What you see A sense of calm prevails here, a center for cultural activities and a children’s bookstore. There is free-flowing space and greenery around it and right there in front of the entrance is a thriving Periwinkle tree in full bloom.
The friendly and helpful staff behind a reception desk covered in pamphlets, brochures and magazines welcomes you inside. On the other side of the walls are notice boards advertising the various workshops they run. Further inside is a large ballroom with floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered with a pair of curtains on one wall and a corner bookcase against the other. This room leads to four other rooms for music, conversation and books. At the top of some stairs (you are asked to leave your shoes underneath) is where you will find images of the goddess Saraswathi and Thyagaraja; it is a place where music lessons are given. The place even houses an amphitheater.
What you get –This Hyderabad Resort was founded on November 14 (Children’s Day) 2003 by Anuradha Reddy. It is a unique concept to bring art and culture closer to children, all under one roof.
Let’s start with the bookstore. It has a wide variety of children’s books, ranging from picture books like Grandpa’s Stories and Birbal to adventure books by Enid Blyton. Educational books on vowels and mathematics and question books by Derek O’Brien and Siddhartha Basu are also available. So are the DIY books such as How to Make Puppets and How to Make Masks. Kids will love the variety of comics here, from Tintin and Asterix to Tenali Raman and Jataka Tales by Amar Chitra Katha. And for art lovers, there are even books to draw and color.
Thats not all. Music books, Bible stories, a large collection of Indian authors such as Rabindranath Tagore, Mahasweta Devi, Satyajit Ray and Ruskin Bond and complete collections of books by RK Narayan also find space here. Murder and thriller mystery novels by Robert Ludlum, Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, Ken Follett, and Jeffrey Archer and self-help books by Dale Carnegie to turn heads.
There are also a variety of traditional games, such as Parama Pada Sopanam (Steps to the Highest Place), which is similar to Snakes and Ladders. It is played on a cloth instead of a board with squares up to 132 and against each snake there are names of notorious characters from Hindu mythology such as Ravan, Duryodhana and Bakasura. At the top of the stairs are virtues such as honesty, hard work, and courtesy. Talk about learning with fun.
Some of the other games here are Goli (marbles) at Rs.50, Bambaram (top and rope) at Rs. 75 and Kattam Vilayattu (the square game) at Rs. 80 to name a few.
Other bits and pieces available here are cloth bags, Bhagavat Gita, boxed wisdom cards, pretty notebooks, boxes of agarbatis, and a limited range of stationery.
Carnatic Violin, Tabla, Mridangam, Piano, Carnatic Vocal, Shloka Chanting, Kuchipudi, Pottery, Yoga, Scrabble, Odissi Dance and Vedic Chanting are some of the classes and workshops that Saptaparni offers to students of all ages. Some of these classes even allow students as young as four years old. Qualified and experienced instructors lead all classes.
The open-air auditorium (seating 150) is rented for book readings and music concerts at 5,000 rupees for five hours and the dance hall at 2,500 rupees for five hours.
Our verdict – This Hyderabad Resort for kids seems like the ideal place for parents to take the kids away from those computer games and televisions. It has books and activities for both kids and parents, giving them more time to spend together while learning art and music. There is plenty of space to park around.