I need to be between the covers when I am between the covers. Which isn’t as ambiguous or as salacious as it sounds. Put in words so simple that even a 5-year-old would get it (another trope I will take up, down this page), I need to read. In bed, bus, waiting room, café, field… […]
LOOK WHO STOPPED BY
Our bookstore looked so much more colourful and jolly when author Nandini Nayar stopped by yesterday. A prolific writer of different kinds of children’s books ranging from picture books and chapter books to novels for middle readers and non-fiction, Nandini wears her author’s hat so lightly despite having an impressive 44 children’s books to her name! What’s […]
LOOK WHO STOPPED BY
Children’s writer Kavitha Mandana added colour to Funky Rainbow by dropping in today and spending time browsing through our curated collection of children’s books. The author of two recent STEM picture books, ‘Maths at the Mela’ and ‘Who Made the Tomato Chutney?’ (both published by Pratham Books) and an older excellent picture book that breaks gender […]
LOOK WHO STOPPED BY
Children’s and Young Adult writer Payal Dhar was at Funky Rainbow today. Author of a sensitive picture book on disability – A Helping Hand, Pratham Books two exciting middle-grade novels – There’s a Ghost in My PC, Scholastic India and Hit for a Six, Rupa Publications and several contemporary YA novels – Satin, HarperCollins India; The Shadow in Eternity trilogy, […]
THE PERKS OF PAATI-HOOD
Ah, what a delight it is when one’s little indulgences suddenly come to be regarded as basic necessities! Buying children’s books for my private enjoyment is a luxury I treat myself to regularly. Eyes are rolled and eyebrows are lifted at the number of shelves in my home carrying children’s books. The surprise is compounded […]
THERE’S MATHS TO IT THAN MEETS THE EYE
Bangalore in the 1980s… a splendid place, which lived up to its ‘Garden City’ epithet in every nook and corner. Empty green plots, trees flanking every street, mini forests and parks amidst quiet residential areas… I lived in a peaceful neighbourhood and my kindergarten school was just a few streets away from home. In fact, […]
“YE RE YE RE KOLABA…”
Childhood stories are amazing, especially when grandmothers narrate them. Let me take you back in time to my childhood, which means stepping into a rambling old house that belonged to my grandparents. As you entered the house through the main door, there was a Brindavana (the place where the Tulsi plant is worshipped) on one […]
THE VIP WITH A ROSE
As the nation celebrates Children’s Day today, I remember a story of the VIP with a rose. Yes, a very special person in our hearts even today, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Five decades ago, in the early sixties, Pandit Nehru, then the Prime Minister of India, spent a few days at Shillong during his tour of the North-East. […]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, APJ ABDUL KALAM
A chance to meet the President of India? Who wouldn’t be excited, especially when the man was none other than Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam! The morning of the meeting, which was going to happen at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, my head was in a tizzy… what would I say, what would I wear, would he ask […]
CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN
Rwanda was our third choice for a quick weekend trip from Lagos during the Salah holidays, after Ngorongoro and Victoria Falls. Since life is often full of practical decisions, a direct flight to Kigali and an easy e-visa clinched the deal for Rwanda! Once that was out of the way, I was most excited. After […]