Literary Keepsakes—Linda Sue Park
By Aditi Garg, Grade 11 “What’s the one thing you’d save in a fire (family and pets excluded)?” Through her short 45-minute masterclass, Linda Sue Park created a session filled with engaging activities, thought-provoking questions, and witty retorts. She began by introducing herself as a Korean-American and delved into the intricacies of her life, which […]
The Power of Editing in Children’s Books
By Aditi Kaila, Grade 11 I had the pleasure of attending Sudeshna Shome Ghosh’s masterclass, “Snipping Words, Moulding Tales”, which explored what exactly a children’s book editor does. Sudeshna, a publisher at Talking Cub, took the audience through what it takes to edit a children’s book, and highlighted the various aspects of changing these books. […]
Patterns Patterns Patterns—Piquing Interest
By Anya Shenoy, Grade 11 Patterns are fundamental in our world, shaping nature, art, and behavior. They offer predictability and beauty, from the symmetry of snowflakes to the rhythm of music. Understanding patterns enriches our comprehension of systems and helps us find order in the randomness of life. Patterns may vary from simple to complex, […]
Writing History: A Masterclass with Devika Cariapa
By Sanjana Garg, Grade 11 Author Devika Cariapa joined us at NLF 2023 to give a masterclass on the intricacies of writing history. Her book, India Through People: 25 Game Changers, was the focus of her class. Her book is about individuals—women and men with the vision, fortitude, and resolve to leave a mark—who powered […]
Kapil Pandey’s May the Folk Be With You: A Tale of the Missing Barbers
By Kavya Arjun, Grade 12 It’s a tough task to simply capture the attention of one’s audience, but Kapil Pandey’s extraordinary performance had the audience absolutely enraptured. Starting out with a quick get-to-know-you session, the storyteller gave us a sneak-peek into the performance with a short vocal warm-up of ‘Lakdi Ki Kathi’, which transported the […]
Post-Pandemic Parenting
By Kavya Arjun, Grade 12 “You don’t know what is broken.” In a deeply vulnerable discussion between panellists Dr. Pramit Rastogi, Shabnam Minwalla, and Dr. Tanu Shree Singh, parents and educators in the audience gained an understanding of how children have been affected by the pandemic, and consequently, how they must adapt their parenting styles […]
Vaccines for Smartypants—Anushka Ravishankar
By Diya Shetty, Grade 11 As noon struck on the first day of NLF 2023, an ebullient group of Smartypants fans awaited their Masterclass with Anushka Ravishankar, award-winning author of numerous books, Vaccines for Smartypants being the latest. Anushka began by discussing her creation of a character like Smartypants the cat. There were parallels with […]
Breaking Biases: Dismantle Stereotypes—Masterclass with Divya Anand
By Diya Shetty, Grade 11 For her masterclass, titled “Breaking Biases”, author Divya Anand was greeted by a room packed with enthusiastic children. A quick poll revealed that every one of them had read Misfit Madhu, Divya’s book about a girl in 7th grade who builds an app that goes viral. Divya began taking us […]
Worlds Within and Apart—Devashish Makhija and Chatura Rao
By Kabir Basu, Grade 11 More than providing the right answers, the session “Worlds Within and Apart”—featuring author, journalist and educator Chatura Rao (How Mohan Found Himself) alongside filmmaker and writer Devashish Makhija (translator of We are the Dancing Forest)—was really about asking the right questions. Before reading excerpts from their books, both authors shared […]
Adaptation – Retelling, Rewriting, and Renewing
By Anya Shenoy, Grade 10 The excitement hung in the air on Day 2 of NLF. Some fresh faces appeared, while others returned for a fun-filled day. Of the numerous activities available, some of the most insightful were the masterclasses. Authors from far and wide gathered to talk about their stories. One of the masterclasses […]