Kolkata: The City of Kool!

What happens when, on three days for an hour each, you are in a space where there is pure and pristine laughter, unadulterated joy & unfettered masti – you feel like you have won a complete set of PG Wodehouse titles in a raffle. On top of that, when you realise that you have in a not so tiny way contributed to this deliriously, delicious and delectable state of affairs then you feel like you are over the moon with or without Vikram!

And that is exactly what I experienced as I went session hopping to two schools and a bookstore in Kolkata: the City of Kool!

6th September: Sri Sri Academy

Having got caught in a traffic snarl I was taken straight to the auditorium of Sri Sri Academy where brightly dressed nine and ten year olds were waiting for an hour long session with someone with an almost unpronounceable name. After the mandatory introduction, as I started the boredom morphed into curiosity and finally joy. A fifty plus adult, acting like a ten minus kid was something new.

In between the dollops of fun, I told them a story Boond, which talks about preservation of the environment. They heard it in complete silence and then quizzed me on a range of issues. Their awareness was truly amazing. I couldn’t help but feel relieved that my generation would be leaving the world in far more concerned and committed hearts.

Ramendra Kumar at the Sri Sri Academy, Kolkata

6th September: Oxford Storyteller Bookstore

The Storyteller Bookstore is not a bookshop – it is an experience. Managed by the indefatigable and irrepressible Mayura Misra who would give any self-respecting beehive a complex, it is a bibliophile’s delight.

Here too I was to conduct a workshop, talk about my books and interact with the parents and kids. The audience was eclectic, the joy was shared and the session went off like a breeze. I ended it with a mantra in which every child and parent participated – both in the chanting as well as well as the calisthenics.

Ramendra Kumar at Oxford Storyteller Bookstore Kolkata

7th September: Asian International School

I was taken to Asian International School. In terms of warmth this school is really, really special. I am yet to meet a Principal as cool as Vijay Laxmi Kumar! She took care of every minutiae of details, attended both my sessions and was as enthusiastic and effervescent as the kids! I was even presented with a beautifully framed certificate!

The Principal and students of Asian International School presenting a beautifully framed certificate!

The kids as always were supercalifragilisticexpialadocius! The kids quizzed me like I have never been grilled before – on my style, creativity, ideation, theme et al.

The packed auditorium often echoed with the sound I cherish the most – the uninhibited, full throated, ever-so-innocent euphony of a little angel laughing in absolute abandon.

Later I interacted with the teachers. Normally a session with the mentors can get quite serious. But thanks to my insanity and their interest it turned out to be an engaging one. Finally it ended with the teachers shirking their reticence and led by their dynamic Principal indulging in my mantra.

My short sojourn in the City of Kool will remain indelibly etched. It restored my belief that even in the throes of politics, pelf and power the land of Gitanjali is still as special as ever.

Ramendra Kumar at Asian International School, Kolkata

Children in Pune! Get ready to meet Ramendra Kumar!

Ramendra Kumar will hold a special session to teach children (10-14 Yrs) the art and craft of writing a story in a fun way at the Treasure Island, Yashada, PUNE (Maharashtra).

The session organised under the aegis of the prestigious Pune International Literary Festival will help children learn the elements of story writing. What’s more! The budding writers will get a wonderful chance to have their stories published in Learning and Creativity, the popular ezine!

Date: 22 Sept 2019 (Sunday)
Time: 3:50 pm to 4:50 pm
Venue: Treasure Island, Yashada, PUNE (Maharashtra)

The session is OPEN FOR ALL!

More to read

Bookaroo @ Bengaluru 2017: Books & Bliss with Story Telling!

WordMagic: Ramendra Kumar’s Creative Writing Workshop for St Joseph’s School

“Aap Phir Kab Aaoge?”

The Sultan of Storytelling

About the Author

Ramendra Kumar ( 117 Posts)

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships. His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year. Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer. Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy. An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books. Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many. His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
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