what you see A sense of calm reigns here, a center for cultural activities and a children’s bookstore. There is free flowing space and greenery all around and just in front of the entrance is a thriving periwinkle tree in full bloom.

Pleasant and helpful staff behind a reception desk covered with pamphlets, brochures and magazines welcome you inside. Along the walls are bulletin boards announcing the various workshops they run. Further inside is a large ballroom with floor-to-ceiling mirrors draped with a pair of drapes on one wall and a corner bookcase against the other. This room leads to four other rooms for music, conversations and books. Up a few stairs (you are asked to leave your shoes under) is where you will find images of Goddess Saraswathi and Thyagaraja – it is a place where music lessons are held. 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, from picture books like Grandpa’s Stories and Birbal to adventure books by Enid Blyton. Educational books on vowels and mathematics and quiz books by Derek O’Brien and Siddhartha Basu are also available. So are do-it-yourself books like How to Make Puppets and How to Make Masks. Kids will love the variety of comics here, from Tintin and Asterix to Amar Chitra Katha’s Tenali Raman and Jataka Tales. And for art lovers, there are even books for drawing and coloring.

Thats not all. Music books, bible stories, a large collection of Indian authors like Rabindranath Tagore, Mahasweta Devi, Satyajit Ray and Ruskin Bond and complete collections of RK Narayan’s books also find space here. Suspenseful murder mystery novels by Robert Ludlum, Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, Ken Follett and Jeffrey Archer and self-help books by Dale Carnegie seek attention.

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 rather than a board with squares of up to 132 and against each snake are names of notorious figures from Hindu mythology such as Ravan, Duryodhana and Bakasura. At the top of the ladder are virtues like honesty, hard work, and courtesy. Talk about learning with fun.

Some of the other games here are Goli (marbles) at Rs 50, Bambaram (tip and string) at Rs 75 and Kattam Vilayattu (the square game) at Rs 80 to name a few.

Other items available here are cloth bags, Bhagavat Gita, boxed wisdom cards, pretty notebooks, agarbatis boxes and a limited assortment 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 offered by Saptaparni to students of all ages. Some of these classes even allow students as young as four years old. Qualified and experienced instructors conduct all classes.

The open-air auditorium (capacity 150) is rented for book readings and music concerts at Rs 5,000 for five hours and the ballroom at Rs 2,500 for five hours.

Our verdict – This kid-friendly Hyderabad Resort seems like the ideal place for parents to take their kids and get them away from those computer games and TVs. It has books and activities for both children and parents, giving them more time to spend together while learning art and music. There is plenty of parking space around.