Interview with Shobha Vishwanath,Author and Editor of Karadi Tales

There has been an unusual flooding of Karadi book titles in the market recently.  Kahani Takbak interacted with Mrs Shobha Vishwanath, editor of Karadi Tales, to know more.

There are different versions of Babban Hajjam existing in the market. What aspect of author Ira Saxena’s version appealed to you for considering it fit for publication?

Yes, I am told that there are several versions of the story. But when I received Ira’s manuscript, it was a story that I had not read before. Not only was it well written, it had all the ingredients for a story that could also be ‘told’. It was an easy enough decision then to consider it for publication.

You have written and published The Insect Boy, Fetch That Colour! Let’s Roll Out A Circle. Which avatar do you enjoy the most- Author or Editor?

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I enjoy both but think I am a better publisher than I am a writer. 😊

The contest for 8563 was announced nearly 3-4 years ago. Why did it take so long to get the book published? What prompted the unusual four endings of the book?

Yes, unfortunately this took a long time to be published. New releases are based on several factors. We had many internal things to sort out, other manuscripts that required priority, and hence this kept being pushed to the backburner. I am happy that it is done, and the book is out. It is a great book.

As for what prompted the unusual endings, sometimes a certain ending to a story does not provided the reader with the needed closure. It was therefore a good way to have many endings to the same story and have the readers connect to what they most liked. It was an interesting exercise. We have done it to another picture book called “The Lion’s Feast” as well, where we have in fact, asked the readers to write their own ending to the story in the book, if they did not like the options that were given to them.

Varsha’s Varanasi by Chitra Sounder has photo collages .  Was it difficult to capture the beauty of Varanasi through illustrations?

   

An Illustrated book or a picture book lends itself to any number of styles. We chose to do this one with photographs. The book is a part of our city series. The series, for starters  will feature stories based in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Soumitra Ranade is an ace photographer and has done a remarkable job with the photos and his treatment of them. The book is quite stunning, if I may say so myself.

What prompted Karadi tales to come out with the Rosa Gulla series (Fetch That colour!Let’s Roll Out A Circle) which introduces early-learning concepts to children? Is it an extension of the Karadi Path program?  Will there be more books in this series?

  

The concept books which form the Rosa-Gulla series are fun books that approach the learning of basic concepts such as shapes or colours or counting through a story and one that is filled with fun. It is not an extension of the Karadi Path programme although Karadi Path may choose to use it in their programmes. Yes, there are two more books that are slated for the series.

You have been a volunteer with the Isha Foundation for many years. The Brave Parrot by Chinna Chilaka is the first of a collaborative series of books between the Isha Foundation and Karadi Tales.  Tell us a bit more about this collaboration.

                                         

The Isha Home School where I periodically volunteer to teach has a robust and nurturing art department. Some of the work that has been produced by the students at the  school is simply mind blowing. When I saw the illustrations that emerged from an art workshop with children between the ages of 9 and 11, I knew that I wanted to publish them. I asked for permission which was granted and thus emerged The Brave Parrot, the first of the collaborative series.

The Truth about the Tooth (Maria Denzongpa) and Thukpa for All (Praba Ram and Sheila Preuitt) have an International theme. Is it an conscious attempt by Karadi to appeal to a large audience?

The Truth about the Tooth is set in Sikkim and Thukpa for All is set in Laddakh. What is a conscious attempt by Karadi Tales is to represent people, children and stories from across India so that all voices are heard. It is also to bring awareness to children (and adults too!) about the regions of India that don’t often get represented in mainstream storytelling and to prevent the misguided notion that people from the North East are ‘oriental’.

As for an international audience, over the last 10 years picture books from Karadi Tales have travelled to many parts of the world. 
From Thailand to Japan to many countries in South East Asia, Europe, South America, the UK, the US, Canada -  publishers have 
bought translation rights and licenses to our books for their own 
countries. We do not publish books to cater to an international 
audience. We only publish books that are well written, have great art 
and are beautifully produced so that it holds an appeal to everyone.

The authors of Papa’s Marathon (Nalini Sorenson) and The Clever Tailor(Srividhya Venkat) are based abroad. Will that help or hinder  promotion of their books ?

These days the promotion of a book is largely done via social media. That can be done no matter which part of the world you are in. All you require is a computer or a phone and a good internet connection!

Tell us something about the Indian folkart adapted by Anusha Sundar in Daya Subramanian’s book of verse- Something’s Moving.

                                    

The book was created by as a final year design project by Anusha Sundar who came to us as an intern from NIFT, Bangalore. I had simply made a list of different movements of animals and told her to illustrate each one in a different form of folk art from India. Daya Subramanian, one of our editors wrote the verses once Anusha was done with it.  The result was a beautiful book! We may choose to bring out other editions of the book in the future – as an interactive book or as a board book.

In lieu of the recent spurt of releases, will Karadi Tales be accepting and publishing any more manuscripts in 2018?

Nope. Unless something quite brilliant lands in our Inbox to which we would not want to say no! 

Anything else fans of Karadi books should know about.

Dear Karadi Fans, we appreciate your love, loyalty and your support. Our deepest gratitude. Please read our books and let us know what you think of them.

Visit www.karaditales.com