Notes from Neev!

 

“Stumbled upon your next story?” was the theme of this year’s Neev Literature fest, an exclusive lit fest for Indian Children and YA literature at Neev Academy that was at its seventh edition this year. As we literally stumbled out of our cab and into our first steps into mixed media, a masterclass by illustrator Shivam Choudhary,  I noticed that NLF was getting bigger, brighter and boundless in the myriad opportunities it affords children to explore the world through books! Of course, it’s only been our third year at NLF, but we were delighted with the diverse and eclectic mix of riveting performances based on books, interestingly themed book launches, delightful book interactions, thought-provoking sessions for educators and parents, engaging master classes for children aged between 9 and 18 and heartwarming author interactions and book signings and more!  It was a wonderful confluence of authors, illustrators from all over the world, numerous publishers and creators of Indian children’s literature, along with the educators, librarians, parents and of course students of all ages, brought together under one giant marquee by Neev Academy at their campus in Bellandur. Systematically planned, well organised and creatively presented, we were truly spoilt for choices between a fun-filled session/ a performance at Kathashala, or an insightful discussion at Kahaanimanch, or our favourite author reading from her book at the Performing arts studio or a writer/illustrator or content-based workshop at the Masterclass or waiting in line to get our books signed at the Sahitya Santhe!  Another NLF initiative is the NLF Reading Challenge for young readers to read a list of “thoughtfully curated books” in a span of three months that finally culminates in a quiz at the lit-fest!  Not to forget the school adorned the charming aesthetics of a lit fest….every corner of the school had something fascinating to offer for book enthusiasts of all ages!  NLF is in so many ways, a torchbearer of children’s literature in India, and one of the pioneers in bringing together all the stakeholders of Indian children’s literature and also symbolises a sustained and sincere effort in “growing readers for life”!

 

Each year NLF shortlists books in various categories for the Neev Book Award and we’ve always picked out the shortlisted books and devoured them in no time! Of course as my little one is transitioning from early chapter books to middle reader books, our Neev book bag is becoming heavier and heavier each year! So much so that I had a minor fall and ended up with a sprained ankle owing to which we missed the second day of NLF 2024! The shortlist was as varied and inclusive as the festival itself and featured around three titles in each category from picture books to chapter books to YA reading.

Aadya and I were inspired reading about the art activist “Meera Mukerjee: Breaking moulds” by Vaishali Shroff and awestruck by Shivam Choudhary’s illustrations, an Art1st publication;  Enraptured with the paper cut illustrations and the empathetic storyline in the Karadi tales publication of “A Thousand Full Moons” by Shoba Viswanath and illustrations by Keerthana Ramesh;  Loved the playful yet deep meaning  of the Pratham read  “When we are Home” by Priyadarshini  Gogoi and illustrated by Pankaj Saikia.

 

Aadya is now into C G Salamander and Sheena Devaiah’s travelogue of mythical beasts across India in “From Makaras to Manticores”, a Hachette publication,   and next in line is to read about Bipathu’s love for football in “Bipathu and a Very Big Dream” by Anitha Nair, a Penguin publication,  and ready to learn about Tulika’s graphic series titled  “Unknown Heroes of India’s freedom Struggle” by P Sainath!

 

Aadya still has a few more years to go before she delves into YA novels - Andaleeb Wajid’s “The Henna Start-up”  by Penguin Random House and “Zen” by Shabnam Minwalla, a Duckbill publication, with the prolific writer Andaleeb Wajid winning the Neev Book award at NLF 2024. So “If you could live in one of these books during Dassera holidays, which one would it be?”

 

While the NLF weekend was physically exhausting as we couldn’t keep up with so many sessions and were continually harbouring a FOMO feeling (Fear of missing out!), we came out sporting super cool blue wrists bands, our minds uplifted, creatively inspired, and our hearts full!   Come September…. besides the start of festive season….we have the next edition of NLF to look forward to!

Summer Book club!

 

Parenting, amongst other things,  is also about trying to experience the good things in life vicariously through our kids, especially the kind of experiences that we didn’t have while growing up!  Take for instance,  a Book club for second and third graders…..we didn’t have anything like that in our childhood, despite growing up in an urban environment.  We did have summer camps for sure…revolving around creative arts and crafts and music, dance and sports of course….but nothing like a curated platform showcasing age appropriate books for all the young participants to read and share their thoughts about…. that too in a place surrounded by books! No………. I’m not talking about fancy places like the New York or Boston children’s public library, but the summer book club at “Kahaani Box”,  for second and third grade readers! So when book lover and entrepreneur Neha Jain put up a whatsapp post on the upcoming summer programs at Kahaani box, including “The Book club”,   I so wished that I could become a second grader again!  

 

As we approach the fag end of school summer vacations (in fact many schools have already reopened!), we did look back at the summer of ’24, and one of the most memorable of Aadya’s summer activities was attending the book club at Kahaani box!  

It was indeed a memorable week of reading, sharing and exchanging views, involving themselves in vocabulary exercises and mystery-solving activities, designing alternative book covers, going on a book scavenger hunt around the library, and creating a TIME-VELOPE of all their favourite things they would open twenty years later!  

As part of the book club activity, each of the eight kids read Shabnam Minwala’s “The Shy Super Girl”,  a Duckbill publication’s HOLE book -and  Louis Sachar’s  “Marvin Redpost- Why pick on me”, and Aadya enjoyed reading about the nine year old Nina who though shy was endowed with super powers! With the help of her almost clairvoyant abilities, Nina manages to solve the mystery of the missing artefact at Mrs. Khanna’s house. All the girls were fascniated by the  adventures and misadventures of Nina and gang so much that they reviewed the book and even wrote to the author.  This early chapter book aided by Tanvi Bhat's apt and stimulating illustrations, encapsulates so many relatable elements of a young girl’s world that had all the book club members hooked and booked for the summer of ’24! Here’s to unboxing many such activities from Kahaani Box this year!  

 

Relax, read and rejuvenate in the company of trees!

 

It took another travel for me to get back to blogging again! It was a quick getaway for us this summer………a short and sweet retreat amidst a coffee plantation at Rossetta Sakleshpur wherein we let time stand still for a couple of days. Nestled in middle of a 100 acres coffee plantation, this resort offers its guests urban luxury in a green lush  vegetation of  coffee, pepper and cardamom plantation with silver oaks eucalyptus, teak, palm, coconut and many such trees standing tall all around the beautifully landscaped property. We immersed ourselves in every element of what Rossetta had to offer, strolling around its aesthetically planned landscape, hitting the pristine pool overlooking the expansive greenery, spending lazy afternoons reading at the “out of in the woods” balcony of its quaint tucked away cottages, relishing the elaborate all-you-can-eat buffets with numerous live counters at mealtime,  availing the relaxing therapies at the spa, and trying our hand at the well equipped sports centre, and going on the guided nature walks amidst the Rossetta “treeverse” and  reliving our older one’s childhood memories of Robert McCloskey’s "Make way for the ducklings" …. All thanks to the diverse experiences at Rossetta!

 

We could not ask for a better environment than this to read Roopa Pai’s “Lets talk about trees”, which felt like a live demonstration of what we were reading!

“Let’s Talk about trees” is a wonderful ‘tree’tise on trees of the India. Narrated in characteristic Roopa Pai narrative style – full of questions for the reader to ponder over, fun facts about treeverse that we never knew to be true, interactive “fill in the blanks” style exercises, recipes and activities that is sure to turn any reader into a tree explorer!  Starting with the most basic and yet profound question, “Have you ever looked at a tree?” Roopa Pai delves deep into the “lovely poem of a tree”, goads the reader to “look listen and love” the various facets of a tree, be a discerning observer of various kinds of trees in one’s surroundings, be aware of the well-known trees of India, and be mindful of how integral trees have been and will be to a rich and healthy environment.  Enhanced by the striking illustrations by Barkha Lohia,  that beautifully capture the sentiment of the book, and not only enlighten the reader about the specific trees, leaves and the flowers featured, but literally transport the reader into being under the banyan tree, or swinging from the branches of a neem tree, or imagine being on a holiday in the hills amidst the deodars! Do enjoy this magnificent tree-at this summer!