International Symposium
Delegates at the international symposium on ‘Global Perspectives in Multicultural Children’s Literature’ organised at Nirmala College for Women in Coimbatore on Monday. “How do we think of children’s literature in India without leaving out millions of children for whom the school text book is the only written form of literature?” Rimli Bhattacharya, Professor, Department of English, Delhi University, and children’s writer, said here on Monday. Delivering the inaugural address at the International Symposium on “Global Perspectives in Multicultural Children’s Literature” at the Nirmala College for Women, she pointed out that hundreds of children in the country had no opportunities to go to school. Literature could not be separated from the politics and histories of language. However, in this age of neo-liberalisation we were denying our own multilingual life. The country was under tremendous pressure to perform as a ‘global player’ and the agenda for this performance was being dictated by a handful of the new Indian elite, who were most often diasporic and who chose to ignore the reality of the country. They wanted to package a certain notion of what India was.
A certain breed of films from Mumbai had become synonymous with Indian culture. This trend did nothing but reduce ourselves to the lowest denominator, she said. These films did not represent all of Indian culture. The section of parents that was worried about Indians losing their ‘heritage’ was also packaging India in a particular way with this conservative, intolerant and extremely reductive ideology, she said.
Alida Allison, Professor and Director of Children’s Literature Program, National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, San Diego State University, the U.S., said sharing stories was fundamental for the development of empathy in our species. “Through sharing of stories, we share our culture as well.” Reading a book was an inexpensive way to travel. It provided an experience of a culture, time, and environment other than our own.
Contemporary neuroscience confirmed that while we read, we also did a lot of experiencing, she observed. There was a great deal of ongoing articulate argument concerning adult-centric children’s literature. The question of adults’ attitudes and perspectives being imposed on children and the tendency to talk down to them in books was the hottest issue in debates on children’s literature. Organised by the International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL), the two-day symposium will contain lectures by delegates from various parts of the world. The IRSCL works for promoting research in children’s literature and has 49 member countries.
