Ratna Manucha: It's That Time of the Year

Veteran children's author, Ratna Manucha, is out with a new poetry book titled It's That Time of the year. In this interview, she shares her world of writing.

Q1. How did you get into the world of writing?

Going down memory lane, I remember the long, lonely days after school, spent poring over Enid Blyton and later, Thomas Hardy and Louisa May Alcott. I cannot pinpoint exactly when I fell in love with the written word, but I do know this, I was well and truly hooked. People eat meals...I ate books, devoured them, in fact!

Then marriage happened, and I got an opportunity to write for All India Radio in Assam and West Bengal and Nagaland. In fact, now that I look back, I realise I was always looking for an opportunity to dabble in the written word. Being married to the Olive Greens, I began contributing articles, poems, short stories and limericks to various local papers and magazines in the different places we were posted to. While in Nagpur, I began writing in earnest for the weekly children’s edition of the Nagpur daily – The Hitavada. 

Q2. What was your first book about?

I came back to Dehradun in 1996 and established Little Flower School, which has now become a premier preparatory school in the city. A serious opportunity came my way when one day a bookseller walked into my office with a series of English Grammar books that he wanted me to prescribe for the school. I pointed out quite a few mistakes in those books. Before I knew it, this man had placed a call to his publisher, who in turn got on to the next train with a contract in his hand! A series of English Grammar books followed. I worked with the same publisher when he commissioned me to write a series of books on English Literature.

Q3. Do you test your stories and poems with kids before they are published?

Ans. As I am in very close contact with children in the age group 3 to 10, I have a very clear idea of what they need to know and how much! I used to hear my three- year old students grappling with Mary had a little lamb and Humpty Dumpty...to name a few. They were just learning poems by rote, many of which they could not comprehend, or relate to. This inspired me to take up the cause of writing rhymes that were written with love and were easy to remember. I tested a lot of stories and rhymes on my twin granddaughters who consider me their role model.

‘My First Book of Poems ‘ is the first such book where the poems are happy, the language easy to understand, and covers topics that the children can relate to in their daily lives. Many schools in Dehradun prescribed this book for their young students. Needless to say, children enjoyed the rhymes immensely.

‘ Secrets of the Animal Kingdom’ came about while I was telling stories to my children in school...How did the lion become the king of the forest, why does the rabbit have long ears, why does the elephant have a long trunk, etc. I made up the stories as I went along and in no time a book was born! 

Q4. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing a children’s author in India today?

Ans. The biggest challenge today for a children’s author is visibility. Children today have so many distractions and books have gradually been shifted to the back burner. So for a lesser-known author to break the glass ceiling and find a good publisher, who can publish the book and market it well, is a task in itself.

Q5. Being an academician, do you find it easy or difficult to market your books in schools?

Ans. Well, my books are always picked up by most of the local schools here for their libraries. They do pick up a couple of copies, but then what?  The local bookstores are very supportive of local authors and stock our books and one does get a good response from there too. For a writer to market his or her own books, is a herculean task. And writers as we all know are definitely not businessmen!

Q6.How much has Indian literature changed since your first book appeared?

Ans. A lot has changed, actually. The demand for real-life stories is increasing. Enid Blyton type stories are not very popular, I find...fairies and goblins are a thing of the past! Children today are more aware and publishers want stories around different states and their cultures...which is quite welcoming, actually.

Q7. What inspired you to choose changing seasons for It’s That Time of the Year! How long did it take to write?

Ans.  It’s That Time of the Year!It is my 38th book. The seasonal changes have always fascinated me. The pitter -patter of the first raindrops, the swirling and dancing of the fallen leaves in the autumn breeze, the gentle drifting of the snowflakes to the ground and the bursting forth of tender, green shoots as spring approaches.

I started working on the book over a year ago...then I rewrote autumn as the original autumn had Halloween in it! I felt I should change it to suit our Indian readers so I brought in Diwali and Raksha Bandhan. The purpose of this book was two-fold. I wanted it to be a readaloud book for very young children. I visualised parents reading this book aloud to their little ones and in time to come they would pick up the descriptive words and fill in the blanks. As they grew older, they would be able to read the book themselves as the words would already be quite familiar. In this way, the book will enhance their vocabulary as they learn to associate various descriptive words with the changing seasons.

Q8. Do you have a daily writing schedule? If yes, what is your daily routine like?

Ans. I do not have a daily writing schedule, but I do write almost every evening. I work best when I have a deadline! Most ideas come to me at the oddest time. My book titled Cinders, Red and Gold came about when I was having lunch and the story of Red Riding Hood began dancing around in my head in verse! I had to actually leave my lunch halfway and sit down to write Red Riding Hood...I actually finished it in one go. Then Cinderella and Goldilocks and the Three Bears followed and son a book was born... all in verse.

Q9.You write in Hindi and English. In what language do you think?

Ans. I write only in English and I think in English too. Though I have written four lined poems for the little children in Hindi, but not enough to make into a book just yet...in fact I think I will take it up now!

Q10. You wear many hats, as an academician, storyteller and a writer. Which one is your favourite one?

Ans. In all honesty, I would have to say writer, with academician coming a close second! To buy a copy of Ratna Manucha's latest poetry book, click here.

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