Pratham Books Champions : Sujatha Ratnala and Vikram Gakhar

This story was sent to us by Sujatha Ratnala about the storytelling session conducted by her and Vikram Gakhar.

Sujatha writes about their experience on her blog.

Narration of "महाकायः पप्लुः"

Just a week before the event, the editor of Pratham Books contacted us if we could translate "Paplu, the Giant" in Sanskrit and conduct the event. This was for celebration of International Literacy Day by means of Story telling in different languages in India. There were more than 1000 volunteers. For the first time, it was to be conducted in Sanskrit.

I always believe that story telling is an effective way of engaging with kids, be it Fables or Internet of Things or Technology. It creates a lively atmosphere and transports the collective young thoughts into a realm of imagination. I am hopeful that interest in Sanskrit could be revived in Children through Story Telling, Audio Books and interactive Visuals. 

Vikram Ghakar, who is an avid student, reader and writer in Sanskrit has volunteered for the translation. By the language constructs, interestingly there were various choices for the word "Giant". "Mahakaya" sounded perfect in comparison with "Rakshasa" and "Daitya" which typically referred to a kind of people.

We had 2 story telling events, one in an Art school and another at my apartment. Not many kids had prior exposure in Sanskrit. We had a small discussion and quizzing about Sanskrit and its significance. Finally the much awaited narration began

"Paplu the Giant " "महाकायः पप्लुः "

Synopsis

विरलः महाकायः असीत् पप्लुः। सः कलहं कर्तुं न इच्छति स्म, न च कमपि

भाययितुम्। किन्तु प्रियग्रामीणेषु सङ्कटे आपतिते तेन कष्टनिवारणाय महान्

यत्नः कृतः।

Each page was narrated in English and rephrased in simple Sanskrit verses. Usage of puppets and TV for projecting images in the book made it a lively show. 

I had displayed my huge personal collection of Pratham books. After the show, children were eagerly flipping through the colourful pages in the book. 

One of the kid was comparing Paplu with the noble lion in "Chronicles of Nora" which was screened the same day. "Paplu is such a nice Giant. He did not use his power to defeat normal creatures. He only helped them". Good to see the message reach the kids.

Looking forward for further sessions with Pratham Books and spreading the joy of Story Telling and igniting young minds in Sanskrit.

प्रथमपुस्तककथावाचनं संस्कृते प्रथमवारम्

गतरविवासरे विश्वसाक्षरतादिवसः आसीत्। एतस्मिन् अवसरे Pratham Books इति बालपुस्तकप्रकाशनसंस्थया कथावाचनकार्यक्रमः अनुष्ठितः। उपसहस्र स्वयंसेवकाः आभारतं गृहविद्यालयादिषु बालान् समाहूय तान् विविधासु भाषासु कथां श्रावितवन्तः। एतस्य वर्षस्य कथायाः आङ्ग्लनाम आसीत् ’Paplu, the Giant’। संस्कृतभाषया कथाश्रावणम् एकया एव स्वयंसेविकया कृतम्, तन्नाम सुजातारत्नला। तया बेङ्गळूरनगरस्य तिप्पसन्द्रप्रदेशे ग्लोबार्ट्‌-चित्रकलाविद्यालये, स्वगृहे च संस्कृतेन, आङ्ग्लभाषया च कथा श्राविता। समयस्य अभावात् एतस्मिन् वर्षे संस्कृते कथायाः अनुवादः पूर्णः न कृतः आसीत्, अतः कथा सङ्क्षेपेण श्राविता। आगामिनः वर्षात् आरभ्य पूर्णां कथां संस्कृते अनूद्य अनेकेषु स्थलेषु श्रावयिष्यामः इति निश्चयः।

 

Thank you Sujatha and Vikram for spreading the joy of reading!

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This International Literacy Day, Pratham Books has taken a 1000 steps towards a 'Reading India'

What started as a small step by Pratham Books to spread the joy of reading has become a movement. Last year Pratham Books initiated the One Day-One Story initiative on the occasion of International Literacy Day and we conducted over 250 storytelling sessions. This year we are delighted that over a 1000 sessions are happening across the length and breadth of the country.We will be sharing the stories of all our champions through our blog.

View more pictures from the International Literacy Day Celebrations.

This blog contains stories sent in by all our champions. Browse through the blog for more stories. You can also go through the tags on the right side of the blog to find stories happening in your own city.

Note : If any of you want to be a Pratham Books Champion and join us on our journey of getting 'a book in every child's hand', write to us at web(at)prathambooks(dot)org.