Ten days, more than 100 illustrations, and 130 years of Indian children’s book art. This was ‘BECOMING’, which we at Pickle Yolks held from 2nd to 11th October. One year after the inaugural edition in Delhi (2025), and a quick abridged stop in Chandigarh, we finally landed in Mumbai, which took to it beautifully.
The one question we have been asked avidly is, why ‘BECOMING’?
Well, because none of us is ever finished. Becoming is the enduring reality of our lives, as we continue to ride life’s ripples and waves to drift ashore newer states of being.
Children’s books are where that journey begins, and they have a sneaky habit of staying with us long after we’ve grown up. The name felt right for an exhibition about stories that shape us at every age.
We wanted the exhibition to feel like walking inside a picture book, so the walls were filled with colour, blew spreads up to huge proportions, added interactive displays, and tucked in cosy corners where one could sink into a pile of books and not resurface for hours.
Visitors described it as a living picture book exhibition. There was also the gigantic book (as the children called it), and when pages left the fingers, and met the hand (or precisely the muscles) it lit in them not only the joy of reading but also, interacting with a book.
The curatorial walk-throughs, led by the curator of BECOMING and publisher at Pickle Yolks, Richa Jha, became the heart of the exhibition. For beginners, they became a warm welcome, and for the experienced—a hit of nostalgia, as everyone was taken through an in-depth tour of the artwork. The sketchbook display was a hit too, letting visitors peek at both the personal and professional sides of the artists (and yes, they all loved the messy first drafts).
Our workshops were where grown-ups let go their daily adulting. We explored the birth of a picture book, from blurbs and scripts to page turns, layers and perspectives, sitting in small groups, swapping books and scribbling notes in what felt like the most fun classroom ever. We unpacked wordless stories, had difficult conversations through pictures, depicted pluralism through art, drew Mumbai in lines, colours and stories, built sequential visual narratives, and learnt to illustrate for a global audience. Between the sketchbook walkthroughs and the art of picture book making, adults played, experimented and created their own illustrations and picture books. One workshop worked with shadow animals and tiny paper puppets, and the whole room spent a happy afternoon chasing the light and bringing them to life. There was even an impromptu storytelling session, because stories do not need a schedule, or a stage to be experienced.
The visitors truly made the exhibition the success that it became. A group of 25 to 30 kindergarten teachers from the Pushtak Maitri initiative travelled all the way from Pune, and they told us the exhibition let them appreciate the art beyond the words at a whole new level. They plan to carry the experience back to their classrooms. School groups explored books they’d never read, while college students re-read old favourites and lingered a little longer for the new ones. Young illustrators sat sketching around the venue, which might be our favourite sight of all, because they knew they too have a space here. And finally come the illustrators. When publishing itself becomes an achievement, an exhibition, true and (more importantly) loud appreciation of such art shows the true effect these books, works and storytelling has.
By the end of ten days, each person who read, listened, interacted, participated, curated or even just wandered in had figured out that Children’s books are for EVERYONE. For many visitors, seeing diverse books with Indian roots displayed proudly as part of our literary and social culture was a deeply personal moment.
With Ayesha Goel leading the exhibition design seamlessly through cities and spaces, and Richa Jhah boldly showcasing her own gratitude to all the fabulous creators who make India’s illustrated book landscape rich, quirky, funky, thought-provoking and exciting, BECOMING has been an absolute success.
A big thank you to Takshila Education Foundation, Parag, Stolen Moments Books, The Coforge Public Library, and Jaipur BookMark for supporting us.
Until the next stop, keep reading, keep illustrating, and keep turning those pages!
