Read 'n' Rejoice Library - 7th Anniversary Celebrations

Read ‘n’ Rejoice library in Medavakkam celebrated its 7^th Annual Day on 19^th Feb in the library. The library was started by Sasikala. Sasikala worked in IT for approx 10 years. After that, she had to take a break of 3 years and went with her family to England. When she came back to Chennai, Sasikala was unable to get a new IT job as she had a break. She did not want to sit idle at home. So, she started the Read ‘n’ Rejoice library. The library has 3 compact rooms, but it houses 10,000 books for both kids and adults in English and Tamil on a wide range of subjects.

Books ranging from Vedic Maths to Picture Books

Song

The Annual Day started with a song by Sasikala’s daughter Sahana and her friend. Then Chief Guest Anitha (myself) spoke about the benefits of reading and libraries. She spoke about how reading stories and fiction improves our empathy and emotional intelligence. And that the same neurons that fire when you do an action fire when you read about that action.

Here is the video of the Speech: 

Then Anitha conducted a storytelling session ‘Everyone is Unique’ with songs and actions. The kids danced. Then prizes were given to enthusiastic library members. Sasikala spoke about the library. Few parents shared their experience of shaping the reading habits of their kids and themselves.

Here is the video of the Storytelling: 

 

Sasikala Speaks

Parents Speech

Read ‘n’ Rejoice also sends books online to kids in nearby areas. They also plan to open a franchise within 10 kilometers soon.  

Visit Read ‘n’ Rejoice website here: https://readnrejoice.in/

 Read 'n' Rejoice Instagram: @readnrejoice         

Sasikala and Anitha

                 

Kid-Friendly Walls 

Gift from Read 'n' Rejoice

                                                                      

Pongalo Pongal - A Picture Book for Children

“Malini, have you collected all unwanted things from your bedroom? Tomorrow morning is Bhogi Pongal. And we have to burn the old and unused things in our house,” said Malini’s mom Suja. Malini said, “Yes, ma. I have kept them all on the chair."

On Bhogi morning on January 13th, Suja burnt the unwanted things in front of her house. Malini hit the hand drum with a small stick. The whole neighbourhood was filled with smoke.

The next day, January 14th, was Surya Pongal or Thai Pongal. Suja made Sakkarai Pongal with harvested rice, milk, and jaggery in a pot. When the pot overflowed, people standing nearby shouted, “Pongalo Pongal, Pongalo Pongal.” Thai pongalum vanthathu, paalum ponguthu, paatu solladiyo. Malini watched all this as she ate the sugarcane. 

The next day, January 15th, was Maatu Pongal. Malini and Suja decorated the neck of their cow with flower garlands. They applied kumkum and turmeric paste on the forehead of the cow.

The next day, January 16th, was Kaanum Pongal. Malini and her parents went and met their relatives and friends. Then they went to Marina Beach and played. The beach was crowded with a lot of visitors who had come for sightseeing.

Did You Know: Pongal is a four-day harvest festival that is celebrated to thank for agricultural abundance. It is celebrated in Tamilnadu at the start of the Thai maasam. Pongal gets its name from the Tamil word Pongu which means to overflow. This signifies the Pongal pot that overflows when Pongal is cooked. During the overflow, people make the Kulavai sound or ululation.

Pongal or Makar Sankranti is celebrated in other states of India as Uttarayan (Gujarat), Lohri (Punjab), Poush sôngkrānti (Bengal),Suggi Habba (Karnataka), Makara Chaula (Odisha), Maghi Sankrant (Maharashtra and Haryana), Magh/Bhogali Bihu (Assam), Shishur Saenkraat (Kashmir).  

In the Tamil language, Maadu means cow, Kaanum means seeing, Suryan means Sun, and Maasam means month.

Creators of the Story: 

Story Written by Anitha Selvanathan. Illustrations are by Dr. Malathi Venkat.

You can download a pdf copy of the book here: https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/381002-pongalo-pongal 

Note: The story is to introduce children to the 4-day Pongal festival and the different customs and activities during Pongal. We do not support the pollution of the environment.