PANEL 3
PANEL 3
Representations and Identities in Children's Narratives
A survey done around 2008 of available children’s reading material indicated that children’s books including text books, do not reflect the lived worlds of a vast number of children, from variously marginalised and non-middle class communities. Things have undoubtedly changed since then and we do find a lot of children’s books, predominantly in English, being published that are more representative and diverse today.
But a closer look shows that most such books stay within familiar boundaries. There are several reasons for this. The first being that we are looking at books in English, which inevitably sets certain limits. It reflects perspectives of an English educated class of people whose experiences are urban-centric and influenced mostly by western thinking about childhood, through books and media. This includes not just writers but illustrators, editors and publishers. Many books are often written and created as a reaction to western books and are consciously rooted in Indian settings and experiences. But there is no denying the once-removed quality of these books – inevitable perhaps, but limiting. This is the big barrier, the challenge that has to be tackled by all of us in children’s publishing.
In such books there is the danger of stereotyping less privileged childhood experiences, be it caste, class discrimination or of marginalised lives. The descriptions, ways of behaving or responding, sometimes the situation itself becomes predictable. Even if well written and illustrated, they are far from being authentically representative of a different kind of childhood. Wdon’t find the gap so wide in stories written in Indian languages which are firmly rooted in the non-urban child’s experience mostly. May be because the writers are never far from that experience.
Additionally, and unfortunately, views on children’s books tend to be prescriptive. Books that deal with caste and class realities are scrutinised even more closely and critically – and unfairly sometimes. Creative license in books that deal with ‘real’ issues are frowned upon. This is true whether books are written by writers within the culture or outside it.
Children’s books have to rethink the gender binary too. They have to reflect an inclusive approach to be truly representative of a child’s experience across the gender spectrum. Ideally there should be as many individual explorations from all kinds of writers, in different languages and translations between them, to reflect the rich and complex reality of our world in children’s books.
We will all agree that diversity of stories and voices is equally important when we strive towards a representative literature. But the sensibilities of adults who are the ‘gatekeepers’ to what children read – parents, teachers, librarians, and the editors and publishers – are overwhelmingly embedded in the dominant cultures they belong to. In such a scenario it is difficult to move outside the comfort zone of familiar stories and narratives. And to break out of it requires a level of awareness and understanding which is beyond many of us, even the most committed and passionate among us. That we need to take that leap is something we will all agree. The first step is to be aware of our own shortcomings in understanding and to acknowledge the problems and challenges of creating a truly representative and diverse body of children’s literature.
Radhika Menon
Publisher and Editorial Director, Tulika Children’s Books
Books are Mirrors
How important is it for a child to find oneself in a children's book, especially in the Indian context. Representation really matters has a direct impact on a child's self worth. As illustrators and writers of children's books, one must always attempt to create characters and set stories in contexts that reflect the lived realities of the children and their experience of the world. I would be speaking about the ways in which I, as an illustrator, tackle the idea of diversity and representation in picture books.
Priya Kurian
Diversity is a hot topic in children's literature, but stories are mostly being written and read mostly through a privileged lens. Diversity is still represented as a deviance from the norm and the narrative is usually about fitting into a cis-het, ableist, neurotypical world. We, as storytellers, are part of the problem.
As I wrote back in 2019, the industry has undergone a vast transformation in the past 20 years. Increasing sensitivities towards inclusion and acknowledging diversity has made the children's literature space richer. This is essential, of course, but we are still ignoring a critical question: who is telling the stories and who are they speaking to?
The answer lies in the difference between visibility (to be visible) and representation (the stories we choose to tell about ourselves and about others). We have visibility, but true representation needs our stories to move beyond token inclusion, and the tragedy, inspiration, fixing tropes. We need stories that let us walk in the shoes of those diverse protagonists, stories that are driven by them, from their perspectives.
In my presentation, I would like to talk about how my own mistakes have informed my understanding of inclusion and identity. Despite my own intersectionality (queer and autistic), it took years of listening and learning (still ongoing) to shed my lens of privilege.
Payal Dhar
Contextualizing Animation
Finding an indigenous voice to tell animated stories to our children involves closely examining our diverse and robust storytelling, visual, performance and narrative traditions.
Drawing on these deeply imbibed collective memories can lead one on a journey of unearthing rhythms, movement, images, stories, a sense of time and space that echo ourselves and truly belong to us.
Animation is a vastly encompassing medium and becomes richer via every impetus it can welcome. Recognizing this vital inherent quality can set one free to be an explorer and creator of unique worlds that can spark children’s imaginations in ways that have a resonance and yet are unfettered by mundane laws.
Using the example of my animated feature ‘Goopi Gawiya Bagha Bajiya’ I will enunciate these ideas.
Shilpa Ranade