Writer. Editor
As a mother of two, this is a frequently written about topic for me. I find childhood utterly fascinating for its innocence, purity of thought, simplicity and a most beautiful ability of letting go. Much of my writing on childhood is expressing my awe at all that children do and teach you, things that you have forgotten about life. I also write about my experiences with my little ones – something I hope to go back to anytime and smile wholeheartedly.
Anu Kumar, Author, talks to me on what it means to be a children’s author, including what fascinates her about writing for children, what’s the sort of research that goes into her books, who her favourite children’s authors are and what’s her favourite from her own body of work. Plus there is a beautiful reading list that she recommends for children too.
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It’s such joy and pride to see your little one grow up, taking one step at a time. Trust me, the pride you feel at every stage of progress is priceless. There’s nothing more beautiful in this world than the experience of being with your child. I wrote this when my son turned three and was kind of settling down into school. He had the typical separation anxiety and did throw tantrums but he overcame that and did me proud in ways more than one!
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Radhika Menon is the Managing Editor of Tulika Publishers, an independent children’s publishing house based in Chennai. Tulika has produced over 200 titles, for the age group 0-16 years. They include picture books, bilingual books and folktales, contemporary fiction and non-fiction, and much more. Tulika publishes in English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, and Bangla. She opens up on the inception of Tulika Publishers, the books they publish, the challenges they face, future plans of Tulika and her thoughts on the Indian children’s publishing industry.
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Raksha Bharadia is the co-author of many titles in the Indian Chicken Soup Series including Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul, Teenage Soul and Romantic Soul. She has also authored ‘Me: A Handbook for Life’ and ‘Roots and Wings: A Handbook for Parents’ both published by Rupa. Raksha has also contributed many articles for Times of India, Femina and Gurlz. In an interview to me, she talks about her book on parenting, ‘Roots and Wings’ and some important aspects of childhood and parenting in today’s world.
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Kalpana Sharma is an independent journalist and columnist whose columns appear regularly in The Hindu’s Sunday Magazine, on The Hoot and Infochange India. Her columns are about developmental issues, women, the media and the environment, among others. Kalpana Sharma is also the author of ‘Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia’s largest slum’ published by Penguin in 2000. In this interview, she gets talking about the Indian society’s attitude towards girl children and social issues such as female foeticide. Excerpts.
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Geeta Ramanujam, a recipient of the Ashoka Fellowship, Washington, USA, is the Founder Trustee and Executive Director of Kathalaya Trust, a centre established with the intention of reviving the ancient art of storytelling and using it in schools as a cultural tool in education. Kathalaya does storytelling sessions and workshops for schools as well as empowerment programmes for teachers. Kathalaya’s Academy of Storytelling, which is affiliated to International Storytelling Centre, Jonesborough, Tennessee, USA, has two centers in India: one each in Bangalore and Chennai, and offers short-term and long-term certificate courses in storytelling. In this interview, she talks about how she began using stories as a teaching aid and why stories are very relevant in education and de-stressing.
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