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Celebrating the Japanese Festival Tanabata with a Storytelling and Origami Workshop

We organised a storytelling and origami workshop for children at Crossword, Bangalore on Saturday, the 7th of August, 2010. The reading and craft was from one of our popular books – Grandpa Cherry Blossom and other folktales from Japan – and the event was conducted to coincide with the celebration of the famous Tanabata festival which is celebrated in Japan every year on the 7th of August. As per the Japanese custom, children write down their wishes on a paper and tie it to a bamboo tree, with a hope that their wishes might come true!

Ms. Bhargavi Satyan conducted the storytelling and origami workshop for the children. Ms. Satyan not only vitalised their visualisation by narrating the story of Gombe, the Greedy Birdcatcher but she also taught them how to make those birds in different colours and sizes. Later the enthusiastic young hands wrote their wishes down on a piece of paper and tied them around a specially erected bamboo tree amidst much excitement!
We also conducted a similar event in Delhi at the Eureka Book Store. The event was conducted by renowned author and storyteller, Anupa Lal, and the origami workshop was conducted by paper engineer, Sachin. The author of the book, Hema Pande, also attended the event and was seen chatting away with the kids and signing books for the eager readers.


Grandpa Cherry Blossom and other folktales from Japan is a collection of eight beautiful folk tales from Japan. The stories have been retold by Hema Pande and Keiko Tsuji’s expert brushes add the final authentic touch, instantly transporting the reader to Japan. This title is available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Urdu and is priced at Rs. 75.

View all the pictures here.

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