Taking stories to children in the Kashmir Valley

Stories of colourful butterflies, big bears, wicked witches and merciful angels -vibrant fiction from various parts of the country is now being translated into Kashmiri language to reach children from the Valley according to the National Book Trust.

'Children in the Valley want to read stories by authors from various parts of the country and want to know what someone sitting in say Kerala or Andhra Pradesh is reading,' NBT Director M A Sikandar told PTI.

Also, the NBT in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir state government has also been conducting workshops for children in the Kashmir Valley, bringing out narratives from storytellers among them, to ignite ingenuity among the young generation in the conflict-torn region.

A recently set up Kashmiri Advisory Panel comprising of experts in the language from Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi have taken the initiative to generate fiction from local authors too.

'There is a lack of initiatives in the publication of books in Kashmiri. We are trying to create that initiative with the help of the state government,' Sikandar said.

He said youth in the valley can read Urdu, Hindi and English, but there are efforts being made to make books of other languages available to them in translation.

'Kashmiri children's literature was not given too much attention earlier. Since authors from the Valley have started to be recognised for their work, more and more writers have emerged,' said senior author Gulam Nabi Atish.

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