Katharoo Fest, a storytelling festival for children, begins today

Katharoo Fest, a storytelling festival for children, will be held from August 29 to 31 at Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya Senior Secondary School in Mylapore.

The festival will open with an inaugural ceremony attended by Geeta Ramanujam, founder of Kathalaya — a training organisation for storytellers. She is also a storyteller and children’s book author. She will perform alongside Jeeva Raghunath, another well-known storyteller.

Play to be performed

A play titled Pippi Longstocking, based on the books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, will be performed as part of the evening celebrations. The play will be performed by a theatre troupe from Mysuru.

Prasiddhi Singh, a 13-year-old environmental activist, and founder of the Prasiddhi Forest Foundation, will be one of the guests of honour. Ms. Prasiddhi has led several tree-planting initiatives in Tamil Nadu.

Organised by KathaVriksh Trust, the festival promotes the habit of reading and the tradition of oral storytelling. The organisers hope to address the growing use of devices and its impact on attention spans in both children and adults.

The festival will continue on Saturday and Sunday. It will feature storytelling sessions for children and workshops for parents and teachers. Children who wish to tell stories must be registered by their parents.

Books stalls and traditional games

There will also be book stalls by Tulika Publishers and a display of traditional games hosted by Kreeda. Children will be able to try out these games on-site. The festival is ticketed and is open to the public.

For more information, contact Renu Narayan at kathavrikshtrust@gmail.com or call 98410 13108. To register, scan the QR code.