A tale that defies gender norms

There’s a lot to be said for storytelling. “I have been working with children passionately, and find that they connect with stories that are told through visuals, audios and kinaesthetics. Learning happens subconsciously,” said Manisha Kanoria Lohia, founder, iSpark Holistic Happiness and Fitness Studio for Children.

Lohia was speaking at the launch of Sadiq Wants To Stitch, written by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by renowned artist Niloufer Wadia. This book talks about a little boy called Sadiq, who has a keen interest in stitching colourful patterns on rugs. Sadiq is reminded repeatedly by his ammi that boys do not stitch: theyonly look after livestock. Sadiq, however, is determined to stitch.

This winsome tale was narrated to the children present by Janaki Sabesh. Sabesh — who ensures that parents accompany children to storytelling sessions to learn the art — captivated the audience by making children sing along. Her remarkable expressions and voice modulations only added to her narrative prowess. She also drove home the point of the story with a short quiz at the end. The children were given a profession and asked whether a boy, a girl or both were suited for it. The children answered ‘both’ for almost every profession.

“I stay with the book for two-three weeks. Unless I feel the story, I won’t be able to communicate it to the children. So I add elements like songs to hook their attention,” said Sabesh. She also said that these sessions would help parents identify the right lessons and impart it to their children.

Also a part of the event were Devika Krishnan and Ramneek Kaur, co-founders of the Shepherdcrafts Kashmir Project. The duo briefed the children on the daily routine of Kashmir’s Gujjar and Bakarwal communities: the same that Sadiq belonged to. The children were showed pictures of the work done by women of the community through a presentation.

“Because of their nomadic nature, they lose out on securing an identity for themselves and eventually fall into the marginalised sector of Kashmir. Therefore, giving out work to this community becomes even more challenging,” said Krishnan. “This book has taken a simple plot – stitching, but there is still a long way to go,” she added.

For parents, the session was a valuable one. “I’ve been buying Karadi Tales books for the last eight years and I don’t miss out any of their sessions as they are exceptionally interesting and informative. It was today’s sessions that I particularly wanted to attend as I have seen gender stereotype playing out in real life and I felt that my kids should learn something out of this session,” said Shilpa Menon, mother of two.