CoverbyS.BrizleenKaur Manvaasam AnInclusiveMagazineforChildren March2023 Issue1
Manvaasam AnInclusiveMagazineforChildren Contents 1.Editor’sNote|Priyadarshini 2.GuestColumn|Vasundhara 4.PictureofChicks|Ashitha 5.MyPuppy|Abha 6.CockatooinParadise|Aadhya 7.BestBuddies,Lion&Panda|Shivani 8.ASmallWrite-UpaboutAntarctica!|Aryan 9.TheOcean,Islands,andCoconutTrees|Sophia 10.ABeautifulGirlatSeashore&More|Mohsina 11.PuruliaCalling|Arunima 14.DragonBorn&More|Rupesh 15.Rain|Priya 16.Moonlight&More|Brizleen 17.DrawingsofDeities|Chintha 18.FailureDoesn’tMeanit’sOver|Sophia 19.PicturesofMountains|Aryan 20.KanniluniyaneKannanaane|Tanvi 21.MeettheTeam
Dearreaders, IfyouarewonderinghowManvaasamstarted,Iwilltellyou.Itwasnotaproject thatIhaddreamedofformonthsoryears.Itwasalsonotsomethingbornoutof loftyideals.Onthecontrary,itwasarandomideathatsuddenlypoppedintomy mind,muchlikethelightbulbthatsuddenlyappearswhencartooncharactersget enlightened. Havingsaidthis,Icanalsosaythatoncetheideadidcometofruition,Iworked dayandnightto̎ndtherightpeople.Forme,puttingtogetherateamwasthe mostimportantpartofrunningthemagazine.Iwantedagroupofpeoplewho believedinfreedomofexpression,andIamgladtohavefoundthem. Ialsospentquitealotoftimeresearchingandwritingdownvariousprompts andideasthatchildrencanworkon.Itisnotalwayseasytocomeupwith somethingonourown,andIwantedtogiveanopportunitytoeachchild,to exploretheircreativepotential. IamhappywiththeresponseIhavegottensofarandamgratefulthatthereare somanypeopleouttheretosupportmydesiretocreateaninclusivemagazine. Therearenotmanyplatformswherechildrencancontributetheirworkwithout afee.Manychildren’smagazinesalsoonlyacceptworkthatis“perfect”,from theirperspectiveasanadult. Manvaasamisuniquebecausewewillaccepteveryone’sworkasawayto encouragecreativity.Althoughfeedbackwillbegiven,itwillnotbeimposed. Childrenwillalsohavetheoptionofwritingintheirownmothertongue.Most importantly,theywillnotbejudgedfromalensofprejudice. Iamcon̎dentthatIwillcontinuetoreceivealotofsupportfromthereaders andcontributors.Ihopeyouenjoylea̎ngthroughthe̎rstissueofthemagazine andlookforwardtomanymoretocome! PriyadarshiniPanchapakesan, ChiefEditor 1 FromtheEditor
LanguagediversityinIndiaisnonewconcept.Likeaglassmosaic,Indiaishome toaplethoraoflanguages—manyheldas“o̐cial”andotherslabelledas “dialects”(thoughthelabellingofsomelanguagesas“dialects”isahighly questionableandadebatedconcept).Inmostclassrooms,therewouldbeafair shareofchildrenwhodonotspeakthedominantlanguageoftheareaorthe mediumofinstructionoftheschoolattheirhome.Therefore,itishardly surprisingthatmostIndiansarebiorevenmultilinguals.Inasocietywhere standardisedtextbooksorthewaytheyaretaughthardlymakeanyreferenceto thelocaltraditionsandculture,childrencanoftenfeellost.Moreover,though variouspolicieshavetriedtoaddressthisissue,theThreeLanguageFormula beingoneofthem,nonereallyworkedoutwellinimplementingmultilingual education.NEP2020hasmadesomesuggestionsinthisarea,butthereisalong waytogobeforeitcouldbeimplemented.Manvasasam–amagazinethat providesawiderangeofstoriesandactivitiesinmultiplelanguagesforkidsthus becomesasigni̎cantsteptowardsfosteringmultilingualismandmulticulturalism. Fromgivingpleasuretothereader,providinganescapefromtherealworldto openingawholenewworldthatthereaderhadnoclueabout,literatureplaysa Fromgivingpleasuretothereader,providinganescapefromtherealworldto openingawholenewworldthatthereaderhadnoclueabout,literatureplaysa veryimportantroleinmostofourlives.Literatureissaidtobebothamirror andawindowtosociety.Itrȅectswhatweseeinourownsociety—theculture, traditions,emotionsandvaluesthatweallresonatewith.Additionally,itcould alsogiveusagazeonawholedi̍erentpartoftheworldthatwehavenotseen— variousnuancesofthewayanothersocietyfunctions.Itgivesusan understandingoftheperspectivesandexperiencesofotherpeoplewhoarevery di̍erentfromus,thuswideningourhorizonofknowledge.Theearliestmemory ofmeengagingwithliteratureisthatofmysiblingandImakingour grandmotherreadamalayalamkids’magazineduringoursummervacation.The storiesandliteraryworkthatwereadaskidsoftenmakethefondestmemories ofourchildhood.Inmostcases,children’smagazinesareoneoftheearliest sourcesofliteratureforchildrenthattheyvoluntarilyseekforleisurereading. therearepuzzlesandgamesforchildrenthatkeepthemcuriousandengaged. MagazineasKaleidoscope GuestColumn|VasundharaKrishnan 2
MagazineasKaleidoscope GuestColumn|VasundharaKrishnan 3 Leisurereadingshouldbeencouragedandcultivatedamongchildreninschools. Manvaasamisforreadersagedbetween4-13makingitagoodsourceof literatureintoday’stimewherestudyofliteratureisnotgivenmuchattention andimportanceatthepre-primarystageofchildren.Itgivesanopportunityfor childrentoboosttheirimaginationandtheirunderstandingoftheself,their society,historyandculture.Themagazinealsohelpsindevelopingkids’LSRW (Listening,Speaking,ReadingandWriting)skillssimultaneously.Contrarytothe commonmisconceptionthatkidslearnlanguagesequentially(they̎rstlisten, thenspeak,thenlearntoreadand̎nallywrite),studieshaveshownthatkids needtoengageinLSRW simultaneouslysincetheyareallinterconnectedand interdependent.Manvaasamcanbeusedasaresourceforread-aloudsbyteachers aswellascaregivers,orreadbychildrenthemselves,canbeusedbyemergent readerstocomprehendillustrationsanddrawings,andisaplatformforstudents toshowcasetheirwriting.Consideringthedearthofliteratureforchildrenin theirhomelanguages,Manvaasamprovestobeagoodinitiativeastheyareopen, freeandaccessibletoall.
Ashitha 4Years PictureofChicks 4
MyPuppy Seenmypuppyinthestreet Cooldownhoney,cooldown Calledhisname,andsentagreet Cooldownhoney,cooldown Herantomeandwagged Barkedatmeandtoldhistale Wasitjoy?Orisitwail? Cooldownhoney,cooldown Heardabirdychirpingby Cooldownhoney,cooldown Butteȑieswerȅyinghigh Cooldownhoney,cooldown Andmypuppyjumpedonthȅoor Webothracedtomymother ’ sdoor Stirringupasweetuproar Cooldownhoney,cooldown 5 [Abha,8years] AbhaShakyaiseightyearsoldandlovespoetry.Sheisahuge fanofMayaAngelou.Thispoem,MyPuppy,tookrootin Abha'smindwhensheheardMayaAngeloureciteapoem calledANegroLoveSongbyPaulLawrenceDunbar.My PuppyisAbha'stributetoherfavouritepoet.
" C o c k a t o o i n P a r a d i s e " A a d h y a , 1 0 y e a r s 6
BestBuddies,Lion&Panda ShivaniRathnakumar,7years 7
ASmallWrite-upaboutAntartica InAntarctica,thereoncelivedaboycalledArush.Once,he cameacrossamagicaligloo.Arushjumpedintotheigloo.He turnedintoice,thenmelted.Eventhoughhecameoutasa polarbear,Arushwasstilltalkinglikeahuman.“I’mstillin Antarctica.Whyisithot?” 8 AryanRaj,6years
Nzanrhoni Sophia N.Lapon 9 Years The Ocean, Islands, and Coconut Trees 9
ABeautifulgirlatSeashroe MohsinaBegumSaik,6years MuslimGirl 10
PuruliaCalling… Myearsprickeduplisteningtotheconversationbetweenmy momandmybestfriend’ smom.Wewereallgoingto Purulia!Woah!Woah!Woah!Holdon,whereisPurulia? PuruliaisinWestBengalontheeasternsideofIndia.The climatewasprettyhot.IttookusaboutawhiletoreachEco AdventuresCamp.Oh!Whatasightitwas!Seeingthe beautifultribalhousespaintedcolourfullyinred,orange, yellow,green,blueandviolet!Iwassurprisedtoknowthat thesecoloursweremadebyhandthroughvegetables,leaves, ̏owersandmanymorenaturalitems.Thepatternsmade withtheseorganiccolourstookmybreathaway.The beautifulAjodhyamountainrangecastanamazingspellon me.Itwasasightwecouldseeonceinalifetime.Wewere livinginaluxurytentwhichwascomfy,andIcouldfeelthe warmthasmyeyeswerewearyfromlingeringsleep. InthemorningIwokeupataround7amandwentoutside togreetmydadandmum.OMG!Iwasspeechless;the sceneryaroundmewasgreenandvibranttosee.How wonderfulitwasseeingacombinationofmountainsanda lakewithasmalldamaroundit! Photo:ArunimaGhosh 11 ArunimaGhosh,10years
Afterbreakfast,wesetouttobuyChoumasks.Choumasks areancientmasksmadeduringtheoldendays.Theyarereally heavyandarewornduringperformance.Wemetanold personwhohadtravelledaround35countriestoperformthe Choudance.HehadbeentotheUSA,London,Korea,Japan andmanymorecountries. Photo:SudeepGhosh Photo:SudeepGhosh 12 Weevengotachancetowearthesemasksanddressup withthem.ChhaudanceisatraditionfromeasternIndia thatenactsepisodesfromepicslikeTheMahabharataand TheRamayana,localfolkloreandabstractthemes.The vibrantdrumbeatsofavarietyofdrumsdominatethe accompanyingmusicensemble.Chhauisanintegralpartof thecultureoftheseAdivasicommunities.
Itbindstogetherpeoplefromdi̍erentethnicbackgrounds withdiverseculturalbeliefs,languagesandprofessions. However,duetothepowerofthemediatomanipulate,a decreaseincollectiveparticipationofAdivasicommunities isevident. At7PM welistenedtosomeclassicalBengaliBaulGaan withȁamingbon̎reinfrontofus.Sidebysidewehad somebarbecue. Thenextmorning,itwasmisty,butwesetouttrekking. Wewalkedaround3kmandcamebacktotheresort.We wereabouttohaveawonderful,andthemostfruitful, experienceofbeingatPurulia—arefreshingBOATRIDE! 13 Photo:SudeepGhosh Photo:ArunimaGhosh Whenwehoppedontotheboat,theatmospherearoundus wassocalmandserene!Wecouldseethecrystalclear water,cleanandfresh.WeleftPuruliaintheafternoon,and IhopedIwouldbebacktoseethewondersofPuruliaonce again.
SardasVRupesh,12Years DragonREborn Ninjawarrior 14
Rain Rain,ohrain,Iloveyousomuch. Youbringjoytomyheartwitheverytouch. Whenyoucome,theworldbecomessogood, Andeverythingaroundmeseemstothrive. Thesoundofyourpitter-patterontheroof, Makesmeforgetallmyworries,that’ sthetruth. Yourdrops,theywashawayallthedust, Andtheairfeelssofreshandrobust. Ilovetodanceinyourgentleshowers, Andwatchyoupainttheworldinvibrantcolors. Ilovethewayyoumakethȅowersbloom, And̎lltheairwiththeirsweetperfume. Youmakemefeelhappy,youmakemesmile, AndIknowthatwithyou,everythingwillbe̎ne. Sorain,ohrain,pleasedon ’teverstop, Forwithyou,myheartisalwayshappy. [Priya,11Years] 15
“Music Fixes Everything” S.Brizleen Kaur|10 years “Moonlight” 16
DrawingsofDeities ChinthaArya,12Years 17
"Failuredoesntmeanthegameisover " NzanrhoniSophiaN.Lapon 9years 18
AryanRaj,6years PicturesofMountains#1 #2 19
ScantheQRcodetolistentoTanvisingingthe poeminMalayalam.KannilunniyaneKannanane istheintroductorysongforDooradarshan’s popularcartoonseriesKaattileKannan. RKDamodaranistheoriginalauthorofthe poem. 20 KannilunniyaneKannanane Kochukombananevambanane Chelundukalayundu Chettumuramcheviyundu Naalukaalthoonunduchoolupolvalundu Kuttananekalikuttanane Kemananethumbikkayyanane Kannilunniyanekannanane Kochukombananevambanane Chelundukalayundu Chettumuramcheviyundu Naalukaalthoonunduchoolupolvalundu Kuttananekalikuttanane Kemananethumbikkayyanane Kadilakkioodikaliyumunde Mannuvarithookikuliyumunde Maanundumayilundumarivillazhakundu Poovinumkoottundu Pooncholakoottundu Kuttananekalikuttanane Kemananethumbikkayyanane Lallalalalalaaalallalaala......... TanviRahul,6years
Priyadarshini Founder&ChiefEditor Meet the Team Eesha Head,VisualArts Jebin Head,CreativeWriting Megha Head,Entertainment Saanvi StudentVolunteer 21 Alfred Design&TechSupport Meena Head,Puzzles&Activities
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