A Unique Effort to Keep the Flame of Children's Literature Alive

This afternoon, when I asked at home, "Has any mail arrived?" my wife pointed to a book on the table and said, "This book has arrived." I looked at it, removed the cover, and found the beautiful magazine Salil Pravah inside. Beneath the title of the magazine was the name of Dr. Vimla Bhandari. Upon reading the name of this renowned children's author, my curiosity to explore the magazine grew stronger. I flipped through all the pages while standing. The central cover page featured glimpses of the 15th National Children's Literature Conference 2024, with a focus on author Dr. Sheel Kaushik. The back cover showcased vibrant pictures of the organization’s activities, set to the tune of a life flute. What began as a small effort fourteen years ago is now, in its 15th edition, a grand tree. This truth was beautifully articulated by Prakash Tated in his editorial on the journey of intellectual development.

The magazine, which began with the inaugural invocation by Gopal Maheshwari of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, is nothing less than a rainbow. The magazine consists of various sections, including articles, songs, poetry, reports, reviews, heritage, pride, interviews, book introductions, children's platform, and more. These diverse sections represent the many colors of the rainbow. Udaipur-based writer Manju Chaturvedi has presented a review of the 2023 issues of the magazine. Dr. Vimla Bhandari’s travel essay "Meeting America" is quite fascinating, and it has been presented by Dr. Satish Kumar from Kishangarh. This travel narrative is further praised by Dinesh Kumar Mali from Odisha, who calls it a priceless creation. Reviews of Dr. Bhandari's works "Children's Knowledge-Enriching Articles" and "Sweet Stories from Madhuban" as well as Madhubhan's "The Desire of a Daughter" point to the high quality of children's literature. In the heritage section, there is information about leading children's literature creators like Shambhudiyaal Saxena and, in the pride section, information about Bhopal’s Dr. Vikas Dave.

In the interviews section, multifaceted writer Dr. Sheel Kaushik is featured along with his stories such as "The Untouched Childhood", "Gippy and Lappy", his poems "Spider Hanging from the Ceiling" and "The Clouds Rained Heavily", his novel "The Mysterious Hill of Maya", the one-act play "I Am Pink Fairy", and his inspirational biography "The Wizard of Mathematics - Srinivasa Ramanujan". These works reveal Dr. Kaushik's literary personality and introduce his remarkable writing.

This 50-page colorful magazine, filled with a wealth of information, is dedicated to children's literature. The efforts of the organization and the magazine to promote children's literature are undoubtedly commendable and worth emulating. My heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Vimla Bhandari for her tireless effort to keep the flame of children's literature alive.