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 six characters.Here's what they wrote:I find the denture, toothbrush and fork the most interesting characters of all!Then, I asked them to write six settings.I like Crystaly! I wonder where it is.Then, I asked them to write actions. Here's what we got:Each child comes forward and rolls the die three times. The die rolls determine the character, setting and action. All that remains is to write the story. It was delightful! … [Read more...]
Reading Day
Helen O' Grady's Navi Mumbai chapter invited me to be part of its Reading Day celebrations in honour of Dr Kalam's birthday. What a crazy day I had with enthusiastic children from St. Mary's School, Koparkhairane, and Gold Crest High, Vashi!The children were full of questions. One commented, "Most authors now don't really write; they type. Why do we call them writers? We should call them typers."Children asked me where my inspiration came from; they asked me what I enjoyed reading and what my journey towards publication was like. They asked how many times my work had been rejected, and did not quite believe me when I told them I had lost count. I read out three different stories from The Story-Catcher to three different groups. Each session was rewarding.It was a wonderful day; here's to many more! … [Read more...]
Alma Mater
Thoughts come to me in bits and pieces.The house charts are still displayed at the back of the hall. They've become bigger and grander, not restricted to single sheets of chart-paper. Also, the availability of print-outs means that girls with neat handwriting don't make all the charts.There are big boards on the wall, displaying the names of achievers, including prefects, toppers and those who achieved something in sports.There is a projector in our assembly hall!The grand piano is still there, except that it no longer has the sign that we used to find hilarious: 'DO NOT MOVE'.About sixty girls turned up for the writing programme I'm offering for classes VI and VII and St. Mary's. How will I choose 25 of them?The girls felt almost proud when (not knowing their names) I identified them by their houses.This is the beginning of a grand new adventure. … [Read more...]
St. Mary’s … St. Mary’s …
When I read the title (and when I was writing it), I could not help singing it.I've been writing for ages now. I've had about 25 stories for children published. I have a book to my credit.Yet, I can't deny that I am happy to see an article in the St. Mary's School magazine! I have the usual writer's complaint, though - I wish it had not been edited. The editor in me is cringing a little bit. … [Read more...]
Drama
Children love to act. All of us love to act, or Dumb Charades would not be such a popular game.One thing I stress during all my workshops is the importance of copyright. I insist that children don't just rip images and articles off the internet, print them and use them. In keeping with that idea, I usually use my own stories during workshops, in addition to traditional tales from around the world.A story I love is a Japanese tale of Amaterasu, the radiant one who lights up the sky. Her brother Susanowa ravages the earth with storms, so Amaterasu hides in a cave. The gods are desperate to bring light back to the world, so they call Uzume, the god of laughter and joy. Uzume begins to dance, and the gods roar with laughter. Curious, Amaterasu peeks out - the first streaks of light appear. She catches sight of her own brilliant reflection in the mirror opposite, and she emerges some … [Read more...]
Little Red Riding Hood
In the first session of a workshop, particularly one with a heavy name like "Language and Literature Workshop", I like to start on a light note. Humour is a great place to begin, and I turn to an all-time favourite - Roald Dahl.This time, I chose five of my favourite poems - "The Crocodile", "The Porcupine", "The Tummy Beast", "The Anteater" and "Little Red Riding Hood". I divided the participants into groups of five, and gave each group a poem to read. I gave them ten minutes to read and understand the poem, and then asked them to perform a little skit based on it.(Spoiler warning: This blog post spoils the punchline of Roald Dahl's "Little Red Riding Hood".)In Dahl's version of "Little Red Riding Hood", after the dutiful comments on Grandma's big ears and big eyes, Little Red Riding Hood says, "... what a lovely great big furry coat you have on." To this, the irate wolf replies, … [Read more...]
Language and Literature Workshops in Schools
Moving on from reading workshops in libraries to Language and Literature Workshops in schools is a lovely step! Working with 250 children was a whole new experience for me ... … [Read more...]
Back from Baramati
My lovely workshop at Baramati has come to an end.One child made a card - out of a recycled wedding card.Another child naively told me, "This is Harsh's gift from class V A."Children shared what they had learnt. And one girl gave me a letter. Here's just a little part of a three-page long letter that made me feel warm right down to my toes.The next workshop is just around the corner. Sunday: British Library! … [Read more...]
Goodbye Gurukul
I had decided what I would write about today, but was moved to tears more than once by everything students and colleagues from Vishwashanti Gurukul said to me, wrote to me and gave me.One student said, "I used to hate Shakespeare, but you made me fall in love with Macbeth."Another confessed, "I have never taken English seriously but thanks to you, English is one of the most interesting subjects."Yet another wrote, "You have changed my view towards English as a language."And finally, the cake they ordered with the most charming message ever: … [Read more...]
Theory of Knowledge – Mathematics
Planning my Theory of Knowledge class on Mathematics as an Area of Knowledge, I realise again what a strange mixture of art and maths I am! How I enjoy mathematics! Yet, I realise how much can be challenged. Is mathematics associated with beauty? What is the focus of mathematics – reliability, validity, certainty or truth? What is the point of mathematics? Is mathematics, as a system, a simplistic reduction of the world into categories that do not really exist? Is the study of integration/derivatives/imaginary numbers/irrational numbers a meaningful contribution to human knowledge?Thinking along these lines, I realised that in mathematics, context is often irrelevant. We discussed three examples that the class enjoyed thoroughly.Mathematics is the only subject in which you can buy 32 watermelons and no one will ask 'why'.“If you have three oranges and four apples in one hand and … [Read more...]