Getting children back to books in Chennai

CHENNAI: Even as children from the city have been spending months together at home, attending classes online, a group of authors has discovered a great opportunity in these times to make space for kids to read more, while replenishing the community of Tamil children's book writers across the world.
Earlier this week, writers Udayasankar, Sugumaran, Vizhiyan, Saalai Selvam and Prabhu Rajendran, came together to launch Tamil Nadu Children Writers Artists' Association, an umbrella body that aims to bring together the literary and artistic community to revive the patronage for children's books in Tamil.
"In the 1950s, veteran writer Azha Valiappa ran the Kuzhanthai Ezhuthalar Sangam (Children's Writers' Association), which held regular workshops, storytelling sessions and training for up-and-coming writers. But after that body was dismantled, there hasn’t been a concrete effort to revive this field," says Vizhiyan, secretary of the Association. The group, which is planning to bring together established as well as novice writers of Tamil children's literature, has already received more than 350 applications from around the world, says Vizhiyan.
Besides conducting regular workshops for writers and storytellers, members of the Association plan to get in touch with the State department of education to help with resources to get important children's literature from foreign countries translated into Tamil, and likewise. They also plan to push for book-reading sessions in between classes, allotment of children's Tamil books to district libraries and inclusion of rich Tamil literature in bridge courses for children.
Udhayasankar who comes with a rich experience in writing and translation, has been appointed the president of the association. "We want to strengthen the unity of writers in the field to explore dynamic ways to reach children and nurture their interest in reading books," he says.