Lucknow, Sept. 24 -- Actor Akhilendra Mishra shared his journey as an actor and later as writer during a session at Gomti Book Festival on Tuesday. He said his journey began when he was in Class 8 and was selected for a Bhojpuri play in his village 'Gauna Ki Raat'. "A play was staged every year during Durga Puja in the village. Once, during Durga Puja vacations, when my family usually used to visit my village, the director of the play was looking for a boy my age. I was selected for the play and there was no looking back. I also performed in plays in Chapra and Patna later, during my college days, which also helped me excel," said Mishra, who also said that in those days the village did not have electricity, and they had to take lanterns along so that everybody could practise. Mishra also spoke about the importance of Natyashastra both in acting and writing. "Not just from theatre artists but Natyashastra plays an important role for artistes and writers across disciplines as drama is the core of all performing arts and literature," said Mishra. Veteran writer Sheela Rohekar said that literature always carries history and political events associated with it. "Without history and political events, your work has no significance. You don't just have to describe the event but also show its impact on the characters and society," she said. While speaking about the key to good writing, she said that one must read a lot, and absorb and contemplate what they read, only then will it help them hone their writing skills. The two-day art festival 'Chitrotsav - Draw, Doodle, Discover', a part of the book festival and organised by NBT-India in collaboration with Team Doodle culminated at the Children's Pavilion. A class on Pop Art Selfie was conducted by Suvidha Mistry, where children learned to create vivid portraits using a continuous single-line stroke, which they coloured with vibrant colours. It was followed by 'Meditative Treescapes', a session which introduced children to the calming practice of drawing tree line art and filling them with intricate patterns. The Chitrotsav concluded with a Doodle Art Competition led by Rima Kaushik. The top 16 participants were awarded certificates and books....