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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Behind the scenes of Deepa Bhasthi's new book
Deepa Bhasthi — who won the International Booker Prize this year along with Banu Mushtaq whose short stories she translated from Kannada into English — has a new book out. Titled Champi and the Fig Tree, it is a picture book for children that celebrates what human beings share with various other species through the story of a girl named Champi who loves figs. A page from Champi and the Fig Tree (Courtesy Pratham Books) 14pp, ₹70; Pratham Books The protagonist is awe-struck when she discovers that her favourite fruit has many other fans, including squirrels, hornbills, porcupines and civet cats. Without being didactic, the author signals a gentle shift from an anthropocentric view of the universe to a more holistic and inclusive vision that respects the place of all sentient beings in the vast web of life. Anna, Champi's elder brother, is a storehouse of knowledge about animal behaviour. He joins her in all her adventures. 'Porcupines cannot climb trees, Champi,' he tells her. 'This must be a civet cat's droppings. Both eat figs. But they are both very shy animals, and come out only at night.' He encourages her curiosity, and answers all her questions patiently. 'Champi, in fact, is the name of one of my dogs, and the fig tree is my best non- human friend on the farm I live on,' says Bhasthi. 'Of course, we also have all those animals that I mention on the farm. They are a big menace, but I wouldn't have it any other way,' she adds. Bhasthi lives with her husband and her dogs in a 'small, sustainable open brick cottage' built on a former coffee plantation in Kodagu, Karnataka. This land, which has belonged to her family for close to a century, has jackfruit, mango, fig, bakul, mahogany, 'and loads of other shade-giving trees'. Alongside, they have mongooses, porcupines, wild boars, and 'some 50-odd kinds of birds that live in and around'. Her parents live on the other side of the farm. The author's intimate connection with nature comes through in the way she has envisioned the protagonist and plot but she is also embarrassed about how her 'Instagram-y' her life sounds. While her husband has recently turned into an avid beekeeper, she does not work on the farm as much as she would like to. 'The idea was to slow down and be a farmer when we moved back here but the writing career kind of blew up, not that I am complaining at all!' she says. 'I don't find the time to do much. It is mostly my husband who works on things.' The story was originally written in Kannada as Anjoora, Anjoora, Yaara Anjoora and published in 2024 on StoryWeaver, a multilingual digital library of children's stories, created by Pratham Books. Since the platform is geared towards development of reading skills, stories are published using a Creative Commons license and they can be downloaded free of cost as well as translated into numerous languages. While other translators have worked on the Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Hindi, Tamil, French and Bahasa Indonesia translations, Bhasthi translated it herself into English. It came into being as a printed book in English this year. Bijal Vachharajani, Commissioning Editor at Pratham Books, says, 'I met Deepa during the British Council Art X International Publishing Fellowship 2022 in Jaipur. It was just so wonderful listening to her talk about all the work that she has done in translation.' When Pratham Books got a grant from Parag — an initiative of Tata Trusts — to develop and publish 'Kannada-first books', the editorial team at Pratham Books reached out to Bhasthi. Radhika Shenoy from Pratham Books, who edited the book, says, 'Working with Deepa Bhasthi was a great experience. This is her first picture book and she was very enthusiastic about the process. She had clear ideas about how she wanted to write and translate the story, and at the same time she was open to conversations so it was a very smooth process.' The publisher also brought in Thejaswi Shivanand as a guest editor to work on the Kannada story with Bhasthi. With his wealth of experience as a librarian and educator, and his immersion in the world of picture books, he was able to help Bhasthi think more clearly about the possibilities of the format that she was working with and the target audience. He says, 'The initial draft was text-heavy. Over time, Deepa was able to figure out what was absolutely essential to say in words, and what could be conveyed through images. These are parallel forms of storytelling. Deepa was new to it but she embraced it.' He wanted to ensure that his feedback was not overwhelming and her voice came through. Working on this title was a special joy because of his familiarity with the flora and fauna of the Western ghats. A page from Champi and the Fig Tree (Courtesy Pratham Books) The book is illustrated by Joanna Mendes, who says she was delighted to take on the assignment as her son had just begun to learn Kannada at school. She hoped that he would be 'thrilled to read a Kannada language book illustrated by his mum'. In order to get into the spirit of wonder and playfulness embodied by the protagonist, Mendes 'tuned out the noise of city life in Bangalore and delve into the memories of childhood holidays in Goa'. The strong visual appeal of the book comes from the illustrator's use of the stippling technique, which involves 'meticulously marking dots with a pen on paper to create shading and texture'. She drew inspiration from the diverse colours and textures that exist in nature. Mendes explains, 'I vary the technique—sometimes the dots are large or small, densely packed or sparse, forming gradients or flat areas. This kind of variation adds depth… The art is coloured using digitally composited watercolour textures, which are then overlaid with stippled layers.' She prefers to stipple by hand as 'digital stippling lacks the tactile quality, which is better achieved by using pen on paper'. Deepa Bhasthi An integral part of the book, the illustrations transport readers into Champi's bright, colourful and dreamy world. It is a place where humans can coexist with other beings. There is enough here for all to derive what Vachharajani describes as 'sustenance and joy'. This book might seem like a small achievement in comparison to the £50,000 bestowed by the International Booker Prize, and shared equally between the author and the translator. However, the satisfaction that comes from putting a smile on a child's face is priceless. Chintan Girish Modi is a journalist, educator and literary critic. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.
Mint
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Saturday Feeling: Stories and art for the child in you
There are ogres stapled to the floor—and they're the first thing that catch your eye when you enter the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad in Bengaluru, where a huge exhibition, One Hundred Years and Counting, to mark the birth centenary of artist K.G. Subramanyanhas arrived, after a showing in Kolkata. Subramanyan was prolific and versatile—the 200 works, including murals, oils, sketches, watercolours, wooden toys and even swatches of fabric he designed, are a fraction of his oeuvre. But, it's in his books for children that one can read his belief that no one was too young for him or his work. The characters on the floor are similar to the ones in his 1974 book, Our Friends, The Ogres, a playful yet pointed critique of corporate greed and environmental damage at a time when few thought about concepts like solastalgia, and especially not for children. The book surprised me when I happened upon in a museum gift shop a decade ago, and then learned that Subramanyan did a set of 10 screen-printed children's books, all of them attacking big issues with whimsy. It's the kind of work that scores of children's book illustrators are doing today, recognizing that children can't, and don't need to be shielded, from complex ideas and bitter truths. This week, Avantika Bhuyan takes a look at how artists and illustrators are leading the storytelling at many children's publishing imprints, ensuring that there is greater representation of voices, communities, regions and experiences. It's a story about artists using their voice but also emphasizes that children's books aren't just for little people; they open up new perspectives for adults, speak to the child within the grown-up, and remind us of a time when the world held novelty. The cover of the print issue of 'Mint Lounge' dated 3 May 2025, with art from Ogin Nayam's 'When the Sun Sets', published by Pratham Books. There are quite a few stories about storytelling this week. A travel writer tells a tale of nearly getting stuck in Utah's slot canyons, and we have a great read on microdramas, a new digital storytelling sensation that has spawned a multibillion-dollar industry. These vertically-shot microseries run to 50-100 episodes, each just a minute at best. They're terrible, but they're so very addictive—and they're probably not something to watchso pick from our recommendations instead. We're all tired of ads—targeted, random, pop-up, autoplay, or whatever other form they take while we're online. As advertising creeps deeper into digital life, technology geeks, privacy enthusiasts and digital rebels are quietly fighting back. With sophisticated but free-to-use ad blockers and VPN settings, they are shaping a parallel version of the internet—one where users' attention isn't for sale at every blink. Shephali Bhatt meets the people checking out of the ad-verse by installing browser extensions, privacy guards, VPN services. As more people turn to these tech-savvy users for guidance, ad-blocking could move from the margins to the mainstream—and the future of the attention economy may no longer belong to platforms, but to individuals reclaiming control over what gets their time. Read more. Ritu Beri was one of the earliest fashion designers from India to work in Paris—opening and shutting a store, joining a luxury house, having a ramp show—but she doesn't have a string of stores to her name in India. Instead, she's opened an experiential space in Palolem in Goa, where she sells a limited line of her clothing alongside other artists' and designers' works. She also curates meals, shows, talks and performances at her property, Escape. She talks to Pooja Singh about this new stage in her career, and about why she doesn't plan to sell her brand. Read more. There's one smartphone brand that has flown under the radar over the past year, quietly releasing new models with low-key marketing. Going by market data, Motorola, now under the tutelage of Lenovo, is a winner with its mid-range smartphones propelling the company's market share. The Motorola Edge 60 Fusion is one of the new releases, which Sahil Bhalla used the breezy, no-frills smartphone for a few months. Priced from ₹ 22,999 onwards, it has a significantly improved OLED display (with Gorilla Glass 7 protection), a larger battery capacity, increased storage, a refreshed chipset, and faux vegan leather finishes in three colours, making it a solid choice as a good budget smartphone. Performance is good, and only gamers should look elsewhere. Read more. Supper clubs are no longer just about serving regional specialities or homemade sourdough. Home chefs who made a name for their tables during the pandemic are now travelling the globe, mastering cuisines from all corners of the world and serving them in their homes with the touch of intimacy and care that restaurants can't match. Read more. The Champions League final is a while away but all the semi-finalists this year were a surprising mix of teams that worked through their adversities and found their identities over the course of the season. It's been a season that Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit describes as thrilling, since he admires teams that play attacking football. Gullit, who once formed a part of the fearsome attacking trio with Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, is a staunch advocate of 'Total Football', the flowing, attack-minded, space-exploiting, mode of play. In an exclusive interview with Rudraneil Sengupta, Gullit breaks down the Champions League semifinals, celebrates club identity, attacking football, and discusses the return of football DNA. Read more.
The Hindu
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
What I Want spotlights six indigenous women artists and their hopes for a better tomorrow
What happens when indigenous women artists from across India come together to share their dreams and aspirations? They create art that tells their stories, and what they hope for all women: access to education, the space to nurture dreams, build strong female friendships, and much more. An artist residency in Bengaluru last year brought together six such artists — Gitanjali Das, Japani Shyam, Kamta Tahed, Kritika Joshi, Lado Bai, and Minakshi Vayeda — and their artworks have now gone into What I Want, a book by Pratham Books. Spotlighting art forms such as Gond, Pithora, Bhil, Warli, phad, and pattachitra, the book has each artist sharing their one 'want'. For Warli artist Minakshi Vayeda, her 'want' was 'the solidarity of female friendships, where we can rely on each other'. Beautifully illustrated with women figurines working, playing and dancing together, the artist says she drew from her everyday life in the village. 'Women are a part of every activity: be it making art together, meeting at weddings, or conversations with neighbours. At the workshop, we were asked to think about child-friendly themes and I was instantly drawn to friendship as it is the closest to my heart,' says Minkashi, who is based in Ganjadgaon, Maharashtra, adding that the painting was done on paper, with a cow dung base. 'Although most artists may have stories to tell, we get them illustrated by someone else,' says Canato Jimo, illustrator and art director at Pratham Books. 'We thought of getting these artists together for a workshop, and get them to tell us their story in any form,' he says, adding how 'women artists don't get noticed as much as their male counterparts'. At the three-day workshop in March 2024, the artists were taken for a screening of Lapaata Ladies, followed by days of developing ideas, sharing stories, and reading. 'It was the first time we had such a workshop, and it was a great learning experience for us. We got an insight into each of their art forms and intricacies,' says Canato. 'We sat down and listened to them. All of them had something specific, passionate to talk about,' he says, adding how while the artists were aware that the workshop would culminate in a book, there was no specific brief, giving way to an 'open, organic process'. After rough ideas were discussed, the artists were given a couple of months to send their final artwork and text. Kritika Joshi, a 30th-generation Phad artist, was the youngest of the six artists. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design in Jaipur, she is known for Phad paintings on fabric and paper that use earthy shades made with stone. 'I chose the theme 'Nurture' to showcase how parents need to develop their child's natural skillset. My art depicts a young girl dancing in front of the mirror effortlessly, and her parents notice it and give her a pair of ghungroo (anklets). The child is overjoyed, and seen dancing in the rain with her dog,' says Kritika, who enjoyed her time at the residency. 'All the other women were married, and had stories to share about marriage, children, etc. It was interesting to hear about their dreams, and what they have achieved.' Akin to award-winning Bhil artist Lado Bai, the oldest from the group at 58 years. Known for her artwork that takes inspiration from her natural surroundings, village life, rituals, and festivals. For What I Want, Lado Bai chose to theme her art on 'Protect', depicting two women protecting a tree from being cut. 'If we cut the jungles, how will we live?' says the artist, adding how trees are protected in her town, Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh. 'It took me five days to finish the painting with acrylic paints on canvas.' Priced at ₹80, What I Want is available on and
