30/09/2019
Treasury of Tales at Indo Scottish Global School
By: Dr. Monica Khanna
Indo Scottish Global School, Kamothe held a three-day Literacy Fest from September 26-28. It was a mesmerizing experience for children who were transported into an enchanting world of books on an invisible magical carpet.
The festival opened with a show conducted by Preeti Bapat and Rinti Sen, expert storytellers and puppeteers, who led the excited children through an entire gamut of emotions using puppet-play involving action and plenty of fun.
Monica Santos, an internationally acclaimed professional clown from Spain charmed the children with her bulbous nose and wide smile, evoking spontaneous laughter with her exaggerated antics.
Usha Venkatraman, founder member of Mumbai Storytellers Society, set the stage with an energetic warm-up song, encouraging children to sing along. Eminent children’s writer and illustrator Deepa Balsavar, read aloud the story of ‘Nani’s Walk To The Park’.
Lavanya Karthik, writer and illustrator’s reading of ‘The Lion’s Feast’ had the children sitting on the edge of their seats in suspense, yet holding their sides with laughter at the ridiculously funny situations that occur when a lion comes to dinner!
More fun awaited the children in the form of engaging stories brought to life by Preeti Vyas, President and Chief Operating Officer at Amar Chitra Katha and founder of the publishing house FunOKPlease (2011). The ‘Read Aloud’ sessions from books published by them mesmerized the children, especially because they could relate to the contemporary Indian storylines.
The concept of visual harvesting was introduced to the children by Savio Masceranhas, Art Director of Ti**le Comics. He ignited the imaginative spirit of the children by illustrating how shapes could be looked at in multiple ways, and experimenting with drawings could be an exciting experience as art has infinite possibilities.
Author, academician and trainer Dr. Monica Khanna shared the art of story-telling with the children by reading from her latest book ‘Munches, Punches and Manya’s Hunches’. The enthusiastic children then created a story of their own using the tips given by the author. She also conducted a session for parents and teachers on inculcating reading habits and creative writing skills in children by stressing on the importance of including Vitamin R (Reading) in their daily diet.
The most innovative and charming aspects of the festival were the incredibly beautiful theme-based rooms that infused life in the stories that the children had only read, but could now visualize and be a part of. It was an experiential learning platform like no other, as the classrooms were converted into the world of Roald Dahl, Avengers, Panchatantra, Tenali Rama, Akbar Birbal, and Malgudi Schooldays. The children were invited to inhabit these worlds by participating in various activities in these rooms; learning and developing skills while playing games and having fun.