Rajee Raman's The Secret of Fire And Other Folktales

Award winning children's author Rajee Raman is out with a book for Scholastic India. A collection of 12 unique and engaging stories from across the world, The Secret of Fire And Other Folktales is not just for children of 8-12 years, but also teens and adults who love folktales.

                                              

1.Was this book commissioned to you?

I suggested the idea to the publisher.

2. Which is your favourite story from the book?

I like all the stories, as they deal with themes that are timeless and resonate across

cultures – love and loss, pride, selfishness, resourcefulness, courage, and self-sacrifice.

Having said that, I must confess that How Glooskap Tamed the Wind (a legend of the

Wabenaki tribes of Canada) holds a special place in my heart. This story describes an

encounter between Glooskap, a legendary hero, and Wuchowsen, the giant wind-bird. In

my opinion, the most remarkable feature of this story is its incredible visual quality – the

picture of Glooskap battling the wind as he climbs the mountain, with his shoes, shirt,

and finally even hair and eyebrows getting blown away, is bound to stay in the reader’s

mind, as it did in mine.

                                                            

3. What was the biggest challenge in writing this book?

The biggest challenge was choosing the stories – they had necessarily to be from across

the world, unified by the common theme of creation and thus similar, but different

enough to be interesting. Also I consciously opted for lesser-known stories, keeping away

from the done-to-death ones.

5. The recent epidemic has prevented school visits. How have you been promoting the

book?

This may surprise you, but I don’t normally do promotional events. I prefer to leave that

to the publisher’s team – people who, in my opinion, are better qualified for it – and stick

to what I do best – writing.

6. Have you been able to write regularly in this new normal of lockdowns?

Finding time to write has always been challenging as I have a regular job as well as the

usual homemaker’s chores to keep me busy. However, as writing is my passion, I

somehow squeeze out time for it. You could say I write in fits and starts, if not

‘regularly’.

7. You have written a wide variety of books for children. What genre do you enjoy writing

the most?

Good question! I haven’t given much thought to it, as I generally enjoy whatever I am

working on at the moment, be it a biography, retold folktale or mythological story, or

original story. But in answer to your question, I believe my best experience came a few

years ago when I was commissioned to rewrite the complete Sherlock Holmes stories in

simple English in a form suitable for children. As I have a weakness for ornate language,

toning down my style to suit a young audience (as well as ‘sanitising’ the stories to

remove adult content) presented an intellectual challenge that I enjoyed. Also, I believed

this experience helped me become a better children’s writer.

8. How did you foray into writing for children?

I picked up the reading habit in my childhood and was (and still am!) a real bookworm. I

started with Amar Chitra Katha and Enid Blyton and though I went on to other authors

such as Agatha Christie and P. G. Wodehouse, I continued to devour children’s books all

my life. So, when I started writing, it was natural for me to choose my favourite medium

– children’s stories.

9. Are you a full-time writer?

As I mentioned earlier, writing is my passion, not my profession. I have a full-time job as

a language editor in an e-publishing company. I do my writing mostly during weekends

and holidays.

To buy a copy of The secret of Fire and Other Stories click here.