I would love to come and have a session at your school, institution, or non-profit organisation.

My session, Facts and Fiction Give Us Stories, has an environmental focus. I open the session with a video, by environmentalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand, about Planet Earth and how it has been transformed by humans. I describe to children the difference between the conventional and eco-friendly way of making paper, through short stories about the process. I show raw samples of the eco-friendly alternative, and explore mindful and practical dimensions of environmental-consciousness through a quote by William Blake and an excerpt from microbiologist, David George Haskell’s book Songs of Trees.

I talk about the primary components of printer’s ink and ink’s impact on global warming. I outline and speak about the long-stitch binding method, used by bookbinders with disabilities to bind Kyo and Obi. The session is suitable for eight years and older, including parents. Session duration: 60 to 90 minutes.

A thought and writing workshop, which is a separate component and not part of the session, juxtaposes facts and fiction to understand the relation and the difference between information and mental concepts. From here, we explore deeper, to glance briefly at subjective reality, where facts and fiction are often one and the same, leading us to a third layer–the layer of truth. We interpret two concepts, one practical and the other interpersonal. Friendship, the interpersonal concept, is deconstructed into the qualities that make a friend. Children are encouraged to identify these qualities in Kyo and Obi, select the qualities they wish to represent, and write a story that includes the selected qualities. The workshop helps children to start seeing how closely linked mental concepts are to our understanding of reality. It introduces the idea of the observer’s role in defining a concept. It also begins the process of probing concepts to explore an aspect of a concept in a story. The workshop is appropriate for children who can analyse concepts. Activity duration: 90 to 120 minutes, depending on the depth of interaction.

I have put forth time, effort, and conscious thought to create the session and workshop, and I am visiting schools, festivals, and non-profit organisations, because I wish to share what I have learned with children. You can gift any amount that is suitable to have the session, or merely take care of travel costs where relevant. The sessions, the stories, and the blog are part of the Gift Economy, in which we share from what we have, and receive with the intention to keep sharing.

I can be reached on my email at dogearsbooks@gmail.com

I have had interactive sessions with children at:
0| Live Happy, a community NGO, Goa (India)
0| The Learning Centre, a non-formal education centre, Goa (India)
0| Neev Literature Festival, Bangalore (India)
0| The Bookworm Library, Goa (India)
0| Ascend International School, Mumbai (India)
0| Kala Ghoda Literature Festival, Mumbai (India)
0| Bombay International School, Mumbai (Online, India)
0| Fountainhead + Lighthouse, Surat (Online, India)

Photos and Clippings of some of my earlier sessions: