shyamala's world

                                        Children's author and champion of big and small animals, Ranjit Lal,  shares his thoughts on his latest nonfiction book from Duckbill - 10 Indian Animals You May Never Again See In The Wild. 1. You have been writing about animals for the past few decades. What visible change in perceptions do you see in children then and now? I hope children are more sensitive and aware that animals too exist in the world and are vital to its functioning. Usually, it's the parents (my generation and even later) that are the problem: 'kaatega'! it will bite, don't touch or pet it..., if you don't eat your food it will eat you!' 2. Which of the ten animals mentioned in the book can be brought back from the brink of extinction? Hopefully all, though the prognosis for the bustard, Ganges river dolphin look very bleak indeed. The bigger, more 'cha...

Bhutan based author Evan Purcell is out with a new book on monsters. Published by Duckbill, this  middle grade book is a part of a series.Evan shared a few thoughts on his new creation, Karma Fights a Monster. You have been writing romances and horror for adults in the past. This is your first middle grade book. Why did you choose to write for a young audience instead of adults ? First of all, writing for grown-ups is a lot of fun. There are fewer rules, and there’s no limit to the content or tone. It’s really freeing. For me, though, I prefer writing YA and middle grade. Deep down, maybe I’m still a twelve-year-old. I find it easier to write about monsters and creatures than about more grown-up problems. Plus, I’m a teacher. I spend time with kids every day. I see the issues they face and the choices they make. I want them to have literature that they can learn from and relate to, literature that’s scary and funny, but always relatable. (Plus, I really like monsters.) ...

Why did you choose to write about Vikram and Vetaal? ​ Actually the request came from the publisher. My editor Sohini Mitra told me that they had a translation by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Chandra Rajan in the Penguin Classics series and wanted to bring out a child friendly version. As you know, these tales have passed into the realm of children's literature though the written Sanskrit texts are not really suitable for kids. Many years back, I had done a selection of 14 stories for Scholastic India titled  The   Tricky Tales of Vikram and Vetal  so I asked the editor Tina Narang if it was OK to write them again for another publisher. She was kind enough to give permission. ​  2.  How easy or difficult was it researching on those stories? Was the book easily available in the library? Generally libraries charge a lot just to allow people to handle these ancient texts and photocopy them? Did you face any challenges in the library? ​ You are absolut...