T hose who had a chance to attend the three-day Children’s and Teachers’ Literature Festival, held recently at Children’s Complex, are still basking in its warmth.

The festival, organised by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi and Oxford University Press  offered talks and discussions on a variety of subjects ranging from the joy of reading to how to write a drama. This was meant for the teachers.

There were 35 sessions on Day One -- seven at a time, so there was quite a variety to choose from. "Giving variety is necessary to save mankind from a tunnel vision," a speaker at the festival put it.

The focus of the Teachers’ Festival was on "unlocking the power of reading."

Amid the activities were two book launches -- ‘A Children’s History Series by Hamida Khuhro’ and ‘Literary Series for Young Readers’ -- both published by Oxford University Press.

Fehmida Riaz read out excerpts from her book ‘Simurgh and the Birds’ -- Fareeduddin Attar’s ‘Mantaqut Tair’ retold, published under the Literary Series.

"The message is that every human being is glorious inside, so be one with your own unique reality. Don’t forget that angels fell prostate before you," said Fehmida Riaz.

She has also translated Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Shaikh Sa’di’s works for children, beautifully illustrated by Aslam Bashir. (Illustration of books has remained an important part of Muslim culture.)

The launch of Hamida Khuhro’s books on the four provinces of Pakistan had Dr Arfa Syeda, Zubeida Mustafa and Nasreen Iqbal as panelists.

Dr Arfa Syeda, an educationist and intellectual, said on the occasion, "It’s said the people of the subcontinent gave in to invaders very easily. The truth is that the people who drove bullock carts were raided by men on horses with lightning speed. Our history starts from 712 AD and all of it from generals.

"We have become apologetic in Pakistan. The first thing we did was to mutilate history but it stays in people’s memory," she continued. "We write Aurangzeb Alamgir Rehmatullah Alaeh (RA) who put his old father in prison and blinded his brother for power. When Aurangzeb reached Deccan, he heard of a hermit who used to live in a cave and had great following. The king sent an invitation to the hermit to meet him, who declined and said anyone wanting to see him can come over. When the king went to his cave, there were two dogs keeping watch at the entrance. The king called out to the hermit, ‘dervishes don’t have gatekeepers’. At this the hermit said, ‘they are here to keep dogs at bay’. You won’t come across such stories in history."

Another story from history, as told by Dr Syeda, goes like this: "There was one Mela Ram in the late 19th century. He had a huge property in Lahore. Once Mela Ram’s two sons fell very ill. They were diagnosed with Russian flu for which there was no cure at that time. Many doctors tried to cure them of the disease but eventually the civil surgeon gave up and asked Ram to pray to God. The boys had stopped eating and Mela Ram had placed a chair between their beds and would sit there all the time, struck with grief. People said he should visit Data Saheb’s shrine too and he did. One night he dreamt of Ali Hajveri who said to him, ‘you feed the hungry at my shrine from your langar and supply water to the travelers and wayfarers who come here. I will certainly pray to Allah for you.’ The very next day while he was sitting on that chair between the beds, he heard someone say ‘water’. It was one of his sons who had been lying almost unconscious for days. Slowly their condition started improving and both of them gained health without any medical intervention."

Why don’t such stories make their way into textbooks?

"I teach history and I am in pain," she said. "Tehrik-e-Pakistan’s workers change every five years in our books. Include history in whatever you teach. We have mutilated our history -- the reason why we are divided into so many sects.

"The Higher Education Commission demands from the teachers to conform to the ideology of Pakistan. What is ideology? My ideology is Meesaq-e-Madina and August 11, 1947 speech of Jinnah."

Dr Arfa also said that "we have Moenjodaro with big roads and small lanes, clean with no filth seen anywhere. I would say New York is built on that pattern. Its people used showers. History should not be mutilated in the name of development. With trees gone, birds have also disappeared. Now we have concrete and cars in the city. The west has been able to preserve their landscape. They wouldn’t have been able to if they had followed our pattern."

"Teachers should not be expedient. A teacher’s 30 minutes in class means his/her rule. To give a 30-minute long lecture he should prepare for a 90-minute class. Please read. Teachers should have vast reading, particularly those who teach history and literature. Instill inquisitiveness in your students."

Among the many sessions at the festivals there was one on ‘Life skills-based education’. Before the resource person came, those present in the room, mostly teachers, exchanged views on the subject. It came out that the most important thing is to develop self-esteem in children. Hurt a person’s sense of pride and he/she will never achieve his potential.

A teacher said that her school was working on "seven habits" with focus on one habit in a month. There was a lot of talk on how to teach children to protect themselves in a subtle manner, that there are films like ‘Highway’ and plays like ‘Chup Raho’ that can be shown to children. Also, Rozan, an NGO has something on YouTube to guide the children.

The resource person Dr Munazza Harris laid emphasis on building confidence in children to enable them to communicate what they think and feel. "They should be told about good touch and bad touch. Mothers do not talk about menstruation with daughters so girls in villages in particular do not know how to take care of themselves. Curriculums do not tell anything about it either. This results in health complications later. Girls and boys both need to know about how their bodies function in a manner that they get the truth. Boys too are equally vulnerable," she said.

The first day of the festival closed with a play staged by Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust.

The second was of children. The Children’s Complex where the festival was held was brimming with kids from different schools. They were excitedly engaged in so many activities that it was difficult for them to choose one. Crafts, painting, drawing, dancing, dengue awareness quiz, books and toys selling were some of the activities. One heard such twitter after ages. The place was oozing with joy which was really contagious. You could not resist but become part of the carnival.