only twice a week, so World Read Aloud Day sometimes becomes Writers' Club Read Aloud Day, but so what? I celebrated it for the first time last year and it was so much fun that I did it again this year. This time, children came forward and read work of their own, which was heart-warming. Others read out poetry, including a hilarious poem by Ruskin Bond. Still others read scenes that moved them - excerpts from Train to Pakistan, from Good Wives, and from Wonder. Yet, as the girls came forward to read, I realised that many had no idea what to pick. One child in class IV chose an excerpt from an abridged version of King Lear. She struggled with Goneril, Regan, Cordelia and Albany. Aged nine, who wouldn't? Another child chose to read a section from an encyclopedia. She read fact after fact, stumbling over all the figures … [Read more...]
Working with Librarians
During the first two weeks of the year, I made lists of books I loved, and more than once, I found myself writing about how reading levels differ so much that it is difficult to associate a level with an age. Thinking about all of this, I decided write about a reading programme I've been working with for a couple of years now. Two years ago, I was approached by Experiential Learning Solutions and asked whether I would design a reading programme that can be administered effectively by a group of librarians in municipal schools. As a CSR initiative, D-Mart had invested in eleven libraries for schools and eleven librarians, but they wanted to go beyond that. They wanted to ensure the success of their library programme in the form of children taking a step towards reading. What could we do to get children to read? How could we surmount huge obstacles, including the indifference of … [Read more...]
West Sikkim
Pelling, in West Sikkim, won my heart. We stayed at a place called Ifseen Villa, about a kilometre and a half away from the one-street town of Pelling. And I loved the place. Outside our balcony were lemon trees, and in the distance, the magnificent Khangchendzonga* range. On each of the three mornings we spent there, I woke up with a fluttering sense of excitement. Pelling inspired me, though I cannot quite lay my finger on why. It was beautiful, fresh and free. (I discovered in Pelling, by the way, that when the weather is very cold, my ball pen does not work! In the absence of a heater, my travel writing had to be paused because yes, I do still write in a book before I blog.) We did all the touristy things around town and quite enjoyed them too. We visited Yuksam*, the first capital of Sikkim, and learned about the legend of the pine tree that stands tall behind the … [Read more...]
Kolkata Diaries
Excited as I was about our adventures in North Sikkim, I dived in and wrote about Lachung and Yumthang. But the first place we visited was Kolkata. That's where the journey really started, and we spent a day there because it is a place close to my heart. My grandmother grew up in Calcutta. Having studied at Loretto Convent in the pre-independence era, she often told us stories about her childhood. One story that stands out in my memory is that of her classes on etiquette, where all the girls were taught to stir sugar into their tea without making a tinkling sound! I always found the idea of girls solemnly stirring tea hilarious, and it was just one of many tales I loved. I remember her talking about having been taught that her handbag must match her shoes (she never wore shoes, only slippers, because she dressed only in saris), and how to pronounce 'waistcoat' properly. Look it up. … [Read more...]
Yumthang Valley
I remember the first time I watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I watched the old movie, of course, where Mr and Mrs Beaver were people in beaver costumes, and the section where the children ride on Aslan was old-fashioned animation, to put it mildly. Yet, I loved it so much that I still remember much of it word for word. I remember the white witch saying, "How dare you come alone?" I remember "Turkish delight? For my little prince?" I remember the faun Mr Tumnus saying, "Always winter, and never Christmas!" Narnia is magical. And I could not stop thinking about it as we stood there in the magical Yumthang Valley. Frozen waterfalls, a blanket of snow, snow on trees all around us. When Pempa picked us up, determined to take us to Yumthang Valley, my heart gave a little leap. It was impossible! Everyone else had left, and it was still snowing. How were we going … [Read more...]
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