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What lead you to illustrating for children?
Through the 1990s and the first decade of the new millennium, I was part of an organization called the Avehi-Abacus project. We worked with municipal schools in Greater Bombay, developing material that enhanced classroom teaching and learning. We developed scores of stories for reflection and discussion, to explain concepts simply and also to entertain. Everyone did a bit of everything but I was in charge of all the visual material. At a certain point, we felt that many of our stories could go out to a larger audience and we approached some publishers. This led to the publication of three Avehi-Abacus stories – Who will Teach Emperor Akbar? and The Sea in a Bucket (both illustrated by me, published by Eklavya) and Sameer’s House (illustrated by Nina Sabnani, published by Tulika). Subsequently, Tulika asked whether I had any stories of my own to submit. I wrote and illustrated The Seed and without even knowing it, my career as a writer/illustrator had begun.
You are an illustrator, author and an author-illustrator. Is there a shift in the approach that you adopt for the three roles? Which one do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy writing very much and I agonise over my illustrations. When I write, it is exciting to see how another artist interprets my story. When I illustrate someone else’s work I wonder what pictures they had in their mind and whether I am doing them justice. Luckily, when I write and illustrate my own work, the writer and illustrator within me are usually on amicable terms and although they sometimes call each other names, the outcome is usually something that all of us are fairly happy with. That’s the process I enjoy most.
Illustrations of Nani’s Walk to the Park and The Sea in a Bucket is uniquely busy, yet every inch pulls the eye. Tell us about the creative process of putting together miniatures into a beautiful whole?
I believe that illustrations do not merely embellish a story but extend and have the ability to transport it. Children pick up different cues when they ‘read’ a picture – geography, culture, relationships, perceptions of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, humour and so much more. Some stories lend themselves to the kind of detailing that helps create stories within stories for those who want to look for them like the two books mentioned and also One and Many and Who Will Teach Emperor Akbar? The illustrations for The Sea in a Bucket were done as complete frames on paper while for Nani’s Walk elements were drawn separately and then combined layer upon layer on the computer.
How do you capture absurdities of the world into your illustrations?
The absurdities are all around us, everywhere we look. It only means opening our eyes to them and interpreting them in our style. It helps if one does not take oneself too seriously. The process of creation should be an enjoyable one that allows levity and the airing of some pet peeves and pet delights.
The style for Who Will Teach Emperor Akbar? is strikingly different from your other books. What led to it ?
With Emperor Akbar while I was very sure that I did not want to copy the miniature style, I did want to convey the flavour of it. It was detailed, painstaking work but immediately gave the story a distinctive feel and age. Another book that is very precious to me is my last one – Our Library. Published by Pratham, it is only on Storyweaver at the moment but I hope that it will be out in book form sometime soon. This story, beautifully written by Raviraj is about a library for differently-abled children. These illustrations (my attempt at being more realistic!) are another complete shift from my usual style because I did not want even a whiff of caricature to enter any frame. I also wanted to show an environment that is busy, warm and inviting – the sort of library that any child would want to enter.
When you share your books with children, what happens for you as an illustrator?
Ah, that’s the acid test isn’t it? I so desperately want to make contact with the child through my illustrations that I feel like a student on viva. No matter how many pictures I get sent of children poring over my books, each one is special and cherished. That’s what we live for!
What enables you to see the world from a child’s eye?
Hey, we were all children once and they still exist within all of us. I am a continuation of everything I have been, so you see, I have never really grown up. And yes, I never miss an opportunity to be with children. They are very important people with important thoughts and things to say that are worth listening to.
Any moments of surprise in your career as an illustrator?
I was in Thiruvananthapuram visiting family. We decided to go to the government-run children’s bookshop. As we were about to climb the steps, my niece said “Deepa aunty, look!” The signboard for the shop had the little girl from my book ‘The Seed’ beautifully and prominently painted on it.
Can you name a few illustrators whose works you adore?
I buy children’s books for myself. I pore over them and delight in the illustrations of Priya Kuriyan and Rajiv Eipe, Ruchi Mhasane and Lavanya Naidu, Madhuri Purandare and Bindia Thapar, Atanu Roy and Manjula Padmanabhan, Suddhasattwa Basu and Prioti Roy, Srividya Natarajan and …oh, please forgive me, all those others whom I shall remember as soon as this interview is over! From among the International artists – although my exposure is limited – I love the work of Allen Say, Christopher Corr, Aaron Becker and Mehrdokht Amini among others. Another artist I respect immensely is Shachi Kale who illustrated a few books before flying away to distant lands. She is a phenomenal artist and I wish that she illustrated Indian books again.
What are your all-time favourite books for children?
Now this is a difficult question and my answers are going to seem very random. I will let my mind float and grab whatever I remember fondly. There are bound to be hundreds of titles I miss but here goes for now – the Roald Dahl books with Quentin Blake’s illustrations. Manjula’s Visit to the City Market. A lot of the earlier NBT books for children like Big Tiger, Little Tiger and Chutki. Richa Jha’s Dance of the Wild. What shall I make? and Where’s Amma? by Nandini Nayar. The Why-Why Girl by Mahashweta Devi, Priya’s Ammachi’s Glasses and Rajiv’s Ammachi’s Amazing Machines. Jamlo Walks, and finally, I will add to the list my own books (how can one not love one’s babies?)
What are you working on right now and what is your upcoming project?
For the next few months I shall be concentrating on finishing a book started several years ago with a friend and colleague on the stories of the community of Climbing Sherpas in Darjeeling. I also start teaching at IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay – a new chapter in my life, that is both daunting and tremendously exciting. There are a couple of book ideas that I am itching to sink my teeth into but they will have to wait their turn.
