..a masterfully crafted story that is gentle but powerful. As immigrants, first or second generation, we all struggle with nostalgia, the pressure to fit in, and the search for our unique identity. This book gives expression to all those feelings and turns the whole experience into something magical. It’s a therapy session in a picture book. Your kids will love it and so will you.
My kids went back to in-person school today. It’s just for two hours this week but still, the elation is real. It’s been a long year. A year of no field trips, no racing each other around the tracks, no monkey bar throw downs, no impromptu bey-blade battles, and no lunch-time shenanigans. It’s not all back to normal, but still, the end is in sight.
UPDATE: So overwhelmed to win this contest. Thank you Ciara O’Neal and Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez’s for this wonderful opportunity! https://ciaraoneal.weebly.com/spring-fling-kidlit-contest I am participating in Ciara O’Neal and Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez’s SpringFlingKidlit contest with this #ownvoices entry – “Anna, my favorite color is You”. I created my own gif for it. But first, an Introduction: Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, there is color everywhere. It’s springtime! And that also means it’s Holi time. Holi is the festival of colors celebrated in India, a spring time festival. On this day we celebrate by quite literally throwing… Read More »Anna, my favorite color is You
I recenlty saw Vivian Kirkfields contest to tell a tale in 50 words. FIFTY WRODS!! Of course, I had to try! I took off for a run thinking about it and saw a hummingbird on a tree. So I started out with that image. Soon the hummingbird image got replaced by a more macabre one. I had recently read about a Blue Tit bird that had been eaten alive by a Venus Flytrap plant. Yeah, I went to dark places! So that became the inspiration for my 50 word story. Here it is. And here’s… Read More »My entry for #50preciouswords
When Sarla moved to her new home, she had questions about so many things – autumn, snowflakes, canyons, earthquakes. She thought she would find the answers at school. But when she tried to ask, the questions got all muddled, and jumbled, and twisted into a tight ball inside her. So Sarla sat at an empty lunch table and sketched. She sketched parrots from her old home, the rickshaw she took to school, The crowds at the mela, Nani’s shawl. Until – Hideyo stopped by. Hideyo was the ‘new-kid’ before Sarla. He showed Sarla his sketches… Read More »Sarla asks a question: Entry for Valentiny 2021
As adults, we are kind to our children when they try new things. Even if the circle isn’t round, we admire it. Even if the handwriting is loopy, we applaud it. We clap when they jump rope 30 times and cheer when they run around the block.
But when it comes to appraising ourselves. What if we were kinder to ourselves?
Published on KQED Persepctives https://www.kqed.org/perspectives/201601140598/sandhya-acharya-raising-a-good-loser Sandhya Acharya contemplates being a good loser – on the playground and in politics. Some time back, I was witness to a kids’ plank showdown. Timers were set, poses struck, seconds counted. But when it came time to declare the winner, a chorus of voices, including my son’s, broke out into complaints. “My jacket slowed me down!” “He moved!” “I wasn’t ready!” I watched from the sidelines, cringing. A question troubled me. Are we raising good losers? On Jan 6, 2021, we saw the damage a bad loser could do.… Read More »Raising a good loser
Right before the Christmas break, my younger son logged in early to one of his classes. The kids showed their stuffies to each other, discussed their breakfast, and then proceeded to a new topic. Santa. Now, I was introduced to Santa a little late in my childhood. Thanks to the convent school I studied at, I could sing carols, pay my respects to Jesus at the chapel, and knew all about the holy trinity. But Santa and Christmas had not yet made an entry into our Hindu household. Until one day, a cousin showed me… Read More »The Truth of it
When we get older being entertained is hard. We have to spend hundreds of dollars on subscriptions and apps to drown out the noise around us. But when you are six or eight, it is not such a challenge. A round piece of metal can magically transform into a spinning wheel that takes you across planets. Whoosh! Swish! It becomes a weapon as you fight an imposing dragon. Blankets become moats and pillows become forts. Stuffies can be pets, friends, even a ball to throw and catch. But Tag – what can one say about… Read More »Tag!
On our way to a family hike, we decided to change course and spend time at my sons’ school instead. It had been so long! Hikes could wait. The Ginko trees near the parking lot were gleaming gold. They shimmered in the morning light inviting us in. We stepped on the yellow carpet of leaves shed – soft, wet with dew. We bunched them into our hands, gathering more and more and then ‘TOSS’ – into the air they flew. The leaves rained down on us, gently grazing our cheeks, floating down. My sons giggled,… Read More »Waiting for School
Can’t say no to prompts, so here I am participating in SUSANNA LEONARD HILL‘s Halloweensie contest 2020! The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in the 100 words), using the words skeleton, creep, and mask. Your story can be scary, funny, sweet, or anything in between, poetry or prose, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words (you can go under, but not over!) Dear Skeleton crew When Pihu told me Halloween was canceled this year,… Read More »Halloweensie Contest Entry 2020
Isn’t that what art is all about? The ability to express. To think of something funny and share that with the world; with words or scribbles, song or strokes. To be able to take sorrow or pain inside you and use it as ink. To be able to hold that effervescent excitement bubbling inside you and turn it into something lasting. Art is beautiful, refreshing, liberating. Art is essential.
This season’s isolation has proven to the most introvert of us how much we need each other’s company. Coupled with the bad air quality in some places of the country, keeping spirits up is not an easy job. But humans adapt, especially kids. So what if you are stuck indoors again robbed of another day in the sun? So what if you are stuck with your family, just the four of you, again? When the sky turns pink and then grey; when the orbs of light on the street turn-on; when shadows come to play… Read More »REMEMBER TO DANCE
UPDATE: I am so thrilled to share that I was one of the winners in this contest. I am looking forward to the critique from the generous Erin Siu @erinsiu. Can’t thank @KaitlynLeann17 and @LydiaLukidis enough for organizing this! I chanced upon the #Fallwritingfrenzy hosted by @KaitlynLeann17 and @LydiaLukidis on Twitter. Participants are to choose one of 15 images to be inspired by and write something #kidlit in fewer than 200 words. Because I LOVE writing to prompts, I couldnt resist! It was hard choosing and I actually ended up writing two pieces. After much… Read More »#Fallwritingfrenzy 2020 Winner!
This morning my six-year-old logged in early to his class. It was their pre-class chat time. The time where pre COVID, kids would have stood in line outside class and bonded with each other. The kids have adapted to this virtual link-up time. They logged in one by one sharing little updates. One wanted to share where they were eating dinner, another wanted to show a pumpkin, a hat, a song, a greeting…the volume began to rise. Until noone could understand what anyone was saying. Then, above the cackling, a little girl spoke, “When we… Read More »IT’S LIKE AAAAHH!