Indian gods, mythological beings come alive at children's festival

Gods and mythological creatures take centre state at the Bookaroo children's literature festival, New Dehli, India, 30 November 2019. EFE

Gods and mythological creatures take centre state at the Bookaroo children's literature festival, New Dehli, India, 30 November 2019. EFE

Gods and mythological creatures take centre state at the Bookaroo children's literature festival, New Dehli, India, 30 November 2019. EFE
 

 

New Delhi, November 30 (efe-epa).- Indian gods and mythological creatures came to life on Saturday at the inauguration of a children's literature festival in the Indian capital.

Hundreds of children had the opportunity to get to know authors firsthand and freely choose the books they wanted to read next a the Bookaroo Festival.

"The objective is basically to make books come alive and how we do it is we get the children to meet authors, illustrators, storytellers, performers, all in the entire process they basically come closer to books and they fall in love with books by the end of it," Swati, one of the organizers, told EFE.

The event, which claims to be Asia's biggest children's literature festival, began in 2008 and has completed almost 36 editions in 14 cities of India and one in Malaysia.

This year, the organizers expect a turnout of 10,000 people at the event, which is being held over the weekend in the Indian capital.

The purpose of the festival is to allow children to choose books, characters and scenarios that they like without an adult telling them what a "good book" is.

To do this, in addition to the vast range of stories featuring Indian gods and mythological creatures, children can also attend 120 sessions by 85 speakers and authors from nine countries.

Bookaroo also seeks to broaden the vision of its participants.

"I find the idea of the festival wonderful.

"I want to be a writer when I'm older, and this is where I find inspiration," a 13-year-old girl told EFE.

In addition to the talks and classes, children can enjoy illustration workshops, poetry sessions, storytelling, performing arts and other craft activities.

Bookaroo was the first Indian children's literature festival to be recognized in the international arena after it won the Literary Festival Award at the London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards in 2017.