shyamala's world

It's not easy to find a copy of the latest Bala Sahitya award winner 2017, Wild Child and Other Stories. Written by Paro Anand, the book    has been reprinted by Penguin(India) with a new cover and a new title,  Like Smoke . Kahani Takbak interviewed children's author, Paro Anand to know more  about her writing and award winning book. Paro Anand 1.       How did this book come into existence? Did the characters or the plots drive you into writing this book? ​ I owe much of Wild Child (now re-launched as Like Smoke, with additional content) to Jaya Bhattacharji who was the ​​consulting editor for Puffin. She really held my hand, being gentle and firm as I needed. It was a difficult time for me while I was writing. And this process saw me retain my own peace of mind. My writing really centers me.  I am not necessarily driven by plot or character. It can come in any way. And you just hope that something comes....

1.       You have managed to capture and put the spotlight on the challenges faced by a wheel chair bound kid. How much of research did you do to get to know your protagonist? To be honest, I did very minimal research. First, I formed Akriti and her personality in my head, and eventually I knew her well enough to put together how she would react to the huge change in her life. Any little details or facts, I usually just researched when it came up during writing the book and not beforehand. It’s quite easy to imagine the countless difficulties faced by anyone disabled; I focussed on the emotional ones, rather than the physical and medical ones. 2.       What made you to make the protagonist a mean, bullying and stone hearted instead of playing safe with a lovable, sweet, confident and academically successful character? Although that would be the ideal reaction; Akriti is only human after all, and deals with it in her ...