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What is
true of children’s books in Malayalam is, to a large extent, true of books
in other Indian languages too. They exist in their own world, fenced in by
their own cultural beliefs and biases regarding, both children as well as
the content, style and tone of children’s books. Parochial attitudes further
confine the space, while the market reinforces these borders, even as it
creates new ones.
Of course, there are exceptions in every language, but
unless we allow
children’s books to erase these borders, they will remain out of step with a
new generation of young people growing up in a digital world and, with
increasing frequency, freely crossing borders of language and culture.
Though we cannot wish away the digital divide that makes the technology
inaccessible to a majority of children, it does touch their lives in subtle
ways in an increasingly wired world.
While the reasons for the conventionality in much of children’s publishing
in India are historical, political, and economical,
at the root of the
problem is an education system in which the textbook is central to the
exclusion of almost any other kind of reading material. In addition is a
certain cultural attitude to childhood, which makes us see it as a stage in
life that needs to be disciplined rather than nurtured. This has conditioned
our understanding of what books our children should read.
In books published in English in India, we clearly see the influence of the
west, in terms of the creativity they exhibit, the attitudes they reflect
and the worldviews presented in them. Though many of them continue to be
merely imitative, the best of them have a distinct identity. It is a dynamic
cultural identity that is changing and evolving constantly. The style and
perspective these authors bring to their writing comes from a culturally
unique ‘translated’ sensibility. Relating to an Indian language and its
culture through English and vice versa brings an interconnectedness of the
local and the universal in their stories. To scoff at them as being western
and rootless is, therefore, to dismiss a growing generation of children
thinking and speaking in English, even while experiencing their native
languages through films, songs and television. On the other hand, one might
also be guilty of ignoring a large section of children aspiring to learn
English as a language of empowerment.
Before discussing children’s books in Malayalam, based on Tulika’s
experience of publishing in English and eight more Indian languages, I must
clarify that as someone who has not grown up reading books in Malayalam, the
views expressed here are selective rather than comprehensive and entirely
urban English in focus. Engaging with narratives for children in English
first and then in different languages offers one a vantage point that is
more objective than subjective. The intention is not to privilege one
viewpoint over the other but to explore possibilities of Indian children’s
literature that can reflect the interconnectedness of regions, languages and
cultures while retaining distinct individual voices.
Children’s publishing in Malayalam has a long history. Kerala’s status as
India’s most literate state has seen the growth of a strong and dynamic book
culture. It has a unique and effective grassroots library network that still
survives (though not as efficient as before) placing it ahead of many other
states in this respect. It has the most number of children’s magazines,
periodicals, and children’s sections and supplements in mainstream magazines
and newspapers. It is also one of the few states to have a State Institute
of Children’s Literature. In the first fifty years of the 20th century
alone, a record 500 children’s books were published in Kerala.
The beginnings of children’s books as a genre in Malayalam can be traced to
the publishing of books with simple language and ethical themes for
“intellectually backward women and children,” as claimed by Dr. O.M.Anujan,
in his Children’s Literature in Indian Languages (Publications Division,
1982). Dr. Anujan ends his article on an optimistic note saying that with
the arrival of more children’s publishers and booksellers, we can look
forward to many more books being published. While the optimism is not
misplaced, the quantity of books published has not had any impact on the
quality nor has it changed the nature of children’s books.
If recently published books are anything to go by, this long history and
tradition of children’s publishing has not generated a vibrant body of
children’s literature. Unlike in other parts of the world, there appears to
be little that has changed in form or content. Books are better produced but
are not particularly innovative. By and large, the same old conventional
style and tone of writing continues. Pictures remain mere embellishments to
the text. The picture book as a genre simply does not exist, except as
alphabet or wordbooks.
Even in recent publications, the teacher’s voice, for instance, is never far
away despite a lighter tone overall (e.g. Pakshikathakal – ‘Bird Stories’
by Prof. S. Sivadas, DC Books). The moral/message, though not spelt out like
in earlier books, hovers at the end of every story (Kunjikathakal – ‘Tiny
Stories’ by Kiliroor Radhakrishnan, DC Books). The books sport a
contemporary look thanks to zany, computer-illustrated covers in bright
colours. There were no books among those reviewed that broke away from the
sentimental and cliché-ridden style of story-telling which is so typical of
Malayalam writing for children. The first line in a collection of children’s
stories and poems starts, “Oh golden deer that skips in the forest, tell me…
,” in the stereotypical sugary style of animal/bird poems. Thankfully,
however, there are also poems about horns, buses and trains by the children,
which have a ‘truer’ ring to them. One, titled Jillapattu – ‘Town Song’ by
eight-year-old Navami Prakash, is a clever play on names of cities and towns
in Kerala and is thoroughly enjoyable.
Even well known short story writers like Ashita, who is part of the
Pennezhuthu (women’s writing) movement, comes up with more of the same in
her collection, 365 Kunjukathakal (365 Tiny Stories, DC Books).
The writers
of the best of children’s books, from picture books to young adult novels,
show a finely tuned sensitivity which is as much about their distinctive
styles as about their politics, which is wholly missing in children’s books
in Malayalam. It is as if writing for children must homogenise style and
language and overwhelmingly vest it with ‘purpose’.
The witty
colloquialisms, the inventiveness of everyday language and rich regional
variations and dialects find no place in these books.
This is why Poochakurinjyaar (Madam Cat) resonates with such conviction.
Slated to be published by Anveshi as part of the project, Different Tales:
Stories from Marginal Cultures and Regional Languages, J. Devika’s story
details the process of a cat bathing and dressing up, with liberal
descriptions of landscape, food and ornaments. It is a traditional tale told
in a traditional style to subvert the image of the conventional upper class
woman. That the youngest of readers respond spontaneously to the strong
cultural flavour of the translated story is borne by the fact that books
like Eecha Poocha and Ottakaran Kurumulagu, translated from Malayalam into
English (Tulika, Chennai), are top favourites not just in their English
translation but also in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Marathi and
Gujarati. The argument for keeping children’s books within familiar and
local contexts, especially in regional languages, is that children don’t
respond to the unfamiliar in books! Says who?
While there is some merit in the requirement to standardize language in
textbooks, to do so in all writing for children stifles the creativity, not
only of the writer, but of the young reader too. Magazines, on the other
hand, seem to offer a more unstructured space for writing. Rekha Raj, a
research associate at MG University, Kerala, observes that the stories have
a witty edge (wit, particularly sarcastic wit, is a trademark Malayali-ism)
and cites that the most successful character in the magazine Baalarama (from
the Malayala Manorama stable) is a wily fox called Sootran. Interestingly,
Rekha attributes this to the “current influence of mimicry groups on the
Kerala cultural landscape”.
The kind of writing that gives us a sense of the oral quality of
storytelling and children’s speech, is in books of poems and verse.
The free
use of word play, rhyme and rhythm in some of the collections by Kunjunni
for instance, gives us a tantalizing glimpse of the creative possibilities
of language in books for children. But, by and large, the language and
themes in the poems are drippingly sentimental and romantic, addressing
idealized children in idealized settings.
An interesting observation made by Dr. Anujan is that most writers for
children in Kerala are scientists or science teachers. This has a lot to do
with the vibrant grassroots movement started by the Kerala Shastra Sahitya
Parishad (Kerala Science Writer’s Forum) to create awareness of science and
scientific attitudes. It was widespread across the state and covered every
small village and town. The movement actively engaged with children through
an impressive number of books on science, including biographies and science
fiction, which it regularly published – and continues to publish.
The success of this grassroots publishing initiative was a fantastic
door-to-door distribution network and the nature of the campaign itself,
which had literacy ‘jathas’ (processions), children’s book fairs, art and
drama all as part of it. Unfortunately, the overriding tone of all this
activity, including the publishing, was to ‘inform and instruct’. The books,
thus, for the main part, are dryly factual and unwittingly patronizing. Some
of the good writers who are very popular adopt an avuncular tone in their
writing. While the style and tone of the books perhaps reflect the time when
the movement started and has political and cultural roots, that they have
remained unchanged over time is of concern.
Generations have grown up on the KSSP books, and the cycle is repeated even
when the old guard changes. The same kind of books continue to be published.
Is this symptomatic of a fundamental contradiction in Kerala society – hierachical and gender unequal on the one hand, and politically aware and
highly literate on the other?
Bookstore chains spreading into smaller cities are rapidly changing the
children’s books scenario. The market will ensure the availability of a wide
range of books in English supplied by the ever-expanding import market and
the growing number of children’s publishing houses including the
multinationals. The discerning buyer will always find a few Indian books in
English comparable to the best anywhere. But in much of the Indian languages
it will be an undifferentiated and indifferent mass of books that has
nothing new to offer if the current trends continue. The pressures of the
market will make it difficult for any kind of innovativeness or creativity
to emerge. Savvy publishers of children’s books will cash in on the demand,
with assembly line productions, giving packaging more importance than
substance, being the order of the day.
If regional publishers and writers can shed their orthodoxy, both in how
they view the child and books for the child, there exists the possibility of
creating culturally distinct yet contemporary books for children.
Translating such books into English and translating English books by writers
who bring a different sensibility to language will create a richly diverse
range of books for children – contemporary, democratic and rooted in a
plural, multilingual culture. If, as is said of children’s books, they
reflect society’s view of the young and the young person’s view of society,
there is an urgent need to rethink children’s writing in Malayalam.
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