The book of three

Children's literature in India gets a major fillip with three Indian books getting into the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honours List this year. Representing the rich Indian children's literature, these books become suitable for publication worldwide, enabling them to reach a wider, diverse audience. We give you an insight into the works of those whose contribution to Indian children's literature scene has made it much richer and exciting

Diana Ningthoujam

Children's literature may not be such a thriving segment in India, but that has not impeded pioneering work in this field. Indian talent has got international recognition this year, with the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) awarding diplomas to three Indians and including their works in the Honours List of 2012. Ranjit Lal (author), Shanti Devi (illustrator) and Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee (translator) received their diplomas at the IBBY Congress held in London on August 25.

Bhattacharjee, the director of the KK Birla Foundation, was honoured for the translation of Sunil Gangopadhyay's Bhoyonkar Sundor (Bengali) into English. This was the first time that an Indian children's book translated from an Indian language into English has been commended by IBBY. The English version, titled The Dreadful Beauty, is published by Ponytale Books. Ranjit Lal, author of the acclaimed book Faces in the Water (Penguin), gives the issue of female infanticide its due attention with a simple and heartfelt story of a boy realising the loss of the sisters he would have had. And Shanti Devi, a Madhubani artiste, won acclaim for her beautiful illustrations in the book Bioscope (Katha). Bioscope is a simple story of a village near Mithila told by a young girl Guddu, and is given life and expression by Shanti Devi's paintings.

This is not the first time that Indians associated with children's literature have been commended by IBBY. The 2006 Honours List saw Viky Arya (illustrator) for Once Upon a Time in India and Paro Anand (author) for No Guns at My Son's Funeral. The 2008 list included Deepa Agarwal (author) for Caravan to Tibet and Taposhi Ghoshal (illustrator) for Panna the Lonely Duckling. In 2010, Karthika Dass (author) for From Somewhere Out There and Bhajju Shyam (illustrator) for That's How I See Things were honoured with diplomas.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Small-town start-up

Preventing online frauds

Needed, policy response to make Indian exports more competitive

‘Pvt players can bring innovation, modernisation into education’