Report on the International Literacy Day celebration at Puttenahalli Lake with PNLIT, Snehadhara Foundation and Pratham Books

Magical lands, extraordinary castles, quaint country roads, powerful heroes, ferocious beasts,  angelic fairies and more are all possible in the realm of stories and storytelling. And to bring this to life today ( Sep 9th) , Snehadhara Foundation was at Puttenahalli Lake for the 'One Day One Story' event organised in collaboration with PNLIT and Pratham Books to celebrate the International Literacy Day, marking our 10th year of this event together.

Children, parents, passerbys and all joined us at the beautiful gazebo nestled at the corner of the Puttenahalli lake. The calm waters, serene green scapes with quacking ducks and chirping birds would be our home for an hour of storytelling with drama, song, dance and play. Two beautiful stories were showcased this year Hakeem's Hiccups and Hello Sun. From the Hakeem plagued with a case of the never ending hiccups to the little boy's endless bright sunny smiles, the Snehadhara team enlivened the pages of the storybook and drew the audience into their world.

The adorable audience of little tots and big tots experienced their own transformation as hesitant "hello-s" turned to tentative imitations and the end, any inhibitions seemed to fly away as full blown cheers with initiatives to call out, sing, dance and hop along with people they had met just a few minutes ago! This space that drew them all in led to them opening up to each other, coming together in such seamless ways marking a new experience of inclusion through the arts.

Here's a peak at the absolute magic at the lake today!

Write up credits: Vibha Bhat

Sharing the FB album link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=SnehadharaFoundation&set=a.702433938579283

Photo credits - Ramu

Event report : International Literacy Day

Sharing below the Facebook album link for event report and two video compilations of the stories narrated and acted by team members of Snehadhara.

FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=SnehadharaFoundation&set=a.6296043933744457

Croak: https://youtu.be/vYC4ACzIe7Q

Beauty is Missing: https://youtu.be/0tOzGPZxATw

Warmly,

-Sapana

PNLIT Events Coordinator

Celebrate International Literacy Day with PNLIT, Snehadhara Foundation and Pratham Books

We will be celebrating the International Literacy Day with Snehadhara Foundation and Pratham Books by hosting an interactive online storytelling session for children. Event details are attached below.

This year the selected storybooks are Croak written by Kavitha Punniyamurthi and illustrated by Ekta Bharti and Beauty is Missing written and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan.

Entry is free but registration is a must! 

So do register here - https://forms.gle/kRToCy8iXVZpq2ZCA

The registered email ids will get Zoom meeting ID closer to the date. For any queries, contact pnlit.events@gmail.com.

Warmly,
Sapana

PNLIT Events Coordinator

Celebrate International Literacy Day 2021

8th September 2021 - We will be celebrating the International Literacy Day with Snehadhara Foundation and Pratham Books by hosting an online interactive session for children aged 10 years and below. Event details are attached below.

Pratham Books' stories this year are Satya, Watch Out! written by Yamini Vijayan and illustrated by Vishnu M Nair for younger children, and Puchku Seeks a Song, a Level 3 book written by Deepanjana Pal and illustrated by Rajiv Eipe for older children.

Entry is free but registration is a must! 

So do register here - https://bit.ly/2Y9wW0T

The registered email ids will get Zoom meeting ID. For any queries, contact pnlit.events@gmail.com .

One Day, One Story 2019

Dreamy bed time stories are a norm, but a spirited, animated story telling session on a bright, temperate evening, by the lake, with a large gathering of children and adults can be as enjoyable.

One Day, One Story the annual book-reading of Pratham Books that celebrates International Literacy Day (8th September), was conducted at Puttenahalli Lake by PNLIT. It was a fun-filled evening of energetic story-telling by Sonali Sathaye and Vijaya Balasubramaniam, who peppered their narrative with music, improvisation and theatrics. There were two stories told - Gappu Can't Dance  written by Menaka Raman and illustrated by Krishna Chandan, and The Weightlifting Princess written by Sowmya Rajendran and illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta. Both are published by Pratham Books.

Vijaya set the pace rolling with a chugging railway song that set the children in energised motion to some snappy music, followed by an endearing story of adorable little Gappu and her foibles with dance steps. She just couldn’t get it right! Nobody is perfect!

Sonali kept the spirits soaring with an exceptional story of a princess who broke tropes and gender stereotypes with her passion for weight lifting! The young audience enthusiastically participated by flexing their muscles and lifting their friends, followed by more funky, lively music and feisty dancing.

Vijaya and Sonali tapped into the power of story-telling effectively, teaching us about life and ourselves and how humanity, equality, empathy and respect are important in relationships. No wonder they say that hearing a good story brings out the best in us! It was altogether an enjoyable, memorable evening.

- Vijayalakshmi, PNLIT volunteer

Pic credits - Nupur Jain

Celebrate International Literacy Day with PNLIT at the lake

One Day, One Story the annual storytelling campaign of Pratham Books that celebrates International Literacy Day is Double the fun this year! And like the past few years, PNLIT is a part of this program.

This year there are two titles selected for the story telling event. Gappu Can't Dance written by Menaka Raman and illustrated by Krishna Chandan, and The Weightlifting Princess written by Sowmya Rajendran and illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta.

Join an interactive storytelling session by Sonali Sathaye and Vijaya Balasubramaniam.

Venue - Gazebo, Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar 7th Phase, near MLR Convention Centre Brigade Millennium
Date & Time - 7th September (Saturday) 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Kindly assemble by 3:45 p.m.
Age group - 4 years and above
Entry is FREE

Register the participants by sending the details to pnlit.events@gmail.com. 

About the Storytellers
As an anthropologist, Sonali Sathaye sees theatre everywhere, including, most especially in the way we live our social lives. As a theatre practitioner, she seeks to share her enjoyment of this drama with children - so that they too may delight in the absurdity of the everyday.

Vijaya Balasubramaniam is a passionate dancer and loves to interact with children. Her passion for dance is superseded only by her love for greening this planet.

Looking forward to seeing you at the lake.
Please note that there will be no Family Fun Gardening Day at the lake on 7th September morning.


-Sapana
Event Co-ordinator PNLIT

Celebrate International Literacy Day with PNLIT at Puttenahalli Lake

'One Day, One Story' the annual storytelling campaign of Pratham Books that celebrates International Literacy Day is back! And like the past few years, PNLIT is a part of this program.

This year's chosen book is A Cloud of Trash (written by Karanjeet Kaur, and illustrated by Bhavana Vyas Vipparthi). It’s a story about a little girl called Cheekoo, who has a cloud of trash hanging over her head. This makes her very, very unhappy. Slowly she realizes what she needs to do to get rid of this trash!

Join in an interactive storytelling session by Surabhi Herur to follow Cheekoo's story.

Venue - Gazebo, Puttenahalli Lake
Date & Time - September 8th (Saturday) 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Kindly assemble by 3:45 p.m.
Age group - 5 years and above
Entry is FREE

About the Artist
Surabhi Jyotirmayee Herur is a theatre practitioner, filmmaker, facilitator and acting coach. With over fifty projects in drama and film, including hundreds of theatrical shows and many critically acclaimed performances to her credit, her expertise in the field comes from a keen observation of human behaviour and the diversity of experience that a career spanning the gamut of various forms of art and literature brings.

Looking forward to seeing you at the lake.

Celebrating International Literacy Day @ Puttenahalli Lake

Have you heard of an Elephant Bird? Yes, it sure did exist once. Don't believe us? Come find out about it for yourselves.

International Literacy Day is today, 8th September. However, PNLIT will be celebrating it on 17th September, with "The Elephant Bird" chosen for this year's 'One Day One Story' campaign by Pratham Books. This story, about a magical bird and a brave child, is written by Arefa Tehsin, illustrated by Sonal Goyal and Sumit Sakhuja, and published by Pratham Books.

We will have the wonderful team from Snehadhara Foundation with us to sing, dance and narrate the touching story of "The Elephant Bird". 

When: Saturday 17th September 2016 @ 4:00 p.m.
Where: Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar 7th Phase (near South City/ MLR Convention Centre, Brigade Millennium)
Entry: Free - All are welcome

How the Boy got his Drum at Puttenahalli Lake on 12th September

Thank god it didn't rain! We never thought we would say this but it was important that the early evening of Sat. 12th Sept remained nice and dry. "Keshavraju Thippaswamy" wanted a drum above everything else. Would he get it was the question in the minds of the 30 odd children who had gathered in the Gazebo at the Puttenahalli Lake in South Bengaluru. The occasion was a celebration, though a little delayed, of International Literacy Day with a story telling by Geetu and team from the Snehadhara Foundation in an event organized by PNLIT. As part of its One Day One Story campaign, Pratham Books had chosen the engaging tale of "The Boy and his drum" written by Umesh P N and illustrated by Rajiv Eipe.

Together with the Snehadhara team, PNLIT trustees and volunteers hung banners, spread durries on the floor and completed the arrangements for the fun to begin at 4.30 p.m.  But where were the kids? Except for the organizers' children, there were hardly any others! Once Geetu began the narration, however, children from the neighbourhood flocked in, their feet gathering speed when they heard the clapping, singing and loud laughter from the Gazebo. 

With Geetu and her friends becoming the characters in the play, no one in the slowly growing audience could remain aloof. Under the spell of the artists, they became Keshavraju, the cheerful, large hearted boy and his mother who gifts him with a piece of wood instead of the drum that he yearns for. The rapt audience became in turn the grandfather, the potter's wife, the washer man, the bridegroom and among others, even a horse all of whom he meets along the way. He gets his drum at last but the children and their parents didn't want the fun to end. The versatile artists obligingly led the group to sing a couple of songs together.

Literally shouting their thanks to Geetu and her friends and wishing that they get another opportunity soon, the children and their parents left with grins still plastered on their faces. 

For some the excitement of the story was heightened by walking around the lake and spotting birds before it became too dark. Six year old Niranjan resolved that he would come soon to see a bird's nest. If he also gets to hear Snehadhara tell another story, well, that would be the icing on his cake!

Here's hoping that for the next event at the lake, more children will join and that they will reach the venue on time. Punctuality is best taught in childhood!

Best regards

Usha

A Special Story Telling - Save the Day - 12th Sep 2015

Children and Parents,

Let's celebrate International Literacy Day with "The Boy and the Drum" an engaging folk tale chosen especially for this year's event by Pratham Books. This book is special because it can be performed either as a play or read as a story. 

With the talented Geetu and her Snehadhara team gearing up to tell the tale, we ourselves are agog to hear "The Boy and the Drum". Will it be a play? Will it be a story? Find out for yourselves on Saturday, 12th September 2015 at the Puttenahalli Lake from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Entry free. 

Best regards

Usha

Note: International Literacy Day is observed on 8th September every year, by the United Nations' member countries 

Literacy Day - Story time, Fun time!

PNLIT is happy to announce a unique story telling + activity event for children.

Let your children listen to TWO exciting stories:

The Generous Crow

Kaka and Munni. 

The story tellers are Nupur Aggarwal and Parvathi Om from the reputed The Storywallahs!
http://www.thestorywallahs.com/

And hey!! That's not all. Let your kids engage in delightful paper craft with our experts!

All this fun for only Rs.100 per child. Admission restricted to 50 kids only. 

Hurry! Register NOW! A free gift from PNLIT awaits your child!
To register, please sms Nupur 9886629769/ Sapana 9880554136 or email puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com.

Date: Saturday, 6th September, 2014

Time: 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Venue: Gazebo, Puttenahalli Lake

Occasion: International Literacy Day

One Day, One Story @ Our Lake, 7th September 2013

About the PNLIT Story Tellers: 

Surabhi is a theatre person with wide ranging experience who loves working with children. 

Sukanya loves to read and is a student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Std 9.

Priya teaches Carnatic classical music, believes that kids need a platform to showcase themselves and have fun.

Don't let your children miss this opportunity! Tell your kids to tell their friends. Let them all gather at Puttenahalli Lake on 7th September and be enthralled.

Planning for Story Telling Day on 7-Sep-2013

To celebrate International Literacy Day on 8th Sept., we would like to introduce children to the exciting world of reading with a story telling session at the lake. This is under the aegis of Pratham Books "One Day - One Story" initiative and will be held on Saturday 7th September 2013.

The story chosen this year is about Paplu, the little Giant who does not like to fight. His parents decide that he's unfit to be a giant so they shrink him and leave him in a village where he lives happily till....

Can you bring Paplu to life for our lil' kids? The book is available in five languages - English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Kannada. Choose your language. Please email asap <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>. Bring out the story teller in you, transport the children to another world! Volunteer. 

Plan to bring your children (age: 7+ ) to the lake on 7th Sept. Time will be intimated later. 

Usha