Chennai: Inculcating reading habit in children in this tech-driven world is not an easy task. Reading helps in developing kids’ mind and influencing their behavioiur and attitude. E-books have already begun attracting the attention of young ones. However, the love for books has not diminished going by the increasing footfalls to book fairs held every year in the city. Realising the significance of reading, Sundaram Finance launched a 15-day ‘Reading in the Park’ initiative last week in the city.
When asked about this first-of-its-kind initiative, TT Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance, said, “We are organising this as a 15-day summer special experiment (till May 19) to see if kids are keen to come out to the park and spend time in an open environment amidst evening breeze and chirping birds to read books.
“Vincent D’ Souza, Editor, Mylapore Times is the curator of the activity. We have around 75 books with about 20 per cent of them in Tamil catering to children in the age group 5 to 13 years.”
The books are spread out in the chess square of Nageswara Rao Park. The kids can choose a book of their liking read and place it back in the book rack. When asked about the response, he said, “The response has been encouraging. Many parents have called us enquiring about the activity and have brought their children in the evenings.”
Encouraging book-reading through such innovative methods is bound to make a positive impact on children.
