(Myanmar Event Park)
I recalled the memory of the Noble-Myanmar Literary Festival 2015 which was held a year ago, at National Theatre at Myoma School Road. People preferred visit that place, because it was the place where Annual Academy Award Ceremony was held, and all the Burmese actors and actresses tread on the red ladders of the National Theatre. People loved to take the photos with it. However we missed it, people came to the Children Literary Festival as much as they could enjoy all the activities at MEP (Myanmar Event Park).
I went there in the second day of the festival, on 17th January. I did not know the programs of the day yet, but I loved to see the bookshops, and looked around how the people enjoyed it.
(Talk about fairy tales, and children stories)
There were stages called A, B, C, or D, etc, and there non-Burmese speakers, and Myanmar writers came and talked on fairy tales, stories, and children books. It said there also discussions included. I wandered through the books-land which looked like a never-ending paradise. People with their children enjoyed all the events, it seemed that they did not want to miss a bit of it. Drawing competitions, caricatures, story-telling, books-browsing, and talk-shows attract all the visitors. The sound-boxes were everywhere, so we heard every topics that speakers talked, or discussed.
(Books are everywhere, and children enjoy all.)
However the children here did not know Hans Anderson, they were familiar with ‘Ugly Duckling’ or ‘Wild Swans, or ‘Snow Queen’, etc. It was because some Burmese writer translated and adapted into Burmese, some Hans’ stories. I did not know Myanmar children were familiar with Astrid Lindgren. Her character Pippi seemed stranger to our children today. Although children preferred joining the exciting activities such as drawing, coloring, story-telling, etc, they loved to sit and listen to the talk and discussion of fairy tales with their parents.
(The lunch time, people crowded, and join the queue to wait for order rice and curry.)
All the talk were very interesting. But the time-table for talk-programs did not start in time. Not alone because of the time-table, but also the programs could not reach to all the audience, or book lovers. At the corner of the selected books sale-counter was the most crowded place among hundreds of book shops. All the selected children books from various book shops were seen there. Children especially were choosing books with illustrations, and pictures, and cartoons. Their parents preferred choosing fairy tales, and story books for their children. Books on Buddhism were seemed to be popular among readers.
(Cartoon-show, and paintings,…..)
(…. and souvenirs attract visitors.)
The souvenirs were sold at the front place, and people loved to buy them. Cups, bags, table-clocks, diary, note books, key-chains, T-shirts, etc attract every visitor of the day. The theatre and plays were shown at night. So people enjoyed all the show in these three days of the festival.
(Making Htamene (glutinous rice), and packets of Htamene were for the visitors.)
Epilogue
(I saw my favorite book there….)
I wandered around festival area, and I also enjoyed English books, and felt something whenever I found this book, …. Ray Bradbury’s F…451.. that I read many times and more…