CHENNAI: At Tulika bookstore in Alwarpet, around 15 children sat in rapt attention to Kriti Jayakumar, founder of the Red Elephant Project, as she read from the book Red by Sagar Kolwankar on International Day of Peace on Friday.
The book is a beautifully illustrated novel about a child in a war zone, and tells a poignant message to the children reading it. After the bombs land in his town, the protagonist takes his red kite, aptly called Red, and draws a smiley face on it with a prayer to end the war. Kolwankar explains a complex issue in a simple and touching manner for children in a way that they can grapple with it. Published by Tulika Books, Red costs Rs 200.
“These are images children can’t get away from, they are surrounded by the images on TV and social media. It’s not new. But they shouldn’t think of war as stories and games. We want to make a connect with children and make them think a little more. Books are a very good way of engaging children in an effortless and deliberate manner,” said Radhika Menon, publishing director, Tulika Books.
Jayakumar, who carefully analysed the book with the children, felt that they deserve to have answers to their questions, no matter how difficult the question may be or how young they are. “It’s how you introduce it. After the recent incident of the rape of an 11-year-old girl in the city, children have been asking what rape is. We need to have an answer and we cannot shame them into silence. It is important for them to understand that the world is made of both things, and that there can be no light without darkness. They can then grow out of privilege if they are acclimatised to such topics,” she said.
At the end of the reading, the children put up post-it notes on a red kite. ‘Things will get better and peace will come to your land’, wrote Samara. ‘I hope you and your friends are all alright’, wrote Cyrus. And Siddhu summed up everyone’s feelings when he wrote, ‘Who came up with the idea of war? Please ask all of them to stop.’
Child in a war zone
The book is a beautifully illustrated novel about a child in a war zone, and tells a poignant message to the children reading it. After the bombs land in his town, the protagonist takes his red kite, aptly called Red, and draws a smiley face on it with a prayer to end the war. Sagar Kolwankar explains a complex issue in a simple and touching manner for children in a way that they can grapple with it.