Never to forget...

Like Keshav in the story, I've spent many an hour as a child sitting rolled up inside a mat, inventing bizarre stories for my own entertainment. When I started writing The Snow-King’s Daughter, I had a specific tale to tell. I went to college with two Tibetan girls — Lobsang and Tsomo — who were very proud of their history and culture. The story of their struggle to make it in a new country despite all odds was moving and inspiring. Of all the things that I learned from them, their belief in making new beginnings without forgetting the past is one that I value the most. Their laughter and love for Tamil kuthu songs helped me set the tone for the story I had in mind — a narrative that would allow the characters respite from pity without wiping the issue off the table.


The friendship between Keshav and Lobsang (of the story) is like any other between children. They play, they talk, they make things up...and just like that, they grow up together. The discoveries that they make about each other and the world around them come in moments, not events. It never strikes Keshav until he's told that Lobsang is Tibetan; the differences don't really matter, but they are fun to figure out. Just as Lobsang has her way of coping with her loss, Keshav finds his way of acknowledging it. In the world they create for themselves inside the mat, snow-kings and princesses are real and valuable.

This is a story I've hugely enjoyed writing and I hope Lobsang will find the Snow-King. 

- Sowmya Rajendran, Author

What's the moral of the story?

Tulika's Thumb Thumb Books series has been published in Tamil by Bharati Puthakalayam's children's imprint, Books for Children, in a special book fair edition for sale across Tamilnadu. Bharati Puthakalayam is a Tamil publisher of many years standing. The January edition of its literary journal carried an insightful write-up about the impact of these books and why they work brilliantly for children:
 

In the name of children’s books loads and loads of moral stories have been churned out and offered to children. It is heartening that finally some meaningful steps are being taken in Tamil society to change this. A few publishers have started publishing some good books.

Books for Children have taken many important steps in this direction. The Thumb Thumb Books comprising ten titles in Tamil is their first attempt. Very young children can read and use these books. Usually, children never use something that adults use in a manner or for the same reasons that adults do. If they do, it would be rather unusual. I saw a child turning a book into a vessel, opening its lid, putting spoon inside and serving curry from it. This would never occur to us adults. A child could turn a square shaped book into a round vessel/bowl. It was at that moment I felt we, as adults, don’t deserve to write books for children. And that too, write only moral stories. We need to be punished for this and whatever the punishment, it can never be enough!

The Thumb Thumb Books series saves children from the torture of moral literature. Making a thumbprint, creating a Thambi through that print… ten books tell ten stories.

The first book 9-1 doesn’t really have a story. 9 crickets talking, 8 ants walking,… That’s the story. All this happens in 12 pages. At the end, 2 pages have been left for children to put their thumb prints and draw on them. In what way is this a progressive children’s book? That’s the first thing that crossed my mind. To remember numbers along with a story, this book is the best.

Are they all Thambi stories? No, there is a Thangi as well. Shhh! In this book she is sleeping. So turn the pages of the book slowly… without disturbing her sleep. Caterpillar slowly crawls. Cat yawns looking at her. Dog sniffs ….That’s the story!

Like this one, all ten books tell ten different stories – Song, Mirror, Up! Up!, Tail, Hello,Where is Thangi?, Dark, and Flower. On each page are big colourful pictures with just a line of text, printed on good quality paper. All ten books are held in a compact box. It should have been priced at Rs 300 but they are offering it at Rs 150. At the Chennai Book Fair it is available at Rs 100. Tulika and Books for Children together have produced this, a nice gift for anybody.

Just ask Vyasa & Valmiki: the 'Our Myths' series launch

Sparring with a brilliant scribe or being humbled by a gracious rival... creating epic stories can't be easy! Vyasa and Valmiki tell you all about that in Tulika’s latest series: Our Myths. Masquerade theatre company presents Vyasa’s Mahabharata and Hanuman’s Ramayan in a performance reading called Trunk ‘n’ Tails that stands myths on their heads and shows new ways of connecting with old stories.

Date: 23 January

Time: 5:00-6:00 pm

Place: Full Circle bookstore, 85 Chamiers Road, Above Anokhi, R.A.Puram

A multilingual presence in children's publishing

An interview with Radhika Menon, Tulika Books 

(as told to Scharada Dubey)  

The Buzz at Chamiers, Vol 1, Issue 18, Dec 2009- Jan 2010

Radhika Menon began Tulika Books in 1996, and the imprint has gone on to become a respected name in publishing children's literature, a pioneering publishing house that has a multi-lingual presence in English and Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati and Bangia. Here are some insights from a chat with her:

Would you say that reading habits have changed since you first began bringing out children’s books in 1996?

I would describe the change not so much in reading habits, as in children's publishing itself. In the last few years, there has been a buzz about Indian children's books. We have Children's Books Festivals and there is a large pool of talent of illustrators, writers and graphic artists working to make children's books better. It is now an active and vibrant space.

Was there a shortage of such talent earlier, or did the field just not have the resources to attract the right people? 
 
Well, you still hear about the lack of talent — people tend to talk about it a lot. But I don't agree. To me, publishing is not just about printing and selling books — it is about working with people at every level. To create good artists, illustrators, translators, all the professionals who will build good books, you have to put in the time and energy to train them and draw the best from what they have. For me, one of the measures of success is how many people we have launched as writers or artists, translators or editors.

What are some of the rewards of the work you have done at Tulika?

We have taken themes and ideas that are not exactly market-friendly and made them work. We are not an ethnocentric or culturally narrow Indian publishing house but one which is truly contemporary and culturally informed. The most rewarding thing is of course, our readership, which cuts across the world. Our relationships with schools and NGOs are also valuable ties, helping us stay close to the needs of our readers.

What are you looking forward to at Chamiers?  
 
Definitely showcasing the books at such a beautiful and intimate space. Its always a pleasure to work directly with people and our reading events will give us the opportunity to see directly the delight that young readers derive from our books.