Imagine that you are writing to a reader who has not yet been born. Perhaps you’re writing to your own grandchild or great-grandchild. Or maybe you’re writing to someone whom you don’t know at all. What would you say? Here are a few of my favourites from this year’s Writers’ Club. There are many, many […]
Writers’ Club 2018-19
The Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School is now in its fourth year! We started so that we could commemorate the sesquicentennial year with a collection of work put together by the children, but then just carried on from there. Today, we discovered how we have stories within us, just waiting to be told. This […]
A Wonderful Month
Every so often, I think about doing a monthly round-up of workshops I’ve conducted and books I’ve read. And then I think, maybe next month. But the month that went by was just so full of wonderful things that I want very much to share everything that happened and everything that’s coming up! Last month, I […]
Meet the Monsters!
The huge, purple monster is on the loose! It has 12 arms, 12 legs, one eye, one horn, two mouths and 43 teeth, and it’s going to take over the town. It eats 12 people every day: it ate my neighbour and my children; it even destroyed a nearby building! It stinks to high heavens, […]
Young Writers’ Club – Mystery Stories
A priceless necklace has been stolen from a museum and you are one of the suspects. How can you convince the jury that you’re innocent? “I was on a plane to Kashmir,” said one girl. “I can show you the ticket!” A little later, she added, “And I even have a photo that the air […]
Workshop for Women’s Day
Yes, I was a bit sceptical about doing a workshop for children to mark International Women’s Day. What would I do? How much would I say? How would I even begin to talk about the inequality we see around us every day without even noticing it? Talking about equal pay means nothing to these children. […]
Writers’ Club – Another Year Ends
The Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School has been running for three years now! The third year ended on a high, with children (and me on the inside) running, shouting and celebrating. All through the year, we played games around writing, kept inspiring one another, wrote and rewrote – and this was the result. In […]
The Joys of Conducting Workshops
There are so many things I love about conducting workshops! I just finished a five-day creative writing workshop at Baner, and it was, as always, good fun. We began with limericks, which are always exciting. Sometimes, they’re funny; sometimes, just fun. Here are a few the children came up with during the session. Day two […]
Children’s Day at the Writers’ Club – Who Am I?
“I know that,” I said, irritably. “But that’s no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumours.” I threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore, hoping he was going to tell me something, but he didn’t, so I […]
Fortunately-Unfortunately
Option 1 “I am going to meet a monster today.” “Fortunately, it doesn’t bite.” “Unfortunately, that means it will just gobble you up.” Option 2 “I jumped into the swimming-pool today.” “Fortunately, the pool was heated.” “Unfortunately, I cannot swim.” “Fortunately, it was not deep.” Which beginning do you find more entertaining? I was very […]
I love limericks!
Limericks are fun! Very often, during a short session on creative writing, we work with limericks. They’re good fun, sparking much conversation and laughter. Many, many children love limericks too – one of my students even wrote a short story in limericks, which is part of Flickering Flames – An Anthology of Poems and Short Stories. […]
Creative Writing Workshop at The Story Station
Every time I work with children, I realise how much I enjoy it! They are much more imaginative than others, and much less inhibited. When The Story Station asked me to conduct a writing session with children over the age of eight, I knew it would be fun. For me, the highlight of the session […]
The author in you
The Story Station turns two! The Story Station is a reading centre in Aundh, Pune, where adults and children can discover the love of books. A space that’s always bursting with energy, it hosts all kinds of activities, revolving around reading, storytelling and creative writing. I’m delighted to be part of their birthday week fest. ‘The author in […]
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 […]
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 […]
Weekend Workshops at Bengaluru
The joy of travelling is when I can mix leisure with work. Last weekend was a long weekend, and in Karnataka, it was longer still because of Varralakshmi Poojai. Many were apparently traveeling, yet, several turned up for both workshops I conducted. At Atta Galatta, Koramangala, I conducted a creative writing workshop for the age-group 9-13. It […]
Creative Writing at Vidya Valley School
In the pouring rain, we made our way across the city to a school far, far away. It was beautiful. Greenery all around us, streams in the most unexpected places – this was not a part of the city I knew. I’d heard about Vidya Valley, and met a few students from the school at […]
Creative Writing Workshop in Bengaluru
Last year, I conducted a reading workshop at Atta Galatta, and I knew I had to go back there and do something else! The place is perfect, the ambiance charming and the children I met were lovely. So now it’s time to do something else, something new! Conducting the Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School has […]