Anushka Comes to Taktse

by Reshma Thapa

“I’ll come to Taktse next year.” Those were Anushka Ravishankar’s exact words. We first met Anushka in November 2008 at Bookaroo, the children’s literature festival in Delhi. We had read several of her picture books and it was really exciting to meet her in person. Interacting with such an accomplished children’s author and learning from her sparked excitement in us.
In July 2009 Taktse International School sponsored a reading and writing symposium and Anushka agreed to lead it. It had been a long wait since that moment at Bookaroo, so when she finally arrived, we were eager to see her again. Among the numerous read-aloud sessions, and fiction and poetry writing workshops with both teachers and students, the read-aloud session with the first and the third graders stays in my mind. I remember sitting in the dark A.V. room surrounded by an excited group of students all eager for the read-aloud to start. “Oh! So she is Anushka Ravishankar. I’ve read many of her books,” says a student in the back of the room. I can’t help smiling. The projector is turned on and Elephants Never Forget comes on the screen. Anushka starts reading and I find myself totally hooked on her narrative. It is a wonderful book and Anushka reads it beautifully. I wish I could write like she does. With each page my inspiration to write a picture book grows stronger.
After the read-aloud, the kids peppered Anushka with questions. “What inspired you to be become an author?” “What’s your favorite book?” “Have you illustrated any of your own books?” “Where do you get your ideas?” “What did you do before you became an author?” One great question after another. I could see that Anushka was relishing the interactions. She kept asking if we had more time and if we could extend the session. I was struck by how self-assured our kids have become and how comfortable they are asking questions. I thought about how reticent I had been at their age, and I saw a big difference. When I was a student we were never encouraged to ask questions. Our curiosity was never rewarded. By contrast, the Taktse kids are confident and articulate. Asking questions and talking to people comes easily to them. What Anushka said later sums it up. “In all the other Indian schools I visited, the kids kept looking at their teachers to check if they were asking the right questions. Taktse is the only school where this did not happen.” It was a proud moment for me. I thought to myself, we’ve come a long way!

At the end, Anushka added, “We desperately need more children’s books in India, ones that are written by Indians.” Then she looked around the circle of eager faces. “It’s up to us to help fill that gap.”