says Tanya Luther Agarwal, a well-known children author in conversation with Varsha Verma.
Children authors have always been looked at with awe and respect…because our children grow reading their works which give wings to their imagination. We always want to know more about them – where does all these beautiful imaginations comes from? Meet Tanya Luther Agarwal, who has penned more than seven dozens of children books, which have excited and nurtured young minds with their subtle but clear messages. What makes her write, what excites her imagination, what more can we expect from her – here’s a brief.
Children authors have always been looked at with awe and respect…because our children grow reading their works which give wings to their imagination. We always want to know more about them – where does all these beautiful imaginations comes from? Meet Tanya Luther Agarwal, who has penned more than seven dozens of children books, which have excited and nurtured young minds with their subtle but clear messages. What makes her write, what excites her imagination, what more can we expect from her – here’s a brief.
Writer-by accident…
Tanya became a full-time writer quite by accident. “I was attending a workshop with my son which was conducted by my mentor and well-known children author Paro Anand who was an editor with Rupa & Co at that time. It so happened that I had written a short story and my friend persuaded me to show my story to Paro. I was on top of the world when Paro told that she had liked the story and wanted me to put in some dialogues to make it more interesting. My bright spark of creativity came into action and my first book Jellybean Story was published in 2002,” remembered Tanya fondly.
On first book…
“Jellybean story is about a Jellybean store, I attended in US. At that store, I found that they also stocked a few irregular jellybeans, which ofcourse were cheaper than the rest. Children to the store clamoured for beautiful regular-shaped jellybeans and no one bothered to take a look at the irregular ones. That’s how the idea clicked in my mind – why are we all so conditioned that we don’t want to see imperfections in life. And that was the theme of my book, which was well-received by the readers,” conveyed Tanya proudly.
Since then, there has been no looking back….one book followed the next and so on…today Tanya has 75 published children books.
Since then, there has been no looking back….one book followed the next and so on…today Tanya has 75 published children books.
On writing on environment-friendly subjects…
Tanya tried her hand at the first environment based graphic novels in the country for a project by ONGC (published by TERI Press) which were a big hit. She penned a similar environment-friendly book on ‘Cellphone recycling’ for leading cellphone manufacturer Nokia as well. So popular was this book that it was also translated in Swedish language by Nokia.
She penned a few more books for TERI Press on environment-based issues. “I was given a project on ‘Weird & Wonderful’ series in which we informed children about the weird but beautiful things which nature has given us. It was a great fun to do this series as it required indepth research. The publishers gave me creative freedom and I came up with really interesting stuff for the young minds,” exclaimed Tanya.
She penned a few more books for TERI Press on environment-based issues. “I was given a project on ‘Weird & Wonderful’ series in which we informed children about the weird but beautiful things which nature has given us. It was a great fun to do this series as it required indepth research. The publishers gave me creative freedom and I came up with really interesting stuff for the young minds,” exclaimed Tanya.
On other educational projects…
Tanya has not confined herself to fiction; she has authored a series of English comprehension books for Scholar’s Hub, a series of picture composition books, besides developing curriculum for many schools for various projects, etc. She has also done script writing for plays at various schools.
Before her stint with writing, she had conducted various workshops on parenting and sex education, both in groups and one-to-one basis at Indian School. Tanya has a background in psychology which comes handy in all her workshops and her writing.
Before her stint with writing, she had conducted various workshops on parenting and sex education, both in groups and one-to-one basis at Indian School. Tanya has a background in psychology which comes handy in all her workshops and her writing.
From workshops to writing…
“I left my job at the school when my father expired – I was grieving and did not want to go out. I preferred to stay at home and write for hours and hours. That probably was my way of coping with the stress,” told Tanya. Interestingly, Tanya’s father was an artist himself – he wrote and he could play all musical instruments.
On writing for children…
“Infact, a child of 3-4 years of age is always full of awe. For him, anything and everything is exciting. If you can think like a 3-4 year old, you can come up with really imaginative and awesome content. Personally speaking, children can be the best children writers,” she said confidently.
“On a conscious level, writing for children is really difficult but if you transport yourself to your childhood and think about what made you go awe, it is not difficult to write. Ofcourse, I do have my share of difficult moments but they are because I am bonded and restricted by my own mature thinking. And, when I try and become free-spirited, it flows easily,” told Tanya as a matter of fact. “No pointers should be kept when you write for children, it has to be free-flowing and uninhibited initially and then it needs to be edited and fine tuned,” she added.
“On a conscious level, writing for children is really difficult but if you transport yourself to your childhood and think about what made you go awe, it is not difficult to write. Ofcourse, I do have my share of difficult moments but they are because I am bonded and restricted by my own mature thinking. And, when I try and become free-spirited, it flows easily,” told Tanya as a matter of fact. “No pointers should be kept when you write for children, it has to be free-flowing and uninhibited initially and then it needs to be edited and fine tuned,” she added.
On ideas and inspirations…
For Tanya, the story ideas are the culmination of life experiences at a sub-conscious or conscious level. “Sometimes, what you have seen several years ago comes as a flash - that could be a moment of inspiration. The idea is not to focus and think too much…just go with the flow. Infact, writing for children in therapeutic in itself,” she added. “Sometimes, I finish my story in a couple of hours and at times, it extends to a few days,” added Tanya.
Own children…biggest critics…
For Tanya, her biggest critics stay in her home – her children. “Both my son and daughter are both my sounding board as well as my biggest critics. Whenever I share my ideas with them, they will come up with their suggestions – what appeals to them, what does not. This gives me an insight into the mind of children as well,” laughed Tanya.
On her skills…
Tanya attributes her success to her strong work ethics – hard work, discipline and commitment. “I like challenges and am excited to write on new subjects. I know I can write on any subject and whatever I create, will be interesting for the child and can engage the child,” told Tanya proudly. “But, I can’t market myself. My work speaks for me. It gives an insight into who I am and what I am capable of. Also, I believe that there should be some mystery about the writer because a writer cannot be bigger than his/her characters.”
On recent project…
“Right now, I am working on a curriculum development project wherein I am preparing modules for CSR activities for NGOs in various fields like English language, health & hygiene.”
On her future plans…
Tanya feels that she has a long way to go. “I attend a lot of writing workshops to hone my skills. Infact, there’s so much to learn about the craft of writing – it is a process of learning constantly. The idea is to do better than what you did before, package it differently and develop the characters in a different way. I want each book to be better than the previous ones,” concluded Tanya.
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