Lucknow: What if books could be washed, folded and handled without worrying about tearing them? At the Gomti Book Festival, these unusual cloth books are catching the attention of children and parents alike.Owner of Hind Khilona, Sudhir Jalan said, “One of the favourites among children is a book of animals and flowers. Children learn through touch, movement and constant exploration and that is exactly what we kept in mind while developing these cloth books. Children at this age fold, pull, crumple and sometimes tear paper pages. Instead of treating this natural behaviour as a problem, we wanted to make books that could adapt to the way children learn and play.”He added that the books can be washed by hand or in a washing machine. The text and colourful illustrations are permanently printed on the polyester fabric fibres using advanced digital textile printing techniques. The printing uses non-toxic dyes and pigments that bond directly with the baby-safe polyester material rather than sitting as a layer on the surface that can flake or peel. The prints are engineered to withstand saliva, chewing, tugging and repeated washing without bleeding or blurring the letters and numbers.Parents visiting the festival appreciated the idea. Rishabh Rastogi said the fabric-based ABC, number and story books, along with games such as ludo, chess and snakes and ladders, help children learn while playing.“My child usually tears paper books, but she can hold these books without me worrying about the pages remaining intact,” said Sudha Verma.
