Conservation educator and Nature photographer Ramnath Chandrasekhar took 12 young students under his wing and turned them into authors. The participants of the bookmaking session were from Al Qamar Academy, Kottivakkam.
“The idea was to equip them with the skill, even as they learn about Nature,” he says. The session included four modules — a one-day workshop to explore stories, followed by three one-on-one mentoring sessions. The kids chose a theme, worked on the storyboard with teachers, prepared rough drafts, and finally, a book. In a matter of 60 days, the books, written and illustrated by kids from Classes VI to IX, were ready for launch.
The participants came up with remarkable storylines built around deep messages — the credit goes to this school system, which educates through experience and has a no-home-work, no-exams school concept.
Shahida’s hand-written book A Witnessed Destruction , gives voice to a 100-year-old neem tree and its right to stand tall. “I was blank to start with, then Vardah happened and I had my theme,” she says. Fathima’s Once Upon a Tree is a moving tale of how non-native trees were uprooted by Vardah.
- Ani is about an adventurous bee who rebels against human bee-keeping jailors.
- Beeno traces the journey of a ball of fluff, which floats in a cloud over a garbage-filled city.
- Meela is about an ant on a mission to rescue her Queen from evil scientists.
- Mr Water Molecule throws light on the life of a molecule, whose water cycle leads him to interact with humans and their wasteful ways.
- Neem Tree is about what a tree had to endure during Vardah.
Abdul Syed’s Mr Water Molecule is about water harvesting and judicious use of water. Sekhar Raghavan, director of Rain Centre, and a visit to the Centre, were his inspiration, he says. In Aathif’s book, the protagonist Fazil’s mission is to save animals/birds from eating trash, and he does that by “trying to change the neighbourhood!” Jamal introduces himself as a “fan of marine biologist TD Babu.” His book is about how a forest in danger is saved by a crow and a ‘zoolingual’ boy. Set in the 70s, Asfiya’s Maywood Friends talks about the need for new technology for garbage management. Her endearing illustrations are in black-and-white. Mariam Akbar, a shy seventh-grader narrates the tale of Beenoo, a cotton fluff that escapes from a pillow, flies all over Chennai, is heart-broken by the trash everywhere, and consoled by a street-sweeper.
The process of bookmaking was tough, the kids admit, at the launch of their completed books. But they were thrilled to see the finished product displayed, they add. For some students such as Jamal, the process was an eye opener. “Bookmaking made me realise I had a flair for drawing. I painted with water colours and it turned out great!”
