A BRADFORD comedian said that being involved with a city project aiming to promote literacy among young people was an amazing experience.
Tehseen Jay, creator of viral sensation The Nana G Show, read his book Learn Pothwari with The Nana G Show to school children as part of Bradford Stories Bus.
Tehseen – whose hit comedy shorts feature puppets speaking in Pahari-Pothwari, a language spoken in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir – wrote the book to teach young British-Pakistanis more about their mother tongue, and to share the culture with people from other backgrounds.
Bradford Stories Bus, launched in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, aims to recognise the importance of storytelling and decrease the attainment gap.
The yellow bus where authors and young people connect made its way to City Park as Tehseen read to pupils from Fagley Primary School.
“It was really enjoyable, I think the children appreciated it,” said Tehseen, who is 37 and from Heaton.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve had. The kids loved every joke and listened to every word.
“Only a couple of them were Mirpuri, so it was nice that children from other cultures could learn more about our language. Learn Pothwari with The Nana G Show is in both Pothwari and English and is intended to appeal to everyone.
“It was a fun way for kids to learn another language, especially as Pothwari is widely spoken in Bradford.”
Tehseen added that his work is helping to improve representation.
“We do need more brown faces in literature – we’re slowly beginning to see that,” he said.
“Mirpuri children are also learning more about their roots and the language their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents speak.
“I don’t think anything like this has been done before. It’s very important to give children something to relate to.
“It’s important to learn about the elders who paved the way for them and to learn about their identity.”
Imran Hafeez, Manager at Bradford Stories Bus, said: “The foundation of literature starts with storytelling, and that happens in any language – being bilingual is an asset.
“Bradford Stories Bus has seen nearly 5,000 kids this year and gifted 10,000 books on the bus alone, and we want to do more.
“Tehseen’s contribution helped us to celebrate a year of that.”
Tehseen is reaching out to local South Asian stores to see if they would consider stocking Learn Pothwari with The Nana G Show.
Anyone interested is asked to contact The Nana G Show on social media.
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