CHENNAI: A day before Children’s Day, a sea of bobbing purple balloons seemed to be making their way towards the new Hippocampus Children’s Library on Sunday morning. Then, a group of children, complete with a saxophone player at the helm, marched merrily towards what would be the city’s first model library for children. Chandni Khanna, Director of the library in Chennai said, “We designed this place to be fun with lots of books that have been imported from all over the world.”
Boasting over 12,000 titles, 500 video games, toys and even iPads, it wasn’t too long before the kids were nestled in, some flipping through new pages, and others exchanging excited murmurs about the upcoming magic show. Chandni explained, “We have quite a packed line up of activities for the kids this weekend - a magic show, jugglers and a book reading session by children’s author Roopa Pai.” She adds, “Depending on what kind of a reader you are - we have separate packages for featherweight readers, flyweight, middleweight and so on.”
It did come as a surprise to spot a seven-year-old Snow White, all dressed up for the part, although missing her dwarfs. “My name is Srilakshmi,” she introduced herself in a shy manner, “and my favourite book is Pinocchio.” No doubt, the Chennai version of the tale would do well to introduce a long-nosed dwarf for this reader’s delight. Priyanka Manbudri, a mother and a working professional said, “This is a good way to engage your child in something constructive.” She added, “It’s definitely a change from the usual trip to the mall or theatres these days.”
The highlight of the programme was the theatre play Step by Step (Schritt für Schritt ) by the theatre 3 hasen oben, as well as readings by the German fantasy author, Markus Heitz, from his fantasy saga, The Dwarves. The play will be staged at the Max Mueller Bhavan, Nungambakkam. Dr Stefan Weckbach, Consul General, German Consulate said, “In this modern age when reading habit in kids is dwindling by the hour, this is a great initiative to revive the joy of reading. It amounts to giving them a lifetime gift today.”
Comments
0 comment