I recently had the opportunity to visit my alma mater- SahyadriSchool, KFI based outside Pune placed atop a three pointed hill! I studied there
from the 5th to 10th grade and basically grew up among
friends and caring teachers. While in Sahyadri I did a book reading of “A
Garrulous Gastronaut’s Guide” with the class 4 and 5 students- and my feelings
may be biased but they were the liveliest and most enthusiastic bunch I ever
read to!
The kids loved Cheeku and were excited about the prospect of
starting gastronaut clubs of their own. They said they would try planting seeds
from the oranges they were going to get at tea time and try convincing their
house parents and class teachers to let them try their hand at cooking. These
kids were pretty used to activities like gardening and the school campus even
has its own vermiculture hut and bio-gas station!
Since this was also the oldest batch I’ve ever read to they
were familiar with terms like organic and eco-friendly.
The students also liked
the illustrations and wished me the best of luck with trying to get the book
published. Some even signed the Gastronaut Manifesto at the end of the book to
prove their commitment to me. The overall experience was wonderful and made me
want to visit again to facilitate Gastronaut activities with the junior school
students... perhaps sometime soon!
