Lights, Camera, Action! was a whirlwind introduction to filmmaking, one which I thoroughly enjoyed. I know next to nothing about filmmaking, making this guest session all the more exciting for me. What an informative, detailed session it was!We began by watching a short film in French, Detour by Michel Gondry. Samina Mishra, our guest for the evening, asked us what we thought of the film and then we revisited a few details from a filmmaker's eye.What goes into mise en scène, or the frame of a film? What about cinematography? What does one pay attention to? Sound? Editing? What else?After looking at a range of elements from setting to costumes, effect sounds to editing, Samina left us with a writing exercise in which she asked us to write a single shot. With clear examples, she asked us to pay attention to the following things as we wrote:It was unfair to ask Samina to … [Read more...]
Roop and the River Crossing
What was the Partition? What ripples do we see today, and how do people in power continue to exploit communal politics? These are difficult questions that one often wonders about whether to discuss with children. In some ways, books that talk about our history help, books like Roop and the River Crossing.Roop and the River Crossing written by Samina Mishra and illustrated by Shivam Choudhary uses the metaphor of a kaleidoscope beautifully to look at the Partition from the eyes of a child. In the beginning, the kaleidoscope is fascinating. The ways in which broken bangles create patterns is exciting and fun. But as Roop sees the same fractured reality in the world around her, the toy loses its thrill.Gently and powerfully, the book leads us through the turmoil of Partition. What I find most important since it is a children’s book is that she focuses more on kindness and caring … [Read more...]
Where Does It Hurt?
Where does it hurt? It's such a simple question. If I read it aloud, I find my voice getting softer, kinder, more patient. And that's what this Hook Book by Samina Mishra and Allen Shaw is about - softness, kindness and patience.Sometimes, pain is easy to explain, like when you eat something that makes your tummy hurt.Sometimes, it's in more than one place, like if you hit your mouth on the handlebar of a cycle. Yes, your mouth hurts, but more, you want to be comforted. And sometimes, pain is much more complicated, like when your head hurts with numbers or your heart aches with sadness.Where Does It Hurt? looks at all these kinds of pain. It encourages us to ask where it hurts and extend a tiny little bit of help. It makes us take the first step towards easing pain.As I read it, my heart skipped at the idea of a child's pain being caused by a mother-shaped hole. Would I … [Read more...]