Bookaroo in the City (Day 8) : A Singing Session

My colleague Sampurna Murti was also in Delhi towards the end of the ‘Bookaroo in the City’ programme and managed to catch one of the sessions conducted by Jeeva Raghunath. She writes….

On a cool morning in New Delhi, I was on my way to the DTEA ( Delhi Tamil Education Association) school in Sector 4, R K Puram to attend a session of ‘Bookaroo in the city’. This school is a bilingual school and the children learn both Tamil and English.

The event was a storytelling session by Jeeva Raghunath. I had never heard of her before (I am ignorant about many things) and I didn’t know what to expect. But listening to stories is always fun and so there I was.

Jeeva was already there and we waited while the teachers got the kids together. I was excited to hear that the Jeeva was going to narrate the story in Tamil. It had been a long time since someone told me a story in Tamil.

Soon we were taken to a class of about 40 kids (6-7 year olds) – all seated on a dari on the floor. Jeeva immediately struck a rapport with them when she started talking in Tamil.

Soon we were all listening wide eyed and mesmerised to stories about a boy who meets a lion, a tadpole who wants to sing, a Thanjavur Bommai, a snake who wanted friends …….. Children passing by the room stopped to listen, teachers too came and stood by and joined the children as they sang. Even Jot, my colleague, who doesn’t understand a word of Tamil was smiling and enjoying himself. She is a wonderful singer and her stories incorporated a lot of singing, dancing and fun.

Oh it was such fun! But, soon it was over.

We could have sat and listened to Jeeva all day. I have become a fan of Jeeva’s and will definitely try and catch some more of her sessions. And if she happens to be in your city or town, you must go for her session too. Jeeva is a bundle of energy and storyteller par excellence.

View pictures from all the Bookaroo events here.