Over 450 children from Mysuru city, surrounding areas participate in reading, fun activities

Mysore/Mysuru:  The Children’s Literature Festival that was organised on Sunday evening by Mysuru Literary Forum Charitable Trust and Mysuru Book Clubs-2015 for kids aged 4 to 14 years at Wind Chimes, Nazarbad, was a great hit among children.

According to Founder of Mysuru Book Clubs Shubha Sanjay Urs, the festival was unique as it was for the first time a standalone event was organised for children. Usually, literature festivals for children are held as part of festivals for grown-ups or as part of events held by educational institutions. This is the first non-business-oriented festival, entirely managed by children, she added.

Over 450 children from Mysuru city and surrounding areas participated in the interesting, inspiring, educational and fun-filled activities. Notably, there were 1,423 new registrations apart from the existing members. Children had a chance to meet authors, poets, illustrators and performing artistes. Interestingly, there were several mothers who were making their children practise reading. It was a festival that provided a platform for children to discover the joy of reading.

Story-telling sessions

The festival was inaugurated by a performing band of specially-abled children. Members of the Children’s Book Club lit the lamps and left the floating candles in the urli (bowl). Later, performance storyteller and theatre practitioner Vikram Sridhar delved on story-telling through ‘Chimpu monkey searches for a gift’ and ‘Bullet doctor makes friend with a bull’.   

In his informative session, Vikram Sridhar spoke about the role of parents in a child’s development. Through stories, he entertained the children and drove home the point of togetherness. He also gave tips on parenting and home atmosphere that will boost creativity among children.   

“Technology has made us live in silos and we are personally disconnected though we are connected in the virtual world bereft of any emotions,” he said. Through storytelling, he demonstrated how to bridge the gap between generations and bring families together in a technology-dominated world.

Enjoying songs

Perfectly understanding the rhythms and taste of young people, Singers Laksh and Nikita made the children sway to their melodies. They belted out many numbers and even prompted the young ones to sing. They performed the trending song ‘Believer’.

In addition, 13-year-old YouTuber Tanmayi S. Chowdipura enthralled the gathering with her voice. Children enjoyed the opportunity to meet the authors of the book “Little handbook of cool technology” Shalini Satish and Raam Bharanidharan.

Both the authors took the audience on a journey through the enchanted world of technology where computers were artists, robots, drivers and cities became smart. They both shared their enormous passion for books and literature which inspired the children.

Puppet show/board games

It was a visual and audio treat for the crowd as they watched “Bombe Aata” which rendered the thrilling mythological story of ‘Narakaasura Vadhe” by Mysore Puppet Theatre, where demon Narakaasura is killed by the consort of Sri Krishna, marking Deepavali. The gathering witnessed how the traditional art form provides food for thought, coupled with unlimited joy.   

Ramsons Kala Pratishtana, Mysuru, exhibited and familiarised the gathering with their awesome display of traditional indigenous board games which are time-tested fun tools to sharpen motor skills as well as mental acumen in growing children.

There were book stalls consisting of both Kannada and English books, food stalls and other outlets selling wares for children for their day-to-day activities.

The wait has already begun for the next season of Children’s Literature Festival.

For more information, contact Mob: 99802-50114.