The foreword to Alexander Raskin’s When Daddy Was a Little Boy says when Sasha was laid down with the grippe or an infected ear, her daddy (the author) read out to her and told her stories from his childhood. The stories took her mind off the excruciating ear pain and filled her up with snatches of early days. Raskin wanted his young readers to know about things that happened to him as a little boy, and when he fell short, he borrowed a couple of tales from other daddies. That stories are our oldest companions in health and sickness needs no contesting. And so, a month-long online storytelling workshop looks to add some joy to these bleak times.

Vikram Sridhar