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What piece of your childhood guided you to write for children?
My maternal grandmother used to come to our house with lot of stories, folktales and poems; it was a festive atmosphere when her around. She used to sit in a corner and tell us stories some of which were made up by the grandmothers in those times. I loved these stories, and the enabled a katha manase (a mind for stories). She also used to teach us simple songs and rhymes. I still remember them.
How did you develop an interest for reading and then writing?
I will forever cherish Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s Ente Uppapakoru Aana Undayirunnu (My grandfather had an elephant). Not only the story but I will never forget my experience of reading it, it illuminated me inside. When I was in class 8, I participated in a story writing competition, the topic was ‘pains of a labourer in a rural setting’. I decided to write about my father who worked as a labourer for making ropes. I titled the story Andapan Mappila. This is my first memory of creative writing.
Writing for children began after I joined teaching in 1966. I wrote poems for teaching children of class 1. It was a wonderful experience to teach through self-written poems that had a rhythm and could be performed; it gave children an immense pleasure. The poems were a tool to teach letters and numbers. Soon I sent them to magazines like Chelambathi to publish after wish they started becoming popular, especially among teachers and students.
Many of your books have animals as central characters, tell us about your choice?
This is a very important question, because children’s literature is for every age group. Even a child in nursery needs books, so we need to use characters and language that will speak out to this age group. As they grow up we can introduce characters that are more apt for their age and interest. Since I write for younger children, I use the same technique that is used in Panchatantra. That is, to introduce the learnings through characters of animals and birds. For example, my book Kaatile Kathakkal (Animals in the forest) which has also been translated in English has a parallel world of animals. There is a court for animals, their art and cultural learning center, hospital with animals as doctors and nurses etc. It is possible to arouse interest by replacing humans with animals.
Tell us about your range of work?
I have written for children across age groups. From rhymes for younger children, poems for slightly older kids. I have not written much for the adolescent age group. But my novels range from young children to teenagers – Pakarkum Thallikayil Our Aakasha Sancharam (The flight in a flying saucer) for younger children, Kaatile Kathakkal (Forest Tales) for slightly older ones and Wayanadan Kotta (Wayanad Fort) for the late childhood. Oraalke Ethra Bhoomivenam (How much land does one need?), based on Tolstoy’s story, was one such script for a kathaprasangam which received the first prize in the state school festival. I have written only few dramas. The recent one is Romeo and Snehamuthachiyum (Romeo and his lovely Grandmother) was written during the pandemic, based on a real incident about a child who travels two thousand kilometers from Italy to London in order to meet his grandmother.
What genre do you enjoy writing the most and why?
It is poems that I find easiest to write. If you ask me, I can do it right now, in no time. Some magazines like Labour India ask for a poem to be written in a day about a particular topic. I am able to write one or two good poems in this time and send them. So, poems it is for me.
How do you know the readers’ response?
Earlier children used to send letters; even 2-3 years ago I received around 400 postcards from children in Kottayam during a Reading Week celebration. It was sent by child readers; they wrote about the books and articles they read and what ideas they were attracted to. Now children get phone numbers through the publication and call directly to share their feedback. There was a small article written in Manorama by a child from Kasaragod District where she mentioned that the first book she read was a collection of my stories and how it interested her to read more. Two weeks before, a Sub-Inspector in a Kerala Police dog squad called me to say that he found a reflection of himself in a story that I wrote about a rescued dog.
What are the three things that you are mindful of while writing for children?
The most important thing that I am mindful of as an author for children is that the content, be it in the form of a story or a poem, must be enjoyable for children. There is no point in just presenting stories as a dry narrative. Reading needs to be a pleasurable experience for them. Then, I think about the take-away, the child should be able to learn something from the book, not as morals at the end of the book, but something that is underlying throughout the text. The book needs to be encouraging and inspiring. The storyline should be appealing to motivate the child to read another book. So, the book needs to be enjoyable, knowledgeable and inspirational. As much as possible, I try my best to ensure these in my works.
