What makes Chennai’s children read?

For parents who want their children to start reading more and for children wanting to delve into a different range of genres, where does one start? Amidst constant discussion about screen time, books, and how to strike a healthy balance between the two, the city of Chennai is currently home to a host of interesting initiatives that facilitate a love for reading and losing oneself in the magical world of words.

At the Goethe Institut in December last year, a gaggle of children watched on in delight as children’s author and illustrator Ashok Rajagopalan enacted scenes from his much loved book, Gajapati Kulapati. The eager, young audience joine14d him, imitating characters, and interrupting his talk to tell the author their favourite parts of the story. Katharina Gorgen, director of Goethe-Institut Chennai said that the The Little Lit Fest, pegged as Chennai’s first children literature festival, was supposed to celebrate the city’s three publishing houses — Tulika, Tara, and Karadi Tales for their fantastic work on children’s books. In the process, it also ended up shining light on the sheer number of children who read. . 

Over the course of last year, many new reading initiatives for children apart from the literature festivals have also cropped up.

Bhuvaneshwari Rajasekar, a parent, set out to steadily build a collection of books for her two young children during the pandemic. “As the collection grew, I had friends and acquaintances constantly seek me out for recommendations,” she says. Six months ago, with over 5,000 books for ages one to 14, Bhuvana started the Tiny Explorers Library. “Parents can sign up for either a five-book or eight-book plan. We have our catalogue online and books will be delivered home. The initiative has fifty members and the membership costs less than a bucket of popcorn,” laughs Bhuvana. 

One way to get children to pick up a book, she says, is through storytelling. “I have conducted sessions everywhere from parks, to learning spaces to even birthday parties since an increasing number of parents want children to be engaged in a more meaningful way,” she says. Chennai’s many silent reading chapters see children accompanying their parents to sit and read, in a calm, idyllic setting and Bhuvana also says she takes books to the Mylapore Reads chapter at Nageswara Rao park, for children to borrow.

Bookstores and spaces dedicated for children to read in, are few and far between. But, Chennai’s newest reading space and library for children has an unlikely location. At Budans house in Alwarpet which houses the quaint Kup Modern Kitchen and Coffee bar, tucked away on the first floor is a sunshine-filled space with shelves of neatly arranged books. The brainchild of Jivesh Goenka, founder of KUP coffee roasters, the Page27 children’s library was inspired by his son’s love for reading. 

Anannya Parekh, library educator at Page 27 library, says their diverse collection reflects how much more nuanced and layered children’s books have become over the years. “We have realised that while reading is a solitary act for adults, it is a social and communal act for children. Librarians can facilitate this experience, and I ensure that children pick up and enjoy whatever they want to read,” she says. Their membership programmes include a day pass, quarterly pass and yearly pass, and the library also hosts a range of activities for children. 

Anannya works on guided reflection activitiesl, where she asks children to reflect on stories they have read or heard. “They do this either through art, with craft materials or even roleplay with characters across books. Reading is not just about finishing pages,” she says. The library also has Korean books, given the number of Korean expats in the area, and also has a collection of Japanese books. 

Beyond the page

This Sunday, Chennai’s Lil Trails will host an immersive session by SkilLit Readers for readers between the ages of eight and 13 years on the book Wonder, by RJ Palacio. An initiative by Poorvaja Prakash and Srilakshmi R, SkilLit Readers seeks to redefine life skills development among children between the ages of eight and 16 years through integrating literature and experiential learning. Both of them are based in Bengaluru and conduct workshops primarily online as well as travel to Chennai for sessions, which see many children from the city participating. 

“We have programmes and workshops where children interpret themes, characters, and plot points using activities that involve music, roleplay, writing, pictures, art, craft, mind maps, and discussions. We aim to enable children to become independent thinkers who are self-aware, empathetic, collaborative, and socially conscious,” says Poorvaja. At their workshops, children come in having read the books beforehand and discuss their interpretations. 

Srilakshmi says they place a special emphasis on Indian literature. Among the Indian books they have worked on designing a curriculum around, are Loki Takes Guard and How to Win an Election: A Most Unreliable Guide by Menaka Raman, Under the Bakul Tree by Mrinal Kalita, translated by Partha Pratim Goswami from Assamese, and Kolam Kanna by Vibha Batra. “Many parents are still hung up on what their child is learning from a book. We should encourage children to read for pleasure, and they will then pick up other books on more serious topics and end up learning from it,” Srilakshmi says. 

With digital distractions aplenty, Janaki Sabesh, actor, author and storyteller says that in many ways, creating hype around books and reading is the way to go. 

“In every storytelling session of mine, I introduce the children to a book and help build an image in their minds. As an actor and a voice-over artiste, I am able to make this narration a spectacle of sorts and at the end of a session, there are many of them who gravitate towards the book. The children want to go home with a piece of the character or the story they just heard about,” she says. 

At home as well, she encourages parents to create a buzz around reading. Having a dedicated reading corner or book, and allocating a particular time for reading is important,” she says. Janaki is an author of four children’s books including Paati’s Rasam, a gentle story of grief and loss which she co-authored with her daughter Dhwani Sabesh. “I ask parents to put away their digital devices when they attend my session and they thank me for this at the end. The same applies to reading with children — there is so much mindfulness to being in the moment,” she says. 

And as for children’s books, she strongly believes there is much to go back to, in the themes dealt there. “I am of the firm belief that children’s books sometimes are more for the adults than the children,” she says.