CCLF–2016: Uber Cool and Ultra Creative

Chandigarh Children’s Literature Festival

‘Sir, you mentioned that you were inspired by your father, did you get your humorous  genes also from him?’

‘I begin writing a story but am not able to complete it? What should I do?’

‘How important is good vocabulary to writing stories?’  

‘When do you get ideas for your stories?’

This was the friendly inquisition I faced during the story telling session at the Chandigarh Children’s Literature Festival held from 29^th to 31^st January. My quizzers were the participants, some as young as seven! The session commenced with yours truly narrating a rib tickling  tale  ‘By  a Whisker’ about a tigress  obsessed with her husband’s magnificent whiskers which leads to the latter falling in love with a donkey!  By the time the yarn was spun I had the kids singing and dancing with me.

The story of ‘Paplu the Giant’ was next on the cards. Paplu is a strange giant who does not like to fight with anyone, nor does he like scaring people. But when his beloved villagers are in danger, he rises to great heights to solve the problem. He displays the unique art of fighting without fighting.

A magic mantra, some insane mimicry and loads of irreverence had the kids rooting for more.

My day at CCLF commenced with a Creative Writing Workshop. Around 60 youngsters participated in the session. I discussed the various elements in a story and narrated a tale. I also discussed my latest book ‘The Perfect Match’ (published by Pratham Books) and what makes it so special to me.

After each of the sessions I was besieged by autograph hunters.

The kids were then divided into groups of five. They were asked to write a story on any of the two topics given to them. After the writing session, different groups presented their stories.

The yarns were amazing both in terms of imagination as well as language and structure.

I found the kids at CCLF truly outstanding with their irrepressible energy, infectious enthusiasm and sparkling creativity.  After each of the sessions I was besieged by autograph hunters with their slam books, copies, note pads and even copies of my books.

Half a dozen scribes were seeking an audience with me, but I did what is considered unthinkable for a PR professional – I made them wait while I kept my tryst with Innocence.

A little one pinned my ‘autograph’ to her chest and proudly displayed it.

A six year old came up and looking at me rather archly said, ‘Sir, you have become famous!’

The scribes, despite my peccadillo, published glowing reports on my sessions.

Hindustan Times wrote: “Author Ramendra Kumar enthralled  the children with his story telling skills.”

The Indian Express was equally appreciative:  “National award-winning writer Ramendra Kumar, who has 30 books to his credit, had the children dance, sing and listen to his experiences as a writer. The session was replete with humour and wit, as Kumar connected with the children on various aspects of writing and story-telling, and livened up the afternoon with anecdotes and excerpts from his books, one being ‘Paplu The Giant’…..

The other newspapers including The Times of India, The Tribune, Daily Post, Dainik Bhaskar, et al,  also were generous in their praise. …

I am on ‘Cloud 99’ and counting…

The print media was generous in its coverage of the Chandigarh Children’s Literature Festival

Effective Parenting; A New Paradigm is now available in Paperback on Amazon and Flipkart

More to read

Story Telling Session in Workshop on Effective Parenting

Creativity Unplugged

Building a Story

About the Author

Ramendra Kumar ( 117 Posts)

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships. His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year. Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer. Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy. An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books. Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many. His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
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