BY: Ashaz Daud
Varanasi Children’s Literature Festival was held in Delhi Public School Varanasi on 26th and 27th November, 2022. DPS Varanasi is a school where facilitators and parents work in tandem to reach the pinnacle by motivating every child to develop inner potential and imbibe 21st century skills to succeed as a global citizen. VCLF is an initiative of DPS Varanasi that aims to promote the cardinal arts of literature, poetry and storytelling. It is a literature based event intended to stimulate and enthuse the younger generation with fascinating anecdotes from the world of literature. This VCLF aims to revive ancient Indian folktales, traditional storytelling artforms and to enliven the slowly diminishing fondness for literature in today’s youth.
Delhi Public School Varanasi proudly proclaims that Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, Professor and Departmental Head of Electronics in IIT, BHU graced the school grounds as the Chief Guest. Eminent storytellers, authors, poets and artists from all over India were invited to conduct interactive storytelling sessions and workshops with students, promising two days suffused with endless joy and learning. Among the highlights were Priyanka Chatterjee, our beloved ‘Golpodidi’; the winner of Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar Himanshu Bajpai aka ‘Modern Dastango’; Lalit Kumar Sharma, the creator of the superhero character Nagraj, Vikramjit Singh Rooprai, the founder of Heritageshaala and Prince Rajput, pioneer of the Adaakar Theatre Society and many others who beguiled the audience with their storytelling charisma and impeccable skills.
The campus of DPS Varanasi reverberated with storytelling sessions in different venues, each of which were set up in synch with beautiful themes and names like Kaath Bibi ki Kothi, Hansbolo Ka Haat, Kissa Kunj, Chhuttan ka Dera and Bal Chaupal.
The evergreen play “Panchlight” was also staged in the school after being lauded at the Nagari Natak Mandali and garnered significant appreciation for its comical plot and wonderful execution by the students of Delhi Public School Varanasi.
Besides storytelling plenaries, a variety of workshops were conducted to enhance and augment the skills of students. Workshops such as Rhymes and Rhythm, Creative Clan and Who am I? to name a few, amplified the knowledge and skills of students in Poetry, Writing and knowing oneself .
These workshops were conducted by experienced teachers and published authors of DPS Varanasi. A workshop on comic strip storytelling called ‘Funny Folks’ was also conducted by Lalit Kumar Sharma, an acclaimed artist known for his illustrious imagination.
One of the prime objectives of organizing VCLF was to provide a platform for students to enrich, comprehend and explore their passion. Thus, staged plays based on Anton Chekhov’s narratives and several competitions were programmed, creating an entertaining and spectacular feast for all spectators.
With such a surfeit of storytelling sessions, workshops and events being held simultaneously, VCLF 2022 was a ravishing delight and thumping success for all literature lovers
