HYDERABAD: The cultural space, Lamakaan located in Banjara Hills, is always buzzing with activities. One such event was the launch of a new children’s book called ‘Akhlaaq with Haziqah’. The book is authored by Syed Shariq Ahmed and has 13 short stories which are aimed at making it easier for children to understand the concept of morality. Each of the 13 stories has a different moral. Each of these morals is an important attribute when it comes to the character-building of the children.
This book was launched as a birthday gift for the author’s daughter. Shariq said, “Though the stories are available as podcasts and blogs, I felt nothing is more impactful than a paperback hard copy.” Shariq, who runs his own startup company started writing and telling these stories so as to spend time with his daughter Haziqah. He later realised he enjoys it and went on to tell these stories on Zoom.
This led to them getting uploaded as podcasts on various audio streaming platforms such as Spotify, Google Podcasts and more. The book has been illustrated by Surya Nair who explained, “It was a very interesting project. Some characters were positive, wise and calm hence their features and clothes differed from the characters that were a little negative in nature. I enjoyed this project very much as it gave something that children could learn from.”
The event had two keynote speakers — Inayat Kazi, a life coach and social worker from Mumbai and Khaleeda Parveen, a social activist from Hyderabad — along with the author himself. The topics addressed revolved around the importance of inculcating the right values in children along with some parenting tips.
Inayat Kazi, a life coach and social worker from Mumbai spoke on ‘Raising Children in the Digital Era’. He threw light mainly on the cons of technology in a child’s life and how to avoid its adverse effects. Some of the cons mentioned were disconnection from real life, drop in concentration span, and withdrawal symptoms. Kazi very passionately encouraged parents to spend quality time with their children every day. He emphasised “Be what you want your children to be.”
Meanwhile, Khaleda Parveen spoke on ‘How fathers shape moral values in daughters.’ She spoke in length about the role a father plays in the life of his child, especially a daughter. She spoke about the various expectations from the father, his duties and more. The main takeaway from her address was “Appreciation always goes a long way. Make sure to appreciate them as much as you make sure to correct them when they are wrong.”
The event ended with the author signing some copies and merchandise and also with the announcement that these stories are now also being made as animated videos.