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Young World
In a world of books
ZIYA US SALAM
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Reading books is fun. But what about writing them? Here’s what some writers have to say about this...
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Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Writing for kids: Anita Nair, Sudha Murty and Anushka Ravishankar.
There are fables. There are myths. There are fantasies. Then there are some facts. Like those relating to authors who pen stories for children. Kids smile and sail into another world with their words. But writing children’s literature is no child’s play. It calls for vivid imagination, and an ability on the part of the writer to be certain of the target readers’ age group. The really young want fairies and princes, the slightly older ones want reason and
logic.
Everyday experiences
Says Sudha Murty, who feels teaching post-graduate students is easier than relating a story for kids, “You have to make an extra effort to write for kids. I use the experience of my involvement with NGO work and show my stories to kids around me before I submit the manuscript to the publisher.” She also has to take criticism in her stride. “Once a child told me, ‘You write well but you don’t read well’.”
Yet it is not as simple as that, as seasoned writers for children, Anita Nair and Anushka Ravishankar, also agreed at the recent discussion as part of the Jaipur Literature Week.
Says Anita, “I wanted to stay away from myths. I had two-three sources to find my stories. I researched Kathakali texts. I never use black-and-white versions. The world is grey. I use that format to tell the children about the world around them.”
And they respond, considering how her books move off the shelves. Interestingly, she uses everyday experiences to relate stories to kids. “I have a nephew Siddharth who refused to go to school. I started narrating stories to him. His case resulted in Living with Alice. In kids’ books, the story is important. Children anywhere are alike. A child does not read sub-texts. He wants his story.”
If some nice visuals accompany the text, well, that is icing on the cake. Says Anushka who is known for books like Tiger on a Tree and Anything but a Gracoberr, “I work on picture books and prefer to be closely involved with the illustrator. I write nonsense, that is subversion of logic. It is not gibberish. Every word has to have the promise of meaning.”
Unlike Anita, Sudha, who has written a couple of books for children, makes sure that she writes keeping Indian children in mind. “I have a great fascination for Indian names. I read some 5,000 names before choosing them for my characters. When you write, you should want to write.”
Reading and writing
Sudha Murty recalls, “I grew up in a village. We did not have TV then. My grandpa, a history teacher, would relate stories. It tickled my imagination. I developed the habit of reading stories.” And as an adult writing stories for kids below 12!
This is something that has stood Anita Nair also in good stead. “I don’t bring political correctness to writing. A child has to understand for himself.” And read for himself too!
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