In 1992, during the very first teacher-training session at Rato Bangala we organized a writing workshop for the faculty. Each teacher was asked to compose and illustrate a children's story, then to share his/her work with the group and to make revisions before submitting a final draft. The results were amazing! We discovered a wealth of talent among that initial group of educators and from that first set of books came the inaugural title published by Rato Bangala Kitab, the publishing division of the Rato Bangala Foundation. Mangale Ko Changa, by Punyasheel Gautam, is the story of two boys and a kite, composed in rhyming Nepali verse and illustrated (using a combination of collage and tempera paint) by the author. Published in 1993, it has quickly become a classic.
Since then, Rato Bangala Kitab has expanded to include an impressive list of titles published in Nepali, English and over a dozen other regional languages. To list just a few: The Adventures Of A Nepali Frog recounts the travels of an intrepid amphibian; Kaag Kaag Kauwa introduces the alphabet to young children; Khadkhadai is set in the Nepali jungle; and Chhandaka Ek Saya Ek Kabita presents 101 poems in traditional Nepali rhyming meter. These books are available for purchase by families and schools throughout the country, and several are also included in the collected learning materials distributed to rural schools by the foundation. (More about this project to come.) The Foundation continues to sponsor writer's workshops and the work of producing quality literature for Nepali children moves forward.
A complete catalog of Rato Bangala Kitab titles is available at http://www.rbf.org.np/catalogue.html.
-Beth
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