The Mimansa Children’s Literature Festival, organized by Keekli Charitable Trust in collaboration with the Language & Culture Department of Himachal Pradesh Government, is a three-day event held at Gaiety Theatre in Shimla.
It focuses on fostering love for reading, creative writing, and children’s literature among children, young adults under 25 from schools, colleges, and universities.
Key activities include inter-school literary competitions such as declamation, vocabulary skills, slogan writing, poster making, bookmark making, wordplay, and art competitions. The festival features book reviews by young readers interacting with authors, open mic readings with poetry, flash fiction, micro stories, short stories, live poetry recitation, and book launches.
Interactive workshops cover storytelling, creative writing, art, and engaging panel discussions.
Sessions are structured with morning slots for competitions (e.g., 9:30-11:00 am) and afternoon open mic/book discussions (11:00 am-1:00 pm and 1:30-4:00 pm). It provides an open forum for children to share writings, promote reading, and engage in conversations with authors, educators, and moderators.
Past editions, like Mimansa 2023 (March 17-19), 2024 (March 22-24), and 2025 (April 18-20), included author interactions, special sessions (e.g., audio-visual presentations), and awards for winners, with certificates and gifts for all participants. Eminent personalities like Khyrunnisa A, Roopa Pai, Devdutt Pattanaik, Priya Kuriyan, Uday Shankar have graced the occasion.
The event is open to budding writers, literature enthusiasts, students, parents, and teachers, emphasizing creativity, expression, and healthy competition.
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