Anjana Khilnani, creator of Amlaan Baag, a YouTube channel dedicated to all things gardening, is a teacher, and at times a storyteller whose mission now is to teach children and adults the joys and benefits of gardening. While teaching the subject Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) at a school in her home city of Jaipur, Khilnani realised that getting children interested in such a craft, would require a different, more practical approach. “In school we didn’t have much time for activities like storytelling, and children would often be afraid to get their hands dirty. So, I would ask them to imagine that they are making a fairy garden, and they would happily do it. What they were really doing was sowing and planting,” she laughs.

When the lockdown was announced and everything went digital, she decided to marry concepts like storytelling with gardening activities, to keep her sessions interactive and approachable. Later this week, Khilnani will hold the second edition of her latest workshop series, titled Gardening Meets Storytelling: Nature Tales and DIYs for Kids, an hour-and-a-half-long session for age groups of five to 15 years. “Nearly 40 children joined the first session. Last time, I weaved a story around plantation. I create these narratives by myself, with stories about how farmers grew their crops. In between the story, I also give the children a live demonstration of the process. I had a few microgreens that I used, to show them how to do it,” she says.