Atika Modassir (Oxon):
One of theabundant joys of childhood is a story. Not just the ones delightfully heard ina grandparent's telling or while drifting into dreams on a parent's shoulder.It also dwells in the tales little children spin, regaling in their flights offantasy. What happens when a child has the opportunity to make their own talecome alive, unfolding in the panorama of a storybook and the adults sit,listening in wonder? A light is lit- one that gives a new generation the powerto shape their own narrative. Storytelling passes on the torch of culturalmemory through generations and while most children have heard those chronicles,not all have had the opportunity to give them a voice that is their own. Voicesthat hail from every Goan village, with its myths and folklore, it’s heroes andvillains, its achievements and tragedies. One reason those voices are not asloud, lies in the fact that the literature most children have read ships them faraway to distant lands with exotic landscapes or magical boarding schools. So, whiletheir imagination flowers, it doesn’t always take root in the context theyflourish in- the multilingual neighbourhood chatter, the happenings in their villagesquare, or the games they play in the grove behind their school compound. Whenchildren cannot recognise the reflection of their own lives in the books they enjoy,somewhere deep down a notion takes shape- that the most exciting stories worthtelling, happen in another parallel world; one in which they have no role toplay. This is why Kalakriti II matters, as it echoes the hopeful voices ofchildren in Seraulim, Saligao, Aldona, Chimbel, Cacra, and Mala. Across 15immersive workshops conducted by the Communicare Trust (CT) and Bookwormlibraries, children not just conceptualised and wrote their own stories, but theyalso hand-bound their books. To widen the outreach, they included multilingualchildren from underserved backgrounds. Bookworm coordinator Sinead Vaz emphasisedthe workshops' role in reaching marginalised communities, giving children therare opportunity to find themselves represented in books. It is an experienceshe herself missed as a child, making the initiative especially meaningful toher. Kalakriti II stands out as an example of effective grassroots communitymentorship combining the efforts of the trust, library coordinators, and the children'sparents working alongside with the young authors.
Since the trusthas already published books written by children in Portugal, Mozambique andCabo Verde, I asked their manager Nalini Elvino de Sousa, whether the storiesemerging from Goa carried a distinctive cultural voice. "The storiesare totally different as they reflect their environment. Take, for example, thestory of Chandani, who could not cope with her studies. It centres around the roleof a counsellor in her life. These are real issues they incorporated into thestory." Compared with the books produced by children elsewhere, she foundthese children's stories grew out of their lived experience with a distinctlylocal imprint. Firmly rooted in everyday realities, their narratives grapplewith concerns closer home—seeing their rivers polluted, the hardships faced by theircommunity, litter left behind in their surroundings after picnics, and thestruggles they encounter at school. Even the illustrations, she observed; tendto be noticeably more vibrant than those in the other international publications,where palettes are more restrained.
Interested in looking at this through a child'sperspective, I asked one of the young authors, Punam Gawade a standard tenstudent, about what had excited her most about the project and what she hadfound most difficult. Her excitement palpable, she said “what seemedimpossible at first, has happened!! Now I know that I can write a book and so Iwill write more in the future! I have learnt that writing is not just aboutwords, it is about our thoughts, our emotions and imagination. At first, I didnot believe that I can be an author but with guidance I am seeing that I canlearn anything. At first, working together like this in a team was confusing withso many of us writing the story together, but I learnt to work with the otherchildren, the teachers and the rest”. She went on to gleefully inform me “Youknow in my story, I put in my real life enemy in what I see happening around me!”.Hearing the resonance of her newfound confidence, I wondered what fears she hadneeded to overcome to get to this point and asked her- was it vocabulary? Shelooked me straight in the eye and whispered- “I was worried- Hai konak zai?Who will be interested in reading my book?!”
Before I left the library, I asked Nalini whatthe children had taught her and she shared "to think outside the boxand not to be so rigid." They had taught me something as well – that whenchildren are trusted, they flourish. And isn’t that how a culture truly sustains?Not by simply repeating old stories, but by endowing the next generation with theconfidence to tell new stories, that are theirs.
