Did you know: the lone word ending in ‘mt’ in English is ‘Dreamt’.
English is the only language where you drive in parkways and park in driveways.
Illegible handwriting has a name — it is termed griffonage.
The English language is full of surprises, has a mix of borrowed words and is constantly evolving. If you love learning and playing with new words and want to expand your command over the language, then take up the Scribble Challenge. For example: If you could say anything to a fictional character, what would you say and to whom?; Describe the iris of a loved one when the sunlight hits it. In six words or less, write a story about your next life.
There are no right or wrong answers, but endless possibilities to answer these questions posted on the Instagram handle of The Scribble Society, which is making English language learning fun, creatively. “Developing the language in today’s DNA and having a good command over it is crucial, as it gives confidence in the way you present yourself. Whether you’re a housewife writing a letter to a bank or an author or a content creator, clean language is important,” says Vasusri Birla Jhaver, chief scribbling officer at The Scribble Society.
Recognising the need for better language skills in a connected world, Vasusri launched The Scribble Society in July 2024 to teach children eight and above. “It is a world where Darth Vader meets Sheldon — they are my favourite characters,” she says. Apart from interactive social media posts, Vasusri holds physical classes for creative writing, cultivating reading habits to explore a whole world of forgotten and long-gone characters and guiding children to find their voice through words.
Writing beyond rules
In these classes, a simple prompt unfolds a newer world. In one of her writing sessions, the students were tasked with writing an advertisement to sell a haunted house. “A student wrote an advertisement about Frankenstein wanting to buy a house. But the requirement was it should have its own graveyards because in case he loses body parts, he can always dig up. It was nice to see that creativity come out,” recalls Vassie aunty, as she is called by her students.
This freedom to approach a subject in whichever way a child wants leads them to experiment and find their words, voice and space. “At 13-14, the child has a story, plot structure, characters and is argumentative. Why is this setting or a character like this? They’re ready to argue and willing to find answers through the various ideas that run in their minds,” explains Vasusri.
Having worked as a teacher in a private school for two years, the linguaphile noticed a gap. “A sort of educational gap where children are not being able to express themselves. The scope for experimentation (teaching beyond the syllabus) was lacking,” she adds.
Creative writing is just giving the children a space to say whatever they want. It’s not bound by a rule system but by certain conventions — grammar rules, punctuation marks, capitalisation. There are no strict barriers. It is all about creating a more visual world using words.
Vasusri Birla Jhaver
Nurturing writers of tomorrow
For a child to acquire knowledge and build a literary world of their own, Vasusri believes language learning must go beyond textbooks. This is where creative writing comes in. “Schools teach children the rules of a language and how to apply them correctly,” she says. “But the moment they step into the professional world, they’re expected to think outside the box, for which they are rarely trained.”
Vasusri started this venture to meet the industry demands and also for individuals to enjoy the pleasure of writing. “I help kids start their journey, polish it and help them evolve on it. And I feel we need more scribble societies as we realise the value of such skills in a fast-evolving world,” Vasusri adds.
The next project they will be taking up is Scribble Suggests, which would be more of a book review or a book recommendation session. “There are a number of unknown books, lesser-known writers, and beautiful human stories that are to be discovered,” concludes Vasusri
To know more, visit _thescribblesociety_ on Instagram or write to thescribblesociety.in@gmail.com