Saving the kid's book festival

India hosts up to 60 odd literature festivals every year yet childrenfocussed festivals do not make up even 10 of those The biggest of these Bookaroo is organised by Venkatesh M and Swati Roy coowners of a childrenrsquos book store and Jo Williams a former organiser of the Red House Childrenrsquos Book Award in UKChildren at a book stall at the World Book Fair in New Delhi 2008 The nineday annual book fair witnesses lakhs of visitors from India and overseas PicAFPLubaina Tyebji Bandukwala an editor and childrenrsquos book specialist has been instrumental in setting up the Peek A Book Festival in Hyderabad this year Kahani Karnival Trust in Mumbai was set up as a venture to create rich experiences around storytelling and reading the yearround festival brings together authors dancers puppeteers musicians artists theatre people and anybody who could tell a story while the Chandigarh Childrenrsquos Book Festival held its first sessions in 2014 and was well receivedThis year lack of sponsorships compelled Bookaroo to initiate a crowdfunding exercise to meet the costs of the festival Sayoni Basu publisher of Duckbill Books applauds the effort ldquoI am heartened by the response as it seems Bookaroo would have reached its target in less than a week after the campaign started But it is surprising that it required campaigningrdquoSend in the crowdsIt was surprising that Bookaroo mdashIndiarsquos most popular childrenrsquos literary festival mdash had to resort to crowdfunding Theirs is a success story In 2008 its first year the festival had 3000 visitors between the ages of four to 14 who flocked to hear 36 speakers conduct 44 sessions in Delhi In 2014 they had 70 speakers 99 sessions and 13000 children in Delhi and 8000 in Pune attended the festival which now also takes place at Srinagar Goa and Kuching MalaysiaBookaroorsquos founders lr Venkatesh M Jo Williams and Swati RoyIndia has a rich tradition of storytelling but lacks an ecosystem that continuously drives reading books and stories around kids Museums libraries and other spaces where our children can discover books and stories are woefully inadequate Childrenrsquos literature festivals are the only lsquoliversquo platform that bring children storytellers and stories together so they can imagine understand and become responsible aware world citizens Sadly sponsorships are a huge challengeNatasha SharmaFrom 2009 to 2011 insurance major Aviva was the main sponsor for Bookaroo but they pulled out suddenly Bookaroo isnrsquot the only casualty Bandukwala explains the scenario ldquoGenerally sponsors are nrsquot interested in promoting literature For them festivals are a source of leads to be converted into sale But people at such fests may not be interested in buying insurance or setting up a junior bank account After a while they do their math on Return On Investment ROI and discover other sources of leads It is business on their side the idealism is on oursrdquo Organisers donrsquot charge an entrance or participation fee at such festivals because they want to keep them focused Venkatesh says ldquoA stall takes away the flavour Itrsquos why there are no exhibitors at Bookaroo Publishers arts councils and embassies support usrdquoLubaina Tyebji Bandukwala founder Peak A Book FestivalBigger the betterThe biggest annual literary spectacle The Jaipur Literature Festival JLF also struggles with sponsorships Though literary festivals bolster local economies they get no support from the state government mdash no designated spaces no grants and no tax concessions A sample survey conducted by Team Works indicated that the JLF bolsters the economy of Jaipur every year on account of hotel bookings shopping and sightseeing Bookaroo and other childrenrsquos festivals cannot boast of these spikes in the local economy but the ROI for these need to be measured differently Venkatesh asserts ldquoThe value of reading for pleasure should not be underestimated it has been proven that children who are read to from an early age achieve significantly higher results in school It is a tough sell to impress upon potential sponsors and investors that the book continues to play an important role in childrenrsquos lives as a valid entertainment optionrdquoSayoni Basu Duckbill BooksIf the medieval times saw royalty patronise the arts today the government and its agencies are far from engaged Richa Sethi and her team conducted the Junior Writerrsquos Bug festival for children for two years 2012 and 2013 but then lsquotook a break from the festivalrsquo because childrenrsquos literature has to have a more longterm vision Kahani Karnival will flag off another edition this weekend They faced funding issues too their cofounder Shinibali Mitra Saigal says ldquoWersquove been lucky that the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum not only came aboard as a partner but has been kind enough to fund our festivals too This works for us because the museum is the best place to tell find and ferret storiesrdquoThe corporate callCorporate involvement in childrenrsquos literature must increase Consumer goods companies that profit from marketing products to children mdash from noodles chocolates clothes and toys to movies laptops and gaming must acquire cultural responsibility as well Instead of supporting the arts as a Corporate Social Responsibility CSR initiative it must be viewed as a Corporate Cultural ResponsibilityThe Azim Premji Foundation organises Katha Vana a book festival for Bangalorersquos less privileged children It brings books and stories to those who might have little or no access to them But this is a rarity Basu rues ldquoFor corporates who look for maximum lsquoexposurersquo when choosing how to use their money reading is a frivolous cause for CSR initiatives and not worthy of serious marketing moneyrdquoIn the Bookaroo crowdfunding effort individuals have contributed from Rs 500 upwards and their comments on the pages are telling ldquoBookaroo brings a smile to a childrsquos face It is an event that deserves to continuehelliprdquo and ldquoBecause itrsquos Bookaroo and must grow from strength to strength making the world a better placerdquo We canrsquot wait for the page to turn to better times