Our Correspondent
Kohima | June 25
Bookaroo, India’s first children festival is making its debut in North East India at Kohima from October 25 to 27 this year in association with The Kohima Institute with support from the Government of Nagaland.
This was announced during press conference here this afternoon. It is likely to take place at Raj Bhavan.
The proposed children literature festival at Kohima is all set to bring together yet another section of celebrated children’s author, illustrators, poets, performers and story tellers from all corners of India.
The organizers informed that the festival is packed with interactive and hands-on- activities that will be run by the literary stars themselves. The organizers want to make this festival an annual programme in the state.
Some key speakers (Children book writers, illustrators and story tellers) who will be in Kohima for the festival include; Amar Chitra Katha- India’s favorite comic book, who have been illustrating and telling stories to children for 50 years now, Ameen ul Haque- story tellers extraordinaire from Bengaluru, Canato Jimo- illustrator and art director at Pratham books, Parnab Mukherjee- curator, performance consultant, Praba Ram- a children’s writer, Qissebaazi, Rituparna Ghosh, Roopa Pai, Kavitha Mandana, Vishii Rita Krocha and Easterine Kire- noted Naga poet and author who is a winner of the Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2018.
The organizers said that books have no boundaries. The multidimensional children literature festival takes into account the entire range of readers, from the reluctant to the evolved.
“The programme is curated to fulfill our belief that there is a book for every child and that our role is to help them find that book. It is every children’s joy to let imagination roam freely when the magic of books come alive,” it stated. The three day Kohima Children Literature festival engages children in the age group of 4 to 14 years.
It would have e more than 40 sessions.
The first day of the festival is dedicated to authors visiting various schools (outreach). The second day is a packed session involving not only books alone but many other activities that engages the creativity of young minds. The last day of the festival is a day for family.
The press conference was addressed by Swati Roy, M. Venkatesh (both festival director and co-founder of Bookaroo Children’s Literature Festival) and Dr. Kekhrie Yhome, Trustee and president, The Kohima Institute.
Bookaroo is a festival that celebrates books. Born in a bookshop in New Delhi in 2008, it has become India’s first festival of children’s literature.
Bookaroo is run by founders Swati Roy and M. Venkatesh, who set up Eureka, India’s first specialist children’s bookstore and Jo William, a former organizer, Red House Children’s Award in the UK.
The festival has traveled to many cities and has reached many school ever since.
Last year alone, Bookaroo was in six cities (Kuching in Malaysia, Bengaluru, Srinagar, Jaipur, Delhi and Mumbai). It has touched 45,000 children and their parents.
Additionally, ‘Bookaroo in the city,’ the outreach program that visits schools and institutions, has reached out to 7,000 children and 200 educators in 66 schools various cities.
Bookaroo is the proud recipient of the prestigious International Excellence Award for Festival of the Year in the 2017 London Book Fair.
Bookaroo aims at promoting the excitement and importance of literature locally, regionally and globally to encourage cultural exchange and dialogue on Education and development. Bookaroo strives to be inclusive and accessible.
The Kohima Institute, established in 2013, is a charitable trust and is engaged in teaching and research at the post graduate level, facilitating innovation and critical thinking in the north east India.
It organizes the annual International Hutton Lecture Series at Kohima, which brings together local scholars and international scholars for debating & diffusing knowledge. The Kohima Institute publishes world class quality books and research monographs through its Highlander Press (Kohima, Thimpu, Edinburgh).
