Yes, its true! Gulmohar Days is deviating from the rule and doing a workshop for adults!! Happy to announce a class for those who have always wanted to hold a brush in their in their hands and colour something other than grey hair! Perfect for those who are uninitiated and also for those who have dabbled in art earlier and want to learn/experiment with a new medium.
Class timings: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm every Friday.
Please email for further details on the programme.
The library wore a festive look yesterday. All library members were invited for the special Onam celebrations. The kids looked wonderful in ethnic wear and a big thank you to all parents and grandparents who helped out with the preparations. After listening to the Legend of Mahabali and snacking on some traditional Kerala goodies, the kids tried their hand at the flower rangoli or Pookolam. I have never seen boys enjoy rangoli this much!! Considering not one of them had done this earlier, I think they did wonderfully well. And by the end of the event, they all learned to say “Onam Ashamsakal”!! Enjoy the pictures…..
Some good things came out of the swine flu! Kids were on forced holiday and flocked to the library to find shelter in books.
It was on one such morning that I sat down the motley bunch to a reading of ” What shape is an Elephant?” : an adaptation of a poem by saint-philosopher Rumi.
Its a story that we have met in school text books for decades. An elephant is a novelty in Persia and in the dead of the night a group of curious men and women enter the tent where the gentle giant is kept to find out what exactly this animal from India looks like.
“Its like a Pillar!” exclaims one who feels the elephants leg. The other rubbishes his claim quickly and says the elephant is much like a fan, for he felt the elephants ears in the darkness. The argument continues as each man claims he is right. “If only one of them had brought a candle along” says Rumi….
“So what does this story mean?” I asked the kids. Pat came the reply from a corner: “Aunty, it means the real truth is always something else!” I marvelled at how the simplest of stories can result in the greatest learning. My young friend did not know how big his discovery was when he used the word “real truth”. For it implies, that each one of those men in the story spoke the truth when they touched and felt the elephant. They were not wrong for their truth was determined by the width of their palms and what it could feel. But their folly lay in insisting that theirs was the only truth!
I love story sessions because they always end like this: the kids take away whatever they can by the discussion and say the most amazing things and I am always left with more learning than I ever imagined would come out of a simple poem in translation. So the next time we argue and fight over what we “believe is right”, we would do well to pause and wonder what shape is our elephant ?
Language Club: For ages 3 to 6 years
The essential tools of story telling, role play, music, and books merge with language oriented activities to encourage the little ones to speak and share their thoughts and opinions.
Day and Time: Thursday, 5.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Science Club: For ages 7 to 10 years
This club familiarizes children with simple concepts in science, encourages questions, helps with experiments and making little projects of their own. Topics could vary from seeds and germination, to how do planes fly, the human body. . . to just name a few.
Day and Time: Saturday, 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
Journalism Club: For ages 9 years and above
Children learn to sharpen their writing skills and are taught the basics of writing reports, features, conducting interviews, building and planning a newsletter of their own and working within a team.
Day and Time: Saturday, 12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Book Club: For ages 8 years and above
The Book Club promises to put an end to the reading lethargy!! Kids decide their favorite authors and books and discuss and debate the merits of plot, characterization, write reviews and blurbs at the weekly meetings.Day and Time: Friday, 5.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m
Dance Classes: For ages 4 to 7 years
Energy, exercise and enthusiam combine to give kids above 4 years a fun filled session as they dance to western and indipop music.
Every Monday and Wednesday : 5. 30 pm to 6.30 pm
The blossoms of the Gulmohar tree always enthrall me with their majesty. The striking red and orange flowers seem boldly joyous; almost as if to say nothing can tarnish their beauty and splendour.
Children are like that too. Their zest and energy never fails to amaze. No amount of homework, grueling exams, competition, strict parents, even stricter teachers, and tuitions can take away from their inherent joy and beauty.
Gulmohar Days celebrates this spirit. Every programme undertaken by Gulmohar Days is an attempt to enhance the experience of childhood. Children are encouraged to think freely, ask questions, imagine, write, experiment, create, and be proud of every little achievement in the process.
Childhood is perhaps the shortest but one of life’s most beautiful seasons. It is that fragile and precious time when every single experience becomes fodder for the future. Join us as we celebrate the Gulmohar Days of life!!
Nandini Nair
