Indian kidlit: Miles to go
Vibha Sharma

Raise your hands if you or your young readers have read any of these — Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Enid Blyton, J.K. Rowling, Nancy Drew and now raise once more if it is true for these names too — R.K.Narayan, Ruskin Bond, Satyajit Ray, Anushka Ravishankar. Oh well, no surprises there, while foreign authors are a rage among tender age readers, it seems not much chance has been given to our own homegrown authors. Is it because a famous Hindi saying is at play, Ghar ki murgi daal baraabar? May be yes, may be not.

Reading about diverse cultures and introducing variations to children is always a great approach. It extends the boundaries of the mind and readers get transported to those places where they may not possibly go physically. Having said that, isn't it important to get acquainted with our own home first before we go checking out others’ abodes?

Now, try closing your eyes and see what image begins to emerge in the mind just thinking about vines of grapes with beautiful green, ripe bunches of scrumptious fruit hanging down from the vine and now imagine the impact of tangy aam panna on the taste buds. Can the same impression and effect be replicated for the maple tree or maple syrup when a majority of us have not even seen how a maple tree looks in reality? Isn't experiencing and appreciating the flavours, the scenes, the beauty, behind the written words, a part of a complete fulfilling reading experience?

Not just these finer feelings, the concepts, the terminologies, the facts, the background, the characters and the culture described in foreign books are not what the young readers easily relate to if the same are not happening around them. Agreed, for veteran readers, it does not matter much because the focus shifts to the plot and the storyline but even then the impact can potentially multiply manifolds if the settings are familiar.

There is no denying the fact that some of the main reasons for the attraction of the imported kidlit are — impressive plots, superior texture of material used (so much so
that a group of dwarfs can enjoy a game of ice skating on the smooth pages), eloquent narration, brilliant art
work and well thought out
age appropriateness.

After reading such books, an inadvertent ‘wow’ comes out of the mouth and you cannot help marvelling at the pure creative genius of the author. It feels as if these are the books which are actually written to quench the thirst of an ardent reader and to provide the fun of reading in its pure sense.

The out-of-the box thinking, the edge-of-the-seat thrill, the nail-biting climax, an inspiring true story, fun of quirky language or mellifluous flow of written expressions, are some of the priceless feelings that every reader craves for when a new book is picked to be read.

But one thing which clearly makes a book favourite of young readers is, not being preachy all the time. Working closely with children reveals that direct preaching ends up being the least effective method of inculcating anything, however, observations and experiences prove to be the most persuasive ones. Igniting their developing minds and providing ample fodder for their intellect through brilliant ideas are where a good book can help immensely. If a lot of exciting ideas are brought into the lives of children, where is the time or energy left for a mind to go astray? On the contrary, minds would be occupied with some stimulating ideas all the time.

Now coming to the books which are published closer home. Barring a few, a majority of Indian authors try to pack preaching and education in one way or the other.

Is it the result of our over-obsessed minds which try to get value out of every moment while working with our
children? Inadvertently,
this obsession spills over to the kidlit space. And
sometimes, it mars the whole fun of appreciating a good piece of writing.

Some seasoned Indian authors like Ruskin Bond, R.K.Narayan, Satyajit Ray have aced the art of storytelling and they bring the simplicity of life to the forefront. This aspect is a pleasure read for young-adults but the subtlety in their writing may get unnoticed by early readers.

To fill this lacuna in the children literary circle, many publishing houses like Tulika, Scholastic India, Pratham books, Young Zubaan and likes of these are committed and are working towards providing quality reading material for early readers.

But this space is still in its infancy and needs a lot of effort in every aspect of book creation to make a piece of writing appealing for Indian kids as well as for readers all over the world. Content, substance, idea, high quality art work need to be critically evaluated before they find any place in the final product. The job doesn't end there.

Marketing, marketing, marketing!!! That seems to be the mantra these days. With so many things vying for the eyeballs of consumers, literary market is no exception either. The content has to be projected well and marketed well. The lack of resources is surely a huge hurdle in this but then what is a challenge without its share of hurdles?

It is an asset for the new generation to have easy access to native as well as foreign literature and a right mix of both is the best way to have an enriched reading experience. So for every Harry Potter, make sure to include either a Rusty or a Swami and enjoy all flavours available.

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