Workshop 9
Children’s picture books as safety islands: invitations to pause when lost.
Often in times of being lost and not knowing, especially as an adult, the dominant expectation is to perform knowing, the kind that urges us to move forward with an immediate effect. If instead, we are found to be grappling with ‘How to be other than as ascribed’, our hesitation is deemed as signs of failure, of who we are and our identities.
In times like these, Kumudini and Raviraj lean into the gentle invitations offered by children’s picture books to pause, to retreat, to reflect and find tiny islands of safety. These invitations are quite unique in their nature, they inherently do not come with a deadline or a strict instruction manual but with a relentless hope to keep coming back as many times, as long as it takes.
In a world of children’s picture books, nothing has to be right away, detours are a must, and refusal to move until it does not feel rightish is considered a know-how, not an act of failure or cowardice.
Objectives :
In this one-day workshop, Raviraj and Kumudini will invite the participants to loiter in these invitations that children’s picture books have to offer.
How to recognise these invitations to pause? How to loiter in the wisdom of children’s picture books? How to discover and retreat into the safety islands in people’s stories? And, how to allow varied interpretations that come inevitably with these invitations into our practices? You will do all of these while being surrounded by the warmth and love of some incredible children's picture books by the ocean.
Facilitated by Kumudini Gurung Shrestha and Dr. Raviraj Shetty
Kumudini Gurung Shrestha is passionate about the arts and education. A founding member of Shikshya Foundation Nepal, her experience as an educationist and her conviction in the regenerative ability of the arts have been integral to the Foundation’s extensive contribution towards the inclusion and expansion of the arts in public education programs. As a child, Kumudini often sought and found solace in fictional characters and in later decades, she rediscovered her love for books as she spent her time obsessively reading to and with her two children. Her long standing relationship with children’s literature endures as the foundation for much of Kumudini’s work today, and her personal experiences have fostered a particular interest in mentoring and facilitating voices that have often been relegated to the margins. She tries her best to practise the kind of care that is required to sensitively hold space for other people’s stories. Kumudini leads the Hamro Ramailo Katha Project at Open Learning Exchange Nepal: a social benefit organisation dedicated to enhancing education quality and access through the integration of technology in public schools. Her work at OLE brings her to stories and storytellers of many indigenous Nepali languages and experiences. After decades as an art collector and an enthusiastic supporter of young emerging artists, she is now part of Kala Kulo, an art archive and research platform. Kumudini also serves as Director for Education at Bright Horizon Foundation and is a board member at Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre Nepal.
Dr. Raviraj Shetty is an occupational therapist, children's book author, supervisor, library educator and a teacher who believes that all the problems of this world are rooted in the structural systems of oppression rather than in communities or peoples bodies and identities. His work is informed by Narrative practices, sensory integration, accountability practices, queer writings, children's books, his mother’s cooking practices and his communities ways of living. In 2012, Raviraj completed Bachelors and Masters of Occupational Therapy from Seth.G.S.Medical College & K.E.M.Hospital, Mumbai. And the Mental Health Training Program in Narrative Practices in 2014. In 2019, Raviraj completed the Library Educators Course from Bookworm Library, Goa. Raviraj worked as therapist, supervisor and senior program manager at Ummeed Child Development Center, Mumbai. He has been consulting with communities, children, families, adults and organisations to discover and reauthor their preferred ways of being since the last 15 years. He is a teacher of Narrative practices and Early childhood development; and teaches in local and international workshops and diplomas. He supports the work of therapists and community health workers through supervision and consultation. Raviraj has published articles and is a peer reviewer for the Indian Journal of Occupational Therapy, Journal of Occupational Science and has also co-curated Jugaad, a little book of know-hows by young people with disabilities about mental health and conceptualised Our Jugaad, a handbook of know-hows by mothers of disabled children. He has peer reviewed articles for international journals including Journal of Occupational science. He is also a TEDx speaker. When not working you will find him dreaming about Unicorns, chatting away with friends, obsessing over a children's picture book, dancing garba to the tunes of Falguni Pathak, listening to a love song on loop or sobbing through a romantic film.