“Confining women to certain parts of the house and restricting their movement while they are menstruating is also a form of un-touchability and this needs to stop,” says 14-year-old P Deepsri. She is the author of ‘Coming Of Age’ a story that talks about menstruation, taboos surrounding it, and what needs to change.
Her story is a part of the book Anaga Anaga in Andhra which was recently launched at the Vizag Junior Literary Fest. It is a compilation of 15 stories written by students of classes seven to 10 from various schools in Visakhapatnam . The book is the result of a short story competition that was held by the organisers of the festival.
Deepsri highlights the atrocities 11-old Sonia faces when she begins to menstruate.
“The first time a girl menstruates, the process is celebrated, but subsequently she is kept in isolation and her movements are restricted. Under the name of customs, women are made to suffer when they are already dealing with so much pain,” she says. Deepsri says that the idea for the story stems out of her own experience with menstruation and the customs related to it. Through this story, she hopes to improve the condition of thousands of young girls who are suffering for no fault of theirs. “Through questions and logical reasoning I was able to bring in a change in the mindset of my family. I hope that this story helps all the other girls who still go through the same,” she states.
Various facets of Andhra
The other stories deal with animal rights, dance forms, traditional food and Andhra cuisine, Nature and even spirituality.
The organisers received more than 1,000 entries from over 30 schools in and around Visakhapatnam. There were just two rules to qualify for the competition. First, the stories had to have some connection with Andhra Pradesh. Second, it had to be written within 1,000 words.
“Imagination, creativity and the subtlety with which they weave in some aspect of Andhra Pradesh were the parameters on which the stories were judged. We received a lot of essays that were merely a compilation of facts about the State. However, the ones with interesting plots made it to the book,” said Priya Gopalakrishnan, one of the festival directors.
While for some children, the competition was an outlet to showcase their knowledge about the State, many others researched and built their stories on the facts that they learnt. When 14-year-old Anjali Singh learnt that Lambasingi was the only place in South India to experience snowfall, her imagination went wild, quite literally. Based on this fact she built a fictional story, ‘Suruchi’s Wish’.
“ It is about a little girl Suruchi and her mother’s wish to see snowfall someday. Suruchi helps an old man and he grants her a wish. She immediately asks for snowfall and that is how the place experiences snowfall,” she said.
The stories flesh out different facets of Andhra Pradesh. Adding colours to these stories are the thoughtful illustrations by 10-year-old Anagh Sarda. “I spent over a month illustrating for the book. I read each of the stories and then picked up the best part of the narrative and illustrated it,” he says.
Imbibing culture
The book has been published by Bengaluru-based Timbuktoo publication. It is a part of their Timbuktoo Culture Chronicles where children are encouraged to write stories related to their culture.
“Through this initiative, we are trying to make children aware of their own culture. The authors learn about the practices and customs of their State while writing, the kids who read it will be educated through the stories,” says Aparna Raman, publisher of the book. The publication has brought out the Timbuktoo Cultural Chronicles in Goa, Coimbatore and Colombo.
The young authors
Anjali Singh, Navy Children School
B Mohit Raj, Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan
P Deepsri, Little Angels School
Keerthi Sahithya, Silver Oaks International
M S Samhita, Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar
Nidhiya Vineeth, Navy Children School
Nivaditha Nair, Little Angels School
P Varshitha, Kendriya Vidyala Malkapuram
R Sethuraman, Little Angels School
Sowmya Saluru, Delhi Public School
Raghu Devarakonda, Little Angels School
N Tanvi Vinayak, Timpany School (ICSE)
P Vamsi Krishna, SFS School
Sambana Samhita, Visakha Valley School
Sejal Dhurde, De Paul School
Illustrator- Anagh Sarda, Timpany School (ICSE)
To get a copy of the book, contact9849117400, 9866628484 or 9985122022
