Shopping WITH Bookworm

Written by Meghna

I first visited Bookworm in 2011. Since then I have come to the library and the family on many occasions. Over time these visits have defined my experience of Goa – the character of the villages, the glory of the green trees, the serenity of some of the beaches, the beauty of the architecture and the activity at Library.

During the last few trips, another dimension has been added to the Bookworm experience – Shopping at the Burrow. It started with Sujata gifting me some of the books the Burrow sells – Bindi Su, Once Upon a Feast and Cholta Cholta. And then every time I went there, I picked something up. Some of my favourite children’s books like The Why Why Girl, Catch that Crocodile and The Autorickshaw Girl have been bought at Bookworm.

During my visit this May, I instinctively went looking for the Burrow. Now housed in a little cupboard instead of on its customary rack, it has some wonderful contemporary children’s books by Indian Publications. I browsed through the books, read some and chose what I wanted to buy. I paid.

Just as I was putting my loot away, Sujata asked me what I had bought. As she looked at my purchases, we got into a discussion about the kind of children’s books that lend themselves to performance. In a jiffy Sujata explained to her team the work I do with Children and Theatre. In a jiffy the team started sharing suggestions about books they knew – books with narrative structures, books with elements of physicality, books where sounds, moods, characters and dialogue are waiting to jump out of the page and on to the stage. In a jiffy the team moved with me to the Burrow and dug out relevant books that would really add value to my work. In a jiffy I had wonderful new additions to my loot.

Shopping AT Bookworm turned into a Shopping WITH Bookworm experience. The passion of the team reflected in their knowledge and awareness of different types of books. And their enthusiasm in the active support they readily provided me with. Via this shared shopping spree WITH Bookworm I am enthused with new ideas and resources and am looking forward to designing some fun Literature and Performance experiences for my students.

Leave a Reply