If this is not happiness, what is???

“Hi Meenu Ma’am”

It is such a sweet feeling when children remember you and your name too even after a month!!!

Yes, these were 1^st Graders at TGSB who called out to me as they walked in to my room for the Storytelling session.

“Wow! You all remember me! That is so nice to know!”, I said

“Ma’am, why are you coming after so many days?”, asked one of the students.

Well, I had to just smile and tell that I have to follow the schedule given by the school 😊

The next thing was the story that I had shared during the last session. And the students could remember everything including the character names!!!

Wow! Now what more does a storyteller want when there is such an amazing, attentive, enthusiastic, eagerly awaiting audience, right???!!!

And thus, my day began on a very positive note and it kept growing more and more positive and fun!

Being the end of Mango Season, I decided to do a Mango Story with Grade 2. Students were surprised to know that one fruit could have so many varieties and the many food delicacies and drinks that could be made out of it! And it was ofcourse fun to sing it out as a song.

Grades 3,4 and 5 were meeting me for the first time.

It came as a surprise to me when both Grades 3 and 4 wanted to listen to Ghost Stories. But the weather outside was so pleasant – not so cold or not so sunny, definitely not a suitable time to tell Ghost stories … LOL!!! And they were convinced … 😊

So, it was a Friendship Story for the International Friendship Day on July 30^th for Grade 3 and an origin story for Grade 4. I chose to tell a French folktale on friendship, added some chants and refrains for the students to join in. The highlight was the students even tried to imitate the character voice that I was using when they joined in. They were no doubt an enthusiastic group. At the end, guess what? A boy walked up to me and said, “This was an amazing session”. And then a girl walked up to me and asked, “Ma’am will you come every day?”

Grade 4 got to listen to a Mayan tale. Since I love to give the flavour of the culture through my telling, I always do a lot of research to understand about it and see if I get content that I can incorporate in my story. And Yes, I did get some interesting and peppy songs and the students just fell in love with it. While some of them, were quite good with history and shared more facts, all of them wanted to sing the songs again after my story. Well, that was not the end of it as the students were generous with their feedback comments. These are just some:

“I love your storytelling session. I wish we could have the session every day. Today is my best day ever, Meenu Ma’am”

“I always love stories and now I love it more with Meenu Ma’am”

“I loved the story. It was exciting. I loved the songs. I would like to have more such sessions”

And on that happy note, I had a simple yet good lunch followed by my last session for the day. This was for Grade 5. Honestly, I had my doubts if 10 yr olds would sit and listen to stories. Also, it was the most challenging part of the day – Post lunch first session 😊

As expected, the students were all into reading but they were eager to listen to stories too! So, that was a good start for me. With the Nature Conservation Day observed on July 28^th, I decided to tell them a true story that happened with regard to Conservation in India, way back in the 18^th century. I knew it would touch a chord and no doubt it did.

As I was telling the story, I could hear the “ssssssssss… tch tch tch…”

“ haaaaaaah??!!!”

“Oh No!”

And I knew I was making some impact.

“ Ma’am, do you know, I was in tears as you were telling the story”, said a boy as he was leaving the class post the session.

At the end of the session, slips of paper were shared to give their feedback. Instructions were strictly given to not their names and that they will fold the slips and put it into a drop box. This way, they do not need to fear to give their critical comments.

“You can give your honest comments. So, if you feel it was boring, feel free to write that 😊. Nobody will ask you and I won’t know who has written what”, I said.

Pop came the reply from one student, “Ma’am, No way! After this kind of session, I am sure nobody will write anything like that!”.

And I am in Cloud nine, not because I did not get brickbats but because I could touch their hearts to this extent.

“It was inspiring, exciting and as if I was watching an action-packed movie. I would love to have more such sessions”, wrote one.

“I hope you have a very nice day after all the happiness and smile you have given us 😊 Thank you Meenu Ma’am. I love you Ma’am”

“I think the class was amazing. I hope the storytelling class comes more often. Ms. Meenu is a really good and interactive teacher. I really enjoy her presence. She makes the stories so interesting.”

And that’s how my day ended. If this is not happiness, then what is?!!?

Thank you, students! Thank you TGSB _/\_

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