Bookworm was invited to participate in the Traditional Christmas Revival hosted by Goa Chitra – the ethnographic Museum in Benaulim and this time we said yes.
Krystal loaded the van, with books for browsing and reading, books for sale , craft supplies and a Christmas tree and we set off!
We arrived at the museum to a steady chatter and excitement from families who came to get traditional. There were wood fires burning and traditional sweets being made, bamboo stars were being glued and papered and candles were being prepped.
We set up with a great deal of help from 2 wonderful boys, Kartik and Ved whose mum Deepa encouraged these hearts to carry and lug boxes of books for us. It is so heartening to meet children like this who not only listen to their mothers but who participate so fully. It was my happiest moment to have Kartik and Ved as our first participants.
Children poured in thereafter, drawn as always to the crafting and the excitement of making things with their hands. We tried to remind them to use their crafts as hand made gifts for grand parents, but 2 young girls were quite determined the crafts would stay in their home.
While the music outside the room assigned to us was beautiful, we read stories, encouraged and cajoled sticky fingers to glue and paint and kept the spirit of Bookworm alive.
The Burrow made some sales as well and it was nice to see grandparents/parents choose books for gifting, and books for giving and books for reading, reminding us that the river was worth crossing, too!
