The Travelling literature Festival-Ghummakkad Narain hosted in Delhi from August 29 to 31 will arrive in Dehradun and Haridwar from September 2 to3.
Started in 2010 in the memory of Thakur Vishva Narain Singh under the aegis of UNESCO to support the Government of India’s Right to Education Act, the idea for the festival is to travel to children and areas where they do not have access to books and reading. The festival works with private as well as Government schools. Books are also donated to schools to start libraries where there are none.
The festival this year will feature international award winning writer and illustrator Emily Gravett along with Sherry Ashworth, Iris Feindt, other award winning Indian writers like Ranjit lal, Atanu Roy, Madhu Gurung, cartoonist Ajit Narayan and Ratna Manucha. In Dehradun the festival will be held at Jaswant Modern School and State Government schools while it will be held at the Whizzkid International School in Haridwar. The festival organiserm, Nivesh president Rachna Bisht said, “Ghummakkad Narain was started with UNESCO to promote reading among children and support their continued interest as young adults. Reading makes you thinkers and today more than ever we need a society that can think for itself especially youth.”
Festival director Prarthna Gahilote said, “The festival has managed to give a good shape to the simple idea of
‘possess your own library’ started by noted journalist and writer Thakur Vishva Narain Singh. Today the festival can claim to have sparked interest in reading among children who did not have access to books and supported the establishment of libraries in Government schools.