Interview with L.M.Kadu( Bala sahitya Akademi award for Marati(2017)





The latest recipient of the Bala Sahitya Puraskar for Marathi Literature(2017), Laxman Mahipati Kadu(L.M.Kadu) is a farmer, illustrator, and an author.  The esteemed national recognition has been bestowed upon him for his book, Kharicha Vata( Rajhans Publications).
Published in 2013, the book is a middle grade novel la which deals with friendship of two boys, a squirrel and the displacement of families after the construction of a dam in a village.  The Bala Sahitya Akademi award is the fourth award for the book of over 200 pages.

 The premise for the story came from Mr Kadu’s life.  It was while he was pursuing his primary schooling in Panshet that a dam came up in the vicinity.  The government provided land to the residents for resettlement. He moved to Pune where he finished his schooling and pursued his love for art by graduating through Abhinav Kalamandir, Pune.
 It was in his youth that he met a few likeminded people and got involved with Anthabharati, a NGO in Pune. It was there that he got involved with helping children connect with nature through gardening.  After realizing the paucity of good plays for children, he started scripting, directing and acting in plays.  When he realized the dearth of reading resources of children in Marathi, he set up his own publishing house, Gamabhana to produce quality and economical books.  Shaad( Tree) was his first book for children. 

After writing a few books for adults, Mr. Kadu started writing exclusively for children and continues to do so till date.   His relevant and unique books written in chaste Marathi are popular with parents and children. In his writing career which has spanned over four decades, he has written and illustrated over 31 books for children. His books have been translated into many languages. 

Mr. Kadu writes whenever he is inspired by a relevant subject for children.  “Teachers and parents have an important role in creating a right climate for reading books at school and home respectively.”Mr. Kadu strongly believes English should be used as a medium of instruction to impart education and not to change culture.    He feels that government should do its bit in promoting Marathi children’s literature by translating literary works and adding them as a part of syllabus in English medium schools.  “Children should be introduced to the joys of reading Shakespeare’s poetry as well as the stalwarts of Marathi children’s literature.”  His forthcoming books are based on famous world personalities who overcame bad childhoods and later shone in their professions through their talent, handwork and perseverance.
   Mr. Kadu does his bit to encourage the artistic abilities in children through two initiatives.   Every September he invites entries for a painting exhibition. All the children who contribute their art to the exhibition are sent an invite asking them to visit the painting exhibition with their parents. 
 His second initiative is to encourage a child’s artistic abilities through calendars sold by his publishing house.  Every month’s page has dates but no artwork. Children are encouraged to draw in the blank space deliberately left on every page of the calendar. Parenting tips are included in the calendar which has a huge demand. This endeavor had recently caught the attention of a few Japanese who came to India to study his unique initiatives and replicate it in Japan. Currently the calendar is sold in three languages.
  His family’s steadfast belief in his abilities and support is Mr. Kadu’s biggest strength.  Currently 70, he has handed over the reins of his publishing house in the able hands of his youngest son, Mr Jaideep Kadu. His two daughters pursue their careers as an interior decorator and German tutor respectively.
Mr Kadu’s roots with Mother Nature remains strong even today. An early adaptor of the seed ball campaign, he continues to spread the message of reforestation and preservation of nature through his workshops among school children and parents.

While hectic school schedules, hassles of planning practice sessions and hiring auditoriums have stopped him from producing any more plays, children remain Mr. Kadu’s topmost priority.  He continues to do his bit for them stating ‘Writing and publishing books is not a business, it is a spiritual fast for me.’



 To buy Kharichya Vata( Rajhans publications)Visit Amazon.in 

(This blog was specially created for Kahani Takbak enewsletter which goes out to children authors and librarians. To subscribe to the Kahani Takbak newsletter, visit www.shyamala.in)

Comments

  1. Very interesting thoughts of sir. I was searching village name of sir. In 8 th std. Lesson it is not given. Can you please tell exact place. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  2. Im from std 8th marathi book
    Lesson no 5 there not given
    birth date

    ReplyDelete
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