Three years ago, to celebrate Friendship Day, I wrote about five times fictional friendships won my heart. For Friendship Day 2023, here's a post about five fictional friendships I enjoyed writing. And because I can't choose which one to write about first, I've put them down in the reverse order of publication. Dhara's Revolution "I wish for you a best friend as special as Carol. Equally, I wish that each of you can be like Carol for someone in your life"That's from the acknowledgments page of Dhara's Revolution, a book that's hot off the press and will be released at the end of this month. Carol and Dhara have a very special kind of friendship. They make charts together, even if they're competing. They learn each other's speeches.Until one day, the don't.A book about friendship and rivalry, I loved writing about Carol and Dhara and what makes them the friends they … [Read more...]
Bookaroo Srinagar 2023
What can one say about a literature fest without being repetitive? Lit fests are special. They fill you up with energy and enthusiasm. They remind you of the joy of reading, writing, and stories.And lit fests in beautiful spaces? They're inspiring. Srinagar is lovely, and equally, Delhi Public School, which hosted Bookaroo, was charming. Look where I conducted both my sessions! Over the last few years, I've been invited to several lit fests. Last year alone, I did events at lit fests in Vadodara, Gurugram, Jaipur and Pune, in addition to smaller ones at various schools in the country. I've shared pictures and anecdotes, and at the risk of repeating myself, I will say that lit fests always leave me on a high.Yet, for a writer, lit fests are a means to an end. They're a way for children to get to know about our stories. They help create some shelf space for … [Read more...]
The Prophecy of Rasphora
It is always a little daunting to introduce a book of my own to my book club. But I've done so many events based on The Prophecy of Rasphora, and so many of them have gone so well, that I feel (hope) this will be fun too!Tara, Afreen and Vandana discover a land behind a waterfall, the land of Rasphora. Vandana, ever practical, knows that they must get out of Rasphora as soon as they can. Life is not easy for them, and they cannot afford to miss a day's work, even though they are just children. But when she learns that she is part of a prophecy of this beautiful, mysterious land, she can't help but pause. She should, at least, listen to the prophecy before returning to her home in the hills. Shouldn't she? Language Games What is the first problem you would face if you found yourself a new land? This question always leads to the problem of communication. … [Read more...]
Reflecting on Reading on International Women’s Day
A few years ago, I was invited to judge a 'Come as a Character' competition at Symbiosis International School, and it was good fun. I encountered all kinds of characters, ranging from Matilda to Ebenezer Scrooge. I've now seen multiple schools that conduct similar activities; I've done so myself at my Writers' Club.Yet, for a while, I've been thinking about something that makes me rather uncomfortable. Dozens of girls dress up as Harry Potter, Geronimo Stilton or Charlie Bucket. But no boys dress up as Matilda or Thea Stilton or Katniss Everdeen.This was brought into sharp focus recently, when a parent asked me for recommendations for a character for her son to dress up as. The idea of dressing him up as a female character seemed absurd to her. I wonder, would it have been as absurd to dress a daughter as a male character?Today, on international women's day, I find myself … [Read more...]
World Read Aloud Day 2020
Five days late, but why can't every day be read aloud day?I happened to have a session with my Writers' Club on World Read Aloud Day, so each of the girls chose something to read. It was delightful! Above all, I was struck by how well most of them read, without burying their faces in their books and without too much stuttering and stumbling. That is privilege, isn't it? That level of fluency?Also, this time, I loved that nearly all of them chose their pieces well. While last year, I had children struggling to read an abridged version of King Lear aloud, fumbling with names like Cordelia and Goneril, this time, I found that their choices were, on the whole, quite good! Some read easy poetry; I had a couple of stories about Akbar and Birbal, and we had excerpts from Nancy Drew and Enid Blyton. I have written earlier about why children choose texts that are too difficult for them; … [Read more...]
My Year in Writing
Being a writer is never easy. Things take too long, and there's little to show for it. Long silences, endless waiting and wondering, a general feeling of isolation ... Yet, the highs are so high that they make everything worth it.In 2019, among the biggest highs for me was the discovery of warm, supportive groups on social media. I didn't even know that this was something part of me needed, simply because I'm so used to the feeling of submitting stories into the void and never hearing back from editors and publishers. Rejection, too, is equally normal. Form rejections are terrible, but silence is worse.Then, I discovered that people set targets for themselves - of how many rejections they will get each year. A hundred rejections - that's a normal target.And this was new to me. It opened my eyes to wonderful new possibilities. Instead of agonising over perfection, why not send … [Read more...]
Catching Up: Writing
On the writing front, things are moving slowly, as usual. I have lots of things in the air, waiting to become either concrete or virtual. In their own time. Older books continue to bring me joy, though, in their own ways.The Prophecy of Rasphora - A New ReviewVery few things make me happier than a review of one of my books. At the Writers' Club yesterday, one of the students from my previous batch handed me this - my first child-review of The Prophecy of Rasphora.WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERSTranscriptionTitle:- The Prophecy of RasphoraAuthor:- Varsha SeshanPublisher:- Mango DC BooksIllustrator:- Lavanya KarthikThe Main Characters:- Afreen, Tara, Vandana, Miss (a dog), Avamel, Efferin, Safir, Terrine, Coutim, Anita, AnandThe Story is Set in:- Monkey Hill and RasphoraSynopsis of the Story:- This story is about 3 girls named Afreen, Tara and Vandana and … [Read more...]
Words and Worlds at the Vidya Valley Lit Fest 2019
I was unwell and could not stop coughing. Yet, armed with my enthusiasm (and a pill), I went for the Vidya Valley Lit Fest--and came back energised. The excitement pulsing through the school kept me going - and of course, the thoughtfulness of the team of parent volunteers in organising a mic helped!Every time I speak to groups of children at lit fests, I realise how different one group is from another. During my three sessions with Class VI at Vidya Valley, I was struck by this yet again. One group was noisy and enthusiastic; the second was almost unbelievably good; the third was full of questions. And each session was wonderful.'Words and Worlds' - that's what my sessions were called. Working with the beautiful land of Rasphora was delightful, but we did so much more. We spoke of language itself and how we use our words to create worlds in literature.Describing my journey … [Read more...]
Catching Up – Writing
It's that time again, when I've postponed blogging for so long that I don't know where to begin. I keep saying that I intend to do monthly roundups and that never happens. I'm now planning to do a series of posts, catching up with what's gone by, though.In terms of writing, I'm working on multiple things, and that's a wonderful place to be. I just had a poem published by Scoop - a UK-based children's magazine that has published writers like Neil Gaiman, John Agard and Jacqueline Wilson. If I don't count the poems that were published when I was a child, this is my first poem to be published - the first of many, I hope!My poem is called "Making a Clone", and it's about two girls who come up with a wonderful plan - they'll make a clone out of ketchup and potato peels.I also had a travel story published by Inside Himalayas - the first bit of non-fiction in a while.My … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest 2019
So often, I come across posts that talk about how lit fests are a waste of time for authors, and how lit fests exclude rather than include. For me, though, lit fests remain unadulterated fun. Does this have something to do with being a children's writer, perhaps?The Lit Bug Fest, Pune's own lit fest, is in its fourth year, and I have been involved with it for the last three years. I love everything about it - the anticipation, the fest itself, and then, the high I'm left with for a few days after.Writing about the day helps me relive it and remember. Here are my posts about the fest last year and the year before that:The Lit Bug Fest 2017The Lit Bug Fest 2018What I did this year:A Marathi PlayMy day began with a Marathi play presented by students from classes V and VI. Honestly, when I sat down to watch, I did not expect to enjoy it much. It was a school … [Read more...]