The date today made me think of something that always made me feel special. In many ways, I know I was a strange child. When I was about nine years old, I discovered two extraordinary things. The first was that when I turned ten, I would have a double-digit age for a very long time ahead. The precious uniqueness of a single-digit age was nearly over. Only if I lived to be a hundred would I be special again. Until then, I would be ordinary. Two digits. 10, 11, 12, 13 ... All the way to 99. I was so struck by this notion that I cried on my tenth birthday. The other extraordinary thing I discovered as a nine-year-young girl was that many, many years later, my birthday would fall on a very special day - 10.11.12. I was thrilled at the idea. At nine, though, I had a long, long way to go, but I was tremendously excited about the fact that one day in the distant future, I would have a … [Read more...]
On Two Feet and Wings
I'm a slow reader. Despite the fact that I love reading, I take my time over books. Sometimes, I take weeks to finish a book, even one I enjoy. On Two Feet and Wings was not like that. I would never have expected a book based on a true story to have transported me into a world I do not know at all. Powerful, moving, pacy - what cliched words these are! But each of them is apt. I started reading Abbas Kazerooni's story only because someone gave me On Two Feet and Wings for my birthday. When I started reading it, I didn't know what to expect. But I loved every moment and every page - I'm tempted to say that I loved every word. The innocence and pathos in the story reached out to me - I haven't been touched like that in a long time. I saw the dirty alleys of Istanbul, smelled the dank sheets, drank the tea and cringed at the cockroaches in the bathroom. I saw a precocious nine-year-old … [Read more...]
On the long list again!
Yes, it's a grand year! Toto Funds the Arts Creative Writing (English) long list for 2014 is here! Twenty-two applicants are on the long list for the Creative Writing (English) Toto Awards 2014. They are: 1. Shalini Jagadish, Bangalore. 2. Dion D’Souza, Mumbai. 3. Mihir Vatsa, Delhi. 4. Rohan Chhetri, Gurgaon. 5. Ronaan Roy, Mumbai. 6. Kaushik Viswanath, Chennai. 7. Urvashi Bahuguna, Gurgaon. 8. Dani Kumaramangalam, Chennai. 9. Pervin Saket, Pune. 10. Varsha Seshan, Pune. 11. Neha Mathrani, Pune. 12. Neeraj Sebastian, Bangalore. 13. Aditya Jha, Noida. 14. Vaswar Mitra, Bangalore. 15. M.V. Sita, New Delhi. 16. Ritwik Deshpande, Pune. 17. Mohit Parikh, Jaipur. 18. Anirudh Karnik, Kanpur. 19. Rihan Najib, Bangalore. 20. Amrita Nair, Trivandrum. 21. Aalooran Bora, Bangalore. 22. Neil Balthazar, Pune. The shortlist for these awards will be announced before December 15. … [Read more...]
Scrappy and Trashy
At the sixth annual TAISI Sports Meet, I think what made me happiest was the mascot! Broken bats, punctured footballs and basketballs, and other disused sports equipment came together to create Scrappy and Trashy! But more endearing than the mascot itself, were two bored young boys. Fed up of waiting around, they began, of course, to kick the punctured balls around. After all, who cares if the ball they want to kick around is part of the artwork that goes into making the mascot? It is, before anything else, a ball! … [Read more...]
Nehru Bal Sangh
One fine day in 1964, a group of fifth class students envisaged a forum where all of them could meet and spread the message of love, brotherhood and harmony to all the corners of the country. Their initiative and drive mixed with their deep commitment to make their country strong, united and prosperous helped lay the foundations of a voluntary non-political organization – Nehru Bal Sangh. It started in a very simple way in New Delhi and has emerged as a national organization with branches in more than sixteen states if the country over the years. It has the blessings of great leaders of India like Shastri, Dr. Zakir Hussain and Smt. Indira Gandhi who helped and guided it during the formative years. Now, almost 50 years after its inception, I was honoured to be part of it as a judge of the dance component of the talent contest for their national integration camp. The national … [Read more...]
Chalkline
I recently read Neil Gaiman's views on escapism: I hear the term bandied about as if it's a bad thing. As if "escapist" fiction is a cheap opiate used by the muddled and the foolish and the deluded, and the only fiction that is worthy, for adults or for children, is mimetic fiction, mirroring the worst of the world the reader finds herself in. If you were trapped in an impossible situation, in an unpleasant place, with people who meant you ill, and someone offered you a temporary escape, why wouldn't you take it? And escapist fiction is just that: fiction that opens a door, shows the sunlight outside, gives you a place to go where you are in control ... And that's the way I feel when I leave a book like Jane Mitchell's Chalkline unfinished. I have nothing against the way it's written. It's powerful, hugely moving and terribly disturbing. And that's just why I could … [Read more...]
Writing in the Genes
Never thought a business magazine would have a picture of me! All thanks to my father, and to the fact that I have writing in my genes! … [Read more...]
Bookaroo Festival of Children’s Literature, Pune – 2013
Twenty-two speakers from five countries and 11 cities are going to be interacting with children, bringing children and books together. It's happening in Pune! Dates: 3oth November and 1st December Venue: Sambhaji Park, Jangali Maharaj Road, Pune I'm looking forward to it! … [Read more...]
Perspective
In the little primary school in Perani where we worked, money is of course a problem. Going there with students from an international school put things into stark contrast. The base of the four walls of the classroom is painted black. The black area is about three and a half feet high. One of the services students from my school rendered was to paint vertical white lines on the black area of the wall to divide it into sections. "We often fall short of notebooks," we were informed. "So, the children have slates to work with at home. Here in school, the black wall becomes their slate." The students measured and painted the white lines. For their work, they were thanked profusely by teachers and students alike. The next day, it was somehow heartwarming to see that the children had already started working on their new-found blackboards. One of my students commented, "In our school, we … [Read more...]
Painting Gates
Children are morbid. There's no other word for it sometimes. A little boy, Tamilbaradhi, was watching a student of mine painting a gate. "Don't touch the gate," I warned him. He nodded, knowingly, but seemed to expect me to say more. "The beautiful, freshly painted gate will get spoilt," I clarified. Tamilbaradi frowned. That was not what he expected. "My hand will get stuck to it," he said, eagerly. Fresh oil paint, small child (about three years old) - I agreed. "Yes, your hand will get stuck to it." "And I will never be able to pull it away," continued Tamilbaradi, happily. I paused. "And then, my hand will have to be cut off for me to be free!" he pronounced, delighted. This from a three-year old child. Children are morbid. … [Read more...]
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