StoryWeaver Selected as Finalist for the WISE Awards 2018

April 10, 2018, 4:48 am

≫ Next: Sparking curiosity through STEM books

We are delighted to share that Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver has been selected as a finalist for the WISE Awards 2018.

StoryWeaver, an initiative of Pratham Books, is among 12 finalists chosen by the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) for their innovative and impactful approaches to today’s most urgent education challenges

Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote innovative projects from around thenworld that are addressing global educational challenges.

StoryWeaver is an innovative digital platform which harnesses the power of technology, open licensing and collaboration to address the global scarcity of books for children in mother tongue languages. StoryWeaver also allows for content to be translated and versioned for localized needs. This responsive platform has published over 7500 story books available in 109 languages, making knowledge accessible to children and educators beyond global access barriers.

Suzanne Singh, Chairperson of Pratham Books, said StoryWeaver’svision is to massively scale the creation and distribution of reading resources for children in mother tongue languages. Our endeavor is to address the global scarcity of books for children and arm every child with the power of knowledge and opportunity. By providing access to thousands of storybooks, the platform has enabled educators to make classrooms more engaging, libraries more diverse and most importantly, make learning fun for children. With StoryWeaver, we have opened up a new pathway to nurture a generation of readers”.

Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, said: “We congratulate StoryWeaver for making it to the finalist stage. Each of the 2018 WISE Awards finalists has constructed an effective, tested solution to a global educational challenge. Whether it’s ensuring fundamental education for refugees or creating the next generation of empathetic and conscious leaders, each project is already transforming lives, and provides an inspirational model for others to adopt. This is vital to our mission at WISE, which centers around collaboration”.

The 12 projects come from eleven countries and were shortlisted for their innovative solutions to education challenges and their positive social impact. The awards finalists were picked from a pool of 413 projects, and evaluated according to strict criteria. They must be successful, innovative education projects that have already demonstrated a transformative impact on individuals, communities, and society. They must be financially stable, have a clear development plan and be scalable and replicable.

For further information, visit http://www.wise-qatar.org/wise- awards.

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About the WISE Awards:

Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote six successful innovative projects that are addressing global educational challenges. Since 2009, WISE has received more than 3,200 applications from over 150 countries. Up until now, 54 projects have won the WISE Awards, from a wide variety of sectors and locations for their innovative character, their positive contribution and their potential for scalability and adaptability. These projects represent a growing resource of expertise and sound educational practice. Year by year, WISE is building a community of educational innovators which offers a fertile environment for groundbreaking collaborations. Today the WISE Awards network comprises pioneering projects that are helping bring real change to societies and communities.

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Sparking curiosity through STEM books

April 5, 2018, 4:24 am

≫ Next: Reading in Majuli

≪ Previous: StoryWeaver Selected as Finalist for the WISE Awards 2018

"The soap bubble will be pink," said a little girl at the District Girls Home as author of Why are bubbles round? Sukanya Sinha, prepared to blow a bubble with pink dye added to the soap solution.

At Zilla Parishad School in Pune, a group of boys said, "We can make this jar invisible now!" They had just listened to author Varsha Joshi talk about her forthcoming book The Invisibility Cloak.

"Shh.....Simmi is listening!" I said to a group of noisy kids at the Girls Home, holding up the book by Aparna Kapur. Actually, we were very quite happy that the children were so full of questions, and not sitting quietly. You see, we were on a mission to spark curiosity. And how better to do that than to have children coming out with questions about everything under the sun! Through March, we went to several schools across cities with our authors, illustrators and storytellers to introduce our new STEM books.

Earlier, at the Government Boys Home, I spoke about my forthcoming book, Sir M Visvesvaraya - The Builder of Dams, Bridges and a Nation. We were delighted to hear later that the story inspired the boys and helped spark a discussion on goal setting during their therapy session.

"They had so many questions!" said Sudha Thilak, Tamil editor, who went with storyteller Sathyanarayan, to Chudar Education Centre. She also went to other centres in Chennai with the help of Pratham and Teach for India fellows and shared many of our new books, including Maths at the Mela.

Author of The Drawing Game and Where is Nandini?, Anitha Murthy, shared her stories with little ones at Shishu Mandira, Bengaluru.

In Guwahati, Yasaswini Sampathkumar author of forthcoming book How heavy is air? had answers for this question: "Why is Bimla's cake so spongy?"

Srinivasan Krishnaswamy, assistant professor at IIT Guwahati, narrated the same story in Assamese, getting the students quite interested in the chemistry behind cake-making.

Vidyun Sabhaney who illustrated '3..2..1..Blast-off! used art to explain astronomy to the students of Children organization in Delhi.

Our Kannada Editor Hema Khurshapur travelled to Shiggaon in Haveri ditrict and met governnment school teachers who were thrilled to see the STEM books. They happily read out from some books to the students. Later, the girls learnt about got immersed in the books including, Telephones: From Bell to Cell.

Dr. Shivani Kanodia used storytelling, songs and activities to introduce the books Bin Aahat Sunne Pippu (Pispsqueak Hears Echoes) and Divya Ne Banaya Naksha (Divya Draws a Map) at
The Community Library Project, Delhi.

At Chaitanya English Medium School, students had a cool time with Niloufer Wadia, illustrator of the book Let's Make Some Lime Juice and Saee Keskar, who translated it into Marathi.

The exciting world of tomorrow is closely linked to the sometimes tough world of having to learn abstract concepts of maths and science today. Could colourful, fun books help children to be ready to learn these concepts? We strongly believe so, and so we've been creating cheerful books on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

This year's list of 25 STEM books was made possible through a Cisco grant. The set includes picture books on sound, astronomy, driverless cars, kitchen science, and many more themes. We are grateful to our authors, illustrators, translators for taking our books to children in different parts of the country.

More sessions to spark curiosity will follow, and we will keep you posted.

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Reading in Majuli

April 16, 2018, 9:46 pm

≫ Next: Pratham Books is Hiring : Junior Development Manager

≪ Previous: Sparking curiosity through STEM books

Earlier this month, you read about the library love we were receiving in Lucknow. We travel to Majuli in Assam to find out what kids are reading there.

The context : Last year, several organizations across India applied to receive our STEM library kit grant. This library grant was supported by Oracle. Selected schools/organizations received a STEM classroom library kit. The kit is a wall-mounted modular library unit that can be put up in any classroom or library. It consists of 100+ books, primarily in STEM subjects. The books cover a diverse range of topics in Maths, Science, Technology, Environment, and Emotional intelligence.

About the school : Majuli Island Hummingbird School, Kulamua, is a primary school providing education to around 110 students in rural Assam. The school is located in Majuli island that is surrounded by Brahmaputra. Floods are an every year occurrence and developmental activities even if initiated don’t last long. Urged by villagers from more backward villages to open a school, Bipin Dhane, now its Principal, started Hummingbird School on 16 January 2017. Thirteen villages from the area came together to help in every possible way. The school land has been donated by a local villager with a simple request to open a good school. (via the school website)

Bipin sent us a short note along with the following pictures of kids reading our books :

The books have brought a positive impact on the children. They can't wait to enter the library and go through all the books. We use it as a reward system if they behave properly they get to read in the library and that has brought about a change in the student behavior. Before we had books but they were not suitable for children and children lost interest but with Pratham Books' books they want to read and go through as many books as possible. Even teachers use this books in class and have observed a positive impact on the the student performance.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Junior Development Manager

April 23, 2018, 5:52 am

≫ Next: Building Community Supported School Libraries

≪ Previous: Reading in Majuli

Pratham Books is looking for a Junior Development Manager to join our team in Bengaluru.

The Organisation:

Pratham Books (www.prathambooks.org) is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in

2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India. As a publisher serving every child in India, Pratham Books has always pushed the boundaries when it comes to exploring innovative ways in which to create access to joyful stories and have been fortunate in finding partners to collaborate with who share this vision.

Ilustration by Nirzara Verulkar, from the book ´Maths at the Mela´

The Role

Pratham Books currently has multiple projects which are supported by various donors, for content development and dissemination. The role would involve supporting the development team to nurture and grow donor relationships, project co-ordination, anchoring content dissemination, and support reporting and documentation.

Development

Help identify and qualify leads from non profits, foundations and CSR divisions of companies to create and maintain a robust database of potential donors
Market research and analysis to identify opportunities for growing the donor base and funds generated

Programme Co ordination

Co-ordination among teams for various projects
Ensuring adherence of project modules to timelines
Ensuring project requirements for external resources such as interns or researchers are met in a timely manner

Anchor content dissemination

Anchor dissemination of content in print and digital formats for grant based commitments
For print books, streamline processes to identify beneficiaries of classroom libraries, aligned with the requirements of the donors.
Co-ordinate with warehouse and CRM teams to ensure timely dispatch of the libraries.
For digital books, ensure books are published on the online StoryWeaver platform within the timelines committed

Support documentation and reporting

Streamline reporting processes and ensure deadlines are communicated to project teams
Co-ordinating with teams to ensure timely submission of individual components of project reports

This is a full-time position based in Bangalore, and would report to the Development Manager.

Who should apply?

Candidates who:

1. Have 3-5 years experience

2. Can ideally start from 1st May 2018 onwards

3. Are committed and meet deadlines consistently

4. Are self-starters, enthusiastic and have good people skills

5. Have basic computer skills – Word, XL, PPT

6. Have a good working knowledge of English and Hindi. Knowledge of Kannada would be a bonus.

Interested?

Please send your resume to anuradha(at)prathambooks(dot)org with 'Junior Development Manager’ in the subject line of the email.

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Building Community Supported School Libraries

April 25, 2018, 9:44 pm

≫ Next: Pratham Books is Hiring : Graphic Designer

≪ Previous: Pratham Books is Hiring : Junior Development Manager

Through our work, we get to see a lot of inspiration all around us. We get to see and learn how different organizations are trying to solve problems of education, learning and equity in different communities. Ignus PAHAL is an organization that has previously used our Donate-a-Book platform to crowdfund books for the libraries they have started. Their Pahal Pustakalayas serve as a forum to bring the different stakeholders together in helping improve learning processes and levels, and form the basis of a long-term school transformation programme.

Subir Shukla sent us this report about how the books were being used :

Book donated by Pratham Books and the donors to our campaign are being actively used in 35 schools in rural Varanasi. The libraries are being run with children's active participation and leadership, and 12 of them have community involvement. Two comunities have been motivated to set up libraries in the villages as a result. In many villages, active forums for youth, girls and women, and children have come up. This also led us to do 'whole village visioning exercises' in 50 villages, where the community envisioned the kind of village they want to become. Many of them have adopted practices such as ensuring that children have a designated place to read at home, or asking children about the books they are reading, or giving the child a book as a birthday gift (this requires special effort as no books may be bought nearby!).

We have had three full time field resource persons, 1-3 senior and experienced resource persons occasionally, and 10-12 volunteers working for over a year. Currently, we have 3 full time members with a senior who coordinates.

After the books had been there for about a year, we did a study involving 2500 children, half of them from our library supported schools and the rest from control schools. Children in the library supported schools were 10-16% ahead. Teachers' main response was that 'children are able to read the text on their own, which makes a big difference when teaching!' The District Collector made a surprise visit to two of our schools and was so impressed that he has given his card and asked our colleagues to meet him any time for support. Members of STIR India visited many of our schools and were pleasantly surprised to see that teachers seem to being doing a lot on their own (many teachers had asked us to train them, and we have done two 'training on demand' workshops). Room To Read, which was asked to introduce its programme in Varanasi decided to take blocks other than ours, so as not to duplicate efforts.

We had evolved 'library performance indicators' for teachers and a manual - after use over two years it has now evolved as a manual that regular teachers can use to convert a classroom library into learning.

In the coming months we would like to introduce a 'Read to Babies' Programme where young mothers are encouraged and oriented to the kind of 'reading' and oral language exposure they can provide their babies from the earliest weeks - as this will help mitigate the 'word gap' and learning gap that is already evident by the time children join school. If someone can especially help support us in this, that would be great!

In the schools where we have been active we now sorely need new books. Overall we need books for 50 schools (35 exiting schools, 15 new). Ideally, we would need 125 books per school, but any number will do. About 30-40 books could be in English / bilingual, the rest in Hindi. Of the 50 sets, about 40 could be for primary levels, while 10 for upper primary schools.

IGNUS Pahal has launched a campaign on Donate-a-Book to raise funds for these libraries. Help them in their mission by making a donation here.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Graphic Designer

May 8, 2018, 12:28 am

≫ Next: Book Review : Dipa Karmakar: In Perfect Balance

≪ Previous: Building Community Supported School Libraries

Pratham Books is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India. In 13 years, we have published over 3000 books and distributed over 14 million copies of our storybooks and 16 million story cards.

In 2015, Pratham Books' increased its footprint by going digital. As an industry leader, we were one of the first publishers in the country to open license our content. All this content is now available on StoryWeaver, which is a digital platform that hosts stories in languages from India and beyond, so that every child can have an endless stream of stories in her mother tongue to read and enjoy. The stories can be read, translated, versioned or downloaded for free. All stories on the platform are openly licensed.

Donate-a-book, is a unique crowd-funding platform for children’s books. The platform helps to bridge the gap between individuals who want to help children read and those organizations, schools and individuals who need books for children.

At Pratham Books, we are shaping a new, innovative approach to multilingual publishing because we believe that every child needs good books to read in a language of their choice.

Pratham Books is looking for a Graphic Designer to join our team. This is a full-time position based in Bangalore.

The candidate will be responsible for:

Design and layout of children's picture books for print.
Adapting original design files (in print) and converting it into sizes and designs that are suitable for StoryWeaver - Pratham Books’ digital story platform.
Working closely with our Content Team to create and adapt content for digital and print mediums.
Working closely with the production team for the first print run of the books.

Required skills:

Minimum one to three years of experience in print and digital graphic design
A mastery of Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator) and a grasp of the production process for both print and web
Strong graphic design skills and an interest in book layouts
Ability to work quickly and accurately on design files
Understanding of typography, composition, layout, color, image formats and impactful design along with a keen sense of visualization
Meticulous attention to design detail and quality
Exceptional organizational and time management skills, including the ability to multitask, shift priorities when needed, work well under pressure, meet tight deadlines, and react quickly and smoothly to changes
Ability to collaborate with and take direction
Good communication skills
Interest in book publishing; familiarity with children’s book publishing a plus

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Please send your resume and a link to your portfolio to storyweaver@prathambooks.org with ‘Graphic Designer' in the subject line of the email.

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Book Review : Dipa Karmakar: In Perfect Balance

May 9, 2018, 12:07 am

≫ Next: Pratham Books is Hiring : Data Analyst

≪ Previous: Pratham Books is Hiring : Graphic Designer

Paromita Chakrabarti reviews our book 'Dipa Karmakar: In Perfect Balance' in her article 'Need New Names'

Via Indian Express

Last year, while reading Rachel Ignotofsky’s Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win, one had hoped that there would come a time when Indian publishers would consider such a book on the considerable achievements of women athletes in India.

Sreelata Menon’s book on Dipa Karmakar seems to be the first baby step in this direction. This slim volume takes readers through the arc of Karmakar’s life — the first Indian female gymnast to participate in the Olympics, and, whose bold decision to perform the risky Produnova almost fetched her a medal at the 2016 summer Olympics. Behind that near-miss is the story of a lifetime of discipline and a refusal to accede to roadblocks. Karmakar grew up in Agartala, a city not particularly known for its gymnastic culture. She had flat feet and no access to proper training facilities. But she had parents who believed that she could overcome all of these and coaches who worked with her to realise her true potential. This is a book that is important because it starts a long-needed conversation about our women athletes.

Read the entire article.

Buy the book or read the book here.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Data Analyst

May 14, 2018, 10:36 pm

≫ Next: Pratham Books is Hiring : Assistant Editor

≪ Previous: Book Review : Dipa Karmakar: In Perfect Balance

About the Organization

In the last 3 years, we have invested deeply in technology based initiatives to further our mission. We are now looking for a Data Analyst as we significantly scale these initiatives.

(Image by Thea Nicole de Klerk from the BookDash book 'Springloaded' by Chenél Ferreira and Sam Wilson)

About the Platform

StoryWeaver is a digital platform that hosts stories in languages from India and beyond, so that every child can have an endless stream of stories in her mother tongue to read and enjoy. The stories can be read, translated, versioned or downloaded for free. All stories on the platform are openly licensed and the goal is to open source the code as well. In two years, StoryWeaver has scaled from 800 stories in 24 languages to 7800 stories in 111 languages by engaging with a community of users. We want every child to have access to quality reading resources in their own language.

StoryWeaver is being recognized as an emerging innovation that can transform the early literacy reader ecosystem globally. Our vision is for StoryWeaver to be the largest multilingual open library in the world for children by empowering communities to address the scarcity of reading resources in their mother tongue languages and scale the quantity and quality of content being produced.

Job Description

We are looking for a passionate individual wanting to make a difference, one who believes that technology can be a powerful enabler in creating equitable access to resources. This role requires an individual contributor who can work effectively, both independently and collaboratively, in a team environment and deliver the project in a timely manner within allocated resources and budgets.

We are looking for a Data Analyst to work closely alongside our Product Development team and other internal teams. You will discover the insights within our data sets, and help us make smarter decisions to deliver better results for our end users.

In this role, you will be responsible for providing requirements for new features for collection of data, execute data validation checks, ensure data integrity, use statistical techniques to analyse and interpret data, take complete ownership of Google Analytics, identify trends and provide insightful reports to internal and external audience.

We’re looking for a self-motivated, detail-oriented individual who loves digging into data, developing insights and communicating data-based recommendations. You will work closely with the internal teams and tech partners to implement your recommendations, track the impact and course correct.

The position will report to the Head of Digital Projects but also requires working closely with the top management. The person needs to be an out-of-the box thinker and should be a strong believer and propagator of use of open technologies.

The individual will be responsible for the following:

Work closely with internal product owners to understand the target audience and their motivations, generate the product enhancement, development ideas and requirements docs.
Perform steps required to create analysis-ready data sets.
Perform regular data analysis to demystify, assess readership, content gap, trends and performances.
Extracting valuable insight from our data and generating analysis that drives user retention and conversion.
Build a visualization tool that allows internal users to interactively explore the data and insights.
Respond to ad-hoc report and analysis requests from other teams as needed.
Take all data driven features to fruition by working closely with the product development teams.
Be the bridge in between organization and other data-for-good communities

Must haves

BTech/MSc/MCA or other graduate degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Market Research, Operational Research, or related quantitative discipline.
Experience working with data and analytics.
Good technical background with some hands on experience with Python/R, relational databases to perform data analysis.
Ability to interpret findings through data visualization and delivery of presentations to both internal and external stakeholders.
Expertise with Google Analytics and common Data Visualization platforms like Tableau, Apache Superset, Google DataStudio etc.
Strong analytical thought process, ability to extract data and transform it into valuable, actionable insight.
0-3 years of experience in the industry

Nice to have but not mandatory

Experience working with non-profits.
Experience with Machine Learning.

Location: Position is based out of Bangalore and we are open to part-time as well as full-time position. Project is expected to complete within a 2 year time-frame.

Salary: Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Interested candidates can email their resume to storyweaver@prathambooks.org and anamika@prathambooks.org

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Assistant Editor

May 15, 2018, 3:04 am

≫ Next: Pratham Books is Hiring : Editorial Assistant

≪ Previous: Pratham Books is Hiring : Data Analyst

As the stories on StoryWeaver are travelling further, we need more hands on board!

Currently, we're looking for a full-time, Assistant Editor to join our Digital Team in Bangalore.

Illustration by Priya Kuriyan for the story 'Anna's Extraordinary Experiments with Weather'

Job description

StoryWeaver is looking for a creative person to take on the work of an assistant editor. The position involves, editing chosen manuscripts, maintaining quality on the platform and working with the team to improve StoryWeaver. The position requires an interest in children’s literature and digital publishing.

Required Skill-set

Excellent communication skills in English
Ability to copy-edit
Ability to work with graphic designer to adapt content for StoryWeaver
Work with the StoryWeaver team to maintain quality on the platform
Ability to tag stories and images before uploading on StoryWeaver
Coordinate with the administrative team for documentation, records and payments
Work with the team to identify opportunities to bring more stories onto StoryWeaver
Ability to maintain and document day-to-day editorial assignments
Ability to multitask and be team player
Ability to meet tight deadlines

Desirable

Degree in Literature/Journalism/Mass Communication/Media /Language
Ability to visualise and engage creatively with the design team

Experience

At least 3-4 years in an editorial position would be good. Preference will be given to candidates who have worked in children's publishing or with children.

Location

This is a full time position in our Bengaluru office.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Please send your resume and sample of work to storyweaver@prathambooks.org with Assistant Editor - StoryWeaver in the subject line of the email.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Editorial Assistant

May 15, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Shortlisted : FICCI Publishing Awards

≪ Previous: Pratham Books is Hiring : Assistant Editor

As the stories on StoryWeaver are travelling further, we need more hands on board!

Currently, we're looking for a full-time, Editorial Assistant to join our Digital Team in Bangalore.

Illustration by Sunaina Coehlo for the story ' Miss Bandicota Bengalensis Discovers the Old Caves'

Job description

StoryWeaver is looking for an editorial assistant. The position involves, working with the editorial team, to adapt books for the digital platform, maintain quality on the platform and perform administrative and editorial tasks.

Required Skill-set:

Good communication skills in English

Work with the StoryWeaver team to maintain quality on the platform

Ability to tag stories and images before uploading on StoryWeaver

Coordinate with the administrative team for documentation, records and payments

Ability to maintain and document day-to- day editorial assignments

Ability to multitask, meet tight deadlines and be team player

Desirable

Degree in Literature/Journalism/Mass Communication/Media /Language

Tech savvy with a sharp eye and love for languages

Experience

1-2 years work experience would be good, but freshers may also apply.

Location

This is a full time position in our Bengaluru office.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Please send your resume and sample of work to storyweaver@prathambooks.org with Editorial Assistant - StoryWeaver in the subject line of the email.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Shortlisted : FICCI Publishing Awards

May 15, 2018, 11:47 pm

≫ Next: Pratham Books is Hiring : Assistant Sales Manager

≪ Previous: Pratham Books is Hiring : Editorial Assistant

Miss Bandicoata Bengalensis is crossing her fingers. Why? Because the story of her adventures has been shortlisted for the FICCI Publishing Awards 2017 (under the 'Children's Book of the Year : Hindi' category).

मिस बैंडीकोटा बेंगालेन्सिस कोई मामूली भारतीय छछुंदर न थी। उसकी आँखें बहुत जादुई थीं, वैसी आँखें किसी और छछुंदर की नहीं थीं, और अपनी उन जादुई आँखों से वह सबकुछ देख लेना चाहती थी। हर दिन वह अपना खुदाई पिटारा बाँधबूंध तैयार करती। उसके इस पिटारे में होते – उसके गॉगल्स (धूप चश्मे), दूरबीन, खुर्दबीन (आतिशी कांच) और उसके चिपकू बैंडेज। वह कहती, “एक खोजी यात्री हर दम तैयार रहता है।” हर नये दिन नयी जड़ों, नयी पत्तियों और नये दानों वाली किसी नयी फसल वाले एक नये खलिहान की ओर वह एक नयी दिशा में वह खुदाई करती। वह लौट तो आती... लेकिन फिर किसी नयी खोह की खोज में... इस बार हमारी यह अनूठी खोजिन समुद्र तक जा पहुँची है। आप भी मिस बैंडीकोटा बेंगालेन्सिस के साथ सागर किनारे की उस टहल का मज़ा लें जिस दौरान वह अजीब-अजीब जन्तुओं के सम्पर्क में आती है।

Miss Bandicoata Bengalensis was not just any little Indian mole rat. She had magical eyes like no other mole rat and she wanted to see everything. Every night, she packed her explorer's kit: her sunglasses, binoculars, magnifying glass and of course, her favourite - a strip of sticker bandages. " An explorer is always prepared," she said. Every time she dug in a new direction and returned through a new burrow! This time our unlikely explorer has surfaced near the sea. Enjoy walk along the beach with her as she befriends a host of strange creatures.

If you have not met Miss Bandicoata Bengalensis or read about her adventures, this is the perfect time to catch up on them and send her some good luck.

Read the story in English : Miss Bandicota Bengalensis Digs Up the Seashore

Get your own copy of the book here.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Assistant Sales Manager

May 21, 2018, 3:59 am

≫ Next: Introduce the Reading Habit to Kids at Gram Chetna Kendra

≪ Previous: Shortlisted : FICCI Publishing Awards

Pratham Books is looking for a Assistant Sales Manager to join our team in Delhi.

The Organisation:

Pratham Books (www.prathambooks.org) is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India. As a publisher serving every child in India, Pratham Books has always pushed the boundaries when it comes to exploring innovative ways in which to create access to joyful stories and have been fortunate in finding partners to collaborate with who share this vision.

Illustration by Abhishek Choudhury

The Role

Responsible for Sales and Distribution of Pratham Books offerings across India.

Maintaining and increasing the sales.
Collecting customer feedback and market research.
To focus on business development from new geographies.
Build and sustain partnerships with institutions, corporates, NGOs and schools
Compiling and analyzing sales figures.
Make recommendations on product enhancements for improved sales potential
Design or contribute to branding and marketing programs
Keeping up to date with products and competitors.
Assisting the sales manager to achieve the designated sales target.
Create awareness of Pratham Books' products. through events like story telling sessions, about StoryWeaver through workshops, organising book fairs, etc
Perform and handle infra structural/operational tasks like quotations, follow ups for payments,etc.

Job Specific Competencies

Job Knowledge– 2-4 years of sales/business development experience in a publishing/books distribution house, adequate knowledge about children’s books and its market outreach. Sales skills like understanding the customer need, presenting the product, negotiation and closure. Sales organization skills like maintaining accurate records for each account and preparing sales report.
Customer Focus - Building customer confidence, commitment to customer satisfaction by addressing their concerns, solving their problems. Setting achievable customer expectations and ensuring commitments are met on time. Soliciting ideas and opinions from the customers.
Planning skills– Prepare a plan and set achievable targets. Communicate timelines and the plan clearly with stakeholders and internal teams. Set follow up process to make it possible working with multiple teams and ensuring on time delivery of the books. Uses judgement to make changes to the set plan to accommodate unforeseen events.

Organization Competencies

Results & Accountability: Takes ownership of a task or project and produces results according to expectations. Requests clarification as needed. Provides frequent updates on status of deliverables and priorities. Keeps team members and management apprised. Prioritizes tasks and sets challenging goals. Demonstrates problem-solving skills and critical thinking. Displays a sense of urgency, meeting deadlines. Takes projects to completion.
Teamwork/Collaboration: Works collaboratively and harmoniously with others, considers their ideas, and shares knowledge in order to achieve objectives. Actively participates and contributes in team meetings and discussions. Demonstrates sensitivity and understanding of attitudes, interests, and needs of others when communicating. Ability to influence and negotiate, with support of facts and data, in a convincing manner so as to build support for ideas and objectives.
Adaptability/Openness: Adapts to change. Adjusts to new objectives. Handles pressure and uncertainty while remaining productive. Open to constructive feedback. Adjusts plans to meet changing needs.
Innovation and Initiative - Generates new ideas, challenges the status quo, solves problems innovatively.

Work environment

Working with geographically distributed sales teams. Frequent travel involved.

Other essential requirements

Basic computer knowledge
Background in Business Development, Sales, Marketing
Interpersonal skills

Location : This is a full-time position based in Delhi.

Salary: Compensation for this position is 4-5 Lakhs per annum.

Candidates who are interested can mail their resumes to careers@prathambooks.org with 'Assistant Sales Manager' in the subject line of the email.

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Introduce the Reading Habit to Kids at Gram Chetna Kendra

May 23, 2018, 5:58 am

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Did you know that more than 1,31,000 books have been donated on our Donate-a-Book platform to organizations and schools across India? One of those organizations was Gram Chetna Kendra.

Gram Chetna Kendra, which translates to Village Awareness Center, was formed in the year 1986 by the group of socially conscious individuals, under the leadership of Mr. Om Prakash Sharma. It is located 50 km away from Jaipur and covers the community of the Sambhar Lake block. They work extensively with children who are affected by the movement of their parents whose work involves salt extraction near the Sambhar lake.

The scenario of education in the area seems to be characterized by the persistence of illiteracy, low level of enrolment in formal education and a high dropout rate, specifically for girls. GCK has been implementing programs for basic education to improve the educational status of the area. The goal of the program is to develop a program of quality education for all children (universal coverage) through community participation and empowerment of mainstream education systems in the villages of the program area. It emphasizes on ensuring enrolment and retention of children in schools, facilitating access to quality of education, and ensuring community participation in the program.

Through our 29 States, 29 Children's Libraries campaign, they received a library-in-a-classroom kit. The Library-in-a-Classroom (LIC), is literally a library on the wall, with 125+ enjoyable children’s books, attractively displayed and provides a print rich environment for children.Take a look at the pictures below to see how the kit is being used at Gram Chetna Kendra.

Gram Chetna Kendra wants to equip more resource centres with joyful reading material. You can help them by making a donation to their library campaign on Donate-a-Book.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : ERP Manager

May 24, 2018, 5:08 am

≫ Next: Discover the Real Eco-Heroes!

≪ Previous: Introduce the Reading Habit to Kids at Gram Chetna Kendra

Pratham Books is looking for a ERP Manager join our team in Delhi.

The Organisation:

Job Description:

An ERP Manager must have the ability to exercise overall day-to-day control of projects and the resources of the program, balancing the needs for program success with the skills and capabilities of the staff. He should also be a good communicator and must interact regularly and comfortably across various departments -- from individual to the ERP Management Team level. The ERP Manager is responsible for the development of an effective planning process, for the creation of an integrated project schedule that encompasses all aspects for the ERP Program and for the actual execution in conformance to plans and the continuing update and adjustment of plans and execution to fit changing circumstances.

Key Job Responsibilities:

Develops, plans, and implements the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)system.
Determines scope of the project.
Sets deadlines, assigns responsibilities and monitors progress for the ERP system.
Evaluates and recommends changes to current and future ERP system requirements to meet organizational needs.
Generates MIS /dashboards from ERP for top management on periodic basis
Leads the implementation of new organizational processes aligned with ERP configuration.

Qualifications :

Requires a bachelor's degree.
Reports to CEO
Manages subordinate staff in the day-to-day performance of their jobs.
Ensures that project/department milestones/goals are met and adhering to approved budgets.
Extensive knowledge of department processes.
Should have 3-5 years of work experience in the related area as an individualcontributor.
Enthusiastic, committed and meets deadlines consistently
Self-starter with excellent people skills

Location: This is a full- time role based in New Delhi office.

Compensation: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Please send your resume to careers@prathambooks.org with ‘ERP Manager' in the

subject line of the email.

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Discover the Real Eco-Heroes!

June 4, 2018, 10:52 pm

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June 5th is World Environment Day - a day to encourage worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.

Why focus on the environment for just one day when we can spend a whole month reading, learning, and doing the things that make our planet a better place? We're kicking off a month of environment-themed books and activities, starting today. Each week, we'll be picking a specific aspect of the environment on which to focus, and we hope you'll have as much fun with it as we have had putting it together.

We started off by teaming up with Nature in Focus for a contest that’s sure to set tongues wagging. If you missed hearing about the contest, you can still send in your entries to win a copy of the book 'Stick Your Tongue Out' and a T-shirt with an illustration from the book! Find more details about the contest here.

This week, we take a look at some of our real-life environmental heroes, and see what they've been doing to help preserve our planet.

Walking in the Wildby Sejal Mehta and Barkha Lohia

Zakhuma works as a forest guard and wildlife photographer with the Mizoram Forest Department in Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mizoram. This is one of India’s more remote tiger reserves with a very difficult terrain. This self-taught photographer has created a valuable archive of photographs of Dampa’s biodiversity: plants, animals, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mosses and fungi. Join him on a walk through the jungle and meet the different animals who live there and what it means to protect them and their home.

Jadav and the Tree-Place by Vinayak Varma

Jadav ‘Mulai’ Payeng is a conservationist and recipient of the Padmashree, one of the highest civilian honours awarded by the Indian government. Jadav lives in Majuli, Assam. At the age of 16, distressed by the sight of dying snakes that had washed up on a sandbar banking the Brahmaputra, Jadav decided to plant some trees in the spot. He started small, with bamboos, and grew an entire forest, plant by painstaking plant. Over the next three decades, Jadav and his tree-planting have managed to change the soil in the barren area. The 550-hectare sandbar is now a lush, dense forest and home to a variety of flora and fauna, including elephants, tigers, apes, deer and many species of local and migratory birds. Jadav continues to visit and nurture his forest every day, planting wherever he finds empty patches.

A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Nicola Riddisjk and Maya Marshak

Wangari Muta Maathai was an internationally renowned Kenyan environmental political activist and Nobel laureate. She founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. This lovely book from BookDash introduces readers to the little girl who worked in the fields with her mother and who was worried when she saw the big forests disappearing.

Welcome to the Forest by Bhavna Menon and Kavita Singh Kale

The Last Wilderness Foundation is an NGO that works in urban and rural areas with children to spread awareness about wildlife and biodiversity, and sensitise them towards conservation and the environment. In January 2017, the Last Wilderness Foundation in association with the Kanha Forest Department conducted a camp for 23 visually impaired students from the Ananya Manav Sai Samiti, Jabalpur. 'Welcome to the Forest' is their story.

We hope you enjoy these reads and tune in to our #EnvironmentMonth updates throughout the month of June!

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Social Media Manager

June 5, 2018, 12:51 am

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≪ Previous: Discover the Real Eco-Heroes!

Pratham Books is looking for a Social Media Manager to join our team in Bengaluru.

The Organisation:

Purpose of job

Develop and implement strategic engagement initiatives by building & sustaining relationships through partnerships with multiple stakeholders and advocating the brand across a variety of social networks.

Illustration by Ruchi Shah

Main Duties

Responsible for incorporating online tools and networking to create relationships and ultimately build the company’s brand, both online and off.
Responsible to strategically create and distribute the brand’s content across a variety of different social networks.
Responsible for all social media for Pratham Books handles.
Source, identify and build lasting relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders from nonprofits, community groups, authors, illustrators, publishers, children, parents, etc.
Develop and implement marketing activities, campaigns and strategies to promote Pratham Books' offerings through a combination of personal contacts, special events, the Internet, etc.
Supporting Pratham Books’ properties like Donate-a-Book
Use Analytics and other measurement tools to provide reports on metrics, and continually find ways to improve on those metrics through testing and new initiatives
Ensure effective planning, implementation and evaluation of Pratham Books' brand building program events and activities

Job Specific Competencies/Applied knowledge and skill

Job Knowledge - Understanding of what children need to read, Understanding of Indian milieu, being up to date with new trends, updated with latest social media technology, effective ways of brand-building and media coverage, a track record of successfully managing teams and developing team members, demonstrated an ability to evaluate and prioritize work so that it enhances and aligns with the organization's goals, experience working in a non-profit, a proactive and organized approach to community engagement.

Eye for detail - Identify and tap opportunities for brand building, committed to excellence, improvises constantly, attentive to brand building process, consistently updated with technology and media outreach. High level communication skills - which makes it possible for you to speak and build relations online and offline

Project management skills – Multi-tasking and prioritising, planning and organizing, perseverance, working with multiple teams that are interdependent, prepare a plan and follow up milestones, ability to work with timelines and targets.

Organization Competencies

Results and Accountability - Takes ownership of a task or project and produces results according to expectations. Requests clarification as needed. Provides frequent updates on status of deliverables and priorities. Keeps team members and management apprised. Prioritizes tasks and sets challenging goals. Demonstrates problem-solving skills and critical thinking. Displays a sense of urgency, perseverance, meeting or exceeding deadlines. Takes projects to completion.

Teamwork/Collaboration: Works collaboratively and harmoniously with others, considers their ideas, and shares knowledge in order to achieve objectives. Actively participates and contributes in team meetings and discussions. Demonstrates sensitivity and understanding of attitudes, interests, and needs of others when communicating. Ability to influence and negotiate, with support of facts and data, in a convincing manner so as to build support for ideas and objectives.

Adaptability/Openness: Adapts to change. Adjusts to new objectives. Handles pressure and uncertainty while remaining productive. Open to constructive feedback. Adjusts plans to meet changing needs.

Innovation and Initiative - Generates new ideas, challenges the status quo, solves problems innovatively.

Work environment

Working with geographically distributed teams. Need to travel occasionally to various external agencies.

Other essential requirements

Finger on latest technology in Social Media, Sales/Marketing/Public relations experience and perseverance skills essential

Location: This is a full- time role based in our Bengaluru office.

Compensation: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Please send your resume to careers@prathambooks.org with ‘Social Media Manager' in the subject line of the email.

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Sign Up for the StoryWeaver Reading Workshop in Mumbai

June 6, 2018, 3:20 am

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Pratham Books is conducting a workshop on reading and a demo of StoryWeaver in Mumbai. StoryWeaver (http://www.storyweaver.org.in/) is an open source, digital repository of multilingual children’s stories. StoryWeaver is an especially useful tool for organisations and individuals working in Education, allowing them to:

Read / Curate a reading list from over 8000 stories across 111 languages
Create a new story or flashcards from an image bank of over 10000 illustrations
Re-Level a story to make it age appropriate
Translate stories to a language of your choice
Download stories for offline reading

And best of all, ALL of this is absolutely FREE!

We invite educators and resource people to attend the StoryWeaver workshop to be held in Mumbai on either 21st or 22nd June (we will confirm the date & the venue of the workshop at a later stage)

The workshop would cover the following

1. A detailed Demo of StoryWeaver – how to navigate and use the platform

2. Examples of how educators are using StoryWeaver effectively in their classrooms

3. Dedicated work time for participants to try their hands on StoryWeaver

4. An opportunity to meet other educators and make interesting conversations

The workshop will be held between 10 a.m to 4.30 p.m and there is no fee to attend the workshop.

If this excites you, register here( https://goo.gl/forms/1YGGXuhrWDfnEfd53) to book your place in the workshop, latest by 12th June, Tuesday.

Please note that the seats are limited and if you're applying from an organization, we might not be able to accommodate more than 4 people per organization. Confirmed participants will get a separate email confirming their participation and other logistical details.

Feel free to reach out with any questions to Khyati at khyati @prathambooks.org.

↧

Time to Dive In!

June 13, 2018, 3:52 am

≫ Next: 'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಗುಚ್ಛ' ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ

≪ Previous: Sign Up for the StoryWeaver Reading Workshop in Mumbai

We have just stepped into the second week of our #EnvironemtnMonth campaign. In the first week, we looked at the stories of real life environment heroes and the amazing work they are doing.

The theme for World Environment Day 2018 was beating plastic pollution. 8th June was also World Oceans Day! Wondering what the connection between these two days are? One of the most comprehensive studies on plastic polluttion estimates that 8 million tonnes of plastic went into the ocean in 2010. Oceans that are home to a stunning array of plant and animal life.

This week, we encourage you to dive right into the ocean with a special set of books. These books remind us exactly who we share our planet with, and will hopefully help readers young and old think twice before reaching for a one time use plastic, that will mostly likely end up in someone else's home.

DIVE by Rajiv Eipe

Take a dive with us into the spectacular world of coral reefs, and catch a glimpse of some strange and beautiful sea creatures!

Goby's Noisy Best Friendby Sheila Dhir and Anjora Noronha

Legless Goby and noisy Snap are best friends who live together in a burrow deep under the ocean. What happens when Goby gets tired of Snap’s loud claws?

Miss Bandicota Bengalensis Digs Up the Seashoreby Aditi Ghosh and Sunaina Coelho

Miss Bandicota Bengalensis was not just any little Indian mole rat. She had magical eyes like no other mole rat and she wanted to see everything. Every night, she packed her explorer's kit: her sunglasses, binoculars, magnifying glass and of course, her favourite – a strip of sticker bandages. “An explorer is always prepared,” she said. Every time she dug in a new direction and returned through a new burrow! This time our unlikely explorer has surfaced near the sea. Enjoy a walk along the beach with her as she befriends a host of strange creatures.

Turtle Story by Karthik Shanker and Maya Ramaswamy

Under cover of darkness, baby olive ridley turtles hatch from sun-warmed eggs on remote beaches. One of them, the little hatchling who is the narrator of our story, is delighted to make it across the beach and into the ocean without losing her way or being captured by predators. But can our little olive ridley survive the dangers of the ocean? Will she make it past the deadly sharks and the terrible fishing nets and reach adulthood? Will she ever have the pleasure of laying her own brood of eggs? Find out in this charming life story of an olive ridley turtle, and meet several other interesting creatures along the way.

Hope you enjoyed diving into the ocean with us! Tune in to our #EnvironmentMonth updates throughout the month of June!

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'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಗುಚ್ಛ' ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ

June 13, 2018, 4:59 am

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Bhargavi G M (Kannada Editor, Pratham Books) writes about the launch of 'Makkala Janapriya Sahitya' : a set of five children’s books showcasing the wonderful works of five of Kannada literature's greatest poets.

'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಕಥೆ ಸರಳವಾಗಿಯೇ ಇರಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ' - ವಿವೇಕ ಶಾನಭಾಗ

ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಕಥೆ ಅಂದಾಕ್ಷಣ, ಅದು ಸರಳವಾಗಿರಬೇಕು, ಇಷ್ಟು ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಇಷ್ಟು ಪದಗಳ ಮಿತಿ ಸಾಕು, ಇಷ್ಟು ಹೊಸ ಪದಗಳನ್ನೂ ಸೇರಿಸಿದರೆ ಹೇಗೆ?, ಮಾತಾಡಿದಂತೆ ಬರೆದರೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಕಲಿಕಾ ಕೌಶಲಗಳಿಗೆ ಪೆಟ್ಟು ಬೀಳಲ್ಲವಾ? ಕನ್ನಡವೇಕೋ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷಿನಷ್ಟು ಸಲೀಸಾಗಿ ಓದಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲವಲ್ಲ... ಹೀಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾ ಅನುವಾದಕರ ವಾಕ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಕತ್ತರಿ ಹಾಕುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಅನುದಿನದ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ. ಇನ್ನು, ಕನ್ನಡದ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕವಿಗಳು ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯವೆಂದು ಕಡೆಗಣಿಸದೇ ನಿರಾಯಾಸವಾಗಿ ಬರೆದ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆಯ್ಕೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದವು. ಈ ಸರಳ ಪದ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಚಿತ್ರಕಾರರಿಗಾಗಿ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷಿಗೆ ಅನುವಾದಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೆವು. ಆಗಲೇ, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾಲಕ್ಕೂ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತವಾಗಬಲ್ಲ ಈ ಪದ್ಯಗಳು ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಶ್ರೀಮಂತಿಕೆಯ ಕುರುಹಲ್ಲದೇ ಮತ್ತೇನಲ್ಲ ಅನಿಸಿತು. "ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಸಂಗದೊಳೆಚ್ಚರಗೊಳ್ಳಲಿ ಆನಂದದ ಆ ದಿವ್ಯಶಿಷು" ಎಂಬ ಕುವೆಂಪು ಅವರ ಸಾಲುಗಳು ನೆನಪಾದವು.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು: ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಸರಳವಾಗಿಯೇ ಕಥೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ, ಸಂಕೀರ್ಣ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಅವರು ಅರ್ಥ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬಲ್ಲರು. ನನ್ನ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ನನಗಿಂತಲೂ ಅವರಜ್ಜಿ ಹೇಳುವ ಕಥೆಯೇ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು ಎಂದು ಲೇಖಕ, ನಾಟಕಕಾರ ವಿವೇಕ ಶಾನಭಾಗ ಹೇಳಿದರು.

ಪ್ರಥಮ್ ಬುಕ್ಸ್ ನಿಂದ ನಗರದ ರಿಟ್ಜ್ ಕಾರ್ಲ್ಟನ್ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಏರ್ಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದ 'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ' - ಚಿತ್ರಪುಸ್ತಕ ಗುಚ್ಛ ಅನಾವರಣಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದರು.

"ಬರೆದಂತೆ ಓದಲು, ಓದಿದಂತೆ ಬರೆಯಲು ಬರುವ ಏಕೈಕ ಭಾಷೆ ಕನ್ನಡ. ಈ ಗುಚ್ಛದಲ್ಲಿನ ಐದು ಕವನಗಳು ಸಹ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಅನುಭವ ಪ್ರಪಂಚವನ್ನು ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸುವಂತಹದ್ದೇ ಆಗಿವೆ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಪಂಜೆ ಮಂಗೇಶರಾಯರ 'ತೆಂಕಣ ಗಾಳಿಯಾಟ' ಕವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಬ್ದಗಳ ಲಾಲಿತ್ಯ ಮಕ್ಕಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆರಗು ಮೂಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಸಹಜ ಕುತೂಹಲವನ್ನು ತಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ" ಎಂದರು.

ಏನಿದು 'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ'

ಕನ್ನಡದ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕವಿಗಳಾದ ಪಂಜೆ ಮಂಗೇಶರಾಯ, ಕುವೆಂಪು, ಡಾ.ಜಿ.ಪಿ.ರಾಜರತ್ನಂ, ಡಾ.ಸಿದ್ಧಯ್ಯ ಪುರಾಣಿಕ, ಬಿ.ಕೆ.ತಿರುಮಲಮ್ಮ ಅವರ ಆಯ್ದ ಕವನಗಳ ಸಂಗ್ರಹವೇ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಗುಚ್ಛ. ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳ ಪರಿಚಯ ನೀಡಿದ ವಿವೇಕ ಶಾನಭಾಗ, ಈ ಕವನಗಳು ಯಾವುದೇ ಆಲೋಚನೆಯಿಂದ ಮೂಡಿದ್ದಲ್ಲ, ಅದೊಂದು ಅನುಭವ. ಅದನ್ನು ಇಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನವಾಗಿ ಇದನ್ನು ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಜತೆಗೆ, ಕನ್ನಡದ ಕೆಲ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಲೇಖಕರ ಪರಿಚಯವನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡಿಸುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶವಿತ್ತು. ನಾವು ಚಿಕ್ಕವರಿದ್ದಾಗ ಓದಿದ ಕವಿತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು‌ ಇನ್ನೂ ನೆನಪಿವೆ. ಮರು ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿರುವ ತುತ್ತೂರಿ, ಅಜ್ಜನ ಕೋಲು, ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಸಣ್ಣ ಪಾಪ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕವನಗಳಿಗೂ ಸುಂದರ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳಿವೆ. ಇವು ಈ ಕಾಲದ ಕನ್ನಡ ‌ಬಲ್ಲ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಮತ್ತು ಕನ್ನಡೇತರರನ್ನೂ ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸುವ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸವಿದೆ" ಎಂದರು.

ರಾಜರತ್ನಂ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿತ್ತು ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಭಂಡಾರ

ಡಾ.ಜಿ.ಪಿ.ರಾಜರತ್ನಂ ಅವರ ಸೋದರ ಸಂಬಂಧಿ ಉಷಾ ಮುಕುಂದ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ, ಚಿಕ್ಕಂದಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನನಗೆ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಓದುವ ಹವ್ಯಾಸವಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ, ಅದು ಬಹುಶಃ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲೇ ಮುಂದುವರಿಯಲು ಪ್ರೇರಣೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದು ನನ್ನ ಚಿಕ್ಕಪ್ಪ ರಾಜರತ್ನಂ ಅವರೊಂದಿಗಿನ ಒಡನಾಟವೇ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ, ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳ ಪರಿಚಯವನ್ನೂ ಅವರು ನನಗೆ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ತಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿನ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಸಂಗ್ರಹಗಳನ್ನು ಸಭೆ, ಸಮಾರಂಭಗಳಿಗೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಒಂದು ವೇಳೆ, ಹಾಗೆ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡವರು ಎಲ್ಲೆಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅದನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟು ಮರೆತರೂ ಅವರು ಬೇಸರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟಷ್ಟೇ ವಿನಯದಿಂದ ಆರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಬ್ಯಾಗಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು ಎಂದು ನೆನಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರು.

ಅಜ್ಜನ ಕೋಲಿನ ಕಥೆ

"ಹೈದರಾಬಾದ್ ನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ನಾನು ಮತ್ತು ನನ್ನ ತಂದೆಯವರು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಪ್ರೊ.ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಭೀಮಸೇನರಾವ್ ಅವರ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದೆವು. ನೀವೇಕೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಕವನಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆಯಬಾರದು ಎಂದವರು ತಂದೆಯವರನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದರು. ಇಲ್ಲಪ್ಪ, ನಾನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಈವರೆಗೆ ಏನೂ ಬರೆದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಷ್ಟಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಯಲ್ಲ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತೆ ಎಂದಿದ್ದರು ಅಪ್ಪ. ಆದರೆ, ಭೀಮಸೇನರಾವ್ ಪಟ್ಟುಬಿಡದೇ ಒಂದು ರೂಮಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂರಿಸಿ ಬೀಗ ಜಡಿದು ಬಿಟ್ಟರು. ಕೆಲವೇ ನಿಮಿಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪ್ಪ 'ನನ್ನ ಕುದುರೆ' ಮತ್ತು 'ಕರಡಿಯ ತಕ ತಕ ಕುಣಿಸುತ ಬಂದ' ಕವಿತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದರು" ಎಂದು ನೆನಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡವರು ಡಾ.ಸಿದ್ಧಯ್ಯ ಪುರಾಣಿಕ ಅವರ ಮಗಳು ವಿಜಯಾ ನಂದೀಶ್ವರ್.

ಪ್ರಥಮ್ ಬುಕ್ಸ್ ನ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟಿ, ಲೇಖಕಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಬಹುಮುಖ ಪ್ರತಿಭೆ ಕಾಂಚನ್ ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ಜಿ, ಆಯಾ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಪ್ರತಿಬಿಂಬವಾಗಿ ಗುರುತಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದೇ ಪ್ರಥಮ್ ಬುಕ್ಸ್ ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಯ ಆಶೋತ್ತರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಮುಖ. ಅದಕ್ಕಾಗಿಯೇ ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಥೆ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿ ಸಿಗಬೇಕೆಂಬುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಧ್ಯೇಯ. ಸದ್ಯ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಥೆಗಳು 21 ಭಾಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಷಾಂತರಗೊಂಡಿವೆ. ಕಳೆದ 1.5 ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ ಸ್ಟೋರಿವೀವರ್ ಕ್ರಿಯೇಟಿವ್ ಕಾಮನ್ಸ್ ನಡಿ ಮುಕ್ತ ಪರವಾನಗಿ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಿರುವ ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಥೆ, ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಮರುಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿ ನಿಮ್ಮದೇ ಆವೃತ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ವಿವರಿಸಿದರು. ಇದೇ ವೇಳೆ, ತಮ್ಮ 32ನೇ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಲಿತ ಆರಂಭದ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತುತ್ತೂರಿ ಪದ್ಯ ಓದಿದ್ದನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಅವರು, ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳೂ ಅತ್ಯದ್ಭುತವಾಗಿ ಮರುಸೃಷ್ಟಿಗೊಂಡಿವೆ. ಇದೇ ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಕೆಲ ಕ್ಲಾಸಿಕ್ ಕವನಗಳನ್ನು ಚಿತ್ರಪುಸ್ತಕವಾಗಿಸಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಈ ಪದ್ಯಗಳು ಓದಲು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಕೇಳಲು ಸಹ ಇಂಪಾಗಿವೆ. ಒತ್ತಕ್ಷರಗಳಿಲ್ಲದ ಸರಳ ಸಾಲುಗಳಿವೆ ಎಂದರು.

ಕವಿ ಪಂಜೆ ಮಂಗೇಶರಾಯ ಅವರ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮೊಮ್ಮಗಳು ಉಮಾ ರಾವ್, ಡಾ.ಜಿ.ಪಿ.ರಾಜರತ್ನಂ, ಬಿ.ಕೆ.ತಿರುಮಲಮ್ಮ ಅವರ ಸೋದರ ಸಂಬಂಧಿ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ಶ್ರೀಧರನ್, ತುತ್ತೂರಿ ಮತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಸಣ್ಣ ಪಾಪ ಕವನಗಳ ಚಿತ್ರಕಾರ ಸತ್ಯ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ್, ಪ್ರಥಮ್ ಬುಕ್ಸ್ ನ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥೆ ಸುಜೇನ್ ಸಿಂಘ್, ಇದ್ದರು.

ಟಾಟಾ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟ್ ನ ಪರಾಗ್ ಮುಂದಾಳ್ತನದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಥಮ್ ಬುಕ್ಸ್ ಜತೆಗೂಡಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಈ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕವನಗಳನ್ನು ಚಿತ್ರಪುಸ್ತಕ ಗುಚ್ಛವಾಗಿ ಹೊರತಂದಿದೆ. ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಿ.ಜಿ.ಗುಜ್ಜಾರಪ್ಪ, ಸತ್ಯ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ್, ಪ್ರೊಯ್ತಿ ರಾಯ್, ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಿ ನರವ್ಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಆದ್ರಿಜಾ ಘೋಷ್ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. 'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ' ಕವನಗಳ ಗುಚ್ಛವನ್ನು ಖರೀದಿಸಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

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Pratham Books is Hiring : Assistant Brand Manager

June 14, 2018, 9:20 am

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≪ Previous: 'ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಗುಚ್ಛ' ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ

Pratham Books is looking for an Assistant Brand Manager to join our team in Bengaluru.

Illustration by Niloufer Wadia

Purpose of Job: Develop, plan, and manage marketing activities for various departments and stakeholders so as to enhance the Pratham Books brand, as well as its sub-brands, StoryWeaver, and Donate-a-Book

Main Responsibilities:

Develop and present our brands/properties/platforms memorably, to help themstand out in a competitive marketplace.
Communicate and connect with multiple stakeholders - authors, illustrators, publishers, children, parents, schools, other non-profits, social enterprises and governments.
Effectively explore new media avenues to achieve brand goals.
Develop CRM programs and database management. Prior experience in this will be an added advantage.
Plan and execute research projects.
Plan and execute marketing campaigns for our brands/properties/platforms
Enhance brand´s presence at literature festivals and book fairs through marketing collaterals and on ground activation.
Develop and maintain media relations.

Requirements:

A degree in Business/ Marketing
3-4 years’ experience in advertising / media relations / MARCOM / social sector
Good communication, presentation and inter-personal skills
A self-starter, independent, team player who is motivated by the cause
Strong technology skills
Knowledge of Kannada is a plus
The ideal candidate should have a strong work ethic, high level of integrity and believe that all children should be given equitable opportunities to achieve their best.

Location: This is a full- time role based in our Bengaluru office.

Compensation: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Please send your resume to careers@prathambooks.org with ‘Social Media Manager' in the subject line of the email.

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