Two distinctly different scenarios featuring young readers in two far-off corners of the city, sprung up pleasant surprises and reiterated how the written word can weave its magic in marvellous ways
Children and parents attend Stories By The Lake, held at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. Pic/Fiona Fernandez
The towering, fantasy-world-like castles that could easily touch the sky had already created a big impression. Not that one hadn’t visited Powai before. But those were purely for leisurely activities, hangouts with friends and the like. This time, the visit was connected to books and young people. As I approached the picture-perfect landscaped venue for Powai’s first literature festival for children, the preconceived notions had all stacked up in my head. Upmarket, fast-paced planned mega township. Kids with little or no interest and exposure to books, and literature in general. Low IQ scores in Mumbai’s heritage and history. Distracted and obsessed with their tablets and phones. Uninterested parents.
To my great relief, two hours into the sessions, after having spent a fair amount of time interacting with various age groups, I was happy to realise that I had been proven wrong. For starters, the level of engagement from parents to ensure their children make the most of this daylong literature festival, charmingly called Stories By The Lake, organised by education platform, Brainologi, was high. Even the afternoon itinerary had a sizeable turnout, especially a session where senior educators from different spheres discussed the impact and extent of AI in children’s education.
That evening, a visual quiz themed on the city’s heritage and history, which yours truly conducted for middle-schoolers, was the icing on the cake, as these young, bright readers tried to out-shout each other with the correct answer to every question. It was reassuring, as one took a moment in between the excitement and squeals, to soak it all in, and also to gauge the extent to which the festival had struck a chord.
Municipal school students are all ears during a session in their library. Pic/MUKTANGAN
Mind you, it’s not as if residents from only the township had shown up; families from neighbouring suburbs like Chandivli, Andheri East, Kanjur Marg, Vikhroli, and even Mulund and Thane had dropped by. For eastern suburbs which are starved for such events, I felt it was another victory for the organisers. The book sales were heartwarming as kids coaxed their parents to buy every title that interested them; the storytelling and art workshops were equally successful, going by the enthusiastic response. Even after the sessions had wrapped up, as I scoured the venue, to pick on bits of chitchat from participants, I ended up making a few new friends. They hoped that this was just the start, and that the festival would return, bigger and better. The kids, too, seemed happy to be around books in a fun, educational set-up, as the stories and adventures were played out in an urban, colourful jungle.
Cut to a few weeks later. I was worming my way through a road that was in ‘work-in-progress’ mode, given its proximity to where the overhauling of the Elphinstone Bridge was underway. Not the ideal spot you’d expect for a school to be located, at least going by the non-stop background score of JCBs and other moving machines that Arnold Schwarzenegger would probably drive in his heyday. As one of the institutions supported by Muktangan’s educational outreach programme, the Elphinstone Municipal School, I was lucky to be part of a classroom engagement activity. The age group was similar to the kids who attended the literature festival in Powai. A few doubts emerged: Should I ‘dumb down’ the same visual quiz? Should I include Hindi/Marathi sentences in my communication? Will they ‘get’ my views about writing a book on heritage? My doubts were partially removed by the librarian-in-charge. I entered the well-stocked library, the venue for my session, and began. To my amazement, the students were hitting the ball out of the park with their correct answers and perfect diction. I had once again been proven wrong.
Happily, I engaged with these kids about everything, from heritage walks to fun anecdotes about the Gateway of India. The energy levels and interest to learn about journalism, and writing about the city have formed beautiful memories in my book. As editorial folk, sometimes, perspective from a very different sample size, can be refreshing. These children read newspapers, including mid-day, and had relevant queries, like how stories were picked for Page 1. The mind was blown. As I chatted with a few after the quiz, it became obvious that their thirst for literature and knowledge in general, had to be applauded. Any avenue or opportunity to consume it was grabbed with both hands.
Both these instances, despite being poles apart from a socio-economic standpoint, revealed a common factor. Books can break barriers and boundaries, and draw young readers to exciting new frontiers of knowledge. All they need is a launchpad, a helping hand, a guiding light, and yes, oodles of fun and engagement to relay it. And then, sit back to cherish how they will surprise you with their intent and intelligence to celebrate the written word.
mid-day’s Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city’s sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her.
She tweets @bombayana. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.
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