shyamala's world

It's not easy to find a copy of the latest Bala Sahitya award winner 2017, Wild Child and Other Stories. Written by Paro Anand, the book    has been reprinted by Penguin(India) with a new cover and a new title,  Like Smoke . Kahani Takbak interviewed children's author, Paro Anand to know more  about her writing and award winning book. Paro Anand 1.       How did this book come into existence? Did the characters or the plots drive you into writing this book? ​ I owe much of Wild Child (now re-launched as Like Smoke, with additional content) to Jaya Bhattacharji who was the ​​consulting editor for Puffin. She really held my hand, being gentle and firm as I needed. It was a difficult time for me while I was writing. And this process saw me retain my own peace of mind. My writing really centers me.  I am not necessarily driven by plot or character. It can come in any way. And you just hope that something comes....

1.       You have managed to capture and put the spotlight on the challenges faced by a wheel chair bound kid. How much of research did you do to get to know your protagonist? To be honest, I did very minimal research. First, I formed Akriti and her personality in my head, and eventually I knew her well enough to put together how she would react to the huge change in her life. Any little details or facts, I usually just researched when it came up during writing the book and not beforehand. It’s quite easy to imagine the countless difficulties faced by anyone disabled; I focussed on the emotional ones, rather than the physical and medical ones. 2.       What made you to make the protagonist a mean, bullying and stone hearted instead of playing safe with a lovable, sweet, confident and academically successful character? Although that would be the ideal reaction; Akriti is only human after all, and deals with it in her ...

 Khyrunnisa A is the author of five books in the Butterfingers series. Published by Penguin, the book series has been a great hit with children and adults alike. Kahani Takbak spoke to Khyrunnisa to  know more about  her latest book,  Run,It's Butterfingers again .                                 1. The goofiness of Butterfingers never seems to end.   How challenging is it to keep the goofiness of Butterfingers as a character of five books? Since the character is very firmly etched in my mind and I’m very comfortable writing about him, it’s not difficult to maintain the goofiness. It comes naturally. 2.       Even though there are no school going kids at home, you have managed to capture the pulse of a school that today’s children can relate to.  How do you research for your stories? Are you dipping into your observations made by i...

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 involve...

There is always some confusion in the minds of authors when it comes to writing illustration notes for manuscripts of children's books. Experienced  children book illustrator and author of the famed Gajapati Kulapathi series, Ashok Rajagopalan, gives some gyan on the same.  1.         What kind of children books require illustration notes from an author? Any book where a picture has to give specific information may require illustration notes. Sometimes the note may only be helpful references for costume, architecture, etc. For some books, the author, respecting the reader's intelligence, and not wishing to spell everything out verbally, may intend to convey some information through text, and some through visuals. Then a note is needed. 2.         Do illustrators in general welcome illustration notes from authors of fiction pictorial books?  From an au...

The limited visibility in bookstores, public and private libraries have always been a dampener in creating awareness and selling children books. The need of the hour is to create multiple spaces where children can be encouraged to explore the world of books and develop a reading habit. Schools have always been a hub of reading challenges and activities. and are one of the spaces where ample opportunities can be created to turn  children into lifelong readers. Veteran book promoter, editor of Rajhans publications and author of children books, Mr. Rajiv Tambe gave a few suggestions for children authors  and publishers to promote books in schools.           a)  If kids are not coming to books, take your books to them. Go to schools. b)                   Connect with parents. Not only do they play an important role in the book buying process, they...

Children’s author, Mr Rajiv Tambe spoke to Shyamala Shanmugasundaram after being felicitated recently by the government of Maharastra for his contribution to children's literature. Stressing on the need for change in attitude and approach to promotion of children books, Mr. Tambe first spoke about the need for children authors to step out of their comfort zone. “Even the biggest film stars like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan step out and promote their films. Why should children authors hesitate to go out and promote their books?” Since literacy is the first step  towards promoting children books, he highlighted on the need for the print media to create child friendly content. He shared his successful efforts in bringing transformation in the regional newspapers of Maharastra. He was instrumental in getting the leading Marathi newspaper, Lokmat to dedicate a page to children in the local editions of their newspaper.  The experiment started with dedicating one page a week...