Each time I start this class , I never really know what is going to happen and I am truly reminded of K's question, "Can you look at something afresh, like you are doing it for the very first time in your life?" This is the very attitude I am constantly trying to bring to the older students...in different ways. It is a complete mystery to me what brings this movement about, yet on the days this shift happens it is palpable. I know from the young faces around me that something different happened. With the younger children, the challenge is different, how does one keep interest alive in a sustained physical movement without bringing word/ thought into it? And with a group of chatterboxes dying to see/ compare with the neighbours' body, push without bringing about resistance? Here it is definitely more playful, and stories  are important as the class unfolds. As in no other space in my life, I see that one never steps into the same river twice.

  Notan is a term used in Japanese art, meaning ‘dark – light harmony’. Notan art is characterised by the interplay of light and dark, white and black, positive and negative, in which these opposites create a harmonious and balanced composition. Before the kids and i started out on making our own art work, i showed them a collection of Notan art work that really struck me and which could be used as launching pads into our art work. Each child was given an A4 sheet of black paper, one half of an A4 sheet of white paper , a pair of scissors and a glue stick. They were asked to cut out a series of shapes from one of the sides of their white paper.When they had finished cutting, I asked them to glue their strip of white paper on one side of the black paper, with the cut-out edge facing the middle. The children then put back the shapes they had cut-out, as if they were completing a jigsaw puzzle. I showed them how to flip each shape over, along the central ax...

Kabir: Well, the area of the lawn is 635 sq. metres and each bag of grass seed can be used for 25 sq. metres how many bags will you buy? Sidh: 25 Kabir: think Sidh think. how many square metres will 25 bags cover Sidh: 25 times 25 which is 625 sq. metres Kabir:Then won't you need more than 25 bags? Sidh: Well I do not want to buy more bags because they will get wasted

A little film showcasing children's art work and preparation for our cultural event at Shibumi last year!

This is a little story we put together from our time outdoors each week, while discovering the wonders of nature and enjoying the changing weather.  The putting together of this story was an activity inspired by watching the children invent, create, express themselves,   play imaginative games, interact with each other and the surroundings on our walks.             The young authors and illustrators :)

Pelva has brought music with her to Shibumi. We are very happy to have the regular singing sessions with Pelva where she takes us through the nuances of Dhrupad.   In the beginning I tried to understand the music. I couldn’t do this because I wasn’t able to pick out the different sounds and see that they were unique. To me they sounded pretty much like each other. I then tried to feel the music but I am afraid I didn’t feel anything. I tried keeping the beat while singing but this made me loose the tune and words. I also tried to move my hands with the music but they moved in a very odd manner which did not resemble the music in any way. So as you can see I found it very difficult to connect with the music both at the level of the mind and at deeper level. I will not give up and I shall continue to try and cross these hurdles because singing is one skill I sincerely wish to have. ~ Sagar. (Mamm o th) This type of music (Indian Classical) is ge...

Here is a delightful story 10-year old Rajat wrote for a question in his English book, which asked him to write a science fiction story. A couple of tiny corrections in spelling and punctuation are the only changes I have made while typing it out. A Brief History of my Life When I first met the interplanetary explorer Edward Hardgriff, I thought he was pretty stupid: first, he was a big showoff, second he always won the prizes in our school (nothing wrong with that) and for that part in our college. The loudmouth and I shared rooms in an astronomy college. He was interested in the practical bit, I was interested in astronomy. A few years later, because of staying with him for so long, we became friends. Maybe it is because of something I don’t remember, but I don’t think so. After a while he followed his profession and I followed mine: he became an astronaut, and I became an astrophysicist and wrote a Ph.D. on quasars 1 . After I’d completely forgotten him I got a call from him...