Vizag Junior Litfest (VJLF): Chilling with Children!

At the Vizag Junior Literary Fest 2024

Humour & horror, football & friendship, magic & masti and of course some impromptu grooving – all this and lots more made Vizag Junior Litfest (VJLF) a truly mind-blasting experience.

Held in the ‘City of Destiny’ on 23^rd & 24^th November the fest had some of the most popular names in the kidlit space unleashing their creativity.

I was requested to take a story telling session in Telugu (my first ever in the lyrical and lovely language which is my MIL tongue) for children with various disabilities. It turned out to be one of the most heartwarming and fulfilling events I have ever conducted. The connect with the truly special children was instant and seamless.

I am still basking in the glow of  those endearing moments which have morphed into eternal memories.

Time for story telling

I am sharing the  feedback from Kavya and Priya who actually ‘manifested’ the event. Kavya, is  visually impaired architect by profession’ and  is doing awesome work in the field of disability while Priya is one of the key members of Team VJLF.

“It was such a pleasure meeting and interacting with you at the Vizag Lit Fest. When I initially pitched the idea to Priya and explored ways to conduct a Telugu session that would be inclusive of children with various disabilities and accessible to them at the same time, I was a bit sceptical about the outcome. But being present and witnessing the children reciprocate with you filled my heart and made it all so worthwhile.

I want to personally thank you for being so energetically accommodating throughout the session. Here’s to many more meaningful endeavors that touch even more hearts! ♥️” – Kavya

“You were amazing with the children! You have truly created such special memories for these special children!”  – Priya

Ramendra Kumar with children, holding up Shriek and Other Spooky Tales

My session on my book Shriek and Other Spooky Tales was choc-a-bloc full and ended with the young Turks trying to spook me.

I spun yarns in a couple of other sessions for different age groups and the response was awesome. The ‘autobiography’ of my guppy (grown up puppy) Aryan (The Canine Chronicles) in particular enthralled the kids.

I also participated in a panel discussion for parents quoting liberally from my book Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm.

The curtains came down with my dil indulging in some unalloyed badtameezi on stage.

Dancing to Natu Natu with the children

I received a rapturous response from the huge audience and fellow yarn spinners with a few of them joining me and setting the stage on fire.

Gratitude to Team VJLF for creating indelible moments that have morphed into endearing memories.

Enjoying with the young bookworms

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About the Author

Ramendra Kumar ( 118 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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