It’s impossible to write about The Paradise Flycatcher without mentioning the gorgeous illustrations. I felt the same way about The Golden Eagle, which we read at my book club some time ago. Krishna Bala Shenoi’s art work, right through the book, is stunning, and if for nothing else, I would have picked The Paradise Flycatcher for one of my […]
My Year in Workshops – 2024
As someone who loves routine and predictability, it’s amazing how unpredictable my workshops are, each year! Teacher training workshops took me to Indapur, Goa, Satara, Talegaon, Nagpur and Beed, in addition to schools all over Pune. This also meant that I did multiple book club and writing sessions from hotel rooms and cafés, just like […]
Why I Think Online Workshops Are More Effective than Offline Ones
A Little History I started conducting reading and writing workshops for children in 2013 at the British Library, Pune. It was fun, and the library space was exciting. Both as standalone events and as part of the library’s larger Reading Challenges, it seemed to me that libraries were ideal for workshops of the kind I […]
My Year in Workshops: 2023
Writing sessions from the car. Book club sessions from a misal shop on the highway. Guest sessions in my dance class hall. 2023 was a year when I seemed to be juggling rather a lot, especially as my writing programmes were bursting at the seams, plus I started an in-person writers’ club at St. Mary’s […]
When the World Went Dark
I read When the World Went Dark one year after our first lockdown. And I wondered about including it at my book club. Grief is deeply personal. No one feels the way you feel. It almost feels unfair when people do. Even so, we do want to talk about our grief. Additionally, with any book, we […]
The Diary as Story
In just a few weeks, yet another writing programme will come to an end! Yesterday was the third and last guest session of the season–a creative writing workshop with children’s book author Sowmya Rajendran. I love it when guests reinforce something I’ve been talking about for a while. During yesterday’s session, it was ‘write what […]
Writing Poetry
I’ve been conducting writing workshops for a long time, and if there’s one thing I love working with, it’s poetry. Nearly every writing programme I conduct begins with a poetry module. Why? Because it’s accessible. It’s far easier to write a poem in a week than it is to write a story in a week. […]
My Year in Workshops: 2022
The year 2022 was all about flexibility. Conducting online sessions from cafés and hotel rooms.Finishing an online session before boarding a bus to do an in-person session in another city. Adjusting schedules.Cancelling some editions of my book club because children were – finally – travelling.Competing with swimming and cricket coaching and all the other things […]
Demystifying Publishing
One of the best things about my creative writing programmes is how much I learn on the way. For one, before each class, I research for hours. One hour of class time typically requires at least four hours of research.And for another, I invite guests to talk about a variety of subjects from science fiction […]
Careers in Writing – Fergusson College
A career in writing – what does that mean? As part of UGC’s STRIDE (Scheme for for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy), the English department of Fergusson College invited me to talk about making a career in creative writing. What I loved was that I didn’t speak just to students of the English department; […]
Art, Music and Movement with Veda Aggarwal
Yes. Each time I invite a guest to speak to my creative writing programme, I realise that the session is as much for me as it is for the children. As a writer, I am often caught in a capitalist circle, writing with a clear goal in sight. What is the purpose of a piece? […]
Staging a Script with Lav Kanoi
What an enriching scriptwriting session we had with Lav Kanoi on Saturday! Ah, there’s nothing like a guest session to bring a fresh spurt of energy to our creative writing programme. “What is a story?” That’s the question Lav began with.I like the question. What is a story, really? As we talked about it, we […]
The Butterfly Lion
I love Michael Morpurgo. And The Butterfly Lion? I’ve had it on my shelf for ever so long, hoping to share it with more readers someday. That day is nearly here! The Butterfly Lion is a classic. In Michael Morpurgo’s signature style, he tells a heartfelt, almost mystical story in the simplest and most magical of […]
Manolita
In many ways, Manolita is a simple, old-fashioned tale. For a generation that’s immersed in mythology – from the retelling of Indian myths to all the popular books that have their foundation in Greek mythology – I think a story about a selkie set in the modern world is perfect! Jaya makes friends easily, so it comes […]
Another Reading Programme Comes to an End!
“Moin and the Monster was my favourite book because there’s a sequel!” said one child, holding up Moin and the Monster Songster. “Mine was The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop,” said another. “It was mysterious and magical!” “I liked Fantastic Mr Fox. But my all-time favourite is The Witches.” And in the midst of all that, one child held […]
The Playwriting Module – Reflections and Resources
And just like that, the playwriting module of my creative writing programme is also over! We read two plays, played with props, explored dialogue, imagined the stage, examined the differences between writing scripts for stage and for screen … And I’m exhilarated. As always, the generosity of the community of teachers and writers online is […]
Creative Writing Workshops – Reflections and Resources
I spend hours scouring the internet for creative writing resources. I love those hours, even though sometimes I find myself panicking. There are so many wonderful ideas out there! What can I use? I want to use them all! At those times, I need to step away from my laptop and remind myself that I […]
My Year in Workshops – 2020
2020 was a tough year, such a tough year that it’s become rather redundant to say it. Many of us had to step out of our comfort zones and do things differently. For me, of course, it was no different. For several years now, workshops have been my prime source of income. I’ve had my […]
Workshop Anecdotes
So many little things happen during workshops! That’s what makes them so much fun. For instance, my reading programme began on Tuesday and I started with Asha Nehemiah’s Trouble with Magic. We spoke about all the wonderful things we’d invent because, in some ways, science and magic are pretty much the same thing. One child […]
Reflections – Part 2
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the first series of reflections, written by children from my first batch of the creative writing programme. The idea of a reflective statement is something that I came to appreciate when I was teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. While I was teaching, however, many students hated […]