A fortnight ago, the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat Tulasi Maddineni had been to a book reading by a Kannada writer at a government school near Pilikula Nisargadhama. It took her back to her school days when she used to attend many such sessions. “The story narrated the other day still remains fresh and I can narrate it now too,” recalled Ms. Maddineni. “If this is the impact on me, imagine the effect on those children.”
The session held at the school near Pilikula Nisargadhama was the first in a series of initiatives taken up by Ms. Maddineni to inculcate reading among children.
Ms. Maddineni felt that children now were too involved in their textbooks and there was less scope for nurturing one’s creative self. Story-telling and reading books open up the minds of children and prompts them to read books.
Ms. Maddineni has asked writer B.M. Rohini and other women writers from Karavali Lekhakiyara Vachakiyara Sangha to have book reading sessions in government schools near their houses.
“These sessions will be held at the time that is convenient to the author and the school,” Ms. Maddineni. The writer can read any story of her choice or from the books available in the school. Students from primary classes will be attending the session.
Ms. Rohini, who is known for her oratory skills, said she had held as many as four programmes. “I am happy to see story books in the hands of children.” Not only reading, Ms. Rohini said they also enact stories and also make students perform. “I have so far preferred to tell stories from Panje Mangesha Rao that children like a lot.”
Ms. Rohini said so far as many as 150 writers have been involved. Despite the refusal by headmasters of few schools to have the programme in the absence of a direction by the Department of Public Instruction, Ms. Rohini said there has been good response. “A private school in Puttur has sought for a session in their school.”
Chief librarian of the district, C.J. Venkatesha said the department has taken steps to provide books from the gram panchayat libraries for students of the schools in their vicinity. They would also be getting 50,000 children’s books printed by Pratham Publishers, which has been popular.
