It was my first experience to attend CLF-2019 in Karachi. The festival gathered children from all over Karachi under one umbrella to instill in them a passion for reading, while promoting literature and culture of Pakistan.
Thousands of children belonging to all segments of society participated in the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF-2019) and came out happy for learning new things and that too, in an interactive manner including book reading, theatre workshops and performances, puppet shows, music, documentaries, etc.

Many book publishers had set up stalls for children books with exclusive discounts. Students from different public and private schools participated in the festival.
The key message delivered by CLF to our concerned authorities was that the best form of learning is through participation and being interactive.
When a child is acting in a play or doing theatre, he/she is learning many skills at a much faster pace than she would have in a classroom reading from a textbook.

The children enjoyed Daastangoi (story telling) and motivational interaction sessions at CLF. One of the student visitors said it was so interesting to be part of the CLF and stressed that the tradition should be kept alive. The children lauded the festival and were of the opinion that these kinds of festivals should be held on frequent basis.

I enjoyed theatre performance directed by Atif Badar as I found him to be a very passionate actor. He held around a total of six hours long theatre workshops and story-telling sessions which were the best learning experience the children could ever have had. Among the famous was Mai’n Bhe School Jayunge which was written and
directed by Atif Badar. He encouraged children to perform to their level best. His plays depicted the typical mindset of our society which never encourages the interested students to study by their elders at home.
While talking to Atif, he was of the opinion that imagination is the most powerful and optimistic force through which we can do wonders. He said that students should develop the habit of reading and should take part in theatre in order to polish their skillset. He was of the viewpoint that theatre activities should be held on frequent basis in schools so that the upcoming hidden talent could be explored.

Since I was able to only attend second day of the festival as my school was open and I could not escape my classes, I still thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent at the Arts Council of Karachi. I would also like the organizers to schedule next time for weekend as it becomes a lot more easier for us without being worried about the attendance at school.

Last thing I would like to comment about the festival and premises was the stalls where there were lots of choices to eat and drink on very nominal prices.
The two-day Children’s Literature Festival in Karachi concluded delivering a clear message to children to become imaginative and study beyond textbooks to know about the world.

Raima Tariq Grade-5 St. Joseph’s Convent School Karachi. Age: 10 years