by Mohini Gupta

On the first day of a national lockdown in India, I launched my online poetry initiative for young readers, Mother Tongue Twisters (MTT). While I had been developing the idea since 2017, it was not until the world was forced to come to a halt thanks to a raging pandemic, that I finally put it out in the world. People had time on their hands, and were spending more time on the internet. What better time to talk languages, poetry, nostalgia and translation?

Once I launched MTT, I started noticing several multilingual initiatives by publishers, writers, translators and NGOs that were determined to keep young readers around the country engaged. Here are some of the outstanding virtual initiatives in South Asian kid lit that I have stumbled upon in the last few months, along with their distinctive “superpowers”:

10 Pages A Day Reading Journey – Bhutan

‘10 Pages A Day Reading Journey’ is an initiative of V-TOB (Teachers of Bhutan Volunteers) in partnership with Drukyul’s Literature Festival: Bhutan Echoes. The project has been inspired by His Majesty the King of Bhutan’s advice of reading 10 pages a day to cultivate a lifelong habit of reading. Their page boasts of a wide variety of readings in English and Dzongkha (#DzongkhaReading); the recent Great Bhutan Book Drive that encourages libraries to distribute books to remote parts of the country; virtual collaborative readings with over 4,000 participants; student reviews of children’s books; and a #MyReadingExperience lockdown video contest. Their hashtag is #wellreadBhutan and the initiative goes a long way in spreading awareness about Bhutanese authors amongst young readers across the country.

Superpower: Their tips for young readers on how to think, observe and question

Apalam Chapalam – India

Apalam Chapalam (a nonsense phrase taken from an old Hindi song) is a storytelling platform launched by the Indian NGO Leher, a child’s rights organisation. The aim of the platform is to invite readers, writers and actors to recite poems or stories in Hindi, which are then circulated to children in different parts of the country through their YouTube channel, in coordination with their community leaders. They have featured reading and original works by the likes of Jerry Pinto and Kalki Koechlin, and also post diverse content related to children’s literature from forgotten Indian language publications, translations of children’s books from around India and the world, and even analyse the representation of young children in cinema. 

Superpower: The beautifully designed reading experience on social media

Bookaroo, Festival of Children’s Literature – India

Bookaroo is a children’s literature festival that started in 2008, set up by Bookaroo Trust. Their journey started with setting up India’s first children’s bookstore Eureka in 2003. Their focus is to curate wonderful stories and workshops for children around the country—they even have Bookaroo in the City for children who may not be able to attend the festival. During the lockdown, they have started the Bookaroo Lithouse, where they host online sessions and workshops by writers, storytellers, illustrators from around the country. They have sections called Book Talks, Parent-Teacher Corner, Camps, Story Rooms, Writing Room and Art and Craft Room.

Superpower: Their masterclasses and upcoming workshops with the country’s most well-known artists 

Books for Asia, Asia Foundation – Bangladesh

The Asia Foundation launched a “Let’s Read” campaign under their Books for Asia project earlier this year. This project aims to translate and publisher over fifty books for children from diverse Asian languages into Bengali. They will then be uploaded on a free multilingual digital library for children here.

Superpower: The cross-translation between regional languages across Asia and easy online access through the digital library

Dial A Story –  Pratham Books – India

Pratham Books launched their digital initiative Storyweaver five years ago, they have now launched a new campaign titled ‘Missed Call Do, Kahaani Suno’ (Give us a missed call, and hear a story!). They are bucking the trend and providing access to multilingual stories published by Pratham Books for people who may not have access to the internet as well. Pratham Books in India’s leading non-profit that brings storybooks to children around India in their mother tongues. Pratham’s digital collection of stories, Storyweaver, boasts of an interface that is easy and dynamic–a picture book opens up on your screen like a book. Their collection contains over 25,000 stories in 267 languages. Their stories are themed around read-alouds, folktales and myths, family and friends, flashcards, or science and nature-related stories, amongst others. There is also a section where anyone can select a story to translate, along with tips for children’s translators towards the end of the page (“Do not translate pun and idioms that will not work in another language”). This is an absolutely free website, and seems ideal for a reading plan for young minds who are looking for fun reads especially during the lockdown!

Superpower: Easy access to storytelling through the phone! 

Ektara – India

Sushil Shukla, the director of the Bhopal-based Ektara India, has been working hard during the lockdown. They have organised multiple initiatives for young children reading in Hindi. In addition to launching e-version of their popular Hindi publications for children, Cycle and Pluto, and e-books under Jugnu Publications, they have been partnering with various foundations (Room to Read, Tata Trusts) and state governments (Rajasthan, Kerala) to launch engaging and informative content for children around the country. This includes the comic, ‘Children, Air and Corona: Who will win?’, launched by the government of India to spread awareness about the pandemic. Another initiative with the Rajasthan government includes “Hawamahal”, a project that hosts conversations, readings and documentary screenings in Hindi for children participating. They have also launched several videos in partnership with Tata Trust’s reading initiative Parag. Their social media page is full of fascinating stories, poems and even Hindi haikus to keep their followers engaged!

Superpower: Their focused commitment to producing high-quality content in Hindi and organising virtual initiatives with their readers on a regular basis

Kahaani Online – India

Kahaani Online is the digital avatar of the erstwhile Kahaani festival organised by Teamwork Arts India, the team that also organises the world largest literary festival, the Jaipur Literature Festival. Their partners include Pratham Books and and Save the Children foundation. Kahaani, or ‘story’, is a celebration of the oral storytelling tradition in the country, and focuses on live storytelling, recitations, readings and conversations with artists from around the country and world. Their website now features episodes, hosted by the Kahaani Owl who strings all the stories and activities together. The focus is on stories, theatre and puppetry, and promises an entire range of activities to keep young readers curious and involved through their curated series!

Superpower: Their mascot, the Kahaani Owl!

Karadi Tales – India

 

Karadi Tales is an independent children’s publisher based in Chennai, India, with a focus on picture books and audiobooks for young readers. Since its launch in 1996, they have been consistently producing exciting titles for children and young adults (their young adults initiative is called ‘Charkha’). They also have a special hand-made series for visually impaired children, in Braille and English, ‘Dreaming Fingers’. Their audiobooks are narrated by celebrities like award-winning actors Naseeruddin Shah and Nandita Das, and set to music by famous Indian classical musicians. During the lockdown, their social media pages have been going live with readers and musicians and artists regularly and have kept the enthusiasm going!

Superpower: Their musical takes on every story, along with Karadi the Bear!

Kiribath Books – Sri Lanka

Kiribath Books started as a response to the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, when over 300 people lost their lives in successive bombings in churches and luxury hotels around Sri Lanka in 2019. The founders Sasha Jayamah and Shari De Costa wrote a book When Bad Things Happen as a tool to help the children affected by the attacks, to help process the trauma. According to them, it is crucial for children to read relatable stories set in the local culture, with characters who look and speak like them. This led them on a journey to publishing more such books about difficult topics from dealing with parents’ domestic arguments (When Parents Argue) to income equalities. Their children’s books are available in English, Tamil and Sinhala, and can be bought online on The Design Collective website.

Superpower: Locally set stories that help children deal with difficult and complex emotions 

Storykit Channel – Pakistan

 

Founded by author-translator Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Storykit aims to “develop children’s engagement with books through interactive storytelling and games”. Their YouTube channel contains folktales and other stories recited in Urdu. One of their programmes is called ‘Kahaani se Kitab Tak’ (From a story to a book), and introduces young readers to the Urdu language, its local folklore and classical literature through age-appropriate books. This programme is also available at the Harvard South Asia Institute for Urdu learners of all ages, in order to learn the language through its rich literature. The channel has a host of stories retold by Farooqi, who is determined to bring alive the magic of storytelling in Urdu, and has created a wonderful resource for children to access even during the lockdown!

Superpower: The curated Urdu stories and age-wise programmes for children available on the Storykit channel

Talking Tales from Tulika – India

Tulika Books, one of India’s leading children’s publishers with a focus on translation, has launched a multilingual children’s podcast in partnership with Spotify India, produced by Asiaville. The weekly podcast is called “Talking Tales from Tulika” and will host stories, music and songs in English, Hindi and Tamil. This is a great opportunity for young people around the country to experience Tulika’s wonderful picture books in action.

Superpower: Tulika’s ability to publish every story in nine Indian languages at the same time!

Quixote’s Cove – Nepal

 

Quixote’s Cove is a bookshop in Nepal that also encourages the habit of reading within their local communities. During the lockdown, they have been hosting a number of virtual initiatives, language classes and read-alouds to keep their followers engaged. Some of their sessions include an upcoming course on “Mother Tongues: Classes in Nepal Bhasa”, a discussion on the social implications and history of gaming, regular Sunday sessions with famous musicians and storytellers, cross-border workshops with participants from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, a genre fiction writing workshop and other posts about issues like migration, gender and sexuality. Their aim is to encourage the youth to think creatively, critically and empathetically.

Superpower: Their focus on multilingualism and mother tongues for young readers