World Book Day: Short stories

They were born into the digital media age. The so-called Alpha generation---those born since 2010--- are experts at handling technology and spend their time clicking, scrolling, and swiping, having inherited a world of ever-expanding technologies.On the lookout for constant stimuli from smartphone apps and streaming services, they have significantly less ‘story time’ compared to the previous generations.
The smartphone era has made children more self-centered, says Sreejith Perumthachan whose novel “Kunjuvinundoru Katha Parayaan” recently bagged the Pala KM Mathew Award, instituted by the Kerala State Institute for Children’s Literature.
The benefits of reading go far beyond literacy. In Perumthachan’s words, only stories can prevent the moral decay that awaits the children in the future. Perumthachan says as the planet celebrates World Book Day children should be reminded about going back to stories and developing a deep love of reading.
“The protagonist in my novel is Kunju, a four or five-year-old boy. The novel shares Kunju’s experience when he stays with his grandparents. The stories they tell him have a strong influence on him,” he says.Children should be read to at the right age. Parents are key to developing the children’s reading. The challenge is not just getting them to read but getting them to enjoy it too.
“Most of our well-known writers have written for children. G Sankara Kurp, Sugathakumari, Akkitham, to name a few, have all written for children. “Manthrikappoocha” of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer was never branded as children’s literature, but it is perfect for a child to read,” says Perumthachan. A child’s knowledge about folktales, local festivals, village life, nature, etc will benefit her immensely in the future. “When I say reading, I don’t mean reading just popular fiction. There is a decline in morality even among children who read such literature. In my opinion, a child growing with a deep love for folklores would learn more values than those who quickly finish big books,” he says.
Perumthachan says parents should also have the right taste to discover such stories and tell them to their children. For instance, take stories like ‘Mannaamkatta and Kariyila’. Not having heard such stories leave a vacuum in character development, he says.“Parents must start telling stories to a child when he or she is three or four years old. Besides written stories, we have stories passed down through the generations by word of mouth. For example, anthologies like “365 Kunju Kathakal” by Ashitha can be read to a child, every day for a year. Parents should find out such sources,” he says.
Parents’ interest is also key. “Everyone may not like stories or storytelling. You have to make a conscious effort to make the space, and time for books. If you take that effort to get to know about stories and then tell them to your kids, it would teach them great virtues. Knowledge is not enough. A child’s sense to give his seat to an elderly person in a crowded bus comes from good stories, not school education,” says Perumthachan.“I read a story about a boy who said his favourite sound on this planet was the ATM cash-dispensing sound. We should be able to let them know how insignificant something as common as money is. Parents should not reduce themselves to human ATM machines,” says Perumthachan.
“With their gadgets, children stay “connected” and look busy, but the question is, what is the worth of this busyness? Our children should not be made to think that it is okay to become professionally successful in life and not have any values,” he says.A magician once converted his child into a parrot. He was however unable to transform him back into a child. The child was hated by parrots because they knew he was not one among them. He was equally ignored by humans because he looked like a parrot. The situation of children nowadays is similar to that of the parrot, says Perumthachan.
“In the race towards a pre-set target, children forget to look around and see the life around them. Storybooks would help them have a better perspective of life,” he says.