Manchi Pustakam’s attempt to nurture Telugu reading in children

Having majorly published translated books rather than originals, Bhagyalakshmi emphasizes that authors should focus on creating stories that cater to different age brackets.

Hyderabad: Amidst a rapidly evolving reading landscape where Telugu literature is hard to come by, ‘Manchi Pusthakam,’ advocates for reviving and nurturing children’s love for reading.

Nestled in a quiet corner of Hyderabad’s Tarnaka, the Telugu Publishing firm is a haven for original, translated, and bilingual children’s books in Telugu.

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Registered as a trust in 2004, the publishing house is overseen by trustees K Suresh, Ravindra Babu, and S S Lakshmi, whereas Suresh’s wife, P Bhagyalakshmi, holds the position of coordinator. “Before Manchi Pustakam, we ran Bala Sahithi, initiated in 1989 with a similar intention,” Bhagyalakshmi mentions, noting that they had to discontinue as it wasn’t viable for everybody.

The wife-husband duo along with the other trustees started Manchi Pustakam only later, after familarising the public with their books through an exhibition at the Hyderabad Book Fair.

With a decade’s worth of experience and around 500 books published, the publishing house firmly upholds the belief that morals are acquired rather than taught. “We shouldn’t limit children’s interpretation by moralizing stories. By giving away stereotyped one-dimension morals, we are robbing children of their joy of reading and confining them to viewing different angles the story offers,” Bhagyalakshmi explains.

Having majorly published translated books rather than originals, Bhagyalakshmi emphasizes that authors should focus on creating stories that cater to different age brackets.

Over the years, the dedicated publishing house has introduced various strategies to motivate parents to buy Telugu books for their children. These include featuring illustrations that children can colour, along with a cover-ready paper, launching affordable book sets and other initiatives.

“Though today’s parents are acknowledging the significance of Telugu language, I urge them to encourage children to physically engage with books and make their own choices so that it fosters the reading habit,” she adds.

Manchi Pustakam primarily offers bulk orders to various organizations, exhibitions, and book fairs. Apart from children’s books, they also are into publishing books for parents and teachers. In addition, they also maintain an engaged presence on Instagram and their website ‘manchipustakam.in’.