Bookaroo in the City (Day 1) : Priya Kurian
13 years ago
Have you ever fallen into the pages of a book and fallen off your chair laughing? Have you ever smelled the earth as you see the picture of rain falling on parched mud? Pratham Books brings you such magic in your world with books! Pratham Books is proud to present “Bookaroo in the City” across several schools in Delhi.
Jit Banerjee writes about the first session he attended as a volunteer …
Well, to begin with I saw what the world looks like at 6 in the morning after a long time. I am rather surprised how since then to now I’ve not for one moment felt like chucking the whole thing and going back to bed. This goes to show the veracity and vision of the concept behind the Bookaroo In The City program. It was a very inspiring experience from start to finish.
The day began with as I boarded my car from the Hauz Khas metro station at 8am sharp, no delays. The rather friendly driver took me to illustrator Priya Kurian’s place at Vasant Kunj in less than 15mins. I rang the doorbell of a surprised Priya ma’am who said, “Oh! I wasn’t expecting you so early.” In less than a jiffy we were on our way to KV Arjangarh. On the way I spoke to the Principal who kept calling me ‘Sir’ for some odd reason. It took us 20 minutes or so to reach the school and another 10mins to clear the security check as the school is located inside an Air Force base. And there we were, at the Principal’s office even before 9, for a session that was to start at 11am.
“What do I do if we reach the school way before time?” I text Pallavi.
“Umm, Umm, chit-chat with your talent. :P” comes the reply.
And chit-chat we did. Tried to include the Principal in the conversation, too. It was his office after all. And then there was tea, biscuits, dry fruits, samosas, pakoras and a net total of half an hour’s awkwardness.
“Sirji, are your children ready for the session?”
“Whenever you want to start, Sir. Its an open area and as the sun goes up children tend to be impatient.”
“Great, lets do it then.”
So the session commenced at close to 10aam. And went on for a good hour and a half. The Principal and a teacher were there to make sure the children maintained order. And Priya ma’am was downright amazing with the children. They drew pictures, learned techniques, and all in all, had a jolly good time.
The session was titled ” How to make Picture Books.”
There came a time when the children didn’t want to leave us. “One more animal, ma’am, one more,” they pleaded. Finally, we had to wrap up and say goodbye.
A quick vote of thanks to the school, the staff, our sponsors and we were off. Not before inviting the kids to the Bookaroo Children’s Literature festival, though.
You can view more pictures here.
