"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and the wisest of counselors , and the most patient of teachers." Charles W. Eliot.
As part of our Literary Week Celebrations we were very happy and fortunate to be visited by eminent author Ms. Deepa Agarwal on 30 April, 2013. An interactive session with students of class 5 was held in the School Hall on the occasion.
Ms. Agarwal has written about 50 books for children ranging from mystery and adventure novels, ghost stories, stories from everyday life, picture books and biographies, retold folk tales and myths. She has also compiled textbooks.
Her series of picture books with titles like Lippo Goes to the Park and Squiggly Goes to School, published by Frank Educational Aids is one of the most widely circulated series for children published in India. A regular contributor to childrens magazines, both in India and abroad, websites and childrens pages of newspapers, she has contributed to and edited a number of anthologies as well. Her work has been translated into Korean, Japanese and Chinese as well as most Indian languages.
Her recent titles include Caravan to Tibet, a historical adventure story based on her family history, a translation of Chandrakanta the famous Hindi classic and a biography Rani Lakshmibai. The Mango Birds and A Real Giraffe, picture books published by National Book Trust and How to Get Your Child to Read and Write Right a guide to creative writing published by Scholastic India, are her latest titles.
[gallery columns="2"]Deepa Agarwal has won several awards in the Childrens Book Trust Competitions for Writers and five of her books have been listed in the White Raven Catalogue of recommended books brought out by the International Youth Library, Munich. She received the N.C.E.R.T National Award for Childrens Literature for her picture book Ashoks New Friends in 1992-93. Caravan to Tibet was selected for the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour List 2008 as the best book from India and listed in the White Raven Catalogue.
The children were delighted to welcome her and she spoke to them about Wonder, how much did they wonder she asked. And did they follow their wonder. The children listened as if in the same wonder. She then told them her story of how she became an author and began to write and publish story books. It was the same Wonder that led there she insisted.
The children were curious. They asked her how old she was when she started writing? Who was her inspiration? How can one get started as a writer ? Which is your favourite book? When and where were you born? What was your first book about? The questions were untiring but Deepa patiently explained, she was very heartened to notice that children were animated about books and writing in today's life of the internet and video games. Ofcourse the children were very curious about ghost and fantasy tales that Deepa has written. She in turn was delighted to learn that many of her books are available in our school library.
The author then read sections from her books The Game Of Shadows and Caravan To Tibet . She used voice modulation to articulate what she read. The landscape and the setting she described seemed to be done justice by the sparkle of her description and her dialogue. The chilen were particularly fascinated that simple episodes and moments in ordinary lives can make for wonder and a beautiful story! With numerous examples that the children could relate to, Deepa conveyed the process of how to write, to describe, to dramatise and above all to communicate.
It was a wonderful treat to have such a well known author come talk with us and we hope she will have been an inspiration for some of our little writers- in- the- making!
By Ms. Neelima Sharma.[nggallery id=163]
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