Date: 26th April 2025 Time: 8.30 p.m. IST/9.00 a.m. PT Venue: Online Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpYgoZNo0g-uBWP9BaOG4CqpOZz7Uev_tVjRXMck60ZUw4hw/viewform?usp=sharing Talk Abstract In 2021, a shocking case of infant-abduction shook the south-western state of Kerala, India. Baby Aiden, born to an inter-caste couple, was allegedly kidnapped by his maternal grandparents and trafficked to outside the state through the government's child … Continue reading ACLiSA Speaker Series: Author Talks: Dr. J Devika, “Feminist Struggles and Fairy Tales: Writing Kunhuthee”
Barbie, the Refuge
Tina Jose When I was six, the third baby in our family was born. Although it was a happy occasion, certain birth-related issues meant that he required extra care for most of his life. This also meant that I was soon left to my own devices. It was the 80s in the UAE, a strange … Continue reading Barbie, the Refuge
Samhain’s Reckoning
Reyna Bhawal Some stories are meant to be heard. On windy nights, as owls hoot somewhere far. Our young author for this piece has just the story: when folk magics roam the land and spirits keen.Written story below. In a small village nestled comfortably between a harsh river and whispering woods, there lived a witch … Continue reading Samhain’s Reckoning
Book Talk: Divya Kannan, “Contested Childhoods: Caste and Education in Colonial Kerala”
Date: 28th March 2025 Time: 9.30 p.m. IST/9.00 a.m. PT Location: Zoom Last Date to Register: 26th March 2025 Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOtCX6W8Z8GEX7Qos4VjzvzBJ_Gostgdk0j82X105CPy3IrA/viewform?usp=sharing Speaker Bio Dr. Divya Kannan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Archaeology, Shiv Nadar-University Delhi-NCR. Her research interests are 19th and 20th South Asian history, History of Education, Childhood and … Continue reading Book Talk: Divya Kannan, “Contested Childhoods: Caste and Education in Colonial Kerala”
Synthesis of the Real and the Fantastic in Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen
Swarachita Dasgupta Reality, in itself, is a subjective notion. Each and every individual’s personal experience culminates to offer them their own picture of reality, every part of which is ‘real’ to them. This makes us question how we are to distinguish the real from the fantastic, the normal from the absurd, the sense from the … Continue reading Synthesis of the Real and the Fantastic in Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen
Speaker Series: KidLit Beyond Kidlit
Dr. Siddharth Pandey, "Magical Materialities: A Personal Journey through Enchanted Landscapes Date: 22 March 2025 Time: 9.30 p.m. IST/ 9.00 a.m. PT Venue: Online Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMO-ofeNFKzqfelRQr_-nU2jMZT6rBBNlZD20LZ2ddWg3fIA/viewform?usp=sharing Registration Deadline: 20 March 2025 Talk Abstract This talk explores the speaker’s relationship to magic, fantasy and enchantment in both intimate and academic ways. Adopting a reflective and … Continue reading Speaker Series: KidLit Beyond Kidlit
Stories That Raised Me: Growing up in the Magic of Storytelling
Krishna Pillai Good stories have a captivating beginning. My introduction to the world of stories was nothing short of captivating. Where do you think we started this business of storytelling? I like to think that one fine evening, after a long and hard day of hunting, people gathered around the crackling fire, and as they … Continue reading Stories That Raised Me: Growing up in the Magic of Storytelling
About the ACLiSA Speaker Series
Spread across the year, the ACLiSA Speaker Series features speakers who are researchers and creators of children’s and young adult literature from South Asia and abroad with the aim to bridge knowledge and access gaps - within disciplines, industries, and communities. As ACLiSA is an organisation formed and run by early career researchers, it is … Continue reading About the ACLiSA Speaker Series
Seasons Council – A Winter Ruse
by Reshmi Thampy The author, technically and chronologically a grown-up, wrote to us that she wrote this for children because she too, is a child-at-heart. 🙂 This is to all the children we shall always be! Preface It’s 2025, and I’m no longer at university. It’s been a while since I last met my friends … Continue reading Seasons Council – A Winter Ruse
The Femme Fatales: The Enigmatic Yakshis of Kerala
Anandhu S. The sun sank below the horizon, painting the sky a deep red before twilight took over. Birds flitted across the evening sky racing to their nests as darkness wrapped around the village of Panchavankadu. Adithyan Namboothiri, the youngest of the Kizhekkeparabil family, walked quickly along the shadowy path holding a flambeau made from … Continue reading The Femme Fatales: The Enigmatic Yakshis of Kerala