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INFINITY: Children’s Literature - 13 January 2021 - Chaucer’s Academy, Dept. of English

The Chaucer’s Academy, Department of English, had organized a guest lecture on 13 January 2021. The focal point of this guest lecture was to introduce the students to the various incarnations of children’s literature in India and globally. Ms.Vidya Mani, Founder and Editor at Melting Pot, an acclaimed publishing house was the resource person for the lecture programme. Vidya Mani is a children's writer and editor, who wears many hats. She runs a content and design studio called Melting Pot that creates children's books and magazines for publishers and NGOs. She is one of the founders of Funky Rainbow, an independent bookshop and book consultancy that specialises in promoting Indian children's books in interesting ways. Ms.Vidya captured the attention of the audience and introduced them to the importance of children’s literature for the millennial. She shared her hands-on experience and her association with literature of the same genre since many years.

Ms. Vidya made known to us the world-famous literary figures of this genre. She also elucidated the difference between children’s literature and young-adult literature. Ms. Vidya chronologically sketched the evolving of publishing houses at a national level in India. Though India has a very rich and ancient tradition of story-telling, this genre of literature was not well documented. Ms.Vidya acquainted the audience with an array of writers like who are pioneers in children’s and young adult literature. The journey of NBT was discussed in detail by the resource person and she explored various picture books that were published in many Indian languages. She briefed about the native voices in these publications, trying to capture the essence of nationhood and spread the message of Indianness in the young minds. As the session progressed towards, the question and answer session was initiated and the interaction was a fruitful one.