Interview

MA Sikander: zeal to excel

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- Striving towards New Delhi World Book Fair 2012 at par with international fairsThe New Delhi World Book Fair 2012 is just round the corner and efforts are being made by National Book Trust (NBT), under the able guidance of MA Sikander, to make it a better and a bigger fair than its earlier editions. Here, Sikander shares his plans for this much-awaited show with SK Khurana and Varsha Verma.The 20th edition of biennial New Delhi World book Fair is scheduled from February 25-March 4, 2012 at the strategically located Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The show is organized by the National Book Trust (NBT), an autonomous organisation founded in 1957 by the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru under the Ministry of HRD, Govt of India as the national body for book publishing and book promotion. NBT is not leaving any stone unturned to make it one of the best fairs in the country, at par with other international book fairs.

The director of National Book Trust - MA Sikander, who has been appointed just 150 days back, is very optimistic about the expanse and arrangements of the upcoming fair. “We wish to raise the bar of what we have been doing for so many years. We are planning everything in advance. We have even made arrangements for the travel desk wherein visitors from other cities and countries can avail discounts at hotels as well as get local transport conveniently at better rates,” he said. Sikander is taking note of even trivial things like issuing I-cards and branded blazers for the event.

Last edition, the signage system at the fair was not adequate, which we had reported in our special report on the show. To this, Sikander replied, “We are planning a better signage system. To make it easier for the visitors, we are naming the halls according to the books displayed in that particular hall. And all these would be properly marked for easy navigation. Also, there would be an exact record of visitors at the show as there would be a barcode entry for all.”

There would be a host of activities like author meets, book releases, seminars, discussion forums, rights pavilion, etc. “As a bonus, we are trying to have atleast one international event where foreign delegates or embassies would be participating. For example, we are planning to have one activity with Iran, with four translated books from NBT. Besides, we are also planning an event on regional languages,” he added. Visitors can even find 10 percent more participation of foreign exhibitors as compared to New Delhi World Book Fair 2010.

Taking forward their trend of offering theme-based international rights exhibition, the fair, this time will have a right exhibition on Indian cinema, celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema. For this, they have already received around 250 titles for display. “There would be huge publicity, visuals, screening of films, children related activities, etc to supplement it,” told Sikander enthusiastically.

Not only this, NBT is now poised to start a local or regional book fair or book festival in Delhi University campus from 2013 onwards. Sikander also plans to have a host of upgradations at NBT, few of which include foray into ebooks, ERP system by next year and modernization of stores and delivery modes. He was not happy with the moderate stand of NBT at this years’ Frankfurt Book Fair and plans for a much-better international standard stall next year.

“Infact, the book fair activity is being treated as the daughter’s wedding at NBT. We all are together working to make it the best New Delhi Book Fair so far,” concluded Sikander.

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHORS

Rashmi Bansal: writing for aspiring entrepreneurs

The new but influential name in the Indian non-fiction category is Rashmi Bansal. Her first book ‘Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish’ created uproar and the rest, as they say, is history. Here’s more on this inspiring writer for aspiring entrepreneurs. 

A writer, entrepreneur and youth expert – Rashmi Bansal is the author of two bestselling books on entrepreneurship - Stay Hungry Stay Foolish and Connect the Dots, and the third one I Have a Dream is already creating ripples. While Stay Hungry Stay Foolish features the stories of 25 MBAs who left lucrative jobs to follow the rough road of entrepreneurship, Connect the Dots focuses on non-MBA entrepreneurs and I Have a Dream focuses on social entrepreneurs. Rashmi is also the co-founder and editor of JAM (Just Another Magazine). Besides, she is a guest lecturer at various business schools. Here’s a quick round of questions for Rashmi.

AABP: How would you describe your three books?

Rashmi: My three books are inspirational stories of real life people, with learnings and motivation to ‘do something’ in life. They are specifically targeted at youth and aspiring entrepreneurs.

AABP: After the success of your first two books, what has been the response to the third book so far?

Rashmi: Response to I Have a Dream has been phenomenal. From the week of release (June 8, 2011), it has been the number one selling non-fiction title in India as per AC Nielsen retail Bookscan and continues to be so till date.

AABP: When did you “know” you wanted to write professionally?

Rashmi: When I was 17 years old, in 2nd yr of BA, I started freelancing for various newspapers. By the time I graduated I had over 100 published articles to my credit. That’s the time I knew and I wanted to be a writer.

AABP: In your opinion, what is the hardest part of writing a book? Why?

Rashmi: The hardest part about writing is the commitment to self imposed deadlines and quota of writing every day and every week. It is easy to get distracted!

AABP: What writing/publishing advice do you give to aspiring writers of any age?

Rashmi: Write from the heart. Don’t write for an audience, do it for yourself. Last but not the least, keep it simple, clear and crisp.

AABP: What are you reading right now? Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?

Rashmi: My favourite authors include Malcolm Gladwell, Po Bronson, Elizabeth Gilbert for non-fiction books and Alexander McCall Smith, RK Narayan, Judy Blume and Agatha Christie for fiction books.

AABP: Which was the book that most influenced your life – and why?

Rashmi: For me, it is You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hays. Everything you need to know about how to ‘get it right’ is in there and you can read it a hundred times and still discover something new about yourself.

AABP: We live in a time when young people have numerous choices for entertainment. What would you like to say to people who may be hesitant about reading a book for fun?

Rashmi: Readers rule the world. If you want to crack the CAT exam, the reading habit will help you sail through. If you want to learn and grow throughout your life, reading, reading and reading is the only way!

AABP: What’s Rashmi in real life?

Rashmi: I practice Isha Yoga and follow the lectures and writings of numerous spiritual gurus. I have taken a few baby steps into a journey within myself and advise everyone to start that process. It is the most exciting journey one will ever undertake!

Bookaroo 2011: celebrating the world of books

Children literary festival at its best….

Three days of celebrating books through reading, storytelling, art, craft, panel discussions, songs, a doodle wall and an illustrators' exhibition and much much more…Bookaroo 2011 had everything that kept children glued to one thing – books, books and more books…encouraging and bringing in the joy of reading.Scheduled from November 25-27, 2011, the 2011 Bookaroo, Children’s Literature Festival was held in the beautiful ambience of the Sanskriti Kendra, Anandgram, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, New Delhi. Started in 2008, this Children’s Literature Festival is now an annual event in New Delhi and includes Bookaroo in the City, where book related activities are held in schools across New Delhi. This year Bookaroo hosted 62 speakers from 12 countries and as part of its "outreach programme", organized reading and interaction sessions in a 100 MCD and private schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas (as a part of Bookaroo in the City programme).

Co-produced by Bookaroo and Teamworks Prooductions, the fair aims to promote Children’s literature both locally, regionally and globally.

Children flocked around The "Doodle Wall", the "Kahani Tree" and other spots where they could just have fun and what was more that the parents enjoyed seeing their kids have fun with books.

Children’s all-time favourite author Paro Anand session on book reading was a sell-out as she read out from ‘Wingless’- her book about a flightless bird. Children were equally enthusiastic at other book reading sessions by authors like Deepa Agarwal, Ramendra Kumar, Steve Skidmore and Steve Barlow, Northern Irish author John Dougherty, Poile Sengupta, Kunzang Choden and Anita Roy, Lovleen Mishra and Chatura Rao, Sandhya Rao, Deepa Balsavar, etc gave lively book reading sessions.

The Workshops organized were also a major hit with children. At the workshop of Subhadra Sen Gupta, the children displayed their intelligence quotient as Subhadra talked about history and all things past. It was followed by a quiz and the world map was explored. The session was a very interactive one. While, sliding pictures and moving frames were the highlight of the session with Satoshi Kitamura. The parents and children gaped and applauded as the wooden theatre came alive with moving stories. The guessing game had everybody working their minds and figuring out what the picture shadows meant. It was a very interactive session.

Shamini never fails to bring alive the child in everyone attending her wonderful sessions. She engaged the children in a thoughtful discussion about the steps of writing a story. Presentations were used to bring out the animation in the turtles she talked about.

While, Gregory Hughes’s calm manner always enthralls the audience and that’s what happened at his session too. He talked about how it is not cool to write in a phine voice- a voice that is put on. According to him, flowery writing doesn’t really go down well with every reader and its best to write in your own voice.

Also, the session by John Dougherty -an Irish poet, singer and writer who uses humor to make children happy all around the world, had the children grasping the benefits of reading. He narrated his experiences with books and talked about the three books he has written about the Greek God Zeus. He impressed the audience with animated interaction while informing them about the process of writing a story.

The Amphitheatre was also live with useful and interactive sessions. Samhita Arni talked about her portrayal of Sita in her graphic novel. She explores the feminist issues underlying the Ramayana. While, Arjun Kaul- the vocalist and guitarist of the band Prithvi, interwove music and stories and played music that the children enjoyed immensely. He educated them about different characters from history and folktales. The audience also had a glimpse of his original work as he played a song from his album.

Besides, Campfire organized a puppet show called Puppet Pandemonium. It was an interesting interactive session that had the kids involved with the hand puppets that narrated the stories. The kids enjoyed the different voice over’s as the happy parents looked on.

And there were so many many more…the fun was totally enigmatic.

The right mix of content & illustrations

Writing for kids is not a child’s play. It requires the 3Ps – people, place and plot, tells Subhadra Sen Gupta, a well-known children books author. And we cannot deny the fact that a kid’s book is incomplete without illustrations. As Tapas Guha puts it, “Everything is so visual…just words make the books look scary for children.’ These two professionals have worked together as well as individually to create outstanding books for children. In conversation with Varsha Verma, they reveal what it takes to make a children book.Subhadra Sen Gupta is a well-known children books author, with over twenty-five books for children and adults, with Puffin, Rupa, Scholastic, HarperCollins, Pratham, India Book House and Ratna Sagar. Three of her books—A Clown for Tenali Rama, Jodha Bai and Twelve O’Clock Ghost Stories (Scholastic)—have won the White Raven Award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

While, Tapas Guha is a self taught artist. He is a commerce postgraduate from Delhi University, who loves to draw…he followed his passion and is now a well-known illustrator for children books. He has worked with almost all the leading publishers of books, newspapers, magazines and a few ad agencies.

The duo have worked together to bring out many interesting books. They also work individually as well.

Journey so far…

Writing as a hobby and writing as a professional is very different – you have to make both ends meet and still have sufficient time to write what you like. “I just wanted to write, 'professionally' was just a dream. Had to make a living as an advertising copywriter for nearly two decades before I could become a full time writer and even today it is not easy,” tells Subhadra.

While, the journey for Tapas has been a mixed one, but mostly good. “After finishing my post graduation in commerce, I realized that I didn't want to continue with a career in commerce or accountancy. I also realized I can actually draw a lot better than lot of professional artists and since then chartered my career in art. I got a lot of support from the editors, publishers and most importantly the readers,” he told.

And, being a children author was no child’s play. “It was very difficult in the early years as publishers did not think there was a market for children's books. It is only in the last 7-8 years that children's writers are being taken seriously,” tells Subhadra.

Creating for children…

“When I write for children, I keep 3P's in mind - people, place, plot. Real and interesting characters, well drawn ambience and of course a plot that gets them reading. After that you can weave in important themes like tolerance or equality and they will think about it,” she tells.

“The hardest part about writing a book is coming up with an unusual idea and of course with kids the plot is paramount. You have to keep their minds engaged. Then creating real Indian kids who talk like they do. I have a series called Foxy Four for Young Zubaan about teenagers that requires a lot of listening and talking to kids,” shares Subhadra.

Here, tapas differs, “A lot of people can draw but to translate someone else's (writer's) idea with one's own creative input which is acceptable to everyone is difficult. And while drawing for children, I frankly don't keep any factor in mind. I draw whatever I think is right, may be because I never grew up (mentally)… it's easier for me to think like the kids.”

What comes first – the story or the illustrations?

“Most of the time - the story, except in comic strips where Tapas often has a better idea than me!, tells Subhadra.

Advice to aspiring writers/illustrators…

“Start early, in school if possible. Work on your language and write the way you speak and not use big words. Work on the plotting and that takes time. Read a lot and study the books you like. Writing brings pleasures you will get addicted to and believe me, this addiction is good,” advises Subhadra.

And Tapas adds, “There are no shortcuts for hard work! Talent is 50 percent, rest is your attitude!! Wrong attitude will get you nowhere inspite of your talent.”

On reading…

Reading is a wonderful habit and to inculcate reading habit in children, Subhadra advises “What you need is a big bookcase in the house and parents who take their kids to libraries and bookshops. After that reading comes naturally. Start by regular bed time reading - great stress buster for busy parents.”

“I don't blame the kids if they hate books, any kind of books! It's the result of overburdening them with text books...now books scare them! I think books with lots of attractive colour illustrations and good packaging will help. These days everything is so visual…just 'words' makes books scary!” adds Tapas.

Both Tapas and Subhadra are avid readers. Subhadra is currently reading a historical novel Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran about Selene. “My biggest influences are Bengali writers because I try to write about my land and my people and Bengali has a rich tradition of children's literature,” she adds.

“My all time favorite have been Ruskin Bond and Satyajit Ray. In comics, I think Herge's Tintin is way above the rest…I love the simplicity of story telling in all the above three. Right now, I am enjoying Roald Dahl's Someone like you... which is a bunch of weird stories,” quips Tapas.

On likes and dislikes…

“Take it easy....follow your heart. If you absolutely enjoy doing something, go for it. You can excel only in things which you enjoy doing the most. Money isn't the last word though it is important. I love listening to soft rock music, read funny books and watch funny movies...they keep me in positive frame of mind,” tells Tapas.

While, Subhadra walks a lot, is a serious listener and encourages people to talk to her, including auto drivers and vegetable sellers. But, her greatest unwinder is sitting in the sun reading a fat book with a bag of peanuts.

On upcoming books…

“I am working on an original comic along with dear friend Subhadra Sen Gupta. ..will let you know whenever it's finally done,” adds Tapas cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Subhadra is also working on a few books. “I am starting the next Foxy Four, while Puffin's Secret Diary of the World's Worst Cook is just out. Besides, there is a coffee table book on Fatehpur Sikri for Niyogi,” concludes Subhadra.