It's been such a long time since a book forced me to stay up and finish reading! I loved The Secret Hen House Theatre. It made me imagine. It got me excited. Yes, there were parts that were uneven, but how does it matter when you're caught up in the emotion and excitement?I remember reading The Worry Tree some time ago and thinking about children who worry about everything around them. I know so many people like that - people who try to balance everything, make everything okay. Some worry and keep wanting to do something. Some worry and do one thing after another, but the worry still weighs them down.Hannah from The Secret Hen House Theatre belongs to the second kind. She wants to save her farm, but how can she do that when she wants to act and write plays? What makes it worse is that her mother used to love theatre, but is now dead, and her father seems … [Read more...]
Udhagamandalam
At school, all of us took great pride in saying 'Udagamandalam'; I'm not quite sure why. We also felt very proud when we managed to say Udagamandalam while playing 'Place-Place'. (Everyone knows the game, and in India, we must repeat. Teacher-Teacher. School-School. Place-Place. All of that.)Yesterday, I realised that here in Tamil Nadu, we spell it Udhagamandalam because, you see, the first /d/ is soft different from the second, hard /d/. We must make that clear! So Udhagamandalam, it is. Past Wellington, past Coonoor, and all the way up to Udhagamandalam.I do wish we'd taken the charming toy train up to Ooty, but as my characters say in The Toy Train, it takes too long. We saw the train at Coonoor station, we crossed the tiny narrow gauge rail tracks, and sighed. Next time, we said, next time.This time, we drove up, enjoying the view of tea estates, stopping … [Read more...]
Book Launch at Atta Galatta
Launching my railway adventures for children in a city in which I know very few children was bound to be a challenge, but it was such fun!The event began with a college friend who came to show her support - and she made my day. I hadn't met her for a decade, making her presence even more special.As children started trickling in, we began to explore the series of railway advenures through the audio books and activity kits. The joy of each of the railway books is that it is sold both as a book and as part of a kit, making for wonderful activities with children at events like this!And of course, for any writer, people who want to buy your book and get it signed just warm your heart! … [Read more...]
Reading Workshop and Book Launch in Bengaluru
I have two events coming up in Bengaluru this week - a book launch tomorrow, and a reading workshop on Saturday. I hope to see you there! Book Launch at Atta Galatta, Koramangala, Bengaluru Date: 9th March 2017 Time: 5:30 pm Open to all! Reading Workshop at Kids Collective, Jayanagar, Bengaluru Date: 11th March 2017 Time: 11 am to 1 pm Age-group: 8-12 Workshop fee: Rs 500 per child … [Read more...]
Guru Mythili Raghavan
What makes Mythili Maami special? Why have so many of us been with her for two decades and longer? Why did we not leave the Academy of Indian Dances and set up on our own like so many other dancers?The answer lies in a story that each one of us is only too willing to share.My teacher has her stories too - of learning to dance and sing, of being chosen to say the prayers at school, of sitting on a train and hugging her bag all the way to Patna from Chennai ... She has stories about Kalakshetra and stories about Australia. She talks to us about her experiences with teachers like Gowri Pati, Pushpa Teacher and Jaya Teacher. Stories must find their way into a book some day - and this one took root when my father said that we must all write it. We took our time, but released it for Maami's 70th birthday. It's here, and I can't quite believe … [Read more...]
Writing Workshops at Gurukul School
The British Library invited me to conduct writing workshops for the fourth and fifth standard students of Gurukul School, and what fun it was!A student of mine introduced me to a lovely activity that I improvised for the fourth standard. I handed out sheets of paper to groups of children, and asked them to write six characters.Here's what they wrote:I find the denture, toothbrush and fork the most interesting characters of all!Then, I asked them to write six settings.I like Crystaly! I wonder where it is.Then, I asked them to write actions. Here's what we got:Each child comes forward and rolls the die three times. The die rolls determine the character, setting and action. All that remains is to write the story. It was delightful! … [Read more...]
Urja – A Classical Dance Festival
Maharashtra Cultural Centre has invited the Academy of Indian Dances to perform for Urja, a classical dance festival. For this performance, we've taken an old theme, one that we presented in 2012, Naaritva: Exploring Womanhood. The performance explores the journey of a woman through traditional pieces, both classical and folk.We begin with girlhood, associated with fun and play. Young girls performing a kolattam will represent this stage of life.What is growing up without friendship and bonding? And when there's exciting gossip to share, friendship becomes even more spicy! The journey of a woman would be incomplete without friendship!And then comes love, the beautiful shringara rasa. The intimacy of young love goes with playfulness, teasing, love and longing.Next, we depict motherhood, exploring the special bond between a mother and her child.Perhaps the … [Read more...]
My Stamp
"My Stamp": the brand name for personalised postage stamps. Karan saw the ad outside the GPO, and guess what we got made?The only problem with using a book cover, rather than a passport sized picture of a person as advertised, is that we need a square image, not a rectangular one. Even though we had to crop the images quite a bit, how can I not be excited about these Duronto and Toy Train stamps? I can actually use them when I send letters (though I'm not yet convinced that I will!)!What I loved about the process of getting these made was that the person at the post office was lovely! He did not just make these for us; he wanted to learn how to crop and resize using paint! He was so happy with the stamps that he made me pose with them in front of the Madhubala stamp so that he could take a photograph. He even went out of the philately department and into the post office … [Read more...]
Scuba Diving in Krabi
Fifteen years ago, I went scuba diving for the first time. Fresh out of school, I wrote SCUBA, not scuba, because I knew it was an acronym (and probably wanted to show off that I knew).I remember standing on the white sand of Lakshadweep. It was all a bit overwhelming. There were sixty of us, on a Lakshadweep camp. I was at an age when I wanted to fit in, but did not want to fit in. I wanted to be welcomed, but just did not belong. Lakshadweep, with its breathtaking beauty, took me out of my own deep-rooted self-consciousness. I snorkelled to the end of the lagoon, watching blue surgeon fish. I remember deep sea snorkelling on our last day there, and can still feel the thrill that ran through every pore of my being. I remember running my hand along the sea weeds when Mr Shaukat Ali held my hand and took me under water.And when I went to Krabi last month, everything flashed … [Read more...]
Workshops at Symbiosis International School
I love the concept of the language week that is held at Symbiosis International School. The students organised a language quiz; they explored the cultures associated with different languages; they had competitions ... And I was invited my to conduct creative writing workshops for grade VIII. In November last year, I conducted reading workshops with grade VII and thoroughly enjoyed myself, so I was sure these would be fun too!As I was going to be there anyway, I was also asked to judge an event, and it was wonderful! Students of the seventh grade dressed up as characters from books and made speeches or enacted scenes. It was such fun! From the moment each character walked into the room, my brain began to whir. Who could this be? What book is s/he from? From the prince and the pauper to Frankenstein, Ebenezer Scrooge, Elizabeth Bennett and Mark Antony, I had a lovely morning, immersed … [Read more...]