What advice do you have for young, aspiring writers?” A teenaged student interviewer asked me as part of an interaction at DAV Public School in Nerul that was hosting a literature conclave to celebrate World Book Day. Prior to this session, the school principal gave me the tour as I spotted some pretty impressive displays, all themed around literary greats and genres. But, the time I spent in this school ended up offering fabulous learnings and insight about young minds in their threshold years before they step out to take on bigger things.

During the walkabout, I noticed that it wasn’t just international authors but a fair share of Indian names that had made it to the wall displays. I was already smiling. Then, two ideas en route to the assembly hall grabbed my attention—one about ‘Book-flix’ and how it’s possible to get hooked on to it just like how most of the world swears by the popular streaming platform. I liked the sound of it. The presentation went on to explain the ‘coolness’ of the concept. The second idea that brought a smile to my face was a book nook; here a student librarian helmed affairs in a mini library that had brightly painted tin boxes as seating options. A cute, practical idea that can be easily executed in schools, where the onus is on the child rather than a grown-up, be it helming affairs or getting others into the reading habit in a safe, happy space.