Magadi Days

Recently I read an absorbing account of a friend’s reading journey and that started me off on my own recollections. I was living with my grandparents in a little township called Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka. Every morning the call of the sirens woke me up and sent the faithful miners scurrying underground. There were also the urgent wails of the sirens which portended doom for the miners and their families, but at age eight, I was unaware of the tragedies unfolding under the earth.

 My reality was the book collection that my young aunts had left behind when they went to the big city to study. The day’s chores kept my grandmother busy late into the night while my grandfather was a distant figure who mounted his motorbike with the sidebar seats and drove off each morning. The school I had attended the previous year was a heap of rubble, devastated by a rock burst early one morning and now mourned by the figure of Jesus as he looked down in perpetual sorrow. My parents in far-off Calcutta were busy rearing a delicate younger brother and had not taken in the implications of my solitary state. But personally I was in heaven. A tiny hot room with a tin roof to bake in, cupboards full of delectable books, the whole day stretching out and no one to check what I was reading! The first book I browsed through seemed intriguing. Chinese names and outlandish customs. So at age 8, there I was plunging into “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck. I can’t say I understood it all but the desolation of the famine did stay with me. As for the parts about the concubines, it was a word to reckon with, nothing more!

The next lot I went through was the whole set of Dickens novels. I was a year older then and relished with great delight his deft handling of the English language.“She had a trenchant way of cutting bread and butter,” is a sentence that has never left me! The complexity of the language was a wee bit beyond my total comprehension but flashes of understanding brought to light the promise of what was to come. Pip, Estella, Oliver, Fagin, Mr. Micawber, Sidney Carton….. Oh! what wondrous and real people they were to me. Then it was the turn of the Russians. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekov evoked people and places that I could never have dreamed of. Somewhere in the distance I could hear my grandmother call out to me but she was not real to me then. She had her own special place in my tryst with books. When night fell, I would hover around her and wait for her last chore to be done. The bright blue covered books would be taken out of her little cupboard and as I gazed entranced at the pictures, she would begin her narration of the Ramayana. These were not just the highlights but the stories behind the stories and they always came with a little lesson. “Do you know why Laxmana’s wife, Urmile got left behind when they left for the forest? She was having a bath and took so long that when she came out they were gone. So it is not a good thing to spend too long over a bath!” I could hardly keep my eyes open but there was no question of falling asleep. Curled up in her lap, I listened with deep contentment.

 Cut to more than 60 years later and the inexorable march of the kindle. “You are such a great reader,” people say, “the kindle is perfect for you. Don’t resist. You can read as many books as you wish.” How can I begin to explain my old captivity? For me, reading comes with a host of memories. Every time I pick up a book to read I see a solemn girl, baking in that little room oblivious to everything but her world. Even now, what entices me is the smell of the books, the feel and weight of the book in my hands, the anticipation as I open the first page and the vision of cupboards with their promise of delights to come.

 Kindle, baby, you’ve come a long way but you can’t do it for me!

Usha Mukunda.    usha.mukunda@gmail.com  August 21^st  2014.

Lurking deep in the heart of every librarian is a set of amazing stories which are not a part of the library collection. These tales are about sleuthing worthy of note by the greatest detectives in literature, relentless and dogged pursuit which would make even “Les Miserables” pale in comparison, and shades of serendipity which would make the reader gasp with wonder.

I exaggerate, you think? Draw a little closer and listen because I speak from the horse’s mouth. Since I have never believed in imposing fines for late return of books, there is a certain ‘lackadaisiness ‘on the part of young users in our library. But they can’t so easily ignore a presence which suggests that they pull their beds from the wall, lift a pillow and check the kitchen cupboard for the missing book especially when more often than not, it is found in one of these spaces. But with one teenager, I hit a wall. He was adamant that the book was not with him and only after we agreed on a wager did he actually let me into his sanctorum to search for the book. Minutes later, I was triumphantly holding aloft the huge book which was ensconced amidst his text books of the same size. With no loss of face, he admitted he had hardly touched his text books for weeks! Now a noted surgeon in the U.K., I hope he is applying the adage, “When you have gone through all the possibilities, try the impossible.”

Another young person was a voracious reader and no one was more distressed than she when three of her borrowed books were unaccounted for.  Tearfully she averred having checked all the unusual places as well, and I let it go, respecting her feelings. Some years later after she completed her courses, she moved to Holland. The first time she came back to India and visited the school, she marched into the library, joyfully carrying the missing books. They had come home after a Dutch treat 10 years later. She was ecstatic and so was I.

Once I was browsing at a used book store when I came upon a precious library book from a school I had worked at. I recognised it instantly and then began a most unusual conversation with the owner. He naturally wanted the price he had listed while I kept appealing to his sense of fair play. How could he have bought a book which was obviously lifted from a library? I wanted him to give it to me gratis, to be returned to the library. Believe it or not, he finally agreed and that book happily went back home.

Guy de Maupassant is a master teller of short stories with surprise endings, but even he may not be able to top this one. An aunt whose husband was gravely ill mentioned that he had expressed a wish to listen to a story by the French writer. I knew our library had a copy so the book made its way to my aunt’s house. Sadly, in a few months her husband passed away but not before listening to the story. A few more months went by before I ventured to ask for the book back. My aunt was out of the country by then, but gave me detailed instructions to get into the house past all the locked doors. Stealthily, I tiptoed through all her book shelves, with no luck. I then tried to do a Holmes exercise by going over all the relatives who might have visited the house and picked up the book to read. But none of them had it. Meanwhile my aunt wanted to replace the book but something made me hold her back. Last week I got a call from her. “The book is back,” she said joyfully. “How….what…when…?”  I stuttered. “It was the Doctor,” she explained. He had been sitting next to the patient, monitoring his condition. The book caught his eye and he started reading it. When he rose to leave, he absent-mindedly took it home along with his stethoscope!  Alas, if only the heroine in Maupassant’s story, “The Necklace” could have had such a happy ending!

Usha Mukunda.

August 21^st 2014

usha.mukunda@gmail.com

“Serena”. 103. 6^th Main Road. Malleswaram. Bangalore 560003.

Tel. No: 23348657.

Book reviews have been done by students of Poorna school. To read them click on the links below.

Thursday book review 1

Thursday book review 2

Nonfiction: “The Literature of Fact.”

Nonfiction has long been neglected in school libraries around the world. According to studies, at the elementary and primary levels, very few books in nonfiction are available for children to read either in class libraries or in the main library except for encyclopedias and fact books. This is unfortunate because young children are drawn to interesting narratives in nonfiction as well and an early ease and familiarity with this genre actually strengthens the stamina and readiness to read nonfiction as they get older. Another factor that inhibits early reading of nonfiction is the non-availability of well written and well produced books in this genre. However the good news is that across the world more and more writers and publishers are waking up to this lacuna and a stream of books with attractive and unusual approaches are entering the market.

As a librarian, the first inkling I had of this shift was when I came across more and more books that I could not automatically place in fiction or nonfiction. In other words, there are now more and more books where the content is nonfiction but the style and flow mimic fiction! They are now known as ‘blended’ texts.

We started the session by asking each child to search and bring one item of nonfiction. We were careful not to say ‘book’! We also asked them to stre……etch themselves to every corner of the library and their minds in selecting their item. (One interesting observation was that many made a beeline to the section where nonfiction used to be shelved) They all came back with a good variety which included magazines, books on art, dance, music and craft, a dictionary on the origin of words and “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

We then went on to ask them what they felt nonfiction is.

 Their responses:

Something true, real life experiences, factual, something that happened, educational, inspiring, not fiction.

We then asked why did they feel it was given a name which implies it is ‘not something’.

One child said it could be because it covers a wider range.

We then went on to talk about the format or particularities of nonfiction. Their responses:

The structure is different. It does not have a beginning, a middle and an end.

It can be read in bits. It need not be connected like a story.

The content is different.

We can look up something in it.

There are real life photographs, dates and information.

I then shared with them some of the features of the new trend in nonfiction.

1. Nonfiction has literary merit. There is an elegance in the writing and children remember and quote interesting words and phrases from the text just as they might do from a fictional work. They also get familiar with the vocabulary that is used to describe in different kinds of disciplines. In fact, it is a very vital aid in early reading and vocabulary enrichment.

2. The art work is presented imaginatively and the overall production draws the reader towards the book.

3. The authors are now getting known. Readers are beginning to remember and look for specific writers rather than themes.

3. Real life and current incidents are taken and a story is woven around them. For example, the Chilean mine disaster. So the facts exist but the conversations may not have actually happened.

4. Biographies have taken on a new look and are coming out in graphic form.

5. Magazines, brochures, cave paintings and many other forms are now being seen as fitting into the nonfiction category.

The next session was to ask them if they feel sufficiently intrigued by nonfiction, how would they popularise it and get others to read it? Their responses:

Displays, book talks, reading aloud of excerpts, posters and teachers setting project work around books.

Finally, we introduced them to three other ideas and in groups they took them on and after some preparation shared them with the others in a presentation mode.

1. Readers’ Theatre (A variation)

Children choose a nonfiction item and prepare a skit where the book is highlighted.

2. Guess the fib.

Children choose and read out four different sentences from a nonfiction item. One of them is a fib. They read out all four and the others have to guess which one is the fib.

3. Pass the book.

Each child in the group has a sheet of paper and a book. They go through the book and write one or two sentences about the content and quality and their response. Then they pass on the book to the next person and everyone does the same thing with their book until all the books are done. They then read out all the responses to each book and the others have to guess which one is being talked about.

At the end, they were asked to display the material they had selected and also borrow one nonficton.

It was for me a very enjoyable and revealing session.

Thank you for giving me the time with these two groups.

Usha Mukunda

March 12th 2014.

A child actually begins a relationship with reading before she can read! Sitting snuggled in a lap, gazing intently at the pictures and even the words perhaps, a child is soon able to recognise which part of the story is on which page. She even has favourite stories. There is a hazy awareness that apart from the pictures the words do have some role to play. Even at this young age, some stories have the power to hold their attention and they already have their favourite stories. Reading as a skill and reading as an art may overlap but are not discrete.

As adults can we acknowledge that we have agendas for reading in children, hidden or otherwise! We want a book to convey, reform, teach, enhance, widen and deepen a child’s knowledge base,bring in some learning about right conduct and morals and instill a life-long love for reading.But a child just reads and some books seem to linger in their consciousness . Against this background here are a few of my thoughts on good books and by inference, on not-so-good books!

1. Can a story bring about awareness, empathy, understanding and even action when needed? Not just momentary enjoyment or pleasure though I am not at all decrying such stories where there is pure fun. Examples: Anju and the Stream, Chuskit goes to school,Dani Ped,Andaman’s Boy, Bhimayana,Faces in the water,Sadako and for the sheer fun aspect, The Spectacular Spectacle man, Kajari Gai series, Pehelwaan Ji, Appukuttan, Papa ki Mooch, Chai ke ketali.
2. Can a story look at themes close up, in daily life, and far away? The two may overlap too. Examples: Where is Amma and Basava and the dots of fire.
3. Can a story evoke reflection and have a lingering quality? Examples: What shape is an elephant? and The three questions by Jon Muth. Books by Michael Morpurgo.
4. Are there books and stories that have the quality of read-again and are ‘keepers?’ Timeless books. All the books I have given as examples are of this quality.
5. Story/content for me are very crucial. Is there a clear plot? Is there movement and is there a satisfactory completion for the young child Example: Where is Gola’s home? Mahagiri.
6. The layout is more significant than we might imagine. Children tend to look ahead as they read or even listen. Often they look intently at the pictures and then go to the words. Example: The Why-Why girl is one. Pranav goes to school is another.
7. Which brings us to the art work. Simple but not childish. A promise of unknown worlds and of fantastic imagination. But very detailed and realistic images work too. Examples: The shape of an elephant, I am a cat,The three kittens, Where is my cat? Sometimes there is a parallel illustration going on which children enjoy very much. It is like multi-accessing. E.g. the cat in Where is Amma? All the supporting characters in Where is my cat? Also a small detail which the child picks up of the next possible story. E.g. The Umbrella by Dieter Schubert. No words.
8. Language: Children love to hear or enunciate interesting- sounding and ‘memorable’ words.   Example: Malu Bhalu,Tiger on a tree,To market, to market,The Spectacular Spectacle man.
9. Length: Not necessary to be too short. Even 3 and 4 year old children can listen and sustain interest in a 10 to 15 page story if it is in a state of movement.Example: The Golden Deer. But there are short stories which work beautifully too.Example: The Seed. Short but very satisfying and with no feeling of haste, it has a sense of completion and leisure.
10. Bright colours, muted shades, black andwhite. No formula but that the choice is right for the story, the setting and the reader! Tough to put into words.Example: My first railway journey
11. A story works immediately if the author is present. Example: Mukand and Riaz and No, David (Scholastic)
12. A story works when the characters are such that the readers can relate to, but more interesting is the fact that children respond to the relationship a character has to another person, animal or thing in the story.The Festival of Eid, Basava, The seed, Danny,the champion of the world, Charlotte’s web, Grannie’s glasses. Angry River, Little big man, etc.
13. A story where the character grows in learning is very valuable. He has experiences which lead to learnng about the outer world and about the inner world –within himself. Gola is a very good example. Also the turtle in Tyltyl’s adventure,Andaman’s boy.
14. A story that pushes the readers into new landscapes is valuable but the quest to present new situations must be appropriateand relevant. Some preparation may be needed but this venture is needed against the backdrop of our multi-lingual, multi-class, multi-religion scenario as well as gender and sexuality. Example: Why are you afraid to hold my hand? Who am I?The lonely king and queen. Kali and the water snake, Mukand and Riaz,The Toda and the Tahr, Who will be Ningthou? The Armenian Champa Tree,Journey to Joburg by Beverly Naidoo.Bishnu, the Dhobi singer, Jim Corbett?
15. Sometimes the main character may be of a particular age which leads us to suggest the book to the same age group.But what experiences are safe to expose them to?  Caution must be used because it may be setting-appropriate only. E.g. Anveshi’s The named boy talks about forced conversions which the young protagonist is puzzled by, but the children who listened and read it were rather disturbed because it had many more ramifications globally and they were not ready for that.

 Non-fiction

Non-fiction covers a wide range of books including biographies, travel books, poetry, drama, nature books,craft and how-to books, as well as dictionaries, atlases and encyclopedias. So can we look at content for level, density, relevance, accuracy,ease in omprehension, and then also examine mode of presentation.

1. Can non-fiction books convey information in different ways? For e.g. through a narration and photographs . Example: Eskimo Boy. Lai-Lai the baby elephant. Through pictures.Example: A visit to the city market. Through a story. Example:The story of zero, Panther Dream by Bob Weir and Wendy Weir.Through fun in an activity. Example: Arvind Gupta’s books, Mala Kumar’s books on Mathematics and on Paper play. Through a particular character. Through poetry.The Sun all golden and round.Through questions and answers.Example: Kitna Tandha? Kitna garam? Through a diary format. Example:T he Coral tree. Through maps. Through reminiscenses. E.g. Seasons of Splendour by Madhur Jaffrey.Through great lives. Example: The Puffin Lives. (Buddha, Dalai Lama,Guru Nanak, MotherTeresa)   
2. Is it possible to convey deep philosophical insights in a readable way? Example: Krishnamurti for the young. What is it to care?
3. Can non-fiction books have a light touch and not have an overload of information? E.g. Demi’s biographies.

A few more examples of good books:

1. Ulti-Sulti Meeto by Kamala Bhasin.
2. The girl who hated books.
3. The Little old woman. By Shanta Rameshwar Rao.
4. Ancient bird legends of India. Orient Longman.
5. My feet are the wheelchair.( BGVS.)
6. Jahanaara. By Subhadra Sengupta.
7. Panthers’ moon. By Ruskin Bond.
8. The Man who planted trees.By Jean Giono
9. Malli
10. Ponni the flower seller. By Sirish Rao.

 Usha Mukunda