The story house

Meet Anjali Rajan Dileep whose Apple Story Club promises a new learning experience for children

March 26, 2015 08:59 pm | Updated 09:00 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Anjali Rajan Dileep with a few members of her Apple Story Club

Anjali Rajan Dileep with a few members of her Apple Story Club

Each of us has a story to tell. But once we step into the adult world, our stories lie dormant in us, unheard and untold. Anjali Rajan Dileep was one such grown-up who had forgotten her stories till she became a mother herself. That is when she found the key to her lost childhood by becoming a storyteller herself.

‘If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales’. This quote by Albert Einstein was the inspiration for Anjali Rajan Dileep to begin the Apple Story Club.

The club is a platform for children in the age group of six to 15 to ‘improve their learning abilities through stories, reading and a lot of interactive discussions’. On two Sundays, every month, a group of 20 kids and Anjali get together at a place at Pangappara, where “the kids break free of all inhibitions and fear. More than that, the children get to know each other. I stay in a colony where there are a lot of children but none of them know each other. It is pretty much the same situation at most places, be it residential colonies or apartments. It is that scenario that actually got me thinking about the club where the children can come together, talk with each other and showcase their creative talents,” says Anjali.

Memories of an idyllic childhood in rustic Karavaloor in Punalur, listening to stories and being in the open, acted as the catalyst.

“Forums such as Balajanasakhyam helped me improve my public speaking skills and eventually moulded me into a confident person. Such platforms are absent today. One of the casualties of a double-income family is the art of story-telling as many parents find it hard to squeeze in time for leisurely story-telling sessions,” she says. Anjali also used to find it tiresome to narrate stories to her three-year-old son Ananthashreyas after a long day at work in Technopark.

Overcoming various hurdles, real and imagined, she opened the Apple Story Club on January 4, “the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton”.

Every session has a theme. In connection with Republic Day, the youngsters listened to a story about Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. In another session on newspapers, they talked about Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who was a newspaper boy. “I always take up stories that are motivational and also encourage the children to come up with their stories. In one segment, I made each of them make a statement about India. At the end of that session, I combined all of that to make a speech and one of the students was asked to deliver the speech,” she says.

At the end of each class, there is a contest, a spelling bee or quiz, something the participants look forward to. “I ensure all of them get a prize, so that no one is disheartened.”

The centre provides opportunities for kids to showcase their creative talent, giving them information about different forums where they can present it, including online platforms as well.

This summer, she is planning a story marathon. “We will hold a two-hour story marathon where the kids and I will narrate stories non-stop,” she says with great excitement.

A former RJ and VJ, Anjali has big dreams for her club. “There are a number of centres in the city that are encouraging kids to read, listen/narrate stories and indulge in a lot of creative learning process which is a huge need of the hour. We need to help our children, they have to be motivated. On my part, I do a lot of research on child education because it is a subject that enthuses me. This job is more satisfying than whatever I have done so far. And in the next two years I hope to turn this into a learning centre…,” she signs off.

Contact: 9496818680.

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