'A Book I Wrote' 2025 - Book Launch and Felicitation of Winners

‘A Book I Wrote’ (ABIW) is a unique library initiative started in 2017 in collaboration with the fantastic children’s book publisher MomSays. The purpose of this initiative was to provide a platform to children to write creatively and give them a sense of accomplishment by printing it as a beautifully illustrated book with their poems and stories. These books are a testament to the fact that children have the ability to ‘author’ their ideas.

‘A Book I Wrote’ is a thematic poem and story writing competition for children in age group 6-8 and 9-11 years. Every year a unique theme is given and children are invited to contribute a poem or story based on it. Some of the themes were Nature, Fantasy, Festivals and Gratitude. After receiving the entries, our panel of judges review and select the 12 best entries, 6 in the category ‘Poems’ and 6 for ‘Stories’. These 12 best entries are then published as a beautifully illustrated book.  The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Happiness is…’. By choosing happiness as a theme, we wanted children to think about what makes them happy and draw their attention to the positive instances in their life.  Lavanya Karthik, an eminent illustrator and children’s author drew beautiful illustrations for the book.

The 7^th edition of ABIW was launched on 14^th November 2025 where we felicitated the 12 best entries of the competition. For the launch, we invited four special guests from the fields of literature, media and library science. They were writer Ms Meghna Pant, features editor of Mid-day newspaper and writer Ms Fiona Fernandez, Head of the Library Network at the Muktangan Education Trust Ms Mamta Paigankar and Librarian and Information Curator Ms Heeru Bhojwani who very graciously accepted our invitation to launch the book.  They spoke some words of encouragement and felicitated the winners with a copy of ABIW, a certificate and a cash prize.

In today’s world of gadgets, reading printed books has become a rarity. The purpose behind Nehru Centre Library’s initiative was to draw people back into libraries, reconnect them with the fascinating world of the printed word and the rich language that somewhere seems to be lost.

                        

                      

                                        

                                                                         

                  

                                         

            

                                       

         

       

                          

       

                                                      

       

                                         

      

     

Library field trip - Muktangan Education Trust

 

It’s always heartening to get a request to organise a curated field trip for fellow librarians.

So, we were happy to hear from the Muktangan Education Trust who visited us with 22 teacher-librarians for a half-day workshop on 28^th October, 2025.They wanted to gain an understanding of the library operations and learn about the Koha Library Management System in use.

It was a fulfilling day for the participants who expressed gratitude for the opportunity.

#fieldtrip #libraryprofessionals #opensource #edtech #KohaILS #librarytechnology #librarysoftware #libraryscience #learning #education #professionaldevelopment #skillbuilding #muktanganeducationtrust #nehrucentrelibrary #mumbai2025

Poetry Evening

 It's happening tomorrow

See you there for a captivating presentation on the beauty of Croatia and Switzerland.

#poetryevening
#ibtida
#drparamitamukherjeemullick
#nehrucentrelibrary
#octoberfest

Children’s Day Contest: 'A Book I Wrote-2025'

 Delighted to share the winning poems and stories for 'A Book I Wrote - 2025' contest. A big thank you to all the children, parents, teachers and schools for making this year’s competition a success! Congratulations to the winners of ‘A Book I Wrote – 2025’ contest.

#abookiwrote #happinessis #7thedition #thankyouto #stories #nehrucentrelibrary #momsays #poems #childrensday #2025 

Mini Lit Fest - 2 @ Nehru Centre Library_15th to 17th October 2025

 Dear all,

We are delighted to announce our ‘Mini Lit-Fest – 2’ on the theme ‘Women in Nature’ from 15th till 17th October, 2025 open for all age groups. We dedicate this lit-fest to the celebrated and passionate advocate for the environment Dr. Jane Goodall who passed away on 1st October 2025 at the age of 91. 

In the midst of a bustling life in a city which never sleeps and has disconnected us with nature, this lit-fest will allow us to reconnect, introspect and understand nature through the magic of words. 

On 15th October (4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.) Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick will recite from her latest book of poems IBTIDA – The Beginning which makes you fall in love with nature again. She will bring alive the beauty of Croatia and Switzerland with beautiful slides as she recites her poems from the book.

RSVP HERE: https://forms.gle/83q4uvBZRXR4KNB36

On 16th October (11.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.), nature author Arefa Tehsin will interact with the audience as she reads from her beautifully illustrated book The Great Indian Safari. With Charred the Bard as your guide to the wild, you will hear funny stories and fascinating facts about India’s incredible wild creatures.  

RSVP HERE: https://forms.gle/uQYWSoRbQSz4LLA49

On 17th October, Vaishali Shroff (4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.) will talk about her thoroughly researched book Submerged Worlds and Other Amazing Stories of India’s Mighty Rivers with stories from today’s world where climate crisis is a water crisis. The book is a must-read for all non-fiction lovers keen on understanding life in the subcontinent we call home.

RSVP HERE: https://forms.gle/ZGcKnbhFZsbfnEGt7

So book your seat at the earliest and be ready to explore nature at its best!

Registration is free and open to all.

#minilitfest2 #womeninnature #drjanegoodall #drparamitamukherjeemullick #ibtidathebeginning #arefatehsin #thegreatindiansafari #vaishalishroff #submergedworldsandotheramazingstoriesofindiasmightyrivers #nehrucentrelibrary #october2025

Hindi storytelling session - Katha Karavaan

 14 September was Hindi Diwas and to celebrate the day, we had organised a Hindi storytelling session for families. Katha Karavaan had four brilliant storytellers who narrated their stories to a rapt audience in yet another packed hall.

The first teller was the talented Simran Nagwani who narrated the legendary tale of Kumbhakarna. Rooted in the story were messages of speaking mindfully, embracing discipline, time management and fighting greed.

This was followed by Manisha Bhise who told a Bengali folktale, full of humour about mourning the death of an important entity who ultimately turns out to be a donkey. The audience was made to wonder about the importance of asking relevant questions and checking the facts before believing any news.

The third story titled Kisni…Kisni… adapted from a Gujarati story by the wellknown Gujarati author, Shri Gijubhai Badheka was told by Niyati Vaidya Mehta. It told the story of a stingy grocer who cringes from spending money. A story about empathy, understanding the other person, sharing and following a philosophy of live & let live.

The final story for the day was told by Shalini Bajaj Surve, about an ugly yet happy character, who has to undergo a process of discrimation and disregard, before he is able to transform and realise his own worth. He overcomes self-doubt and sadness on this journey of personal transformation.

Truly, these stories with a moral and highlighting character formation resonated with the kids and adults alike.

 

#hindidiwas

#storytellingsession

#kathakaravaan

#nehrucentrelibrary

#simrannagwani

#manishabhise

#niyativaidyamehta

#shalinibajajsurve

#september 2025

Book Discussion - A Maharaja in Florence: Chattrapati Rajaram Maharaj

It’s not every day that royalty comes knocking at our doors @ NCL. So, we were delighted to host the lovely Ms. Nandita Ghatge, to discuss her book A Maharaja in Florence, which is the fascinating journey of Rajaram Chhatrapati, a ruler who was anointed king at the tender age of 18 and who died three years later. He had embarked on a tour of Europe and it was on this tour that he died in Florence. In his memory, a cenotaph / Chhatri was constructed by the local Italians on the banks of the river Arno. The book, also translated into Marathi, is a brilliantly researched piece of literature. It not only honours the legacy of the Maratha empire but also the deep connection between Florence and Kolhapur.

The discussion was further enriched by the scholarly inputs by senior historian and journalist Padmashree Shri Kumar Ketkar who was in conversation with the author.

#rajaramchhatrapati

#nanditaghatge

#nehrucentrelibrary

#kumarketkar

#ghatgestheriseofaroyaldynasty

#amaharajainflorence

#bookdiscussion

#september2025

#kolhapur

#chhatris

#arnoriver