Varanasi, Benaras or Banaras, Kashi. The three names mean one city but Varanasi is more than just its three names. It is one of the oldest living cities in the world. The land has been the ultimate pilgrimage spot for many. For Bookaroo too, it is a pilgrimage of sorts – of taking books, authors, illustrators and storytellers to the children of Varanasi – helped in no small measure by the collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts’ (IGNCA) regional centre in the city.

One of the main objectives of IGNCA is to promote and popularise education among children through culture. IGNCA Varanasi joins hands with Bookaroo Trust to fulfil this objective through the festival of children’s literature. Sunbeam School, which has kindly agreed to offer its resources for Bookaroo Varanasi, has been a major factor in the festival’s decision to come to Banaras. We are proud to be bang in the middle of the great centre of learning that the city is.