Anbika Giri’s new children’s book, Hamro Kura Pani Sunnus, gives a peek into the psyche of the children and their vast emotional world.

The book subtly questions the traditional method of parenting where children are excluded from the discussions and decision making process in a household.

Giri, who is known for writing novels and short stories on various social, political and economic issues, tries to give moral lessons not only to children, but also to parents and teachers through her stories.

In this conversation with the Post’s Samikshya Bhattarai, Giri talks about her book, importance of children’s literature and more. Excerpts:

What was the inspiration behind Hamro Pani Kura Sunnus? 

Hamro Pani Kura Sunnus is a collection of stories for children, which emphasises the importance of their participation in day-to-day decision making processes.

It is a revised edition of a collection I had published a decade ago. Back then it didn’t garner any attention or stir up any discussion on the matter, so I reviewed and edited all the stories again.

Unfortunately, our culture is such that we dismiss most suggestions and questions that children have for us as trivial.

Adults always undermine the children’s intelligence and deprive them of opportunities to put their ideas on the table.

And this continues even when the children grow up to become adults; the elderly in the family always have the last call.

Even in a literary context, I have noticed that children are often portrayed has either mischievous or plain stupid.

As a mother, and a writer, this often infuriates me because I do not and cannot encourage such narratives.

There is so much more to children than just naivety and mischief. I wrote these stories to provide a narrative that deviates from traditional mores. 

Your stories in the collection are written from a child’s perspective. How difficult was it to write them as an adult? 

I am a mother, which means that I have to deal with a child’s psychology on a daily basis.

I have had the opportunity to observe a child’s psyche firsthand. My regular and intimate interaction with my daughter helped me in writing and revising the stories.

Besides, I also took the time to reminisce about what it was like being a child. I went back in time to remember what fascinated me and what bothered me, and how I used to think and feel as a little girl.

Although it is a children’s book, the lessons seem to be more useful for adults. Why didn’t you primarily target the book at the adults instead?

Most children’s books are written with the objective of teaching a lesson or two to the children.

My book goes beyond that method. It doesn’t only help children understand themselves, but also helps adults understand their children better.

I decided to target children with the book because I want them to read the stories and understand that it is okay to stay curious and that their input in any decision making is important.

I want the children to understand that their suggestions or questions are not as minor as the adults make them seem.

Had I published this book only for the adults, it would have disappeared among the sea of books in the market.

I doubt they’d pay attention to what I had to say. But the children pay attention, and when the book comes in contact with a child, the adults in their lives come in contact with it too. Let’s just say a children’s book has more impact. 

You are mostly known for your socio-political books. What drove your transition to children’s literature?

While I was raising my daughter, I realised that there were very few good books in the Nepali children’s literature.

I felt, as a writer with a little girl, it was important that I actively contributed to the field instead of passively complaining about it. 

How is writing a children’s book different from writing novels? What were the challenges?

The experience of writing for children was definitely much different from writing for adults.

When you are writing for an adult you can write complex and long sentences. While writing for a child, everything has to be simple, straight forward, and comprehensible.

But at the same time, it also has to be descriptive and imaginative in order to grab the child’s attention.

You also have to pay attention to the age group and make sure the content holds relevance.

When you are writing for an adult there is more freedom in terms of the target group, the content, and the language. When you are writing for a child, you cannot compromise on any aspect.  

What do you think should be done to promote Nepali children’s literature? 

Nepali literature often treats children’s book writers as less important than those who write for adults.

This is a discouraging trend that directly hampers children’s literature in the country as a whole.

The more we encourage writers to tap into children literature, the better children’s books we will have.

It is also very important to provide space for children’s literature in mainstream media and publications, as well as in literary festivals.

The media coverage on children’s literature is very poor, almost nil, and something has to be done about it. 

Any advice for parents? 

In our society, instead of encouraging children to delve into literature, parents are found discouraging them.

The adults are so busy pushing their children to pay attention to school text books that they forget how important literature is for a child’s imagination and creative growth.

Literature is capable of helping a child grow up into a good human being. It also helps in strengthening the relationship between parents and children.

So, I would like to request parents to encourage their children to read more and pay attention to what they are reading. 

Do you plan to work on more children’s literature in future?

Actually, I just finished writing another book. It is currently being illustrated and will be published within a month.