Varsha Seshan's Official Website

Online Reading Programme (Ages 9 and 10) – December 21

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REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS READING PROGRAMME. New batches begin every alternate month. Watch this page for updates!

My regular reading programme for ages nine and ten is back! This programme combines the concept of a book club with an introduction to creative writing. During the 12 online interactions, we read excerpts from three books and do activities of all kinds. Every two weeks, one class is devoted to creative writing.
This time’s books are – Manolita, The Butterfly Lion and The Golden Eagle.

Cricket for the Crocodile

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I launched my online reading programme for ages seven and eight in December last year, which means that this is the sixth edition of the programme. Each time, I’ve focused […]

Illustration Workshop: The ART of Stories

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Tanvi Bhat is a children’s book illustrator and author who has created books for publishers like Pratham Books, Duckbill and Tulika Books, to name a few. She likes working with watercolours and gouache when making pictures, and scribbling on scraps of paper that she’s constantly losing when she writes.
With her, participants will learn to look at illustration through the lens of storytelling. The visuals often weave a story of their own – how do they do that? Planning, pagination, characters and background design are important. How can we bring them into the illustration process? 

Writing Workshop: Pirates, Legends and Historical Fiction

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The past is full of secrets. Pirates, shipwrecks and treasure make for thrilling stories. What pirates ruled the waters off the Malabar coast? What tales can we write about them?
This writing workshop on historical fiction will be conducted by historian Dr Radhika Seshan, former Head of the Department of History, Savitribai Phule Pune University. It is a guest session for participants at my online creative writing programmes, but is also open to non-participants on payment of a fee of ₹400.

The Monster Hunters

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Another reading programme, another hOle book! The first book for the June 2021 edition of my online reading programme for ages seven and eight is The Monster Hunters by Parinita Shetty. […]

Workshops Launching in May and June 2021

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I’ve received an overwhelming number of queries this time around, and I’m not surprised. Summer holidays! Registrations are now open for two reading programmes beginning on the 1st of June. […]

First Guest Session – Writing about Cyber Crime

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Detective stories are thrilling. Whether you read Secret Seven and Five Find-Outers and Dog or Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, a story about an investigator solving a crime is always gripping. What about in the 21st century? What other kinds of detective stories can we write?

These were the questions I had in mind when I invited Shweta to come talk to us. Among other things, she will discuss:

What is a cyber investigator?
How do I write a story about a cyber detective?
What do we mean by digital forensics?