Remember the joy of reading a storybook with a child? Share that joy with children in rural areas. Support QUEST’s Goshtarang initiative to perform stories for children.

Vanita, a young girl from a remote village in Nandurbar, is excited because the Goshtarang team is coming to her Ashram School today to perform stories. She remembers them from last year. They had performed the story ‘Birthday Chocolate’, about a young girl who wants to buy a chocolate for her friend’s birthday. Vanita could see herself in the character. After the performance, the Goshtarang team had shown them the storybook and asked them to perform some events from the story. Vanita and her friends played the roles of the girl, her parents and her grandfather. The Goshtarang team had helped them with dialogues and actions. It was a thrilling experience for all the children. Vanita even took the book from the team and enjoyed reading it aloud to her classmates. Today, she hopes that the Goshtarang team will bring a new story and give them another interesting activity about the book. 

What is the significance of Goshtarang for Vanita? It opens a window to the world of storybooks and reading culture, which simply does not exist in Vanita’s world. For countless children like Vanita in the rural and tribal areas of Maharashtra, the only books they get to read are their school textbooks. The lack of reading culture and exposure means that they are entirely denied the incredible happiness that comes from experiencing a storybook. This impacts their motivation to becoming literate, and they go through their school years without even being able to read their textbooks properly. 

The Goshtarang workshops provide a bridge between storybooks and these children. Our teams go from village to village, school to school, Anganwadi to Anganwadi spreading the magical experience of reading storybooks among young children with the intent of encouraging them to enjoy reading and becoming literate beyond their textbooks.

Combining theatre and children’s literature, our performer-educators bring the characters to life and give a strong visual representation to the book. Then they conduct activities specially designed to engage the children with the books. When the children read the books, they mimic the artists. Quite often, adults in the village also insist upon watching the performance and participating in the activities. 

Come help us with this mission. Whether you're an individual with a passion for education, a corporation looking to make a real difference, or an organization that believes in the power of literature, QUEST needs your support.

If you give Rs 300, it will enable one child to participate in a Goshtarang workshop.

If you give Rs 3000, it will enable 10 children to participate, and

If you give Rs 30,000, a hundred children will get the opportunity! 

Celebrate the joy of giving – spread the joy of reading to disadvantaged children.

Will you be the hero in QUEST's story?