The group of Swatantra Theatre who will be performing at Vizag Junior Literary Fest.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Watch the folklore of Raja Vikramaditya from the Betal Pachisi unfold on stage; blast off into the cosmos with Taranauts — the brave space travellers; meet Bhura — a whimsical cloud with a personality as vast as the sky; craft puppets and weave tales from personal memories. This weekend, the Vizag Junior Literary Fest (VJLF) promises an enchanting experience for young minds, as children’s authors, storytellers, theatre groups and illustrators weave tales of adventure, friendship and imagination at the two-day event to be held on November 23 and 24 at Hawa Mahal in Visakhapatnam.
Bongiswa from South Africa
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Organised by the Lit Lantern Culture and Literature Welfare Society, VJLF will host 19 authors, storytellers, illustrators and artistes from across India and South Africa. More than 80 sessions will be conducted for children in the age group of four to 16 spread over the two days. The speakers include Ashok Rajagopalan, Ruta Vyas, Roopa Pai, Savio Mascarenhas, Jeeva Raghunath, Kapil Pandey, storyteller Bongiswa from South Africa, the teams of Bhoomika and Swatantra theatre groups, among others.
Storyteller Jeeva Raghunathan
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Special Arrangement
The fest is curated by festival directors Sonal Sarda, Priya Uppalapati and Sandhya Godey, founders of Lit Lantern Culture and Literature Welfare Society which is hosting this year’s VJLF on the theme of inclusivity and environmental awareness. “To help in supporting these ideas, we have invited authors like Archana Mohan who writes books on inclusivity and Bijal Vaccharajani, an author and climate champion. We hope sessions with these authors will inspire children and plant the seed of compassion towards others and the planet,” says Sonal.
What to look forward to
The fest has a mix of registered as well as open sessions. The festival directors recommend that parents and children participate in a mix of both, watch the storytellers perform outdoors as well as interact with the authors in indoor sessions. “The outdoor open sessions by performers will be entertaining and indoor registered sessions by authors and illustrators will provide a learning experience,” says Priya Uppalapati, adding that some of the sessions will be available for on-the-spot registrations.
Shreedevi Sunil who will be taking part at the Vizag Junior Literary Fest in Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Authors will delve into their creative journeys and share tips on storytelling, imagination and writing while storytellers will weave magical tales, inviting children to explore different cultures, values and adventures. Budding artists will have the chance to learn from illustrators, turning words into visual art.
Author Roopa Pai
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Parents can look forward to a panel discussion on raising resilient children in the face of challenges as well as a talk on modern day parenting. Authors Archana Mohan and Ramendra Kumar will be in discussion with psychiatrist Rekha Dutt where they will talk about how to identify and build resilience in a generation that has been largely sheltered by us. “We are seeing an increased fragility in kids in a rapidly evolving world. So we wanted to concentrate on getting stronger content to root them with an emphasis on empathy, environment and lots of conversations and talks around helping express emotions better, dealing with difficulties, connecting better with families and improving the emotional quotient,” adds Sonal.
The fest will feature performances by two theatre groups, Swatantra theatre that will be presenting the plays of Vikram and Betal and tales from Panchatantra and Bhoomika that will present an open session of Telugu storytelling.
“This year the festival will see Telugu storytellers performing in a unique way with three storytellers presenting sessions in synchrony. It will take us back to the olden days when travelling storytellers would visit town centres and enthral the residents with the power of synchronised storytelling,” explains Sonal.
Children will also have access to a curated book fair by Pages Book Store featuring works by participating authors and publishers. More than 2,500 titles from 500 authors will be displayed at the book corner, along with collectibles like badges, tote bags, luggage tags, puppets and book marks. Here, people will have book signing opportunities with the authors. “Books will be available from all the authors present at the fest along with an author meet-and-greet section at the exhibition stall,” says Sunil Nevatia of Pages Book Store.
“This is a great opportunity for children to experience the joy of having books autographed by authors. A personalised book makes it a special reason for the child to pick it up and read,” says Sandhya and adds, “This is more than a festival — it’s a celebration of the boundless potential of young minds.”
Published – November 21, 2024 09:35 pm IST