A pre-teen appeared lost on his own island despite the surrounding buzz. He was engaged in sketching a Ganesh idol with a pencil on a piece of paper. In another corner, a young mind was affixed, marvelling at magnified illustrations (from a picture storybook) of an aerial scene of Mumbai depicted in a fantastical scenario. And in one of the busier sections, kids were putting together a jigsaw puzzle, based on an illustration from a picture storybook.

These scenes unravelled on the final day of the travelling exhibition called Becoming that wrapped up on Sunday. It was an exhibition curated by children’s author and Pickle Yolk Books publisher, Richa Jha and showcased 125 illustrations by 75 past and contemporary illustrators from books published by 26 publishers. Originated in Delhi, the Mumbai edition was patronised by organisations like Tata Trusts (PARAG), Takshila, Jaipur BookMark and Coforge Public Libraries, and was ably supported by Sangeeta Bhansali of indie bookstore, Kahani Tree.