As Cityread 2015 comes to an end – what a busy month it has been! We would like to share pictures and reports from the final two events that ALAG has been involved with.
Firstly, Brent Tamil Group (BTG) members pictured here held a delightful discussion based upon the book Rivers of London and the Tamil translated synopsis. Dr Murugesan Muthu used both films and presentations to bring the book to life. BTG member Yamuna Thamendiran had this to say:
“Dr Murugesan did an excellent session including using video clips between reading from the 
synopsis. We had 21 attendees. Many of us enjoyed the story and Dr Murugesan’s hard work and effort has made this event a great success. His additional work along with the actual translation has given a clear understanding of what Cityread London is all about.” ALAG would like to thank Brent Libraries and the BTG for all their support of the ALAG translation and Cityread London. Dr Murugesan is pictured below with author Ben Aaronovitch.
ALAG’s final Cityread event was held in association with Redbridge Libraries on Tuesday 28th April at Redbridge Central Library. ALAG members Aruna Shah and Kamaljit Bedi facilitated using the Hindi and Gujarati synopses and this is what Aruna had to say about the event:
“Kamaljit and I enjoyed the reading and very lively discussion that followed. The audience participation was humorous and 
involved. Each one of the attendees had a story or an anecdote to tell. Some of them relating to magic and supernatural experience and incidents from their past. A couple of ladies recounted their own families’ experiences about a haunted house in Kent, by the river and how they appeased the spirit by carrying out a ceremony on the river.” [Sound familiar?] The group used the ghosts, spirits and rivers as a platform to delve back into their lives back home, culture, customs and traditions. Kamaljit read most of the translation but we steered the discussion and audience participation quite early on, which made it very lively. The group received us very well and stayed on for more than an hour. In fact, a number of them asked us to come back to their next meeting!
Rhonda and her colleague, Saima had put in a good effort both in coordinating the group and distributing the translations. The group was mainly Urdu speaking women with a couple of Gujarati speaking women and a lone Gujarati man, who was very vocal with hilarious stories loved by all. We were very impressed by the group dynamics and a truly multilingual and 
multicultural event. Given the group’s involvement, we didn’t discern any language barriers. We were very inspired by the whole experience and ready for next year!”
Very many thanks to Rhonda Brooks, Development Librarian at Redbridge Libraries and Saima for organising this wonderful event. This is what Rhonda had to say after the event:
“Your ALAG colleagues Aruna and Kamaljit have recently left following a very enjoyable and successful session. 19 attended – mainly Urdu speakers – but they all managed to communicate well and had a very lively session. Thanks for sending Aruna and Kamaljit to lead the group – it was lovely to meet them and have them at the library – and they did an excellent job of leading the group“.
Click on the link below to read some of the feedback from the attendees. Comments are written in Urdu, English and Gujarati:
NRRG ALAG event Quotes 280415
Asian Librarians and Advisers Group 