The Child in Me: My Writing

THE CHILD IN ME: MY WRITINGS

Deepa Agarwalwww.deepaagarwal.com

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

The process of literary creation is hard to fathom.

Rabindranath Tagore described his creative force as his “jeevan devta” or god of life.

For a children’s writer it is the inner child who has survived the crossover into adulthood.

This child enables you to connect with the real children who are your audience.

A PEARL WITHIN AN OYSTER

There is a placewhere jewelled cobwebs

dot the hillsidemy father’s smile

never waversand the rocks

feel solid beneath my feet.The mist swirls in the valleys

a potent seaspewing stories

which my brotherconjures out of the vaporous void.

A magicianspinning a different web each day.

And yet it is Iwho tell tales now.

Fishing in that timeless seaof the past

findingold shoes

a rotted corpsebut sometimes

a pearl within an oyster…

NOSTALGIA AS A CREATIVE RESERVOIR

This nostalgic poem encapsulates the reservoir of my creative impulse.

The impulse that is a bond to the child I was.

A child who experienced the same emotions and hopes a child might have today.

WHAT DO CHILDREN WANT?

To be loved and cared for,

to indulge in mischief but be forgiven,

to achieve success but also learn to cope with failure,

to reach a helping hand when someone needs it,

to strive to create a better world.

MY FIRST STORIES

An Enid Blyton mystery my daughters left lying around inspired me to write for children.

I sent a story to Target magazine.

Did not succeed right away.

Received a positive rejection note from the editor Rosalind Wilson.

Made it on my third attempt.

A MYSTERY BUFF

My first published story, “The Secret of the Hidden Temple” .

A mystery triggered by my daughters’ encounter with a trio of hippie children in my hometown.

I returned to my childhood haunts in later mystery novels like The Hunt for the Miracle Herb and The Hilltop Mystery too.

A TEMPLATE FOR MY WRITING

SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM

Reliving my childhood helped a great deal.

Also that my own children were the same age as my readers.

I drew from their experiences in books like The Capital Adventure and Three Days.

For this reason these two books are located in the city I reside in—Delhi.

IS MEMORY A GOOD RESOURCE FOR A WRITER?

Memory is invaluable in heightening the conflict in a story.

It can provide sharper insights, highlight facets that were in the shadow.

Memories that pose unanswered questions are the best material.

But could contemporary urban readers identify with my child hood?

The response to stories like “Fire”, from my collection Not Just Girls banished my doubts.

THE MEANING OF FRIENDSHIP

The question—had I been wrong in judging Paruli? Can a lie be condoned? Shouldn’t friends

understand and forgive? Children’s responses have been thought provoking

whenever “Fire” is discussed in classrooms. Lavanya Kapoor of Bluebells School says: “I liked

the story, however, I think Pooja and Mitu should have forgiven Paruli, because everybody deserves a second chance.”

Other children have argued that a lie should not be excused under any circumstances. 

SOME TIMELESS TOPICS

the meaning of friendship, loyalty and betrayal, the odd child out in school, striving to overcome your fears, reaching out to the underdog, social equality.

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

Memories were not the only source of inspiration for the descriptions in my stories.

The writings of Shivani, an extremely popular Hindi writer from my home town, whose novels I devoured in my college days contributed.

PROBLEM STORIES

Many influences can direct your creative path. An editor’s insight gently steered me towards stories

that explore the real life problems children face. The result was short fiction like the earlier

mentioned “Fire”, “The Cupboard”, “Letter from Home”, “A Caterpillar called Matthew” and many others.

Most of the problems are taken from my own experiences or observations.

The response of my readers is always important to me.

REAL LIFE SITUATIONS

Gaurav Pati, the talented young artist who has illustrated my poem, said he could relate to my story “Greenchickenpoxitis” because it reminded him of the snooty, rich kids in school who put others down.

RECURRING THEMES

In two of my books—Caravan to Tibet and The Game of Shadows the protagonists have very similar goals.

In the first, the protagonist Debu is searching for his missing father, in the second, Anita attempts to rescue both her parents.

Both books were differently conceived and written years apart. Caravan to Tibet, a historical adventure, was an attempt to reconnect with my roots,.

The Game of Shadows, my first fantasy novel, was actually commissioned.

THE QUESTING CHILD

THE CHILD WHO DARES

The adventurous, questing child recurs in my writing, as does the timid, hesitant one.

The girl who likes to challenge herself, like Sheila in my first book Ashok’s New Friends.

The banjara (gypsy) girl Kamli in Three Days to Disaster.

CHARACTERS WHO CREATE THEMSELVES

I did not always deliberately set out to create children who dare.

They emerged from the story growing in my head at the time.

In Traveller’s Ghost the main character Kriti took the lead in battling the evil spirit haunting her and her friends on her own.

CONSCIOUS CHOICES

I have made conscious choices too, in books with inspiring female protagonists like the biography Rani Lakshmibai, the Valiant Queen of Jhansi.

Another is Rajula and the Web of Danger, a retold folk epic sung in the state of Uttarakhand in India.

This unusual tale of a girl’s bravery, rare in our oral tradition, had fascinated me for a long time.

HEROINES FROM HISTORY

A READER’S RESPONSE

This feedback from Uttara Kaura was heartening: “I couldn’t put Rajula and the Web of Danger down, it was so enthralling! I like the way in which the love story between Rajula and Malushahi has been described, particularly the way they fought for their love. My favourite character is Rajula because of her courage in danger and her determination to be united with Malushahi. This book is awesome, epic!”

DEALING WITH INEQUALITY

The marginalised gypsy girl Rami in The Toy Horse who communicates a lesson about sharing to the rich girl who covets her only toy.

This book resulted from my unease with the social inequality so widespread in our country.

But do such stories really influence children’s attitudes? A blog post on The Toy Horse by a lady named Pallavi, put an end to my doubts.

A TOY HORSE MAKES A CONNECTION… “It's an invaluable book to

have because it teaches in such a tender way the difference between haves and have nots…I read it out often to my daughter who is only 4 years old but really very moved by the story. It also gives us an opportunity to provide her with a perspective on things she will see and experience all around her in India.”

SHOULD CHILDREN’S BOOKS CARRY A MESSAGE?

I feel that fiction for younger children must communicate and celebrate the human values we cherish.

In keeping with this belief, picture books like The Mango Birds and A Real Giraffe published by NBT focus on preserving the environment.

PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT

A PLACE TO REST

Katherine Paterson says in her book A Sense of Wonder: “I do believe that those of us who have grown up have something of value to offer the young. And if that is didacticism, well, I have to live with it. But when I write a story, it is not an attempt to make children good and wise—nobody but God can do that and even God doesn’t do it without a child’s cooperation. I am trying in a book simply to give children a place where they can find rest for their weary souls.”

COMBINING FUN WITH A MESSAGE

Reading should be an act of renewal for children. Whether it’s a mystery or a ghost story, a problem

tale, fantasy or a folktale, a biography or a historical fiction, there should be something to ponder over for the reader, along with the fun element.

I’ve attempted this in my animal tales with characters like Squiggly the mischievous earthworm, the well-meaning but clumsy hippo Lippo, and Flippi the pup born with wings, who discovers that though he might be different, he is special and loved.

THE LITTLE FRIENDS SERIES

MY BOOKS

THE EMPOWERED CHILD

The child you were will emerge from beneath the adult baggage you have piled on it.

Our work keeps us connected with this optimistic, trusting, dreaming child.

We can speak gently to that child in the space of an imaginary world.

Keep her buoyant in the worst scenarios, and make her believe she can triumph over the monsters and ogres lurking in dark places.

This empowered child helps us negotiate the stumbling blocks and chasms of our existence.

Thank you!