Shabd Manch - A Festival of Letters - Author Tanu Shree Singh

The children of Class IV were given a glimpse into the fascinating world of writers when acclaimed author Tanu Shree Singh visited to further the Shabd Manch experience. She began with creating a completely original improvised story together with the children. The children were engrossed in contributing their thoughts to construct the story sentence by sentence and within ten minutes, they had gone through the genres of action, science fiction, adventure and horror!

With this demonstration of the power of storytelling, there was a discussion on what qualities are necessary to become a writer. Tanu Shree Singh emphasised the importance of being voracious readers and also developing a habit of keen observation of one’s surroundings.

As an example, she shared that the idea for her book ‘Darkless’, where her character’s mood is reflected in the brightness or darkness of each page, came about when she was speaking to a friend who worked in the field of physics. Her sage advice was to keep writing and to believe in one’s own abilities .

The children then exercised their imaginations in an activity where each of them thought up an original character, gave them weaknesses and strengths, likes and dislikes... They took great joy in sharing their creations with their friends.

The session ended with the students asking Tanu Shree Singh all the questions they were eager to ask about her writing journey - “What was her happiest moment as an author?” She recounted that when she finished her first book, 'Keep Calm and Mommy On,' the publishers suggested that her young son's art be displayed on the cover, which was a source of immense pride. Another child asked why she wrote ‘Darkless.’ She shared that she thought people don't talk enough about sadness in children. There were many more questions that Tanu Shree Singh was glad to answer through her experiences in the writing space.