BENGALURU : Unlike usual school days, Pushpalatha A S, a Class-8 student of Government Model Primary School, Karithimmanahalli, found her lessons more interesting as she was a part of KathaVana, a children’s literary festival at Government Model Primary School, Hosahalli. Organised by Azim Premji Foundation, the festival included storytelling, poem reciting, author meets, theatre, etc.
“I learned new words. Everything was taught through stories or poems. It was different from regular classes,” said Pushpalatha. However, her favourite session was a theatre workshop by Ninasam theatre school from Shivamogga, where she learned navarasa, how animals behave and many more.
Being held for eight years, KathaVana focuses on government schools to develop a forum for students to enjoy literature through interactive and creative sessions. Prof Shailaja Menon, School of Education, Azim Premji University, said, “In 2012, there were no literature festivals for children in Bengaluru.
The few that were there nationwide were targeted mainly at middle-class children from an English-speaking background. Hence, we designed KathaVana melas, especially for government schoolchildren and teachers.” This year, the festival is being conducted on three days at three different government schools with the theme, ‘Rejuvenating Children’s Literature in Kannada.’
Shobitha Mahesh, a school teacher, said teachers are in a hurry to complete the syllabus and hardly get time for creative sessions. One of her students, Supriya A, agreed, “Interaction with author Mala Kumari was informative. She discussed the importance of following our dreams and how we can solve issues around us. We got the confidence that issues like garbage, water scarcity and plastic use can be eradicated.”KathaVana will be held on December 11 at Yediyur Government Primary School, Jayanagar, and on December 13 at Hebbagodi Government School, Electronics City.