Here is a snippet of South Asian focused children’s literature, from the website of the dedicated magazine Kahani:
Kayan’s grandfather walked in. He held something shiny in his hand.
“What is it, Ajoba?” Sarika said. Their grandfather held up a silver coin.
“It’s just a coin,” Kayan said.
Ajoba shook his head. He placed the coin on one palm and rubbed his hands together quickly. Then he held up his hands. The coin was gone.
“Wow!” Sarika said. “Neat.” Kayan’s eyes widened.
“A magic coin,” Ajoba said.
Another snippet and some illustrations are available at the magazine’s website. One of its contributors is SM regular Pooja Makhijani, who has a nice personal essay on the topic of desi children’s lit at PaperTigers.org, a website on Asian-American writing for kids:
As I was growing up, I would search library shelves in the hopes of finding a character “like me”. I never had much luck. One day, my elementary school librarian excitedly handed me a tattered copy of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. “It’s set in India,” she squealed. “It’s the perfect book for you!”
Shockingly, Pooja did not find herself identifying with Mowgli. But one day at the library, she ran into a book called Dancing Princess:
Dancing Princess was a historical novel set in 16th century India during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Although Allaedi, the main character, wasn’t exactly like me, she was close enough. We were both brown haired, brown eyed, brown skinned girls and we both loved to dance. I renewed that book again and again, carefully scrawling my name onto the index card pasted on the inside back cover each week.
Now, Pooja tells us, there is a growing profusion of desi children’s lit. This is perhaps simply because the generation best placed to produce this literature has come of age. The themes are becoming more and more sophisticated:
Anjali Banerjee’s forthcoming novel, Looking for Bapu (October 2006), the story of eight-year old Anu and how he comes to terms with the loss of his beloved grandfather. Like Budhos’ Ask me No Questions, Looking for Bapu takes place in a post 9/11 United Sates and bravely recounts the experiences of South Asian young people in a very politically-charged America. I am also looking forward to Uma Krishnaswami’s picture book, Bringing Asha Home (September 2006), which is about a biracial Indian-American boy who finds his own way to bond with his sister while his family awaits her adoption from India.
Kahani instructs would-be contributors as follows:
We encourage short stories that focus on adventure, humor and mystery. They should have an appealing plot and children of South Asian descent growing up in North America must play a significant role in the stories. Characters must be well developed without resorting to stereotypes and conflicts should be resolved through positive example. Draw parallels between the readerÂ’s life and that of the protagonist, so that the child feels an instant affinity with the character. Stories should be based in North America, but where relevant, can also take place in the characterÂ’s native country.
Back in the infancy of Sepia Mutiny (post #239!) Abhi blogged about Kahani with the title “Like brown kids aren’t ALREADY freakishly smart!” Smart they may (or may not) stay, but they won’t feel so freakish anymore thanks to the work of Pooja and her peers.
Thanks, this was a really helpful post for me (I’m a teacher). Has anyone read Shiva’s Fire by Suzanne Fisher Staples (who wrote the infamous Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind)? We will be using it in school next year, but I am really looking for something written by an actual real-live South Asian. Any other suggestions?
Siddhartha, thank you for this post!
Tamasha, I’ve read everything by Suzanne Fisher Staples. As you can imagine, I had many issues with Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind. I have similar reservations about recommending Shiva’s Fire. What grade(s) do you teach?
good topic Siddharth and its importance can not be overstated. I dont know how things have changed – in my time we had the boys’ classics like treasure island, swiss family b, etc. – but… but… i had but ONE english novella with kids like me called ‘good times at islamgunj’ – i dont know who the author was – but it talked about some kids hooking up with cousins at their grandparents’ home in the summer vacation and having some good old adventures – sneaking kheer from the kitchen, finding an old ruby, catching a crook etc – best book i had and just wish i had more.
kids’ lit is severely underrated – and looking at me know i see that i have been deeply influenced by Willard Price. i just wish the examples you have above werent so uh deep. boys want to go into caves, jump off cliffs, roll in the mud, dig for gold, climb up trees, save the day – youth’s too short to think about the meaning of life or biracialism or 9/11.
three cheers for Pooj
in reference to the above… what do you know… it’s on ebay and the author is Subhadra Sen Gupta.
Pooja, speak for yourself – I identified very closely with Mowgli! Monkey-like skinny jungli brown kid…the book could’ve been written about me 😉
Good luck with it all and congrats on that award.
Thanx for this post Siddhartha. Pooja rocks. Can’t wait to pick up her book.
hairy_d, right now, in the South Asian diasporic children’s literature community, I think we are missing books about “boys [who] want to go into caves, jump off cliffs, roll in the mud, dig for gold, climb up trees, save the day.” I love(d) those books, too, and would love to see more of them.
Maybe you should pick up a pen?
JaoT, thanks for the support. My book will be out in time for Mother’s Day 2007. I will probably be putting up the illustrations on my website later this fall. Stay tuned!
I loved “Swami and friends” which was based on R K Narayan’s Malgudi characters. Dont know if the cricket-centric events will appeal to the North american born kids, but I am sure everyone has/had similar parents and relatives to whom we can relate to.
papertigers, how cool 😀
hairy_d,
when you do pick up a pen, write to me. let’s talk. kahani can definitely use more stories with boy characters. just to put it into perspective, we’ve published a total of 24 short stories so far — only 9 dealt with male characters. it would be nice to even out the ratio a bit.
o0o Pooja is writing a book :D?? congrats mami :”>. but whatz wrong wid shabanu?
The only brown people I ever saw in “books” when young was in Amar Chithra Katha comics — and some of them were blue or green! They served their short-lived purpose, but thank all that is holy that there are better reading options out there for the cute little ones in my life who love to read. 😉
I looked up to Haji from Johnny Quest. He was quite the jet-setter and a bona fide man of mystery.
Siddhartha: Great post. I wonder if there is any scientific validity and expertise and consensus among the field of medicine to the Indian cultural claim that when the fetus is developing in mother’s womb, the stories and thoghts of the mother are instilled in the unborn baby? I grew up in India reading adventure stories like “Chhel and Chhabo”, “Dev-vrata Bhisma”, etc. A well known anecdote in Mahabharat is about Arjun’s son Abhimanu who was influenced by Mom telling stories to the unborn. I sometimes wonder what my wife was reading and/or talking to the unborn, when she was carrying Abhi? The kid does Scuba diving, Bungee jumping, Moutain climbing, Airplane flying, Debating, Blogging and posting controversial issues, Annihilating trolls and on and on… Hahaha !!
Shabanu (and Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan) both won major book honors (Shabanu was honored by the Newbery Committee and Homeless Bird took home the National Book Award). Award-winning childrenÂ’s books become fixtures on school and library reading lists. Unfortunately, both books have been criticized for pandering to stereotypes about non-Western women and have been cited with factual inaccuracies, and thus are quite a disservice to the children who are reading them.
DonÂ’t get me wrong—I think writers should write about ANY culture/place/time period they want—but I think writing outside of one’s culture/place/time period requires a lot of research.
Great post, Siddartha! And great work, Pooja!! I’m happily bookmarking all of these child lit sites so I can be the cool auntie who reads desi books to the nieces & nephews. Growing up, the only desi kid’s books we had were “Geeta & the Village School” and “The Beautiful Blue Jay” (which was a collection of Indian folk tales), both released from the public library. Other than that it was the same old Ramona Quimby, Judy Blume books, and some Madeleine L’Engel… No desi protagonists. I’m thrilled to see our generation picking up the baton and creating some great literature for us to share with our children.
Does anyone know who wrote Dancing Princess? I’d like to take a look at it.
desidancer,
wanna be a really cool auntie? get your nieces and nephews a gift subscription to kahani. our masthead is a who’s who of south asian authors writing for the children’s market. let’s see…we’ve got Pooja, Uma Krishnaswami, Mitali Perkins, Kashmira Sheth, Ruth Jeyaveeran, Anjali Banerjee…you get my drift. it’ll be the best 20bucks you ever spent. oh, and we just signed on Narinder Dhami.
Hi all- I contribute to Kahani too (i’m not one of those famous people monika mentioned, though). BUT, I’m honored to work for the magazine. Speaking of our generation, DesiDancer, there is other great media out there for kids in this realm. I work on a PBS TV series for children called Postcards From Buster. In it an animated main character films real kids all over the country (and sometimes, funding-willing) abroad, to explore their cultures and lives (http://pbskids.org/buster/). We’ve produced two episodes on South Asian kids and shown all kinds of aspects of their lives: tabla practice, little league, the indian grocery store trips with thier moms, desi food at home, girls wearing hijabs and playing basketball at recess, the gurdwara…we put these images on national television! I’m pretty proud of it. The show will be on the air again this fall all over the country. We need more media like Kahani and Buster!! Please support this stuff!
I’m curious about one thing. Monika you mention how there is a definite female bias in the protagonists of your stories – and your list of authors is also very female. Is this something normal for kids’ literature, or is there a dearth of desi male writers aiming at a younger audience? Are South Asian boys being hard-done by? Suddenly there seems to be a market I can aim for, people on my level! (I kid, I know children’s writing is not at all easy)
I, like BrooklynBrown, grew up on Amar Chithra Katha. Kahani is definitely groundbreaking; I’m considering about ordering a subscription for my nephew’s 7th b-day this year.
I can’t believe how cool this magazine is – I wished that it had been around when I was a kid. I’m looking forward to reading it with my kids!
Our tastes diverge. I am quite fond of Walter the farting dog.
🙂
bong breaker,
you bring up a good point. you are absolutely right. i find, at least in regards to kahani, that most of our contributors are female. we have only one regular male contributor — anu garg — and he writes a wonderful column on language for the magazine. we are in the process of talking with writer sachin waikar of chicago to develop a column for us (btw, sachin is the author of the snippet that started this discussion). we try to mix it up in other ways as well: our upcoming bio is on sweeny murti, a yankees radio reporter; pooja has reviewed looking for bapu for our fall issue (deals with a male protagonist). so we do our best to balance the content.
Pooja-
6th grade. I am sort-of ok with Shiva’s Fire, as long as the genre (magical realism) is stressed. Hopefully having me around will help them read the book with a grain of salt, too. People often mention that Staples lived in South Asia for a while as a child; I suppose that counts for something.
I haven’t read Shabanu yet. Any and all suggestions (both good and bad – so I can steer my kids away from certain books) are appreciated.
Monika/Priya — sounds like a great gift idea. I just reviewed the Kahani site and could not find any explicit references to target ages for the magazine. Could you specify? Thanks.
Pooja,
Not to say that more books like that wouldn’t be welcome, but I’m not sure they need a South Asian diasporic protagonist to be relevant. I grew up on Willard Price (I just re-read the whole set this summer), and Hal/Robert were characters anyone, anywhere could identify with. You know better than anybody that good literature can transcend time, geography and culture and I guess I would want my kids to read the best literature out there and if it has South Asian bearings so be it, but if not, I’m not really sure I care.
I fear that distinctions such as “South Asian” take away from a universal view of literature that I think (but am not sure) I subscribe to.
Hari
Now, as I recall, I did have a South Asian role model growing up:
http://www.indiana.jp/character/image/molaram.jpg
hipdidi,
kahani is targeted at children in elementary school – anywhere from 6yo to 11yo. but then we also have parents who buy it for their toddlers and even grandparents who subscribe for themselves.
Tamasha, Anjali Banerjee’s first middle-grade novel, Maya Running, is also in the magical realism genre. You might want to insert that into your syllabus.
Also, this bibliography may be helpful to you to figure out what’s out there and what would be useful in your classroom.
Hari, I do agree with you that “good literature can transcend time, geography and culture,” but I also believe that finding themselves in books gives children a sense of their culture, history, and importance. And it’s not just me. Many educators argue that cultural experiences depicted in literary works sparked identification in students and, at times, a sense of cultural pride and validation.
I advocate that children read FAR and WIDE; South Asian children’s literature is just an addition to that list.
Such a great post, one to file away when stumped for gift ideas… 🙂
Thank you – the bibliography is really helpful.
thanks Monika for information! will spread the word..
While we are at it. Check out the Balagokulam Magazine http://www.balagokulam.org/bgmag/ . It is a first International magazine for Hindu Children. The Balagokulam Magazine was also invovled in hosting the 1st Nationwide Children’s Kaun Banega Ramayan Expert (KBRE) http://www.balagokulam.org/kbre-results contest in the United States. In the contest, nearly 3000 children participated!!
what about desi teen books? we dont see much of those, atleast where i am. i mostly read adult indian books, but it would be nice to have another born confused =]
desi what?,
Here are some more desi teen titles:
Ask Me No Questions Marina Tamar Budhos After 9/11, fourteen-year-old Nadira and eighteen-year-old Aisha live in fear. When their father is arrested and detained at the Canadian border, Nadira and Aisha are sent back to Queens, and told to carry on, as if everything is the same.
Monsoon Summer Mitali Perkins Secretly in love with her best friend and business partner Steve, fifteen-year-old Jazz must spend the summer away from him when her family goes to India during that country’s rainy season to help set up a clinic.
Naming Maya Uma Krishnaswami When Maya accompanies her mother to India to sell her grandfather’s house, she uncovers family history relating to her parents divorce and learns more about herself and her relationship with her mother.
The Not-So Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen Mitali Perkins When her grandparents come for a visit from India to California, thirteen-year-old Sunita finds herself resenting her Indian heritage and embarrassed by the differences she feels between herself and her friends.
Swimming in the Monsoon Sea Shyam Selvadurai Fourteen-year-old Amrith is caught up in the life of the well-to-do household in which he is being raised by in Sri Lanka. Then, his cousin arrives from Canada and Amrith finds himself falling in love with the Canadian boy.
Have fun!
Amz, the author of Dancing Princess is Jean Bothwell. I believe she wrote the book in the 1940s. A few used copies are available at abebooks.com. I looked this up when I noted that she set her story in the 16th century. I’m working on a novel set in Rajasthan during that time period, too, and involving dance. Ok, there it is, I’ve said it in public. Now I guess I really have to finish it.
On the subject of desi kids’ lit, Sawnet has also put together a list. Check it out at http://www.sawnet.org/kidsbooks. My daughter is a quarter desi (also two quarters Jewish, one quarter Catholic, and an honorary quarter French) and I’m looking forward to reading this stuff with her in another year or two. Siddhartha, thanks for starting this thread.
Bothwell wrote more than a dozen books set on the Subcontinent. Her books are currently out-of-print, but can be found in most large libraries.
For a comprehensive, historical survey of children’s literature for/about/set in Desiland, check out The Indian Subcontinent in Literature for Children and Young Adults: An Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Books by Meena Khorana. This book was published in 1991, so it’s not all that current, but a very interesting look at what was being published vs. what is being published in this category.
Great post, Siddhartha. Oh how I would love to see that ‘C’ perish!
What a great idea to get desi lit out there for kids so they don’t have to go through the Mowgli-like experiences that we suffered, or the tokenism of the ‘Patil’ (ah, the perfect blending of Indian names and Mockney proununciation, innit?) twins in the Harry Potter books, or much worse, the Winds that recently gave birth to Shabanu. I wonder if brown people generally are seen as being v connected with the wind because I distinctly remember Pocohantas knowing all its colours.
Also she isn’t desi… Faiza Guene who has published her excellent first novel ‘Just Like Tomorrow’ was born and grew up in the immigrant suburbs of Paris with her Algerian migrant parents. Her book is great for young adults and a really original take on the immigrant kid experience; turns out there’s a whole world of other confused Bananas, Coconuts and Bounty bars out there are plagued by the same ‘white on the inside’ confusion as the Oreos.
I agree with the sentiment, but is the lack of children’s literature aimed at south asians really a cause of the problem? I certainly think it will help, but when I was a child in the late 70s/early 80s, I don’t recall ever having read any children’s books with a cultural slant. Where there Italian-American, or Irish-American, or Jewish-American children’s books? I don’t ask this to play devil’s advocate. I ask because I just don’t know. Honestly, I think with or without the literature, the “C” will disappear with time, as it has with other immigrant populations. That said, I applaud what these authors are trying to accomplish.
Kahani is a wonderful resource! I’d also like to recommend tulika books, a Chennai-based publisher of bilingual picture books and early reader stories. Authors include Mahasweta Devi and Uma Krishnaswami. Some of Tulika’s titles have even been picked up by Kane Miller. They have a comprehensive catalog on their site and do ship to the US.
i’m actually working on a fictional series that chronicles the adventures of a young indian boy struggling with coming-of-age issues he encounters along the journey called life, told through a number of colorfully tender exploits that find him sometimes vexed, often times hassled, but always in good spirits. like a “Curious Gokulram”, so to speak…some preliminary chapter headings i’ve started sussing out…
Chapter 1: “What’s In a Name?”
The protagonist, ANIL DIKSHIT, can’t come to terms with the fact that his name is, coincidentally, the conjugation of three of the most commonly used profanities amongst his second-grade peers. Plagued by the troubling permanence of his fate, he haphazardly introduces a number of petnames like “Dicks” and “Shitty” that only further worsen his existing misfortune. Chapter 4: “You’re So…Strange”
Anil has finally developed a quasi-respectable identity, despite it’s purely nominal nature, as he’s officially shed “Anal” for a much prouder “Anil”. Only now, he begins to experience how his friends and teachers objectify certain aspects of his life, like the cucumber sabji sandwich he brings in for lunch, whose pungent smell is accused of having come from a fart. or the queer looking bracelet he wears to the playground one hot summer day, dazzling from the tinsel and sequins that adorn its length but make him appear suspiciously gay. “Dont make fun! I’m not a girl! It’s for RAKHI. it’s something that we just do. l!”, he objects eith fastidious unease, knowing that it’s all but too late and that they’d call him GIRL for the rest of the summer.
Chapter 8: After School
For the first time, Anil is allowed to venture beyond the environs he’s only known of up until now: home and school. He quickly makes up for lost time as he befriends Billy, known as a “bad boy” who does unspeakable things, like chew bubble gum and shout curse words like “fucker” with great frequency. Billy’s dad is an alcoholic who reads Playboy after work, sometimes sneaking off to grab his wife’s ass when he thinks Billy’s not looking. “What time does your family sing bhajans? And who plays the harmonium? Is it your Mom or your Dad?” Anil asks he does not, afraid and still baffled by the mysteries of this alien household.
Chapter 9: I Hate You
The same nasty boy, of “your momma’s a dot-head”, “I heard you worship cows” and “do you use your hand to wipe your ass?” fame, starts spreading rumors about Anil’s penis, suggesting that it’s “messed up” and different from the other boys, because it’s not circumsized. Violence ensues as Anil can take no more. He thrashes the kid who, after that, never bothers him again. Later that day, Anil’s father retrieves him from the principal’s office where he too gives a piece of his mind to the school’s staff and provides for them a socioreligious snapshot of Anil’s heritage, encouraging the administration to make frequent and thorough use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary panacea, citing the effectiveness of the “thappad”, “ek chanta” and ear-pulling as favorites from his own collection of beatdown essentials.
Chapter 12: Ohh, me so
horny…desi!Anil feels as though he’s mastered the subtle nuances of puberty and is ready to move on from the JC Penny underware catalog he’s been using thus far to pleasure himself in the corner of the basement. He engages in his first ever sexual relationship with a caucasian pot-smoking hippie whose ironic use of incense confounds his now crippled sense of religion that once identified the burning of a scented stick, or agarbatti, with a prayer to Lord Rama and not to mask the stench of weed produced by an eight foot long bong. One becomes two and two becomes …oops! He discovers a pesky itch by his groin, worried but distressed from the thought of telling his parents who most certainly won’t understand, or so he thinks. He seeks medical attention; something he’s never done at any point during his life other than the occassional “malish” or a not-so-therapeutic “thappad” across his head.
Chapter 14: Party On!
After being on his own for several semesters, Anil feels compelled to start sharing more and more about what he does and does not do, with his parents. But each time he leads into a topic that interests him, like an intramural sport he’s become fond of, or the flirtatious brunette that asks him to join her for lunch from time to time, it quickly digresses to “when are you coming home?” or “how do i watch my hindi movie? it says VIDEO1 on screen but i don’t see picture. what button do i press?” or better yet, “WHEN WILL YOU BECOME BIG BOY?”. Flustered, he adopts a radically new ideology that espouses booze and cocaine as its core tenets. Soon, he drops out of college and embraces a life rife with degenerates including drug mules and pregnant smokers.
Chapter 20: ?
The family is now in turmoil, doomed with a mid-term uncertainty that’s created a vacuum of panicked emptiness. No longer do Anil’s parents attend parties and gatherings and all knowledge of his family filters through third hand sources. What was once an Ivy League-roster household has officially “fallen off the map” into a silently harrowing despair . GASP
Chapter 24: All in the Family
The delicate bonds within his family that have longed to be strengthened through love and unmitigating affection finally see the light of day. Anil has miraculously managed to come full circle, but still can’t, for the life of him, understand exactly what it takes to graduate from the circle of hell that is the “kiddie” table during family functions and get-togethers. Married and in his late 30s with a well-paying job, he pulls up a seat besides “Bablu”, the next-generation super-wonder who just scored a perfect SAT and asks what he’d like to pursue as he becomes older. “I WANT TO BE A VASCULAR SURGEON”, responds Bablu. Anil pats him on the back, delighted by Bablu’s steadfast commitment to the boundless possibilities afforded through hard work and industry, as he lures him into the bathroom to smoke a freshly packed bowl. Bablu gets his ass kicked from his Papa, but Anil is now unstoppable and squarely takes the blame. But then Anil gives Bablu “ek chanta” for engaging in such wreckless and bad behaviour. “I WAS ONLY TESTING YOU”, he snickers.
… … …
AC, that was awesome.
thanks pooja, i’ve kind of read all of them [ and some more than 5x]already, but the link you gave me has some books i havent read yet.
That was hilarious, AC. Wait a second fella, that’s fiction, right? 😉
A clarification about Tulika Books. They do have a very nice list, and have published many wonderful books including bilingual titles in English and a range of Indian languages. I’ve visited their office in Chennai, and written about the work they do–but I haven’t published with them! Illustrator Uma Krishnaswamy has.
See my page on the Krishnaswami-Krishnaswamy confusion.