House of wisdom highlights stories "Kalila and Dimna" in "Sharjah Reading for the child"
Sharjah, April 26 / WAM / The House of Wisdom will participate in the 16th edition of the Sharjah Reading Festival for Children 2025, which is hosted by the Expo Center Sharjah until next May 4, through its wing that highlights one of the masterpieces of the eternal heritage, which are “Kalila and Dimna” tales whose origins date back to the ancient Hindi language before translating into the Middle Persian language and from there into Arabic by Abdullah Ibn Al -Muqafaa, one of the flags of literature Al -Arabi in the Abbasid era did not contribute to consolidating the position of this work in the Arab heritage.
The House of Wisdom aims to re -present “Kalila and Dimna” tales for children in a modern and interactive manner that mixes learning and playing to enhance the skills of critical thinking and encourage them to discover moral and human values through a rich experience, and these tales have played an important role in directing young people and planting human values in their souls in a symbolic style, and since their translation of the Arabic language in the eighth century AD, it has become a reference Literary and intellectually, it is used in education and education as well as affected many Arab and international literary works.
Marwa Al -Aqoubi, Executive Director of the House of Wisdom, said that the symbolic literature whose features are manifested in Kalila and Dimna’s tales, represents one of the finest forms of international literature because of its timeless rule instilled in the conscience of children through animal figures in a manner that combines simplicity and depth.
She added that Kalila and Dimna, is a bright point in the history of Arabic literature, which interacted with the civilizations of the world and affected it, noting that the participation of the House of Wisdom in the Sharjah Reading Festival for the Child, came to present these classic stories in a contemporary and interactive template that brings wisdom from children and motivates them to think, meditate, explore the judgment and moral values that remain valid for every time and place.
The Beit Al -Hikma pavilion includes several main stations, the first of which is the area of the manuscripts, in which two rare digital copies of the book “Kelly and Dennah” are displayed from the holdings of the French National Library, the first of which is a manuscript entitled “Kalla and Dumna: the rabbit and the elephant”, which is a unique photo version dating back to the year 1222 AD that includes 89 wonderful original miniatures and consists of eighteen chapters Each of them lists a story on the tongues of animals, permeated by sub -stories and proverbs, in a manner that mixes wisdom and wit.
As for the second manuscript, it is a copy dating back to the fourteenth century AD, specifically to the Mamluk era, and it is likely that it was written in Egypt or Syria, and it contains an internal index and six tales of the overall tales attributed to the wise “Bidba” and is characterized by its remarkable decorative design and its textual structure in addition to its graphic character that reflects the aesthetics of Islamic art in that era.
At the second station of the wing, visitors move to an area “identifying the figures of the story”, which is a simplified interactive experience aimed at involving children on a journey to explore self by identifying the most prominent figures of Kalila and Dimna.
Visitors are experiencing an interactive experience using artificial intelligence that allows children to discover the animal closest to their characters from the world of Kalila and Dimna by answering a set of simple questions inspired by the situations of daily life. After identifying the character, a short story appears on the screen written in a dedicated narrative language that reflects the characteristics of the child and his adventures and children can print them or send them via e -mail as a literary memorial that motivates them to create stories themselves.
On the sidelines of the participation, the wing of the House of Wisdom will host in its last station a set of activities and workshops for children, the most prominent of which is the “Interactive Shadow Theater”, which revives one of the oldest heritage narrative methods, as children take daily on a bright journey with “Kalila and Dimna” characters through which they can learn about the moral meanings embodied by these tales through interesting entertainment and interactive activities.
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