When I was
in the lowest primary class, I loved a boy named Nitin.
Nitin was
not a real boy – he was just a picture in the first lesson of our English text
book. He had bright eyes and he happily dangled from a tree in his garden. The
text said,
“This is
Nitin.
He is six
years old.
He lives in
Nasik.”
Those were
the simple first words that I learnt to read.
I loved
those words and I loved Nitin. I could gaze at the words and at Nitin for
hours. My immature imagination wove stories about Nitin and his life.
...
Last week
the Gruffalo was all over Anna’s school as they celebrated the Book Week.
The Gruffalo
is not a pleasant sight at all with his
“terrible tusks, and terrible claws,
and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws”.
“terrible tusks, and terrible claws,
and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws”.
This
Gruffalo, which the school had chosen as a mascot for its Book Week, was a
character in a popular book.
Children
like things that are not ordinary and the Gruffalo is extraordinary.
They like
books with magical characters, books that take them to strange places, books
that make them laugh, and books that stay long in their memories.
They feel
safe being with familiar people, and good books that have been read to them,
bring them comfort like a close friend.
Books open
the windows of their imagination.
In this big
world of uncertainties, books that have happy endings give them encouragement
to face life head-on.
...
Kalpana, a
parent, was one of the guest readers in the school. She read out the story of
‘The Thirsty Crow’ in Hindi. In an international primary school, many children
do not understand Hindi so she brought along a paper crow cut-out, a jug of
water, and some pebbles. Her son translated the story into English and his
mother acted out the story as his classmates watched in awe.
...
Towards the
end of the week, there was a parade of children and teachers dressed up as book
characters. There were several fairies,
witches, princesses, Harry Potters, Tintins, and ugly sisters.
There was
also a Princess Sita, a Mr. Lazy, a Miss Muffet, and a Bambi.
One teacher
had become Miss Trunchbull and he went around terrorising all the Matildas as
in Roald Dahl’s classic ‘Matilda’.
...
The Book
Week ended with an assembly where the choir sang,
“Action,
Sci-Fi,
Human,
Adventure,
Biography,
Reality,
Mystery and
Fantasy
Read, read,
read, read,
Read it
up...
Gotta keep
reading...”
...
