Lit fests helping children’s writers: Author Anushka

“If you go to any book store, you’ll find Indian authors in the deepest and darkest corners. Though, one cannot blame the book stores for it. Many literature festivals that we’ve been seeing over the past few years have been helping introduce children to Indian authors writing for kids, which is good,” notes the writer, who is regarded as ‘Indian Dr Seuss’.

The author, who worked as an editor at city-based Tara Books from 1996 to 2001, recently marked her 20th book with the publishing house titled Tail Tale. “It is very difficult to make ends meet for children’s authors. Unless one has a support system or an alternate job, it is very difficult to make a living solely on books,” admits Anushka, who also co-founded the children’s literature publishing firm Duckbill. Known for her rhyme and “nonsense” verses, Anushka began her children’s writings when her daughter was young, sending stories to comic books like Tinkle, and eventually working on her own books. She’s worked on over 35 books so far.

Tail Tale, which follows the story of a cat that is fed up with her tail, also includes art by Tushar and Mayur Vayeda who hail from the Warli village in Maharashtra. Some of Anushka’s books are inspired by real-life incidents, news pieces and conversations with friends. “The book Hic! (Tara Books) were drawn from conversations. I was once talking to a friend who had continuous hiccups — which became an idea for the book, in which I started making up cures for hiccups. A newspaper article on crocodiles swimming out of a zoo during floods became inspiration for my book Catch That Crocodile,” she recollects.

Even though the number of libraries in our country needs to go up, the digital medium has ensured good access to children’s literature, Anushka asserts. “We have more people writing books for children, tackling different subjects. I feel the writings are getting bolder,” she says. Lamenting that there is no regular platform in the country that allows people to discover children’s books, the poet says she plans to work on a website that highlights books and authors writing for kids.