Children | Literature | Fun or C | L | F has in store plenty of activities for kids of all ages and parents are most welcome to join and watch!
Note:
- Please register for the C | L | F sessions using the form provided on this page.
- Workshops have limited seats and are on a first-come-first-served basis.
Day 1 | Sat | 28 Oct
Fly your Own Kite
Leela Broome (6-10y)
The little Red Kite plays a crucial part in the Leela Gour Broome’s RED KITE ADVENTURE. The interactive session will involve a brief introduction to the book, a discussion on kites and then Leela will help the to the children making a kite.
Leela Broome
Bio
An accomplished pianist, she has decades of experience working with children. In 1990 she and her husband launched one of the first residential nature and environment education camps for children in India and became role models for several camp groups across the country. They are active environment conservationists and their beautiful farm is a haven for resident and migratory birds, some animals, past campers, instructors and their families! Her two books Flute in the Forest, for YA and Red Kite Adventure for 10+ have been published. She loves reading, conducting sessions at schools and book-related events at Lit Fests. She is an active member of a Book Club, enjoys cracking-up time with her three grandchildren, nature, gardening, craft, travel, and photography.
Calling All World-Conquering Teenagers (and Almost-Teenagers)!
Roopa Pai (10y+)
Want to be part of an elite international secret organisation of cool, confident, world-conquering young people who call themselves the WoCoTeens? Of COURSE you do! It isn’t easy, though – you need to master the 99 essential skills and crack the 99 tough challenges listed in the WoCoTeen recruitment manual Ready! Come and get the lowdown from its award-winning author Roopa Pai.
Roopa Pai
Bio
Roopa Pai is one of India’s best-known writers for children. This computer engineer-turned-author has written over 35 books, ranging from picture books to chapter books and fiction to non-fiction, on themes as varied as sci-fi fantasy, popular science, maths, history, economics, Indian philosophy, life skills, medicine and memoir. Many of her books are bestsellers and are enjoyed as much by adults as by children.
Her best-known books include the 8-part Taranauts, India’s first fantasy-adventure series for children in English, Ready! 99 Must-Have Skills For The World-Conquering Teenager (And Almost-Teenager), the award-winning national bestseller The Gita For Children, listed by Amazon India as one of ‘100 Indian Books To Read In A Lifetime’, and So You Want To Know About Economics, a fun introduction to the subject for the young. Her most recent books are The Yoga Sutras for Children, Let’s Talk About Trees, published by WWF India, and Krishna Deva Raya, King of Kings.
Roopa is also a popular speaker – she has spoken at a variety of corporate forums, premier literary events like the Jaipur Literature Festival, international cultural organisations like the Asia Society in New York (at the invitation of the Consul General of India), and international Gita conferences. Her TEDx talk ‘Decoding The Gita, India’s Book Of Answers’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckaEwJj2A1U – has received over 2 million views to date. She runs short courses online, on the Gita and other ancient Indian texts, for children and adults in India, the UK, and the USA.
Among her books for adults are an award-winning memoir, Made in India, with Indian fitness evangelist and supermodel Milind Soman, and two books on her hometown – Cubbon Park: The Green Heart of Bengaluru, the first-ever history of the city’s iconic 154-year-old park, and Becoming Bangalore: Stories that shaped a hometown, published in January 2025. She has also translated 100 poems of the celebrated Kannada poet, Padma Shri K S Nisar Ahmed, into English. The collection – Every Day A Celebration – will be published in early 2026.
When she is not writing, Roopa leads groups of children and young people on history and heritage walks across her beloved Bangalore and Karnataka, as part of her job as director of a company she co-founded, BangaloreWalks (www.bangalorewalks.com). She also curates Bangalore-specific public talks and events at the community space she manages, The Bangalore Room.
Grrr Grr! Time to Write a Wildlife Poem
Bijal Vachcharajani (8y+)
Sharpen your pencils, pick up your notepads, it’s time to learn about India’s wildlife and become a wildlife poet.
A book reading along with a marathon wildlife poetry writing session. The author reads from her book. This is followed by a showcase of Indian wildlife photographs taken by Radha Rangarajan of Nature InFocus. Children are divided into groups, and alongside each photograph, they write a two- line poem describing the image. At the end of the slideshow, each group would have written an entire poem. Students come up with fun rhymes, witty limericks, exquisite phrases, and learn about the natural history of each animal as well.
Bijal Vachharajani
Bio
When Bijal Vachharajani is not reading a children’s book, she’s writing or editing one. She’s the author of multiple planet-friendly books including A Cloud Called Bhura, Savi and the Memory Keeper – both of which won the Auther Award, and When Fairyland Lost Its Magic, which won the Kalinga Award. One of India’s first climate fiction writers for children, she’s a commissioning editor at Pratham Books, where she focuses on picture books that celebrate diversity. Her climate writing has been published in India, the US, the UK, and Brazil.
Tiger, Tiger
Anjana Basu with Sundeep Bhutoria (7y+)
Anjana Basu discusses her latest t book ‘Eighteen Tides and a Tiger’ which has just been published by TERI and continues her work on tiger conservation for children – set in the Sunderbans, which has its own uniquely difficult conservation problems. In conversation with Sundeep Bhutoria.
Anjana Basu
Bio
Born in Allahabad, schooled for a time in the UK, Anjana Basu has to date published 7 novels and 2 books of poetry. The BBC has broadcast one of her short stories. In 2004, she was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship in Scotland where she worked on her second novel, Black Tongue published by Roli in 2007. She began writing for children in 2010 when Roli brought out Chinku and the Wolfboy. Her Jim Corbett series for TERI dealing with big cat conservation for children began in 2013 with In the SHadow of the Leaves, Leopard in the Laboratory in 2016 and Eighteen Tides and a Tiger published in June 2017. Her byline has appeared in Vogue India, Conde Nast Traveller, Hindu, Outlook and Outlook Traveller. She has worked on the dialogues for the Amitabh Bachchan starrer The Last Lear directed by Rituparno Ghosh. Anjana Basu lives and works as an advertising consultant in Calcutta.
Sundeep Bhutoria
Bio
Sundeep Bhutoria born in Churu, Rajasthan, and based in Kolkata, has dedicated over 25 years to welfare, international cultural cooperation, and the promotion and preservation of Indian arts. As the managing trustee of the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, he oversees social and cultural activities in around 60 cities. He also champions education through various projects and holds key roles in several organisations. A columnist and author, Bhutoria is passionate about the environment, education, and wildlife conservation.
The Teen Who Writes
Vishwesh Desai with Aparajitha Sankar
A 16-year-old with a fierce passion for reading and writing, the publication of his short stories in the Estrade magazine and the 2015 edition of the ‘I CAN’ book preceded the completion of his debut novel, “Shadows of the Northlands”, a fantasy fiction, which also just happens to be the fourth one he started. Vishwesh was thirteen when he began writing “Shadows of the Northlands” and fourteen when it was published.
Vishwesh chats with Aparajitha Sankar on what it takes to write when your in your teens. Aparajitha, a class 12 student enjoys reading everything from graphic novels to gothic romance and lists Daphne Du Maurier and PG Wodehouse as her creative inspirations.
Vishwesh Desai
Bio
About the Author
Vishwesh Desai was born and raised in Ahmedabad, India, a hardcore Gujju who shares the infamous Gujarati sweet tooth.
A 16-year- old with a fierce passion for reading and writing, the publication of his short stories in the Estrade magazine and the 2015 edition of the ‘I CAN’ book preceded the completion of his debut novel, “Shadows of the Northlands”, a fantasy fiction, which also just happens to be the fourth one he started. Vishwesh was thirteen when he began writing “Shadows of the Northlands” and fourteen when it was published.
“Shadows of the Northlands” was in the Crossword Top 10 list soon after its launch in Ahmedabad and continues to be very well received among readers.
Vishwesh has been awarded the ‘Rana Kapoor Young Talent Award 2016’ by Kumaon Literary Festival, Yes Bank and Yes Institute in October 2016.
His creative streak extends to painting and sketching, and he has a few art exhibitions under his belt. In his spare time, Vishwesh has worked with NGOs such as Akshaya Patra, Prabhat, Seva Café, Heal and Blind Peoples Association. Currently he is working on a drive to help build libraries for underprivileged children and on a writing workshop to mentor middle school children for creative writing.
Vishwesh lives with his family in Ahmedabad, India.
Launch and Events
“Shadows of the Northlands”, published by Estrade Publishers LLP, was soft-launched at the Hyderabad Literary Festival in January 2016, and was released at Crossword Ahmedabad, on May 22, 2016 by noted author Ms. Raksha Bharadia and Ms Priyanshi Patel, Founder, Ahmedabad Book Club. It is available on Amazon.in and bookstores all over India.
The Bangalore launch was held on July 24th, 2016 and the reading was done by renowned award-winning author Ms. Shinie Antony, at the famous Atta Gallatta book store.
Vishwesh has been invited to several literary platforms as a speaker. Notably, the Ahmedabad National Book Fair in May 2016, Kumaon Literary Festival in October 2016, the Ahmedabad International Literature Festival in November 2016 and the Gujarat Literature Festival in December 2016.
For more information you can visit his website www.vishweshdesai.com or his Facebook Page Vishwesh Desai.
The Book
“Shadows of the Northlands” is a fantasy fiction novel full of suspenseful action and snappy humour, which was in the Top Ten List at Crossword in the months following its launch.
The book has been endorsed by Mr. Mainak Dhar (bestselling author of the “Alice in Deadland” series and many more) and contains a foreword by Mr. Ashok Banker (whose bestselling books are too many to count).
Book Summary
This is the Empire. The greatest nation in the known world.
And it is at war.
When the Crown Prince hears about cities and villages attacked and razed to the ground, the land blackened and left infertile, the already shackled military commands the maverick bounty-hunter Merin and the slick courtier mage Rikkard to find the root of the destruction.
However, as they tackle this mystery, they discover an ancient hatred spanning centuries, with a dark secret linked to Merin and the painful past behind the satirizing cavalier. A swashbuckling tale of suspenseful fantasy and horrifying mystery that is loaded with humor, The Shadows of Northlands will leave you riveted from cover to cover.
Testimonials
“Shadows of the Northlands is a fun, exciting, imaginative, rambunctious romp through vividly realized worlds with fascinating characters. It has more adventure and excitement than most other books in the mytho, fantasy, adventure genres published in India today by most well-known authors. Vishwesh Desai is an author because that’s what he was born to do. He’s a born writer.”
– Ashok Banker, Internationally acclaimed bestselling author of the ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ series
“Writing a work of fantasy is a challenge for the most accomplished of authors, as it involves not only the craftsmanship that goes into any novel, but the leap of imagination needed to create a totally different world, populated by its own heroes and villains, and with its own history, society and tensions. Shadows of the Northlands is an exceptionally well crafted novel, sucking the reader into a richly woven alternate universe of the city of Salidar with its protectors and the evil Crime Cartel, full of magic and action, and with detailed insights into its society and religion. All ingredients for a fantasy novel that is a delight to read not just for its fast paced action, but for the immersive nature of the world it creates. The fact that this has all been done by a fourteen-year- old blows one’s mind, and points to the prodigious talent that Vishwesh Desai is. As his debut novel, one can only hope he writes many, many more, for this marks the beginning of what could be a writing
career which will keep millions of fans entertained.”
– Mainak Dhar, Bestselling author of the ‘Alice in Deadland’ series
Aparajitha Sankar
Bio
Aparajitha is currently a student of English at the University of Calgary. She enjoys anything related to literature and art and has been a part of the organising committee for the Bengaluru Poetry festival and Kovai Bookalatta. She enjoys combining her love for reading and writing through film, drama and special effects makeup.
Storytelling Master Mind
Aparna Athreya (5y+)
An exciting story master mind quiz about the greatest fairytales ever. The quiz is going to be child-friendly, creative, super-energetic and loads of fun and prizes to be won!
What more – you will also listen to the world’s best story ever!
Aparna Athreya
Bio
Aparna Athreya grew up in a family filled with crazy and wild stories. She grew up and became a software engineer for many years but the stories really never went away, they just kept piling up. When the stories became too many to enjoy all alone, she became a storyteller and started to share stories with the world. She uses the power of stories in teaching mathematics, science, lifeskills and to train corporates. Her motto: “Never let the child in you grow up”
Chit-Chat with Jumbo
Anil Kumble (8y-16y)
The world famous cricketer, also know as Jumbo talks to children on his love for wildlife, nature and his famous books he read when he grew up.
Anil Kumble
Bio
Anil Kumble is one of the greatest cricketers that India has produced. He is the world’s 3rd highest wicket taker in test matches and one of the few bowlers who has taken all 10 wickets in an innings of a test match. Other than cricket Anil is very passionate about photography and has captured priceless moments with his camera over the past 20 years. We get to see the best results of his work behind the lens through his wonderful book “Wide Angle”.
Drawgon Time
Krishna Bala Shenoi (6y+)
Children will learn the art of drawing a dragon — inspired by Tulika Publisher’s book ‘The Boy and Dragon Stories & Other Tales by Suniti Namjoshi, Krishna will take the kids on a step by step way drawing their own dragons that thy can take back.
Krishna Bala Shenoi
Bio
Krishna Bala Shenoi works as an artist in Bangalore, where he lives with his family of humans and animals. His illustrations, spanning a variety of styles and tones, can be found in (and on) over twenty books released by publishing houses from across India. He tries to imbue his art for children’s books with gentleness and a sense of wonder. Shenoi works with the L.A.-based podcast Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso, painting their guests on a weekly basis, with over 300 portraits done so far. He has also been commissioned to make alternative posters for Netflix, Prime Video, Hotstar and Yash Raj Films. He walks his dogs too many times a day, dislikes the mere thought of commuting, and is faster at painting than writing e-mails.
:-) and :-(
Kirtana Kumar’s Theatre Lab (4y+)
Theatre Lab (Youth) will be doing a literary presentation with the rendition of a variety of poetry and prose pieces against a backdrop of projected images and with music.
Asking the audience – “What is Literature? What is a Book?” – the sutradhars will take the young audience on a short trip through Shel Silverstein, Vikram Seth, Wordsworth, Robert Frost, Shakespeare, Imtiaz Dharker and more. This little presentation is interactive in nature (expect to learn how to act via Hamlet!) and designed for young children.
Kirtana Kumar
Bio
Kirtana Kumar is an actor, director and film-maker. Her teacher at Bangalore University, Professor TG Vaidyanathan, encouraged her passion for JD Salinger, Flaubert and the short story form. She runs Little Jasmine Theatre Project, Theatre Lab (Youth) and Infinite Souls Farm & Artists Retreat.
Bangalore Blues is her first book.
Theatre Lab (Youth)
Bio
Theatre Lab (Youth): Is an open space for theatre study, enquiry and experiment, facilitated by Kirtana Kumar. It offers young people a platform for exciting and democratic learning practice.
Petu Pumpkin Freedom Fighter: A play devised by Theatre Lab (Youth) based on the book by Arundhati Venkatesh.
Brief: Petu Pumpkin and his friends unearth a sinister conspiracy involving their beloved school playground. There is only one thing to be done: draw inspiration from the country’s founders and fight for their rights! But can our ragtag bunch of 5th graders withstand all the challenges hurled at them? Will the Awesome Fivesome save their playground?
About the Director: Rahul Maru is a 17-year-old homeschooler who studies theatre with Kirtana Kumar’s Theatre Lab (Youth). After acting in a bunch of plays, most notably as Bérenger in Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, he’s now directing this adaption. He loves guitar, doing math for fun, and torturing his parents with his jokes.
Day 2 | Sun | 29 Oct
Jungle Safari
Kaadoo Games (4y+)
Let the children of all ages travel into the world of forest, animals and birds through the interactive board games by Kaadoo- Nature and safari themed board games. Be it the Western Ghats of the south or the African jungles, meet the whose who of the wild world.
Kaadoo Games
Bio
Nature-based board games for children.
ಬಣ್ಣದ ತಗಡಿನ ತುತ್ತೂರಿ – Bannada Tagadina Tutturi
Namkampani Interactive Theatre (4y+)
Bannada tagadina tutturi is a poem by the popular kannada writer G P Rajaratnam about a boy and the pride he takes in the new flute that he has bought. He plays it all day long and denies to share it with anyone… But there is something unfortunate that happens… What happens??? Well…. come over and see it as we take you through this interactive dramatized performance to the Poem.
Namkampani
Bio
Namkampani was founded by Surabhi Vasisht & Sonam Powar. First, to create a conducive environment for theatre practitioners to collaborate both emotionally and intellectually to share their strengths, skills, and ideas. We wish to stimulate, celebrate and enhance understanding of ourselves and others through the shared experience of live theatre by producing new plays and classics marked by innovative interpretations and a reflection and inclusion of our community and the world in which we live.
Adventures of Zippy
Anitha Balachandran (4y+)
Anitha will be reading from Festival her very first book of the series- Meet Zippy the Zebra. There will also be activities for children organised after the reading. A fun interactive event for young readers who will get a chance to find out all about Zippy and his friends!
Anitha Balachandran
Bio
Anitha Balachandran is an animator, illustrator and more recently author of children’s books. Anitha studied at the National Institute of Design (NID) and the Royal College of Art in London. She has just created a new character called Zippy the Zebra for a picture book series to be published by Harper Collins India. Anitha’s session at the Bangalore Literary Festival will include a reading of the very first book of the series- Meet Zippy. There will also be activities for children organised after the reading. A fun interactive event for young readers who will get a chance to find out all about Zippy and his friends!
Launch of Valmiki Ramayana Box Set
Amar Chitra Katha (4y+)
Join Kavita Kane and Ira Mukhoty along with Reena Puri of Amar Chitra Katha as they launch the 960-page graphic retelling of Valmiki’s Ramayana. Post the launch they will answer children’s and parent’s questions on mythology.
Amar Chitra Katha
Bio
Amar Chitra Katha is a famed household name. Founded in 1967 by Anant Pai, lovingly called Uncle Pai, the purpose of the comic series was to spread knowledge and create a better awareness about Indian mythology.
The comic series focuses on different genres, including epics and mythology, fables and humor and visionaries, among others. Tales of bravehearts succeeding at war and boxed collections, Amar Chitra Katha has it all.
With more than 400 comics in 20+ languages that have sold more than 100+ million copies to date, Amar Chitra Katha is a cultural phenomenon. With a national distribution across all major book retailers, hundreds of small bookstores and thousands of vendors, the titles remain immensely popular in the classic illustrated format.
Make Your Earth Warrior Cartoon
Amar Chitra Katha (7y+)
A workshop where children will be encouraged to speak about what they feel is wrong with the way humans are treating the earth. They will then create, visualize and draw their own superhero who, armed with unique superpowers, will address the problem.
As they read out and show their superheroes to the others, we will discuss how they themselves can be superheroes for Planet Earth.
Amar Chitra Katha
Bio
Amar Chitra Katha is a famed household name. Founded in 1967 by Anant Pai, lovingly called Uncle Pai, the purpose of the comic series was to spread knowledge and create a better awareness about Indian mythology.
The comic series focuses on different genres, including epics and mythology, fables and humor and visionaries, among others. Tales of bravehearts succeeding at war and boxed collections, Amar Chitra Katha has it all.
With more than 400 comics in 20+ languages that have sold more than 100+ million copies to date, Amar Chitra Katha is a cultural phenomenon. With a national distribution across all major book retailers, hundreds of small bookstores and thousands of vendors, the titles remain immensely popular in the classic illustrated format.
इधर उधर ಕಥೆಗಳು – Idhar Udhar Kathegalu
Storywallahs (Multilingual) (4y+)
Stories, they say have a language of their own – a language that everyone understands and responds to.
Kathegalu from illi, Kahaaniyaan from Udhar, Stories from here, there and everywhere.
Kathegalu – Stories from Idhar Udhar is a unique story session that brings together stories from here and there in Kannada, Hindi, English and more.
Fasten your seat belts and join us on a fun ride across lands more than one, as we explore the earth and its various facets through stories in languages more than one.
The Storywallahs
Bio
Storywallahs is a Bangalore based organisation which believes that stories are the best way to inspire, motivate, and teach. Driven by this belief, they not only work with schools and help them leverage the power of stories in teaching, but also work with organisations and help them discover and use the power of stories in their personal and professional lives. You can also catch them entertaining children and adults alike with their stories at various cultural spaces and literature festivals across the country.
Escape with the Magic Cap
Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (10y+)
CMCA brings Citizenship to children through a fantastical story – The Magic Cap.
Join us for a fun session where we will wear our magic caps and escape to a land of fun, adventure and learning!
The Magic Cap is a storybook approach towards inculcating citizenship values in the young. The book takes the narrator, a 13 year old kid, through a fantasy land inhabited by strange looking creatures, but with life situations similar to our own. As the kid navigates this world, key values of citizenship and democracy are brought to the forefront.
CMCA
Bio
Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) is a non profit nurturing active citizenship and democratic values in children and youth.
Write a Story*
Jahnavi Barua (10y+)
A hands on writing workshop for children exploring the key elements that’s goes into a story by the acclaimed writer Jahnavi Baruah. The children will take back their own piece of writing enhanced by Jahnavi, post the workshop.
*Limited seats on a first-come-first-served basis.
Jahnavi Barua
Bio
Jahnavi Barua is an Indian writer based in Bangalore. Next Door (Penguin India, 2008), her debut collection of short stories was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. Her next, a novel called Rebirth (Penguin India, 2010), was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. The third, Undertow, a novel, was published by Penguin Random House India (Viking Books) in February 2020. Her short fiction has been widely anthologized and her work is part of several university syllabi. Jahnavi studied medicine at university but is not a practicing doctor. She was born in Guwahati and raised between Assam, Meghalaya, Delhi and Manchester.
Me and My Animals
Ranjit Lal with Sudeshna Shome Ghosh (10y+)
All good and great stories have good (and not so good) and great (and not so great) characters. It’s the characters that tell you what the stories are about, by how they react to what’s going on in the story – the conflicts and how they are resolved.
Listen to the acclaimed writer in conversation with Sudeshna Ghosh as they discuss about characters and how approaches them in his stories.
Ranjit Lal
Bio
3 line brief!: All good and great stories have good (and not so good) and great (and not so great) characters. It’s the characters that tell you what the stories are about, by how they react to what’s going on in the story – the conflicts and how they are resolved.
3 line selfie brief!: Ranjit Lal is an author and journalist who likes writing for children and children who are adults on subjects ranging from birds, natural history, automobiles, social issues, and cooking. He has won the Crossword Award for Children’s Writing twice in 2010 and 2016.
Sudeshna Shome Ghosh
Bio
Sudeshna Shome Ghosh is an editor and publisher based in Bangalore. She is Publisher, Talking Cub, the children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger Books. She has commissioned and edited a number of well-known and award-winning children’s books as well as books for adults in her publishing career of 25 years. She has managed children’s imprints like Puffin, Red Turtle, and now Talking Cub. Apart from this, she is co-founder and librarian at Cosy Nook Library, a children’s library that has 3 branches in Bangalore. She has also written columns, picture books and done translations.
Shadow Puppetry performance
Prahlad Acharya (4y+)
Watch the world famous Prahlad Acharya perform his Speaking Shadows, his amazing hand shadow act that has travelled the world using only his bare hands to create an unbelievable world of light and shade.
Prahalad Acharya
Bio
Prahlad Acharya is an internationally renowned magician , ventriloquist and shadow play artist . A master magician , he is one of the few entertainers of the world who use only their bare hands o create an unbelievable world of light and shade.
He will be performing his SPEAKING SHADOWS that has travelled across India and the world to countries like Germany , Australia , Singapore etc. for the children.
Queries
For any queries, call Vikram Sridhar on 9945799224