2025, Illustrated Storybook & Children's Activity

MANN KE MONKEY

The Ajab Gajab Bazaar is a festival for children held by the Shabad Dhun Foundation every year. It is a celebration at the end of the Shabad Shaala curriculum, which teaches children the songs of mystics and the lessons they hold. In the spirit of the curriculum, the Bazaar is a wonderous open space where we engage children in various games and activities, all driven by these lessons, and allow children to explore and experience various things.

Mann ke Monkey is one such experience. The story of Mann ke Monkey follows several jungle animals in search of a mysterious bird, who has only ever been seen in glimpses. The animals all set out in search, chief among them being the raucous Monkeys who, despite their vigor, are unable to find the bird. The Elephant, on the other hand, sits still and patient, and the bird - drawn by his stillness - comes to him of it's own accord.

The story and illustrations of Mann ke Monkey were done by me, and the Hindi writing was done by Shabnam Virmani, founder of the Kabir Project and Shabad Dhun Foundation. This story will soon be published!

activity

1 . 'Lock & Key'

Children were led into the Mann ke Monkey enclosure and split into denners (those who catch) and players. They were then given 3-5 minutes to play 'Lock & Key' where denners would catch players and 'freeze' them in place, and players would attempt to free one another.

We gave the children purple and orange monkey masks to help distinguish players from denners.

2 . Story

Once the children had played, we sat them down and a facilitator read through the story of Mann ke Monkey.

3 . Meditation

Once the children had listened to the story and relaxed, the facilitator led them into a 5 minute meditation to find stillness, like the Elephant.

hidden bird

Inspired by our mysterious bird, we created two large birds - welded with metal and covered in cloth. We divided these birds into 11 parts each, painted them, and decorated them with cut-out bits of old sarees and mirrors.

We then hid all the parts of one bird on 11 trees across the whole Bazaar, with 11 different parts of a poem for the children to find and puzzle together, the other bird was put together with bolts and screws on stage as the Bazaar came to a close, as an aha! moment for all those who searched for the poem.