Varsha Seshan's Official Website

Terms, Conditions and Refund Policy

Day One – Reading is Fun!

posted on

And fun it certainly was! I had 21 children there in all. Apparently, after 20 registrations had been made, someone wanted to join. The child was told that there were no seats left, but she could try her luck, show up at the workshop and see if anyone backed out. The child diligently showed up early. No one backed out, but how could I tell her to go home? I told her to join in! We read, we acted, we played. I recited Television by Roald Dahl. I made them recite several poems. One of them was exceptionally good. I made them go get to know one another, asking one another questions about books, what the others like, what they dislike, evertything. How enthusiastic all of them were! At the end, they filled a feedback slip for me. 18 children chose 'good' from the three options given to them (Good, Average, Bad). One child asked what 'average' meant and then happily ticked average. One … [Read more...]

The Lion King

posted on

I belong to the generation that was addicted to The Lion King video game. I loved jumping on the giraffes' heads, and loved to get the bonus points for a golden lion that did not look like a lion at all. I loved moving from level to level of jumping colour. However, I also belonged to the very small group of children who had not watched the movie. I remember a friend telling me that he had reached the Elephant Graveyard, and it was a very difficult level. "What elephant graveyard?" I asked. He looked at me wide-eyed. "The one with the hyenas!" I did not admit that I had neither watched the movie nor reached that level. I finally watched the movie yesterday and learned a lot of things. One, Pumbaa is not a wild boar as I was led to believe. He is a warthog. Two, the jumping on giraffe's heads is part of a song. Three, the golden lion that does not look like a lion has a meaning … [Read more...]

Teachers’ Day

posted on

What a novel Teachers' Day experience! The children impersonated the teachers; that was a treat. How funny it is to see how students see me! I couldn't stop laughing. Another wonderful part of the day was a quiz about the 12th grade students, prepared by the students. And a treasure hunt in the block. I haven't run up and down like that for a long, long time! Perhaps the performance during the latter half of the day was not as much of a delight as it could have been, but the rest of the day more than made up for it. They also handed us certificates, certifying various qualities they believe we have and appreciate in us. The students asked us, at one point of time, what our resolutions for the year ahead were. Mine was simple - I want to learn to be more patient, both with myself and with those around me. Interestingly, though, this is the certificate that they had already prepared for … [Read more...]

Treason

posted on

The year is 1539. King Henry VIII is King of England. All three of his wives, Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour are dead. He has three children: Mary, Elizabeth and the long-awaited heir to his throne, Edward. Henry has broken away from the Church of Rome because the Pope would not allow him to divorce his first wife. Anyone who refuses to accept that he is the Supreme Head of the Church of England is accused of an offence that is punishable by death. Treason. That's how the book begins. And it did not let me down. Treason, winner of the Carnegie Medal, took me a while to read. There were parts that made me think about why I was reading it. Yet, it was worth it. To create a protagonist who is weak and most certainly contemptible takes courage. How can anyone enjoy the story of a soppy page who considers it beneath his dignity to work alongside a boy to whom he … [Read more...]

MRP

posted on

On the radio, I hear advertisements, urging the consumer to wake up and realise that the Maximum Retail Price is printed on all kinds of products. Consumers are duped by dishonest shopkeepers simply because they do not know that they should look at the MRP. I sometimes feel bad when I listen to these ads. I agree with the motive behind it, yes, but I feel bad because it was a shopkeeper who taught me to look at the MRP. As a child in Bangalore, I often went with my sister across the road to a shop to buy all the little things children always need - pencils, crayons, gum  . . . The shopkeeper knew us, and always greeted us with a genuine smile, which we loved. One day, when we went to buy some stuff, my father gave us a hundred rupee note, which, like all little children, we carried for the whole world to see. "How much?" we asked the shopkeeper-uncle. He saw the note. "Hundred … [Read more...]

The Diary I’m Using

posted on

I can't stop laughing. I found an age-old diary. It's a 1988 diary, and I seem to have started using it in the early nineties. Only a few pages are used, so I picked it up to use again. As always, one of the first few pages has space provided for personal details. Name, address, phone number, insurance policy number, driving licence number . . .   Little Varsha chose to fill in just three spaces. Name: Varsha Seshan Phone number: 612060 Height: Very short … [Read more...]

The Peculiar English Language

posted on

Of course we know that language is peculiar. And English? Any new speaker finds it ridiculously bewildering. I'm reading a book by Rachel Anderson called Asylum.  More about that will come in a book-review soon, but it brought me to laugh aloud at the ridiculous English language. We learned similes in school. As fresh as a? Daisy! (Never mind if none of us really knew what a daisy was) As cool as a? Cucumber! (I always thought of the vendors all the way up to Sinhagad, and imagined them calling out 'as cool as a cucumber, as cool as a cucumber, as cool as a cucumber'.) I remember all these comparisons that we cheerfully chanted in school. Rosa, a young immigrant in Asylum, loves figurative language. She picks up expressions like a magpie picks up anything that shines. As pretty as a picture. As sharp as a needle. As light as a feather. Of course, all of that is understandable. But … [Read more...]