The Official Community Of Nitin Sawhney

 Dear everyone & all,

I'm planning workshops with primary school children at the moment.  They will be art based but I want to bring in story-telling and story based creativity. Most of the kids are from ethnic minorities. Many from Pakistani backgrounds, as I understand.

So, I wonder if anyone can offer some suggestions of stories I can use / take inspiration from.  I'm particularly interested in culturally sensitive stories, stories from other continents, stories that might encourage the idea of cultural understanding or understanding of difference and stories with a progressive message.

 Suggestions I already have are

  - stories by AK Ramanujan

- 'The Door in the air' by Margaret Mahy

- stuff by studio gibbley

Sorry, if this isn't musically based  but the new web-site seems like a kind of mini-world  & any help would be greatly appreciated,

Take care, Rhian

PS. I would think about posting images on the w-site but I don't like to be a "fan" I think it comes from fanatic and I also think I'm too old to be a fan. I'm happy to be an admirer though

PPS. Any news by now on Hari Om?

PPPS. the new stars don't work either

Hi Rhian,

As I work with older students - adults and 16+, I haven't anything specific for primary school children.  I wondered whether you would find anything helpful at http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/practice/eshop/index.htm

I do have a KS3 & KS4 book on asylum, refugee and diversity issues.  There are a couple of exercises about telling your own story - these could possibly be adapted to reduce the amount of writing needed, or simplified so the children don't have to remember so much.  Let me know if you want me to dig this out.

As for being old - I don't believe it!  I have been "accused" of being fanatical, by a friend in the media who thinks too much enthusiasm is uncool.  Any way, I'll hobble off now with my zimmer frame

Take care

Rosemary

Your zimmer frame - excuse me - YOUR zimmer frame?  I seem to recall that I had a zimmer frame, right up until the last time you stayed and you asked me if I'd mind if you borrowed it to air your nightie on.  Naturally, when I said 'yes', it did not occur to me that you'd be 'borrowing' it still! Incidently - my dentures....also missing!  I've had to improvise with window putty and cocktail sticks...again. Every time I smile I make the black devil angler fish look like Donny Osmond. I might be able to manage without the frame for a little while longer but the same can't be said for me gnashers - would you be kind enough to drop my real false teeth into an envelope and post them back to me asap?

Talking of the Osmonds.... I think that way back then would've been the only time that anyone could use the 'f' word to describe me and not find themselves chewing a Buga knuckle sandwich.  I too detest the label "fan" and I don't think it is fair to patronise anyone by calling them that, whatever their age. 

Hi guys,

Sorry to go off topic, but felt I needed to address your reactions to the word "fan". It certainly was not meant as patronising, nor to offend, as the word, at least here in North America, has long since dimmed it's association with it's root word. To us it simply means an enthusiast, an appreciator. That said, you'll see on the pages in question, "Fan Photos" is now "Visitor Photos" and "Fan Reviews" is now "Audience Reactions". I hope this rectifies things.

Now back to the topic at hand.  

Beverly, you're an angel!  Thank you for tweaking.  Somehow, I knew that old Osmond reference would do the trick... oh the shame, the shame.... for anyone who's never heard of them or are unable to appreciate the horror of realising that you'd squandered that last years of childhood plastering your bedroom walls with posters of grinning idiots ... ask your mothers about Bros.

  Buga, I didn't think you would miss the zimmer frame - I was planning to use it an an etagere for primulas in the spring.  As for the teeth, they are doing an excellent job of scaring away all unwanted visitors to our house.

Bros..... gosh they were way after my childhood.  I guess I've been listening to music before and after adolescence, so that fan didn't have such negative connotations for me.  As you know I am an enthusiast anyway - I can even get excited about careers information!  But if people are happier with the change, I am as well.

Rosemary

 Dear all,

Thanks for the info Rosemary. I'll check it out. Sure, I'm not old but the idea of a fan does seem pretty teenage and I don't want to buy into ideals sold to us by commercial culture that to be young is best and brightest. Think I was already 21 when I started litening to Nitin's music anyhow.

The photo I was going to post was of me and my good friend Lakshmi before going to see 'A Disappearing Number' by Complicite, which was incidentally the best piece of theatre I've seen in ages   (Nitin did the music but unlike 'The Mahabharata' it was more background but still quality.) The photo is outside the Barbican but you might not know that unless I told you. Difficult to post right now because of lap-top issues but not sure if it's just vain and irrelevant..... Maybe, I'll post in a few weeks and let Beverly or whoever decide.

 Biggest love, Rhian  X

PS Less references to Bros please ladies  

Rhian,

I'll send you a poem - for copyright reasons I will send it via a message.

don't worry about being away - I seem to have a lot of weekends away at present.

Rosemary

That's not one of those dodgy limericks you're sending to Rhian is it?

Well Rosemary, we certainly have something in common (no not limericks) - I too have distinct memories of listening to music both before and after adolescence but whatever I listened to just prior to and during, well, it's nothing to be proud of.... but at least I was too old for Bros, eh, Rhian! (Incidently, check your email!)

Limericks .... you mean ....

There was a young lady from Troon

Who liked to look up at the moon

And then one night

She saw a blinding light

And fell into a terrific swoon.

Much easier to write than haiku IMO.  The reason why I sent Rhian the poem by PM is that I didn't want to get Beverly and Nitin into trouble by posting something under copyright on this site.  It wasn't one of my poems - as you know, most are in a semi-finished state in a notebook, like the one I read you about a former service man (squaddie).

Rosemary

You know, I was going to reply to your posts during my lunch break yesterday but, when I tried to look at this one, the security filter refused access to it.... apparently, I couldn't view the page because it was categorised as  "Matchmaking"....  Stupid, stupid filter! The very same filter that also categorised an anti-racist online publication as an "Occult" site and more recently, I discovered that I could not access Sidi Goma's website as it was listed under "Pornography" .....

.....Anyway, thanks for the note books Rosemary, and your beautiful card - poignant lyrics for such a day. I won't be filling the pages with poetry...I couldn't write that stuff if I tried! But they will come in handy for my ever expanding list of music I want to get hold of but can't, which also leads me back to the topic!  Does anyone know of a UK/ other European company that imports contemporary music from Indonesia? Or any other websites with English pages and paypal options!! I'm trying to get hold of albums by Dwiki Dharmawan, Krakatau, Ubiet, Kande, Balawan, simakDialog, Efic Zulfiqar, Aksan Juman, amongst others and so far, have only tracked down one album by simakDialog and, it's not even the one that I'm really after!!! So, yeah, any advice would be welcome, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Also, I've been looking for resources for Tamil, Turkish, Mandarin and Cantonese speaking pupils (Foundation Stage - KS2). Fortunately, my search has been fruitful compared to last year's hunt for Kazakh - English resources. With so many languages spoken in the UK, it would be great to have an  online book-seller that could print to order any book, in any language/ languages, ditto, posters, notices etc.... dream on, Buga! 

Have a great weekend!

Just be careful if you visit the IKEA website, it could be blocked by some networks as the furniture is dangerously close to flesh tones!

 I'm glad you liked the notebooks and the cards - did the bay leaves arrive intact, or in a crushed form?

Rosemary

"Just be careful if you visit the IKEA website, it could be blocked by some networks as the furniture is dangerously close to flesh tones!" ......and plenty of wood too, Rosemary! 

 Yeah, leaves intact - still thrilled with the magic you've worked on the ol' zimmer though - love the colours, the 'Go Faster' stripes, the bells, horns, beepers, hanging pockets with concealed pocket for that all important can of mace, the book rest, the solar panel fairy lights, strobe and glitterball, the dangling thermos flask the... oh, so many features, Rosemary, I could go on for weeks..... but I won't! Incidently, there's a collar and lead dangling from the handrail... you didn't post it with a smallish mammal attached, did you?

I thought you would have more use for the zimmer frame - especially now I am back at yoga

You might get mistaken for Imogen Heap though if you plug in those fairy lights! No I didn't post a small mammal - our guinea pig died some years ago and our neighbour's rats are no more.  Though this week someone has been found keeping a wild boar in their back garden.  And the French visitors to the Millenium Stadium have been known to carry cocks with them - fortunately we are 3-4 miles away.

Didn't you notice the mock diamante studs on the collar?  I know your fondness for chokers, Buga, and thought this would be ideal for you.  The collar is detachable and intended for hanging up the choker in the wardrobe when not in use - saves hours rummaging in your drawers looking for it!

I guess you will be getting around faster now - you may have heard of leaves on train rails, but here we are having a new hazard - low sun!  Total chaos in the rushhour on the aptly if somewhat prosaically named Eastern Avenue as everyone slows down to 10mph or less as they can't see ahed of them.

Happy hobbling.

Rosemary