Children of the Magic Pen

Children of the Magic Pen, published by Ratna Sagar, is the result of a collaborative exercise by members of AWIC, the Indian section of IBBY. It was penned under the guidance of noted theatre personality Feisal Alkazi, who subsequently directed four successful performances of the play by his theatre group. This lively and humorous play is suitable for the middle school stage. Its theme of the immortality of books is greatly relevant, especially in times of distracting and addictive social media. The play brings together some of the most memorable and lovable characters from literature and media - the clever and sreet smart Aladdin who lives on his wits; Long John Silver from Treasure Island singing his trademark 'Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum'; the cackling witch from Hansel and Gretel who evokes fear in children; and the endearing pair of the bandar (monkey) and the magarmach (crocodile) from the Indian classic Panchatantra. These characters come face-to-face with P L Travers' Mary Poppins, the perennial friendly, singing nanny, who always carry an umbrella and a carpetbag; Satyajit Ray's creation, the detective Feluda; the 'Off with their heads' Queen of Hearts and the scared White Rabbit of Alice in Wonderland; and finally the robot R2D2 from Star Wars. As they travel together with the protagonist, a young girl, in search of the Magic Castle, they face many challenges. Disunity and greed break the travellers into two groups, with the rebellion led by Long John Silver. Although the group reunite, they face new hurdles. First, they meet Rangeela Raja and Rangeen Rani, symbolic of the distraction offered by the glamorous world of cinema and television, which threaten the habit of book reading. In spite of every difficulty, the Girl and her storybook friends march on. The characters fall into the Pit of Oblivion, symbolic of their erasure from our memory and our lives. On the girl's earnest request, Rangeen Raja jumps in the pit to save them. Soon after, they are attacked by Termites, which later transform into Computer Viruses, but are destroyed by the eponymous hero of the Prince of Persia video game. Finally, as they reach their destination, they realize that the Magic Castle is actually a library, a haven for books. The girl is awarded a lifetime membership of the library and a magic Gold Card that will transport her to the library any time she wishes, for escorting all the characters to their destination safely and thus giving them the treasure of immortality. The unique and symbolic play is a reminder of the importance of books in our lives and what we may do to preserve them. The journey of the girl and the fictional characters towards immortality and perennial readership is a metaphor of this need to keep books alive.