COMING-OF-AGE STORY OF INDIA'S CHILDREN BOOK

Almost everyone knows about the Cinderellas, Snow-whites and other western fairy tale characters, but few about Indian fairy tale characters to be read as bedtime stories to children, despite India’s rich folklore history.

 

Now things are slowly changing and one of the organisations Sauramandala   Foundation, under the Forgotten Folklore project, has come out with 45 children’s books and these are getting rave reviews.

 

Two of its books: The Tunes of Kongthong (the whistling village in Khasi hills) and When a Huro (Hoolock Gibbons are found in Garo Hills) Sings based on folklore of Khasi and Garo Hills were selected by the National Book Trust and featured at the International Children’s Book Festival at Bologna, Italy this year.

 

The colourfully illustrated books not just catches the attention of the children but also adults, and more importantly the entertaining stories speak not just about the characters, but have underlying messages on  environment preservation, culture and customs.

 

“The digital edition of the books were a bigger success and these have been translated into different languages like Japanese and Tamil and would be translated into other languages soon,” Project Leader, Lanu Tsudir said during the recently concluded Shillong Literary festival here.

 

Tsudir said there is huge demand for children’s books and people usually fall for western characters as India, despite its rich folklore history, has few books with Indian characters that could really captivate the little readers’ mind.

 

The Operation Associate of the foundation, Phiniairibha Warjri said the organisation also has several jingles for the kids and these are again not just about entertainment, but also with messages about environment, culture, and customs mostly based on the folklore of Meghalaya.

 

Meanwhile, Subroto Chakraborty from a publishing house in Kolkata rued about children not getting into a reading habit. “It’s very important that parents read bedtime stories till the age of at least 11 years, which researchers have found to be the most receptive for their mental and cognitive growth and this would lead to a lifelong desire towards learning.” (eom) 

MEGHALAYA GOVERNOR RECOMMENDS CMJ UNIVERSITY DISSOLUTION

Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary has recommended to the State Government to dissolve the Chandra Mohan Jha (CMJ) University for “failing to accomplish the objectives of the University, apart from criminal liabilities.”



The Governor in his letter to the Governor last evening said “established facts clearly indicate mismanagement, maladministration, indiscipline and failure in the accomplishment of the objectives of the University, apart from criminal liabilities.”



Mooshahary added that in the interest of maintaining proper standards of higher education it is desirable that CMJ University “be wound up.” “The State Government is accordingly being addressed to consider dissolution of the CMJ University in terms of Section 48 of the CMJ University Act, 2009,” the Governor said.


In his four page letter, the Governor gave out the details of the violation, as the visitor of the now sealed University, under seven points. First he said that CM Jha the Chairman of the CMJ Foundation has remained “incommunicado all these days,” and termed the attitude as unfortunate, despite the Institution being sealed for wrongdoings.



The Governor further said that the University’s office was vandalized and the students were accused for the criminal act. “According to the police it was engineered by the University staff at the instance of one of the Directors. It was a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence and the case is under police investigation,” Mooshahary pointed out.



The other issue pointed out was that the University started to function without a Chancellor. The Governor said it was a “breach of trust.” During this period the University awarded B.Ed degree through distance mode without requisite approval from regulatory bodies and without affiliation.



Moreover, the University awarded PhD degrees to 434 students and enrolled another 490 students. “Information is also available with us that another 29 students have also received PhD degree from the University and more information is coming on a daily basis,” he added.



The Governor said the University awarded PhD degrees even in subjects like Bodo and Punjabi languages “where guides and faculty are not easily available,” Mooshahary pointed out. The number of faculty members with PhD degree as furnished by the University is “inaccurate.”



Based on the facts cited, Mooshahary said, the University repeatedly acted in contravention of Section 52 of the CMJ University Act 2009 in respect of maintenance of standards and other related matters applicable to private Universities,” and therefore recommended its dissolution.