"What is fiction?"
The fourth graders had insisted on joining
the conversation meant for the fifth and sixth graders at Redwood Montessori
School. As Ashish tried to explain the word fiction to a child, Ayan shrugged
his shoulders and said, “It's make believe. It did not actually happen, except
in my head.” The curious child had understood it perfectly. His fellow fourth
graders nodded their heads too.
“So you made up this story with demons from
the Mahabharata with imaginary fights and they printed it?” another fourth
grader asked as the older kids groaned. They knew how books were made and thought
it was not cool to ask such obvious questions. “Yes,” Ayan responded. As the
implications of this hit the fourth graders collectively, you could almost feel
the possibilities pinging around their heads. The jaded fifth and sixth graders
also took notice. They had encountered yet another genre of books and got a glimpse
into the multitudes that good stories carry.
The Tenth Son written by
eleven-year-old Ayan and his
father Ashish Malpani is filled with adventures, asuras and enough thrills to
satisfy any ten-year-old’s heart. The middle grade fiction was introduced to
the fifth and sixth graders at two schools namely Abacus Montessori and Redwood
Montessori in Chennai.
From experiences of watching peeing cows on
the Indian streets to discussing their writing styles, Ashish and Ayan thrilled
the tiny tots with their stories at the launch. A writing exercise conducted by
the authors was the major attraction at this interaction.
In this high-speed chase The Tenth Son, the protagonist Advik lives
in the USA. He comes to India on a vacation and encounters a thrilling adventure
through three worlds, in which myth and reality come together. Many experiences
were sourced from Ayan's visits to India during his summer breaks and his
exposure to mythological tales.
'Not all Transformers. Only Optimus Prime!'
During one of the writing exercises post
the reading, when asked about their favourite characters, children listed out
everything from the usual Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase to the
unusual 'Mr. Shark' (From Bad Boys Series
by Aaron Blabey). The list also included Superman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman.
In an admirable instance in the course of the three part writing exercise that
Ashish conducted – an actual, live one legged crow that has become the class's
de facto pet was also nominated for the list!
As the next step, children were asked to
throw these characters into terrifying situations that would put many an
experienced adventure writer to shame. A few snippets from this were crocodiles
in Thailand, terror on the Burj Khalifa, and even a fracas in a local mall that
was so hair-raising that we were told could not be read aloud! (A peek revealed
some pretty good potty humour though.)
Ayan, an avid fan of the Percy Jackson series, wanted a similar pacy
adventure story rooted in his culture. Not finding many, he went ahead to wrote
The Tenth Son with his father. Similarly,
these nuggets of information from the writing exercises held at both schools revealed
that little writers are confident and clear about what they like to read and write.
Experiencing the ease with which imagination
runs wild among children and their positive reassurance towards books are the highlights
of our author interactions. Such sessions makes us expect great things – both
from the eleven-year-old Ayan and his audience.
A big thanks to Joanne Saldanhas
(@mythaunty) for arranging these special author interactions.
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