The girl who loves to draw!

 

It is an understatement to say that Aadya loves drawing. When it comes to Aadya and her penchant for drawing, I am always reminded of a movie quote from the 90’s American movie “Sister Act 2 - Back in the habit” which goes like  “When you wake up in the morning, and you cant think of anything but singing, then you should be a singer, girl” ….. this couldn’t be any more truer with Aadya and her drive to draw that is uppermost in her mind as she wakes up every morning!   

 

What began as simple doodling has now blossomed into a creative, engaging, and sometimes all-consuming form of expression for Aadya. Initially, Aadya was stuck on drawing princesses and all their trappings, and then she moved on (phew!) to depicting her thoughts, state of mind, her wishes, or her understanding of a story or a book onto her drawing board!  (quite literally! 😊)  Drawing is not only Aadya’s favourite pastime or her hobby but also a form of solace on days that she is upset over something…. as she pulls out two sheets from the big pile of one-sided printed sheets (a very useful recycling method for my office waste!) and starts to draw………all is forgotten!  It’s not unusual to find her suddenly disappear to her desk in the middle of watching a family movie and reappear with an image she has sketched, drawing inspiration from something she’d seen on screen just a few minutes ago, like drawing two children playing tennis as were all watching “King Richard”! 

 It’s not uncommon to find her immediately turn out a replica of an image pasted on a new piece of clothing that we just brought home from shopping! 

It’s not out of the ordinary for our unstoppable little one to churn out 10-12 drawings every day! It’s not odd to find our house cluttered with one-sided printed sheets of all sizes, with Aadya’s drawings on the other side, lying everywhere around the house! It's not easy to swallow your guilt as she doodles out this workaholic image of yours as she waits for you to wind up at work! 

It’s not a birthday celebration at all,  without Aadya’s colourful, vibrant and imaginative birthday cards that make for wonderful keepsakes for everyone in the family!

So much so that a recent visit to the planetarium and the Indira Gandhi park had us unexpectedly and serendipitously gate crash into the Sunday meet up of an art group called “Pencil scratchers” where Aadya found  herself most at home with a paper and pencil, rubbing shoulder to shoulder with fellow pencil artists and attempting to sketch a live model!

 

For someone who brightens our days with her brilliant drawings, we decided to preserve all her creations bound into books – and we already have over fourteen bound volumes of over 100 pages each, comprising of her drawings over last year and a half! Let’s hope she draws her way into filling an entire cupboard in the near future!

 So this year as she turned seven (almost two months ago and its another thing that I manage to write about it only now!), Aadya was insistent on having her birthday cake reflect her artistic quotient and Viola! ….we did celebrate her birthday in a rather artsy-craftsy way at “Firefly terrace” with a few friends and cousins who joined in the celebrations by way of a creative activity  planned for both kids and adults….and we all got our little artsy keepsakes to take home, that we can always remember Aadya and her seventh birthday celebration!

 

As Aadya explores her artistic side more, we revisited the book “ " I gotta draw"” by Bruce Degan that I had read to her brother almost 8 years ago! That apart, we also got a few books that she could relate to and thanks to the wonderful library   “Kahaani box”  we had a decent line up of books related to art and love for expressing oneself through drawings. From Fancy Nancy’s “Aspiring Artist” , where Nancy is inspired to into being an artiste in her characteristic fancy style to  “Tell us a story Papa Chagall” by Laurence Anholt , which is a delightful introduction to the dream-like style of painting of Marc Chagall and “Prince with a Paintbrush” by Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan and illustrated by Ravika Sen which is a charming read on the “Leonardo-Da-Vinci of India”- Raja Ravi Varma!

 

But Aadya most of all related to “Bea Garcia - My Life in Pictures” written and illustrated by Deborah Zemke, an early reader series brought out by Puffin books. We couldn’t have found a similar book, which revolves around a little girl named Beatrice Holmes Garcia aka Bea who has a penchant for drawing and expressing herself through pictures of everything about her life as it is and as she wishes it to be! It was almost as if we were looking at a reflection of our little aspiring artist as we read about how Bea navigates through her school and social life after her best friend Yvonne moves to Australia, all expressed through her magnificent drawings! . Read on as the teacher confiscates Bea’s book “My life in pictures” that almost threatens to expose her quirky view of her classmates only to have the circumspect teacher realise the power of her pencil! So… draw on…. my aspiring little artist …..the world is your canvas! :-) 

 

 

The magic of music!

 

Music has always been an integral part of our lives and while being ardent followers of Carnatic music, we as a family have been enjoying a wide range of Indian music – from Carnatic and Hindustani music to devotional bhajans, from Kannada Sugama Sangeetha to ghazals and film music, besides tuning in to a few popular genres of western music from time to time. While there’s some music playing on  one of our devices at all times, it is mostly Carnatic music that dominates our household. So much so,  it’s a family joke that our house might as well be branded as the “FM Amruthavarshini house” , with Indian classical music reverberating from every corner of our house as the FM 100.1 (The Indian classical music channel  of All India Radio Bangalore) plays on the multiple radios tuned in - on the ground floor at the kitchen, on the first floor in one of our rooms, and at the terrace balcony on the second floor…..All thanks to my renewed obsession with Carnatic music! Anybody visiting our home or calling in between 6 Am to 9.30 Am in the mornings and between 6PM and 11 PM in the evenings is sure to be treated to some brilliant music in the background, and any such conversation in person or over phone is forced to compete with Sudha Raghunathan’s rendition of “Raaga Sudharasa” or Bombay Jayasri’s “Krishna nee begane baaro”! (I know it’s not fair but I just cannot bring myself to turn off the radio when FM Amruthavarshini  is on)  Since Abhay has been training for Carnatic vocal for some time now,  I have resumed my own training after a long hiatus, and my little one a recent newbie in Carnatic music, our dinner table conversations often tend to be paused (Mind you, it’s never an interruption!) over identifying a raaga or noticing the structure of the “Kalpanaswaras” playing on the radio! Well, that’s when my exasperated husband asks if Yesudas’s rendition “Vataapi Ganapathim” needs to be a part of the discussion on our plans for the next day! 😊

So when the previous  week’s Saturday Buzzar of Funky Rainbow brought up this book on the occasion of World music day earlier last week, I knew I had to lay my hands on this one and sure enough this book has been the raagam-tanam-pallavi of this week’s reads! If my little one loves the book, it’s becomes a family favourite almost immediately with everyone being asked to read to her – from parents and maternal grandparents to her older brother and this book has indeed appealed to everyone who has read  to Aadya. Inspired from the early years of Annapurna Devi, the famous sitar player and daughter of Allaudin Khan, the royal court musician at the court of Maharaja of Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, “The Magic in My Fingers” a Karadi tales publication by Nandita da cunha (a pianist herself) and illustrations by  Nayantara Sundrenath and Kanimozhi A ,  is an endearing tale that is as much a story of sisterly love as it is about the discovery of an innate talent heralding an illustrious musical journey.

Aayan is once again late for his music practice, much to Baba’s chagrin. Before Baba loses his patience at his truant son, his younger sister Roohi steps in to search for Aayan who seems to be more interest in pots and pans than the practice of Sitar. Roohi cant afford to have Aayan upset Baba which would then ruin her chances of a new kite that Baba had promised to buy from the market. But Roohi’s chances of making her father proud of her as she plans to win the kite-flying competition with the new kite, diminish by the minute as Baba heads out looking for his errant son, with a cane in hand. So Roohi hits upon a brilliant but highly risky idea to distract her Baba and soon to her delight and to the shock of her father, she discovers the magic in her fingers, and that indeed makes her father swell with pride! Aided by wonderfully striking illustrations, we love this book as its works on so many levels- from the very relatable reluctance to music practice (I deal with it every day!) to the wonder of a prodigious talent, from the intuitive understanding of a sister of her brother's mind  to the discovery of one’s true potential and of course the exhilarating power of music! A must buy for any music loving family!

 

Stanley's Stick!

Life is full of surprises!!! Just as you believe your life to be moving in a known direction, an unexpected turn of events can leave you bewildered and unsettled until you come to terms with the change!  Owing to a sudden hectic turn of events on the personal front, I have been missing on the blogosphere and its now been more than a month since my last post on Onestoryaday !  But as the saying goes ….the only thing constant in life is change and you learn to adapt and move on….. so here I am...just in time for its anniversary month! Anyway, now that I got down to revisit my long lost sharing space afforded by blogger, let me straightaway get down to the business of books…..children’s books that I’ve been reading…not just for Abhay!:-)

 

 

 

Not very often you come across a book that speaks to not just the kids but also the parents reading to them. One such book that I happen to stumble upon at the British Library  is “Stanley’s Stick” by John Hegley and illustrated by Neal Layton. Described as capturing “the freewheeling expressiveness of childhood” and touted as “everything a picture book should be”, this is a story of a boy named Stanley who has a fetish for a stick that he always carries with him.  Stanley’s stick was once a part of a majestic tree that Stanley wistfully remembers finding it lying on the ground. Nevertheless Stanley is happy to have a part of something tall and grand and indulges in pretend play of all kinds with his stick! He pretends to use the stick as a whistle, or as match stick all set to light the torch of world games, or his stick becomes “stickosauraus”, a dinosaur not yet extinct!:-) Stanley also managed to rope his friend into joining and they both are seen pretend-fishing with a string attached to his stick…..with the best part being that no fish getting hurt with his stick-fishing! But Stanley had never been able to find an appropriate name for his favourite inanimate companion! For instance, Stirry sounded nice but much more appropriate for a spoon rather than a stick! Once Stanley goes on a beach vacation with his parents and there’s no better company than his stick to scrawl on sand in a languages understood by only Stanley and his stick. As he nears the shore, Stanley is seen in a pensive mood, looking out in the direction of the sea …. As his parents take stock of the situation of what is Stanley about to do, Stanley hurls his stick into the sea, surprised to what a tiny splosh it makes for something that was so big in his life, while his parents wonder if he is upset now that  Stanley is now stickless!!! The next morning, as the tide is out, Stanley decides to look for other sticks or twigs when he chances upon  a twisty stick that is different from the one he had before! Suddenly, Stanley’s bewitched ….and he soon discovers numerous ways of playing with his new twisty stick! Besides….it was easier than before to arrive at a name for his new found favourite – fantastick!!! Well….the book ends with a reflective tone…..Stanley’s fantastic, to which we add…so is his story…..isnt it??

This book not only makes a delightful  read but also works on so many different levels, that leaves a feel-good effect each time one reads it! Beautifully worded, charmingly illustrated, “Stanley’s stick” is not only a tribute to children's imagination but also offers a philosophical perspective to life and conveys a subtle message that lends itself into different meanings at different phases of one’s growing up! So it goes without saying….Stanley’s Stick is definitely for keeps…..as you may want to revisit this book later…to see if you have moved on with the change just as Stanley has!!



Wrestling the world!

Children especially boys love to fancy themselves as super–heroes ….. tough, all powerful and invincible! No wonder ….super hero movies are such a big hit with the kids! Well, the recent super hero flicks sure seem to be intended only for kids! J   Similarly most children’s programming on super heroes lay emphasis on muscular strength and physical prowess as the only means to defeat the enemies. You cant help but squirm when you see your little one delight in Chota Bheem’s (Indian children's programming) purported victory in a wrestling duel with his adversary. I guess as they grow up… you can only hope they factor in other traits that make an all-round super-hero ….after all actual heroes are made of sterner stuff than just physical strength! Isn’t it??

 

 

As of now it doesn’t harm to let them dream on……gloat over their imaginary super hero status ….ready to take on the world!!! So with that intention in mind I had a relative in the US pick up “Nino Wrestles the World” by Yuyi Morales on their annual visit to India. Frankly, this makes a great Spanish language read-aloud and at first I wasn’t sure if Abhay would appreciate its Hispanic lingo. But I guess boys everywhere are the same…….no matter which part of the world they live in! Little Nino imagines himself to be the world’s greatest wrestler  and what’s more he is successfully overpowers the meanest, slimiest and creepiest of all his contenders with panache!  Presented in a WWE style wrestling match between Nino and his challengers, read on as Nino tackles the mummy from Guanajuanto city, hard, rock-headed warrior from an ancient civilization, Mexican female ghost with terrifying echoes and an extra terrestrial in a flying saucer with his varied strategies matching their respective “Lucha” styles (traditional Mexican wrestling)!! But as Nino vanquishes all his opponents, there’s till someone whom he just can’t defeat – his baby sisters who wake up from their afternoon nap to pounce on him! So he makes his best move ever - “If you cant defeat them….. join them!” Abhay loved the story but couldn’t fully comprehend its Hispanic setting and Spanish expressions and neither could I! J However, thanks to the brief notes found on the book cover, readers are provided with a peek into Latino folklore as this book doubles up as an introduction to multi linguisitic and multicultural sensibilities! Illustrations pictured in a comic book fashion, sound effects brought out (‘Zzzwap’, ‘Slish’, ‘Pachatas’ ) in decorative fonts and bright colours true to its authentic Mexican setting, no wonder this book is a recipient of the Pura Belpre award, presented to a book that best portrays Latino culture. Nino’s adventures are after all ………every boy’s super-boy dream!!   

The wonderful vacation!

After a two week stay at “Shristi”, his grandparents’ farm at Dharmasthala, Abhay is back and so is Onestoryaday! J  Unlike the last two years, this time around however, Abhay only stayed for a fortnight, as opposed to a month. Well….. we found that two weeks is an ideal timeframe - for a city kid to enjoy a quiet country life, for his slowly aging grandparents, and for his parents whose lives don’t seem the same without the constant chatter of their seven year old! While Abhay did miss his parents at times, he seemed to have had a time of his life being the boss of “Shristi” – his grandfather ever ready to act as per his bidding, including driving him to a nearby town for his daily quota of chocobar ice cream, his grandmother devising fun ways and means to engage him, even in the darkest hours (quite literally as they survived without electricity for over two days owing to torrential rains!), that included an interactive game revolving around naming places from their ending sounds!!  Phew!....keeping kids engaged during holidays is no easy task and making an extraordinarily entertaining game from ordinary things lying around, is truly an art! Thanks to Abhay's Sannaji..... whenever Abhay feels that there is nothing to do, it's  Atlas Anthakshari  to the rescue!!!:-)

 

 

Today as Abhay returned to Bangalore, recalling some of  the memorable  moments of his vacation at Shristi, I read "The Wonderful Vacation" a National Book Trust publication by Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal and illustrated by Hakim Gulam Mohammad. It was winter vacation and the three siblings, Sushil, Sunita and Sagar felt bored sitting at home. Any suggestion of indoor play or outdoor play by their domestic help or their gardener were met with jaded responses. Sagar hits upon an idea as their gardener's further suggestion to make a bouquet out of the garden flowers ... to gift the bouquet to a place where it will be welcomed and loved - an old age home that was located to close to their house. As they visited the old aged home and delighted the inmates with their home made bouquets, the children were surprised to find the inmates content with their bare minimum existence and hardly any entertainment. Touched by the seniors' warmth, the children decide to put up a performance of a play with the assistance of a theatre enthusiast friend and the people of the neighbourhood who also make a charity show out of it, with funds going into buying the old age home a  tape recorder. Suddenly, the children are bursting with ideas and put their heart and soul into creating, experimenting and improvising so as to make the show a grand success.  So it was a turnaround of sorts with what seemed like a dull vacation transformed into a wonderful vacation, with a little bit of imagination, creativity and community spirit. With illustrations inspired from the art of papier machie, this is a touching value based story that seems like a throwback to the times when we were growing up!   So with an open mind and a little imagination....."there's nothing to do" can always turn into "there's so much to do'........isn't it?? .