Kavitha has been writing and illustrating for 20 years. She writes across genres — young adult novels, middle-grade fiction, picture books for early readers, etc. Her novels have been published by Penguin/Puffin, Red Turtle and Speaking Tiger. While her short fiction has been brought out by Pratham Books, Karadi Tales, Wisdom Tree, the Deccan Herald kids’ supplement and a number of anthologies and English textbooks/readers. Two of her middle-grade novels — ‘Bando, the Dog who led a Double Life’ and ‘The Nosy Mysteries’ are being serialised by Fundoodaa.
Q1. What is your story writing mantra?
Each writer probably has their own process. Mine is really a case of ‘no process’. Ideas pop into my head, or something I hear or see, sets my grey cells working.
Earlier I’d remember those ideas and work on them later. Now I have to write them down, otherwise I forget what it was that excited me so much in the morning, And I sometimes forget where I wrote down that ‘great idea’!
Q2. What are your thoughts on children’s books today?
They’re fabulous. I love the choice kids have nowadays…across genres. And for Indian kids, there’s been an explosion of books featuring characters who look and talk like themselves. It’s a wonderful time for Indian children..
Q3. What do you think of the new digital age and their impact on reading?
The thing about reading is that its a skill you need later in life too, not just to enjoy literature, but for writing or reading lengthy reports, memos, presentations, etc. So any medium that helps kids to read, is great. If a kid enjoys reading on Kindle, I don’t see problem with that.
Even gaming can be fun, educational and healthy competition. Like everything else, it’s the adults responsibility to prevent something good turning into an addiction. And adults need to supervise content — the level of violence in some games is unhealthy for young minds.
Q4. With your experience in interacting with kids, where do you think the focus should be?
At readings in schools and other places, I find kids very engaged and sophisticated in their choice of ‘favourite characters’ or books. The problem does not lie with the kids. I feel the Indian education system makes too many demands on a child’s time, leaving very little space for leisure and hobbies.
Then of course, when they’re in 9th, 10th, etc, the time spent in coaching classes for that maddeningly important JEE, gives youngsters so little time to read. There’s too much time spent in coaching for entrances, and too little time spent on the sports field or developing interesting hobbies.
Q5. What inspired you to work with Fundoodaa Books?
Writers of my generation tended to think only in terms of books! So when I was introduced to what Fundoodaa does, I was quite excited. I loved the way the stories are brought to life in countless ways. It’s also remarkable how a writer submits a story and another creative team entirely brings their own creative vision to it — on how it can be made interactive for kids.
Q6. What are your views on our digital library?
I found it very versatile. It’s a good mixture of new fiction, historical fiction, retold folktales and so on. Also, I like the idea of Fundoodaa working with a diverse set of illustrators, so each story has a fresh, new appeal.
Just as life long-readers often become writers, I believe potential artists/illustrators need to be exposed to a range of artistic styles — and that is something Fundoodaa does offer kids.
