Authors feel diversity in children’s literature is vital

Parag, a pan-India initiative of Tata Trust, in collaboration with Vidyasagar School, Chennai and Duckbill Books has been running a contest to find books featuring children with special needs. Their idea was to publish books which treat children with special needs and to create awareness and increase inclusiveness at the grass-root level. We talk to authors of children’s books and understand the need to have more novels that feature differently-abled characters and how this will help kids become accepting of different individuals.

Chennai-based author-poet Vibha Batra points out the current scenario and says, “We are living in an increasingly polarised world; people are divided along religious, communal, racial, gender and class lines; prejudice and bigotry are springing from the fear of the unknown. Aren’t these enough reasons why inclusive literature is the need of the hour, not only for children but for everyone?”

The author of Euro Trip believes that it’s high time we represented diversity in books and put the focus on disability in children’s literature. “Children should be exposed to different people inhabiting different worlds. They need to develop a positive attitude towards people from different cultures or with different abilities or a different point of view. Our children should gain an understanding that no matter how different people may seem on the surface, we have several things in common and are quite alike, after all,” says Vibha.

It’s not necessary to portray or treat the characters in a heroic manner. “We can tell stories that reflect daily struggles, fears and hopes the young children have. The only prerequisite is that the characters need to be represented in a sensitive manner,” she says.

Anjana Bindlish, a counsellor-turned-author’s debut book Raj his Friends and Organ Transplant speaks about how his friends from the jungle stay with him through thick and thin and support him through the entire process of his organ transplant. A psychotherapist, Anjana says that literature is one of the best ways to promote inclusivity among people.

“Many new titles are published every year, but only a few children’s books feature a differently-abled character. Moreover, children with different abilities are unable to find relatable characters in stories. This cause a deep impact on them. If literature can bring all children on the same page, it would be really wonderful,” says Anjana.

Many children have a limited understanding of the life experiences of the differently-abled. “It’s become so stereotypical that fairy tales are the only genre that we introduce our children to. If you do the hard work for your child then they’ll never develop any qualities/skills. In today’s day and age, children need a dose of reality — we shouldn’t cut away our kids from the real struggles that we face. Then only, they will understand what life is and how to face difficult situations,” she says.

Young author SK Arunachalam’s comic saga Space Junkies has a differently-abled character called Preston. Bradley and Preston had been friends since childhood. Preston’s accident two years ago took a heavy toll. Not only had it rendered him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but the strain was too much on his fiancé, who eventually left him for a wealthy alien banker. “The only reason for me to introduce Preston’s character is that I felt the need to give a different direction to the comic series. As a society, we usually isolate such people and consider them ‘different’. We are in no mood to create an environment where people are understood and accepted and lead peaceful lives,” Arunachalam says.

He continues, “Emotional baggage is as heavy as physical baggage. So, as long as people are able to relate to the same level, there is no need to include such characters in novels.”

It is not easy to imagine a character with disabilities, evolve a story around them and develop it into a book. “Firstly, the author should feel the need to have such characters or interest to write differently-abled characters. It’s very important that the writer has to fall in love with the character before introducing them to the world. Also, many authors worry if such books sell well in the market, says Arunachalam.

As a parting note, Anjana says that more authors should come forward and spread the message of inclusion through children’s literature. “We need more real-life stories that help readers to empathise with others,” she sums up.