Spin A Story

Here’s a shoutout to a gifted and budding artist Rashi rashi_artworks whose magical painting of Lord Krishna was selected to be part of the PGICH, Noida’s annual calendar. This is a special calendar the hospital brings out every year with paintings made by the cancer warriors.

I was at PGICH in April with Archana Atri, my book’s editor Atri who thought of the lovely idea of having the book launch there. Dr Nita, the department head, gifted me the calendar and invited Rashi to show her lovely painting. I was really taken by this particular painting and Rashi’s artwork so I carried the calendar to the Nirmal Primary School to share it with the kids and teachers. The Principal Jasbir Ma’am and the teachers and students were so appreciative of Rashi’s work and wished her all the success in her artistic endeavours.

May you continue to create magical art Rashi. 🩷 The last slide is a sweet moment that we shared with Kitty as she went about greeting all the children at the launch. Please show your love to Rashi and her art, folks!

‘Kitty goes to Jaipur’ is now available on Amazon India. The reviews have been wonderful and the messages and voice notes sent by my young friends have made my days, months and year! 🩷

Many a family have taken this travelogue along to for the summer vacations. Please show some love to Kitty on her adventure to the . Just type Kitty Travel Series or Kitty goes to Jaipur and you’ll get straight to the book and others from the series.
Age group 5-10, though to be honest, there’s no age limit to enjoy a book.



❤️

I’m not a morning person so try getting me to go for a site visit or meeting at 9 am and you’ll get a “are you crazy” look from me. But ask me to do a storytelling session or any session that involves kids and I’m game. And how!

So here I was at the Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj at 9 am on a hot summer morning - bright eyed, enthusiastic and ready for Storytelling with Puppets. I’m still new to getting the voices right for puppets but I really do enjoy it. It brings out the mimic in me.

This particular morning was made even more enjoyable by the children and the way they responded to the story and the characters. Kitty is now a little famous and well recognised and she loves it. My dear daredevil Dinku also gets his due share of admiration for his sheer gumption and grit to prove himself. We learnt what an underdog meant and how important it is to not give up on your dreams. We also sang, danced and had a few voice overs by the kids and ended the session with our very own symphony.

Thanks for a lovely, musical morning . A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into pulling off a successful Summer Camp and they pulled it off yet again this year. Who do you think had more fun - the children or Jolly me?

In what has now become a tradition at the Nirmal Bhartia School - we had a wonderful time winding up the annual Reading Project with “How to make Poetry fun?” for grade four.

For most of us growing up with reading and learning poetry in school, it was a challenge. A huge part of it was to memorise poems - not everyone’s cup of tea and some were intimidated by it if not plain bored.

My focus when I conduct this workshop is to generate curiosity about poetry, help them develop a connect with it and make it something they enjoy. Here are some glimpses of our interactive session with read-aloud in different pace and voice, spotting poetic devices, starting discussions on a poem and getting into the head of a poet.

We rounded it up with creating our own Acrostic poem bookmarks with the theme of Summer Holidays. What a treat the creations were - do read them to have a good laugh!

What a privilege it was to have ‘Kitty goes to Jaipur’, the latest of the Kitty Travel Series travelogues, launched on International Children’s Book Day at ‘Adi’s Corner’ at the Post Graduate Institute of Child Health PGICH Noida.

A huge thank you to Dr Nita Radhakrishnan (Additional Professor and HOD, Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology) and her wonderful team for hosting Kitty and me. And another huge thanks to Archana Atri the founder of ‘Adi’s Corner’ for making this happen and of course, the children and their parents for creating such a welcoming atmosphere.

What stood out for me is how much the parents and the staff enjoyed along with the children. Kitty was in her element - generous with her handshakes and kisses. And for the hour or so while we explored the Pink City Jaipur, we all had a jolly good time! There was also much curiosity to see the journey of the book itself, from the initial sketches to dummy prints and the final product. You never know when inspiration strikes a future author and/or illustrator in the audience.

When Archana, the book’s (benign but brutal) editor first suggested the idea of a session here, I was apprehensive. I’ve always hesitated to perform at a Cancer ward, mostly because I’ve been unsure of how I’d handle it emotionally. But the Universe has a way to show you what truly matters. In February, I had a major surgery to remove a tumour in my leg. It’s been a life changing experience, one that I’m still in the midst of processing. Humbling as it is, it’s also a reminder to receive opportunities with grace while you can… and that even when you think it’s about you, it not always is. Watching the shy smiles going around just drove the message home. Looking forward to more sessions at ‘Adi’s Corner’ whenever you’ll have me Archana. I need another post to share what a journey doing the book with you has meant to me. ❤️❤️❤️

Sharing a double celebration 🥂, the of my new book ‘Kitty goes to Jaipur’ and my sister-in-law Aneeta’s professional foray into baking with FiFio’s

We marked this moment together at my nephew Fateh’s spring school mela at The French School The organisers - , a charity working with women and children invited me to conduct storytelling sessions and were kind enough to give me a corner to showcase the Kitty Travel Series. Aneeta had FiFio’s first bake stall ever so the day was even more special for us ❤️. And of course, none of it meant anything without Fateh, our lucky mascot and muse, who got the first book and brownie.

‘Kitty goes to Jaipur’ is out now on Amazon India (see link in bio) and Aneeta’s yummylicious brownies and other bakes are available on order at Fifio’s

Thanks to everyone who’s been supportive of our journeys. It means the world to us ❤️🙏🏼

While browsing at the tourist information centre in Bologna, I chanced upon a beautiful wooden hand puppet. On enquiry, I found out that these puppets - also called Burrattini in Italy, are part of the rich local culture. The staff quickly found out that I could get a guided tour at Palazzo Pepoli (Museum of the History of Bologna) if I made a dash for it.

And there I was, running like a mad woman to reach just in time for the tour to start. Turned out I was the only visitor at that time of day and the guide Riccardo Pazzaglia, was also the famous puppeteer (burrattinaio) and part of “Burrattini di Bologna” - an organisation that is reviving this unique traditional puppet theatre. It was an incredible deep dive into the world of puppets.

From the history of the puppets and how significant they were in the social fabric through the ages, to how the puppets are made and even a tiny show in their mini theatre, it was a treat for lucky me. You didn’t need to the know the language to understand what was going on. It was hilarious (my giggles are audible in the video/last slide).

Watching a “Burattini a Bologna” show is a fantastic way to understand living folklore and humor of the region - an experience you truly can’t get anywhere else! The shows typically involve lively performances with comedic and dramatic storylines, drawing from folk tales, local legends, and social satire. Central characters often include the classic puppet “Fagiolino”, a witty and mischievous figure unique to Bologna.

I also felt for the Kathputli and other puppet traditions in India that are losing patronage. I remember my visit to Jaipur where the Kathputli shows were so Bollywoodish that it was off-putting. I believe there’s a dedicated museum in Udaipur that is trying to highlight this art form for our young ones. I hope to check that out soon.