Mumbai: This session for children blends sculpting and storytelling

Parents who break into a cold sweat at the sight of mess you might want to look away right about now Ceramic artist Garima Sharmarsquos upcoming sculpting session entails some graphic scenes like squishy clay oozing between tiny fingers smudged faces shirts doubling as hand towels But at least itrsquoll make for a good story to tellFrom left A child adds finishing touches to a sculpture PICS COURTESYGARIMA SHARMAAs part of Kahanikar a storytelling initiative this Sunday storyteller Neha Bahuguna will join Sharma in spinning an impromptu tale around miniature clay characters crafted by the tiny handsldquoChildren arenrsquot afraid of getting their hands dirty They often tell me that it reminds them of building sand castles at the beach or playing with mud in their gardens Itrsquos usually the adults who need to gather a bit of courage The only tactile experience theyrsquore used to is tapping away on screensrdquo Sharma laughsGarima Sharma left sculpts at a previous workshopBahugunarsquos twist ought to add some challenge to the participantsrsquo playtime but itrsquos nothing short of a challenge for the duo Sharma explains ldquoWersquore working on a structure where Bahuguna will tell a story set in the wild As it progresses the participants will pick up from the story reimagine it and craft characters from their imaginationrdquoThe duo lets the cat out of the bag over our conversation We learn of a feline character who will feature in the tale Little does it know its fate lies in the childrenrsquos messy hands ldquoAs the storyteller describes the cat the curious listeners will give it a shape and form It could be a stout short cat or a skinny onerdquo Sharma tells us ldquoThe funny part is with children you can never plan things in advance They might just drop the idea and turn the character on its headrdquo Bahuguna laughsAn adult participant works with clayFor Shweta Nadkarni the organiser of Kahanikar this experiment is a modest effort in making storytelling more engaging for children ldquoAt our usual storytelling events I noticed how children who tag along with their parents often lose interest after a few performances I was at a sculpting session with my eightyearold daughter earlier this year when the idea of blending the two practices sparkedrdquo she recallsWhile the session is aimed towards children the doors are open for teens collegians parents and senior citizens who are still young at heart As the flyer of the event puts it lsquoages six to 99rsquoNeha Bahuguna and Shweta NadkarniOnce the clay story reaches a happily ever after Nadkarni recommends you stay for the eveningrsquos programming Featuring veteran artistes like Arif Zakaria and livewires like Meghana Erande Joshi who voiced the popular Doraemon character we can bet there wonrsquot be any children yawning in sightON 27 April 2 pm to 8 pmAT Victoria Memorial School for the Blind Arya Nagar Tulsiwadi TardeoLOG ON TO main_kahanikarENTRY RSVP mandatoryatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params