Workshops

I’m conducting a Writing Club at St. Mary’s School for 25 girls from classes VI and VII. Every time I give them a writing assignment, I will be publishing the work I like best on my blog.  I will be editing the work very slightly, if at all.
This week, each girl wrote a poem inspired by a piece of music of her choice. I chose this one, by Jayde MacFarland from class VII, because I enjoyed the rhythm of the poem.

On what inspired her, Jayde wrote:
This poem is based on pop music. I felt inspired to do this as it is the kind of music I really listen to. Whenever it comes to country and jazz, I fall asleep. Pop is a modern style of music and many people have contributed to it, which is why it inspires me.

Pop! Goes the Music
– Jayde MacFarland

I need a beat, I need a song,
I need some words to sing along.
I don’t need rhythm, I don’t need blues,
No jizz or jazz or country clues.

I don’t like rip, I don’t like rap,
And techno sounds worse than a clap,
I need some music for my soul,
No rocks or stones or dirt in a hole.

And this is music to my ears,
And this is music for my years
Yes, this is music for my peers
Pop! Goes the music.

Travelling to Silvassa, I realised how rusty my geography has become. Silvassa – I was pretty sure it was the capital of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. At least, I remember having learnt that in school. We had endless lists of states and union territories, and we had to learn the capital of each one, in addition to other details that have been wiped out of my memory.
(Perhaps I should not complain. There are more states now than there used to be when I was in school.)

I ‘alighted’ (I find the word so beautifully archaic, but the station had a sign saying ‘ALIGHT HERE FOR DAMAN AND SILVASSA’) at Vapi, Gujarat, and all the way to Silvassa, there were bridges and sign-boards welcoming me and thanking me for my visit. I couldn’t figure out who was welcoming me where and who was thanking me for visiting what.

Geographical confusions aside, I had a lovely time, conducting a workshop for sales teams from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. It was an enriching experience, working with people from different places and backgrounds. I met wonderful people, committed to working in schools to improve the system of education. I heard about evolving teaching methodologies, and the way in which school textbooks are being restructured in keeping with a child’s needs.

While I enjoyed myself and learned a lot through my session there, a part of me realised again that we deliberately cut off much of our imagination as we pass from childhood to adulthood. Working with adults was completely different, focussing on immediate gains, rather than an enjoyable ride into imagination.

In itself, that is not problematic. What is problematic, for me, is the link I plainly see between this practical approach and a lack of freedom of thought. The moment we spoke of flying pigs and other such fantastic things, there was self-conscious laughter.

I realised, with a start, that everyone wants to imagine, but somewhere along the line, we begin to feel that imagination is pointless. A waste of time.

When I talk about this, many ask me, Well? Isn’t it a waste of time?

I give people grand answers about language-acquisition through literature, and storytelling as a means of education. But really, I find that these are just ‘practical approach’ answers that I’ve devised over time.

What I want to say is this: When we ride on a ferris wheel, do we find it a waste of time? Do we ride a ferris wheel thinking of what we’ll gain from it? Yet, as a side-benefit, if the ferris wheel gives us a view of the city, will it not change the way we look at the world?

The British Council Library and Artsphere Pune hosted a screening of the movie “Gnomeo and Juliet”, and I was invited to talk about the movie, about Romeo and Juliet, and about Shakespeare. I was tremendously excited – I love working with the British Council; I was going to work in a new venue with a new audience; I was going to work with Shakespeare!

I began my preparation by re-reading Romeo and Juliet. I have an edition of the complete works of William Shakespeare that used to belong to my grandfather. Within, I found this …

… and I read Romeo and Juliet with a smile.

The movie was fun, but after an 81-minute long screening, the children were not really in the mood for anything else.
Yet, when we began to talk about Shakespeare, many slowly grew excited. We spoke about the challenges players faced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the fact that Shakespeare’s name was spelt in about 80 different ways. Only one child in the group managed to spell his name “correctly”, that is to say in the way we usually spell his name today. We spoke about how women were not allowed on stage, and how players were the only class of society allowed to dress above their station in life. It was not a long session, but all in all, it was fun!

Twelve hours of travel-time, and a three-hour workshop. I can’t promise to do it again, yet it was fun!

The British Council, Mumbai, has rolled out the reading challenge programme in several schools in Mumbai. I conducted three workshops at Universal High, Dahisar, and had a lovely time.

We worked with Sophie’s Snail by Dick King-Smith, a story I love. Classes one and two read the story with me, and enjoyed it as much as I did! We couldn’t get over the size of the snail. The whole class chorused with me, “It’s bright yellow and just the size of Sophie’s middle fingernail!”

With the older children, we did “The Porcupine” by Roald Dahl, “The Adventures of Isabel” by Ogden Nash, “The Quarrel” by Maxine Kumin, “A Pizza the Size of the Sun” by Jack Prelutsky and “Jimmy Goes to the City” by Arthur Read. The children learned about rhyme and meter, and then played with all the poetry we could in an hour!

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.

It’s taken me a while to write about the last month. How full of emotions it has been!

We performed in Kalakshetra for Pushpa Teacher and Jaya Teacher, my teacher’s teachers. We peaked and fell, rising and falling with a tide of emotions. We felt we underperformed, and then we were overwhelmed by everyone’s responses. The teachers praised the performance; nothing else is important. My heart is brimming with joy and gratitude.

In Bangalore, I did a two-day reading workshop. I wrote about day one here on the blog, but kept postponing it, even though I’ve been waiting to talk about how wonderful it was to conduct a workshop there.

Atta Galatta is a delightful place, with the perfect ambience for a reading workshop. What warmed my heart is that the store ordered ten copies of The Story-Catcher, some of which were bought by the children after the session. (If you’re in Bangalore and want to buy a copy, there may just be a few left.)

It was all too short. I want more – I want to do more performances, conduct more workshops and meet more children. Soon, I hope.

It’s wonderful to have a dear childhood friend attend a workshop of mine and diligently take pictures! I had a delightful morning at my reading workshop at Atta Galatta, Bangalore.

I’m conducting a two-day reading workshop at Bengaluru!

Highlights:
>Read aloud
>Act out a story
>Develop a love for reading
>Imagine and create
>Play a vocabulary game
>Learn about book-publishing
>Understand what copyright is

Age-group: 8-12 years
Dates: 4th and 5th July, 2015
Time: 11 am to 1 pm
Total duration: 4 hours
Fee: Rs 500 per child
Venue: Atta Galatta
Phone: 080-4160 0677
Contact Varsha at 09890798756 seshanvarsha@gmail.com

Summer holidays are nearly over; here’s my last activity before school begins. This storytelling session is for the little ones at a venue I always love!

Date: Sunday, 31 May 2015

Time: 3.00 to 4.00 pm

Venue: British Council Library,Pune

Overview: Stories are magical. When young children listen to stories, they develop into readers as they grow older. They begin to imagine and create, exploring worlds of their own. Interactive storytelling allows children to experience the magic of stories. Through role-play and drama, the children begin to express themselves and become immersed in each tale.

Fees: Rs 350/-per participant for British Council Library Members; Rs 500/- for non-members

Registrations open on a first come first served basis up to a maximum of 20 participants.
For any further information please feel free to contact Abjesh Thorat on 41005328 or email sugandhi.v@britishcouncil.org

Here are a couple of photos from storytelling sessions I’ve conducted in the past …

I have one photograph with the children at Cedarwood!

Half of my reading and writing workshop at Cedarwood is over, and I’ve finally convinced myself that I am not going to be taking any photographs. I keep intending to, and then I get so involved in everything we’re doing that somewhere along the line, I forget. We’ve done so much in the last few days. Here are a few things that stand out.

One of the girls came up with the idea of a magical die. The die has letters of the alphabet on it, not numbers. The character in the story, Gouri, rolls the die and sees what letter she gets. If she makes a wish starting with that letter, it will come true. The most beautiful detail of all is that Gouri found the die in a hole in a rainbow!

One child came up with the idea of a magical ring with a spell written on the inside. Learn the spell by heart, put on the ring and say the spell aloud. The gem begins to glow and then casts a laser beam that ricochets off the nearest surface back onto the wearer, making the wearer invisible!

Another one came up with a complex bit of magic. The magical object is a locket, which looks perfectly ordinary when it isn’t being worn. When someone wears it, two things happen. The first is that the locket changes into a pendant of the wearer’s choice. The second event is the complex bit. Open the locket and put your picture inside it – and the locket will get engraved with your initials. Once that is done, the locket has the power to transport you to a fantasy-world – but only if you believe.

In the last three days, I’ve met a fox who tricks a rabbit, a lazy but well-meaning girl, a stupid swan, and many, many more!

A hectic, lovely month came to an end with a heart-warming valedictory function and the last session with each of the nine batches I worked with at Vidya Pratishthan’s English Medium School. As usual, I got too involved with the workshop to take any photographs, but my mind is full of pictures.

Children ran to me to tell me they had read stories on my website. Others asked me when I would come next. Some came and promised to read right through their summer vacation. A few said they would write stories and poems and send them to me.

I’ll answer the question I got asked most frequently, though:
Yes, I’ll be back. I will come to VPEMS and conduct more language and literature workshops. I’ll be back next year, and I’ll meet all the children, and more.

For all those who have been asking me whether I have any workshops planned for the summer … I’m doing four exciting weeks under the banner of the Cedarwood Afterschool Program at Magarpatta City.

The modules I’m conducting include –
– A five-day reading workshop for the age-group 7-12
– A five-day writing workshop for the age-group 7-12

Do call Cedarwood for details!

A few photographs from Session III of the Language and Literature Workshop at Vidya Pratishthan’s English Medium School, Baramati.

Each activity during the Language and Literature workshop revealed something new and delightful. The second session with nine batches of children at Vidya Pratishthan’s English Medium School, Baramati, is over!

“What did you learn during today’s session?” I asked them.

Promptly, a child responded, “We learned that there is so much to read! So many stories!”

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 more. The gods catch her, pull her out, and send her back to the sky. But every night, she hides in the cave and the story begins again.

What I love about this story is how much fun the children have with it, and how innovative they are in their use of their ‘stage’.
One child playing Amaterasu ran away from Susanowa’s storms and hid outside the classroom, peeking in by opening the door.
In most classrooms nowadays, there are projectors, so windows are curtained. Sometimes, the narrator draws all the curtains shut to plunge the earth into darkness.
My story says that Uzume’s appearance is comical, so sometimes children use props to make their Uzume look funny.

Everything is planned in ten minutes of preparation time. I never cease to be amazed.

And of course, a recent prop that I already shared – a gun made of pens used by Red Riding Hood to shoot the wolf.

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, “Have you forgot/To tell me what BIG TEETH I’ve got?”
The wolf then says that it doesn’t matter what she says; he is going to eat her anyway. And the girl pulls out a pistol and shoots him.
No unnecessary dependence on a woodcutter.
Cut to the next scene – gone is her “cloak of red”; gone is her “silly hood”. Instead, she is wearing a lovely, furry wolfskin coat.

The poem always makes me chuckle. I love her new-found independence, even if I don’t want wolves to die. That is why I chose the poem for my workshop in Baramati.

What a city-girl I am. What a typical English education I have.

My children did not find the poem funny at all. It was, in fact, rather pointless.

In a group of 130 children, 128 had never heard of Little Red Riding Hood.

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 …

It’s just three days away!

Date: Saturday, 28th February, 2015.

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Fee: Rs 500 per child

Age-group: 8-13

Venue: The Cultural Centre, Pune

To register: Send an email to tcc@prelocate.com with your name and contact number. [Email subject: Imagine and Innovate Workshop]

Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

I was part of the lovely Cedar Reading Club this evening, sharing the magic of stories with seven children in the age-group 6-8. The children meet each week, read a story, talk about it, act it out …

More reading clubs for children around the city would be welcome!

How do books come alive? What happens in the mind of the writer, and how does it finally reach the hands of the reader? “Imagine and Innovate” explores each step of the journey: from the idea to the making of the book. Children will come together to create a story, design and make a book, and learn what copyright is. It will be a morning of imagination, creativity and learning: a writing workshop for all children aged about 8-13.

Date: Saturday, 28th February, 2015.

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Fee: Rs 500 per child

Age-group: 8-13

Venue: The Cultural Centre, Pune

To register: Send an email to tcc@prelocate.com with your name and contact number. [Email subject: Imagine and Innovate Workshop]

The Mythical Maze Reading Challenge is nearly over!

After Reading and Role Play and Idioms Are My Cup of Tea, today has Myths from around the World and Myths and Fables.

I showed the little ones a map of the world. These children are in the age-group 5-7.

We were reading a ‘story from Arabia’, Where There is Will. “Do you know where Arabia could be?” I asked.

One child stood up. “I think it is here,” she said, pointing to the entire Gulf region.

“Good!”

“Do you know how I know?”

“How?”

“See, this is India. Over here, this sea is called the Arabian Sea. So the Arabian Sea has to touch Arabia, right?”

That was the title of my last workshop at the British Library.

We tried translating “It’s raining cats and dogs” to Hindi and Marathi to giggles, shouts of laughter.

We compared the literal meaning of “He kicked the bucket” with its figurative meaning.

We performed the Herculean task of linking mythology with idioms, and then the children spilled the beans about the fact that most of their knowledge of Greek mythology came from Percy Jackson. When it came to Norse mythology and Biblical terms, their knowledge collapsed like a house of cards and they commented, “We have a long way to go and a lot to learn. We’re just knee-high to a grasshopper!” A crossword puzzle proved to be their Achilles heel, but we continued to see the glass as half-full, as the children and I got on like a house on fire!

Here’s what’s next!

Reading Workshop for Children
Age-group: 8-12 years
Venue: JustBooks, Viman Nagar
Dates: 29th and 30th December, 2014 (The last workshop of the year!)
Time: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Fee: Rs 500

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!

Imagination, copyright, magic, wildlife, beauty, leadership … The list of things we discussed during the third session of my reading workshop at VP’s Vinodkumar Gujar Bal Vikas Mandir was endless. With individual and team activities as usual, the sessions flew by – and I can hardly believe that I have just one session left!

Here’s some media coverage of the free workshop I conducted for parents … Looking forward to the Reading Challenge: details in the news clip!

Varsha Seshan’s workshops in the Sakaal Times today!

With the Reading Challenge just around the corner, I conducted a special curtain-raiser today on getting children to read.

“My children don’t read at all!”
“I keep asking him to tell me about what he’s reading; he never tells me anything!”
“His friend reads so much, but he doesn’t read at all!”
“We made him join the library, but still he doesn’t read!”

After every workshop, I face these responses, so I thought of conducting a session for parents before the actual launch of the reading challenge. It was a free session, open to everyone – and what fun it was!

At VP’s Bal Vikas Mandir, workshops are not just enjoyable work. On Monday, after my first two sessions, I was not well.
“Could I have just soup for dinner?” I asked.
“Of course,” was the reply.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door – Vicks and Crocin to ensure that I slept well.
That’s what working in a place with thoughtful people is like! On my first day there, I met three teachers: one who had worked for 19 years, one for 22 and one for 35. I was astounded and commented on this to the principal, who calmly replied that often, when teachers join the school, they leave only when they retire. I am no longer surprised: when there are thoughtful people around you, you want to work in that environment!

“Mythical Maze” – that’s the theme for this years reading challenge at the British Library.

What is a reading challenge all about? What does it achieve?

Here’s a bit about it.
Children are divided into two age brackets – 5-7 and 8-13. Each age bracket has a select list of books that fit under the theme “Mythical Maze”. These books are carefully selected, and are especially useful to parents who want to know what their children ‘ought’ to read. The main advantage here is that a whole group of children is reading the same books, a kind of temporary book club. This means that they have things in common to talk about and discuss – and the arena for this is the workshops conducted at the library. More than anything, the reading challenge achieves two things:
1) Getting over starting trouble: what to read, where to begin
2) Meeting children with common interests: Many children (and adults) are always itching to talk about books that took their breath away. The reading challenge lets children meet and discuss books to their hearts’ content.

Here is what I have read so far: