Our founder, Ekta Ohri, is also deeply committed to nurturing young storytellers. Through interactive online and offline platforms, she mentors children from Grade 4 and up, helping them craft and refine their unique stories. During these sessions, students learn to apply critical thinking and design thinking to both their writing and illustrations, fostering creativity and insight.
Storytelling, through writing and illustrating, empowers children to better understand and express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. By developing these skills, Ekta aims to build emotional resilience and mental strength in kids, preparing them to confidently navigate life’s challenges.
I’m glad we approached Ms Ohri with Utsa’s stories, before deciding to publish them as-is. Ms Ohri chose one of Utsa’s stories and had weekly sessions with her for about 7-8 months. There was a wealth of information Utsa got that helped her look at her own story from a different lens, give life to worthy incidents and craft it better. She also worked on her artistic abilities by illustrating rather complex drawings, for her age with MS. Ohri’s encouragement and direction. That just made the final book much more valuable, meaningful and impactful both in terms of content and the imagery. This in turn meant valuing a readers’ time and money as well. Utsa was involved in every aspect of book-making as well, and was encouraged to participate and provide inputs giving her a sense of ownership and an entrepreneurial taste. These learnings early on in life will certainly help her grow as a writer in the right manner.
- Ms. Namrta Dhar
