Books leapt off shelves and into hearts this Children’s Day as young readers from across India joined the neOwn’s Readathon: Children’s Day Edition, a virtual celebration proving that reading together can be fun, festive, and habit-forming.
Hosted across two sessions, the three-hour event brought India’s youngest book lovers together for a marathon of stories, sharing, and smiles. Homes turned into reading zones, screens became story circles, and children discovered that quiet time could be the loudest kind of fun.
The virtual event featured four inspiring Chief Guests—author Mallika Ravikumar, author Vardhini Amin, author Gulshan Randhawa Advani, storyteller Dr. Rinky Ahuja from Jammu, and seasoned educator Srilakshmi R, who brought her 14 years of classroom experience to spark imagination. Through readings, games, and reflections, they showed that stories don’t just entertain, they empower.
In between 20-minute silent reading sprints and interactive activities, families took the Million Readers Movement pledge, committing to one weekly reading action that keeps the curiosity alive. Across Zoom grids, you could see it: hundreds of pages turning, little heads bowed in concentration, and eyes lighting up in discovery.
Speaking about the success of the initiative, Kranti Gada, Founder of neOwn, said,
“When I was a child, books were my window to the world. They sparked my imagination, taught me empathy, and gave me dreams that still drive me today. That’s the spirit behind Readathon, to give today’s children what stories once gave me: the joy of discovering worlds beyond their own. We wanted to show that reading doesn’t have to be solitary, it can be an experience we share, celebrate, and pass on together.”
As the screens faded and the last pages closed, the energy of Readathon stayed back. The event may have wrapped, but its purpose lives on through every shared moment around a book. For neOwn, this wasn’t only a Children’s Day event. It was a gentle reminder that reading habit grows when families take a moment together, open a book, and let stories find their place in everyday life.
