HYDERABAD: It is said that kids, from a young age, learn from seeing things around them. The abundance of books in their surroundings adds to this learning, helping them imagine freely. Manchi Pustakam — a registered public trust celebrating 20 years of publishing and promoting books primarily for children in Telugu — has been doing some amazing things. K Suresh and P Bhagyalakshmi, who run this place, feel that the true way a child learns is when we leave them alone with books and give them the freedom to imagine and create thoughts through the stories. CE speaks to the duo in a one-on-one interaction.
Starting with a passion to make people understand the value of Telugu storybooks for children, the couple has been in this service for more than two decades. “While this publication started in 2002, it was preceded by Bala Sahithi, which started in 1990. It has been 20 years for Manchi Pustakam as a registered publication but for us, it’s been a 35-year-long journey. Initially, when we started, it was all about a special organisation for children’s books in Telugu. I did this out of my interest but simultaneously, I was doing various other jobs. For 10-12 years, I gave all my time to Manchi Pustakam along with my wife,” Suresh shares.
Reflecting on how he got inspired to establish this organisat ion, Suresh shares, “It was because of another person named Subbaiah who was one of the trustees of Bala Sahithi. He wanted an organisation that focuses on children’s books in Telugu. At that time, Hyderabad Book Fair was running well. We tried to follow them and get a book club membership. We should take up certain activities that are not commercial and are close to our hearts, as our hobbies and promote them. These two main things helped us start a publication house as a trust.”
By choosing to promote Telugu and ensuring that these storybooks reach children, the organisation has made a mark in the industry. “The need for Telugu books was there. Until a particular time like the 80s, there were magazines, books and translations. I believe that in the 60s and 70s, all world literature was in Telugu in various publication houses. The houses focusing primarily on Telugu books were not there and that is the reason we stuck to the language,” Suresh informs.
Manchi Pustakam certainly has a long way to go with Suresh and Bhagyalakshmi enduring the issues that come along their way. Going down memory lane, these 20 long years encompass some happy moments as well. “This was possible due to the contribution of several people and organisations and not just one person. At every step, we collaborated with whoever was interested in this initiative. In 2002, our journey started with the Hyderabad Book Fair and it is still one of our major activities at Manchi Pustakam. There, our objective is to talk to parents and teachers. We show them our book collection and spark their interest in introducing these books to children. Some volunteers talk to the visitors about our books. Of course, sales happen but the main objective is to talk to parents and children,” Suresh explains.
A noble work never comes as a bed of roses. It isn’t a cakewalk, after all. Challenges are bound to be there in any given situation and so has been the case with Manchi Pustakam, where certain things were not that easy. “In 2002, when we started, we did not have any publication of our own. Slowly, we started as joint publications. Now, there are 383 books for children, exclusively from our publication. The journey has been great. The point here is that parents and teachers come together to choose books for children. We want to promote reading among kids and for them to fall in love with books. But the adults are mostly interested in teaching children some morals, values and life skills. Our major focus initially was on children’s books which are interesting for the child. The pictures should be attractive and the content should be fun. This was not an idea that was welcomed by many, even now if people write about us, they just say that we are doing great service by providing motivational stories, but for us, it is all about creating something for the child. The challenge was to create material for children that is interesting so that they can read our books and that is why, these are all storybooks,” Suresh stresses.
These days people have become more dependent on technology. Even when it comes to books, they just search for them on the internet or read an ebook to them. Reflecting on the same, Bagyalakshmi says, “We don’t suggest e-books. If the physical book is there, the child would take more time to look at the script, pictures and everything in the book. If they do not know the script, they look at the pictures and as many times they see the picture, they get into the little details. That wouldn’t be there when it is about e-books, the printed book should be available and within their reach.”
There are also instances when the couple witnessed an 18-month-old baby observe small details in the story through the pictures in the book which make these books interesting for kids like finding out a lizard under the bed in a surprising storybook.
Preserving the language and hoping that every child gets to read a Telugu book, Bhagyalakshmi says, “I would request parents to leave the child to select books. We have seen that in so many exhibitions, the parents buy the books. Parents are buying from their own perspective but not from the child’s perspective. If you leave a child, even a one-year-old kid would select an age-appropriate book, just by looking at them. You have to give the freedom to the child to take their books so that they can enjoy the book. Many parents feel that the child might tear the book and we might insist them to buy the book. But in our experience, no child has ever torn a book here. I tell parents that we are not going to insist on taking the book if the child tears it by mistake.”
Going forward with a zeal to open a child’s imagination through stories, Manchi Pustakam will continue to make undying efforts to preserve the culture of Telugu storybooks for children.