Archana

The May edition of the book club happened yesterday and what a beautiful beautiful meeting of readers it was... 🥰🥰🥰 [The Reading Room, book community, reader's community, silent reading, book discussions, conversations, book lovers, the reading room, Trivandrum]

When learning isn't stressful, growth becomes a happy habit. Snippets from mid-point of the summer camp. Special thanks to all of our teachers, trainers and guest speakers who gave the children such amazing new insights to the world. ☺️☺️☺️ . . . . . . . . . Video credit: @athulxarun [The Reading Room, teacher, trainer, children, readers, creative writing, public speaking, communication skills, confidence building, personality development, future leaders, positive development]

Some days you dress up because the occasion demands it. Some days you dress up because your mood calls for it Some days you dress up because the sky is grey and you need the extra pop of energy to keep the day going. Some days you dress up because a sweet friend has lent you a beautiful saree of hers just because she knew you would love it. 😊 Today is a little bit of all of those days. ☺️☺️ Saree belongs to the sweetest @thearterywoman [playing dress up, daily moments, dear diary, ootd, felt pretty, a day from my life]

When they talk about being captured in your element, this must be what they mean. This was me today during class, surrounded by my young writers and creators, listening to ideas, responding to their beautiful questions, held by my books, in a space I created and grew one brick, one page and one story at a time, and captured candidly in this moment, through the eyes of my most beloved person on this planet, @wanted.sid_ Just moments from a day. 😊

Peace & Joy ✨ Life keeps teaching us that for the most of it, it’s about finding little pockets of peace and reasons to smile… Even when everything else feels loud. Dreams change. Plans shift. The world can feel heavy. And then life reminds you you built something that makes you (and others) smile like this. It surrounds you with people who make your moments glow. It gives you chances to spread that smile to the ones you love and care for, people who just happened to somehow walk into your life... And somehow, amidst all the chaos, this matters the most 💛 [life, plans, change, the reading room, meaning, big questions, simple answers, mini blogs, daily diary]

Growing this space slowly...one step at a time. ✨ #dream #naturelove

You get a thousand beautiful testimonials that make your day and mean so much... And then you get one note like this from an 8-year old, and it makes the whole world alright. Can't stop beaming with joy! 🥰🥰🥰 [The Reading Room, teacher, trainer, children, readers, storyhour, story class, public speaking]

Sixteen years of watching you grow into this amazing, kind, smart, loving and absolutely cool and stylish young man. Sixteen years of watching you outgrow phases, fears and versions of yourself so bravely. Sixteen years of my favorite travel companion, movie watcher and analyst, reader and book buddy, story-sharer, news sharer, music suggestor, survivor of lockdown together, concept ideator, to discussing world politics and debator, it's been an absolute honor to watch you choose your ideas, ideologies and directions in life. What a privilege it has been to be your mother and watch you figure out the world around you, and your own place in it. Sixteen looks really good on you! A very very Happy Birthday to the biggest joy of my life. Stay kind always. 😊❤️🧿 Sweet Sixteen, mom and son, boy mom, birthday

Some months feel like there were a lot of months in it! March was one of those. Not even mentioning ALL THE MAJOR THINGS happening around the world alone, just in my small little world so much took place this month! 🍀 The boy's board exams in itself was an event! 🍀 Then of course there was the relief and joy of the boards ending 🤭🤭 🍀 There were lots of sweet moments with the sweetest people, not that one remembers to capture all of them when one's having so much fun and deep conversations, but still there's a few pictures here... 🍀 Just being surrounded by all the smiling faces that are happy to see you is such a blessing in itself! 🍀 There were tiny trips inside kerala... 🍀 There was Siddu's first live stand up event and that too Kanan Gill in Trivandrum! 🍀 There were cute family moments and outings 🍀 There was one day of olam Siddu and I managed to catch before we left for bangalore! 🍀 Then there was a fabulous couple of days in bangalore, the news of which deserves a separate post! ☺️☺️ 🍀 All this in between planning and preparing for the Reading Room vacation batch that starts next week and all other regular activities! The world is a hard place to be in right now, to say the least. Remembering to enjoy, live and be grateful for the happy moments of each month does help to stay sane and keep putting one foot in front of the other, while hoping for the best for the world! Hopefully, April feels saner and calmer for all of us everywhere. 🧿🧿🧿 [march wrap up, trips trivandrum, mother and son, teenager, monthly wrap up, friends, family]

ഇലകളിൽ എഴുതിയ കവിതകൾ 🍃 #poem #reels #trending #instagram #poems

"Feeling wholesome" got a whole new meaning today!🥰🥰🥰 (Do read the last image to know more) ❤️❤️❤️ Dhyan Harikrishnan, this young author you see in the picture with me, wrote and published his first book, complete with, not just his words and ideas, but also hid own artwork! That he is one of our own @thereadingroomtvm children who found his love for words and writing and expressions and stories at such an early age is such a pride to witness and I feel truly blessed to be able to be a tiny part in his long long journey ahead! But more than that is the fact that he stuck to it. It's so easy to want to write and even to begin, but to keep going with it, to not give up, and to stay committed speaks volumes about his determination and spirit. And spirited Dhyans always has been. ☺️☺️ And so much credit to his parents and support system for helping him every step of the way! Also, good work @booksthakam in supporting this young talent as his publisher. Way to go Dhyan! I truly believe that for someone as talented and spirited as you, this is just the beginning! 🎉🎉🎉 [young writers, Dhyan Harikrishnan, children writers, authors, publishing, comic book, creativity, writing]

International women's day special series Unfiltered women by Let's Live featuring Archana Gopinath If there were a survival manual for girls growing up in our society, I’m fairly certain I completed the training. And with flying colours. The syllabus was simple. Be polite. Don’t argue. Understand everyone’s moods. Fit in. Keep the peace. And above all, be nice. Like many girls, I believed that when people called you “so mature for her age”, you were doing life right. 👉Read the complete story on our website. Link in bio. Home --> Stories 👈 Saying no. Disappointing people. And most importantly, realising that keeping the peace is not always the same as keeping your dignity. I learnt that kindness does not require silence. That understanding others does not mean abandoning yourself. I learnt that when you respect yourself, those who respect you will still stay, and the only ones that leave are the ones who benefited from your self-sacrifice. Archana Gopinath Founder, The Reading Room