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        A knit of dried reeds woven by a weaver bird into a chambered, discarded nest lay on a table. And folded white sheets of cartridge paper filled up with color, as Avanti of third standard gave life to the story of a baya bird. It was the story telling workshop, organised by the publishing house, Katha at Karpagam Gardens, Adyar. And Christmas holidays saw more than a dozen children in the age group of 4 - 8, who gathered here from 23 to 27 December, to listen to a tale everyday. Stories were narrated with song, dance and play.

        'The brown baya bird, with a bunch of jasmine in its beak, flies across the magical web bridge to reach the other land,' explained Avanti. And second standard Shwetha's cards showed the bird, sail across the seas in its little boat. Kanupriya the story teller, encouraged the children to explore their imagination, and express their grasp of the narrated story, as craft.

        'As television and internet clamour for attention, there is a need for children to listen to stories narrated by adults,' says Pavithra Srinivasan, the editor of the publishing house, which is also an NGO. The organisation has forayed into the fields of literacy and community empowerment. Katha has published about 30 illustrated titles for children that include folk tales, fables from the North East and also tales based on contemporary themes. The title, Autorickshaw blues deals with immediate themes narrated by children, as seen from their point of view. And topics include mundane experiences of swallowing an orange seed, to making of kolam patterns and autorickshaw rides.

        Informal dialogues with parents had paved the way for Katha to plan activity sessions and story telling workshops. 'Interactions of children with each other and with authors, illustrators and story tellers broadens their vision and helps them steer clear of prejudices,' says the editor.

        And Katha's recent launch of Indira Goswami's translated novel involved local children. The novel titled 'The man from Chinnamasta' touches upon animal sacrifices prevalent in Assam. And about 10 students from the Karuna club of Sri shankara senior secondary school, Adyar had presented a little skit, that called for compassion towards animals, to mark the book -launch. 'And we also have a 10/- rupee book shop for children who cannot afford to spend much on books,' says Pavithra.