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FULL OF GRACE Sudha Murthy writes for kids

The unassuming author who bridges the gap between the generation reared on the black-and-white television and MTV kids, feels a writer is judged in his own capacity by the readers. “People pay for a book. As Narayana Murthy’s wife, maybe five persons can pick up the book, maybe 10. That’s all. Ultimately, the book has to stand on its own. The author’s political-social or economic standing won’t help sell a book, because the man who buys it has to pay through his pocket.”

Making sure that the reader gets his money’s worth, Sudha writes for kids. “I talk to kids. I don’t write about them,” she sums up her adeptness at writing for children. “I write stories which hold their interest. I write for kids of the soil. I realise my childhood was spent in a different era. There is a lot more Western influence nowadays. Today’s kids are more knowledgeable. They lose their innocence too soon.”

Yet, she does not feel that it is proper to lay all the blame on kids, hooked as they are to television and fast music these days.

“Well, if as an adult you are unbiased, the kids like it. An author has to relate stories children can identify with. For instance, Panchatantra was written 5000 years ago. For little children you can stoke their imagination with such tales. But after some time you have to stop it. The characters’ harshness has to be developed in a softer way for growing children. They can no longer be satisfied with fairies and princes.”

She should know. After all, not only does she work with women and children as part of her social responsibility — she received the Raja-Lakshmi Award for 2004 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to social work — she also teaches kids who are, well, not quite kids. She confesses, “It is easier to teach post-graduates than children. But at the end of a computer class, I tell a story. And there have been times when my students have come and told me that the best part of my lecture was the story I narrated!”

Before moving ahead, the soft-spoken author who has nine novels and two books for children to her credit, has a little lesson for young parents. “You are your children’s best role model. If they find you watching television every evening, they would do likewise. If at the end of a day, you pick up a book to read, they would also listen. And gradually imbibe that habit.”

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