The best rewards for writing for children, says R.Natarajan, are the smiles that greet him at every book fair when his young fans queue up to get their copies of his latest book.
“I receive feedback from a lot of my young readers. You publish a work for them and within a week you get response from remote parts, praising, criticising, asking this, that,” says the winner of the 2014 Bala Sahitya Akademi Award for Best Children’s Literature for his Tamil work Vingyana Vikramadithan Kathaigal .
Natarajan, the author of 72 books in Tamil and 12 in English, was in Tiruchi recently on a visit to his alma mater, Jamal Mohamed College.
Besides his career as a science-fiction and education policy author and translator, he also holds the post of principal, Krishnasamy Memorial Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Cuddalore.
He is known as ‘Aisha’ Natarajan to a certain section of his followers, after his novella, written in 1985, and published nearly a decade later, rewrote the rules on the Indian teaching experience. Running into a print run of over a lakh copies in Tamil alone, Aisha has been translated into 12 languages, the latest being French and Spanish. “It took me 10 years to find a publisher because the subject was far ahead of its time,” he recalls.
Dealing with women’s education, corporal punishment in schools and the inability of mainstream curricula to include slow learners, Aisha was also later made into a film.
“Insulting the child isn’t education,” says Natarajan, “I have been a teacher since the age of 16, and I am still inspired by my Science master Periasamy Sir, at S.M. High School, Woraiyur. He used to come to class as a scientist, rather than to teach Science. Sadly, there are very few teachers who are role models for their students these days.”
Natarajan shared his views with MetroPlus in an e-mail interview.
Excerpts:
What inspired you to become a writer? Are writers essentially teachers in some way?
Writing is a political activity. Whoever it is and whatever he/she writes or creates is always a personal expression of thought. Any art presentation that questions the status quo goes down in history.
A writer is basically a rebel. Sometimes you rebel against all and become Bharathi or you rebel against your own self to become a Salman Rushdie.
I was born and brought up in the Tiruchi district. My birthplace is Lalgudi. My father Ramanathan was a government official who was transferred a number of times in his career, making me get admission into all types of village schools.
Reading became my passion at very young age. By the time I reached Jamal Mohamed College in Tiruchi for my undergraduate studies, I was already a writer.
My professors Venkatesh Athreya, Mansoor and even my subject (Physics) mentor Umar Bhasha all supported and moulded me. When in college, I became part of the (government-run literacy movement) Arivoli Iyakkam.
I also started freelancing in Tamil magazines. I was an active participant in all literary activities and a member of Student Federation of India.
I wasn’t born a writer. I evolved into one. I write a lot on Science. I write for children and education in child-rights is my mission.
As for the second part of your question, I took up teaching when I was just 16 years old.
I participated in a National Service Scheme (NSS) camp at a village in Karur District to teach the residents after school hours. I have been passionate about teaching from then and continue to be so till today.
Today I am a teacher trainer. I am so proud that many of my students are today model teachers.
You have a large following as a children’s writer. How is it different from writing for adults?
Writing for children is one question and writing for today’s iPad generation is another. It was easier for R.K. Narayan and others like Ruskin Bond to write because up to the 1990s, children had no other outlet than reading.
But today’s child is different. How to make this generation read is a huge challenge. Advertising and large investment to create hype saves the Harry Potter type of genre.
Nothing like this is (so far) possible in Indian children’s literature. One has to enter into the child’s cosmos in spite of the rather dry and uncreative education system, where there is no fun in the learning process.
The emphasis on exam marks forces children to hate text-books or any book for that matter.
Adult readers are a single group. You write keeping in mind any general reader. But when you write for children, age groups matter first. A four- to six-year-old child is different from a six- to eight-year-old child. The former likes picture books whereas the latter will go for comics as well.
When you write for eight- to ten-year-olds, you have to go for short chapter suspense. I write fiction as well as science for teenagers. It is like walking on glass, because even a single word used wrongly may break the atmosphere.
My novels for young adults like Oru Thozhanum Moondru Nanbarkalum , Rough Note , and Circus Dot Com all have a great following among young readers for that reason.
My works such as Kadhaidoscope , Bhooma and Oru Thozhiyin Kadhai are for much younger readers.
What is the state of creative writing in Tamil today? Has it been influenced by the West?
The Tamil Nadu Government should encourage publishers by purchasing books for public libraries. This is still the only income for many publishers and writers. When it is denied for years, survival through writing becomes a huge challenge.
But the book fairs are encouraging. I think Tamil creative writing is doing well today, with many writers e-publishing and blogging actively. But the magazine readership of the 1970s and 80s has decreased. Television serials have taken away the readers.
Today the West has gone into neo-science and feminist genres. Black literature takes a new shape as black women writing. The Middle East has produced some wonderful writings against US-sponsored war on Islam. Writings from Nigeria, Sudan and even from Palestine are translated into Tamil. Great translations from new publishing groups such as Ethir, Vidial and so on are much appreciated.
What is the role of literature in shaping a young mind?
We are living in a consumer society. Our children are subjected are pushed into a cruel rat-race in the name of education.
Suicides and sexual crimes have become common. Indian society is threatened by religious fundamentalism and caste tensions. Young minds shaped by reading can change society. Reading alone builds character. Creative citizens who are broad-minded and self-disciplined are the need of the hour.
They say yoga gives discipline to child. I beg to differ. Only the reading habit can shape them.
Describe your writing routine. How do you stay focused?
I am an early bird. My writing hours are almost always 4 a.m. to 6.30 a.m. I don’t type. I use pen and paper. But I am very active on social media. Almost all my 72 works are available online and I do a lot of reading.
As a science historian, I travel. I spend a lot of time with my young friends (students) and this helps me to stay focused. I travel across Tamil Nadu. I have met a few lakhs of children and have learnt a lot from them.
Children are very intelligent. I receive feedback from a lot of my young readers. You publish a work for them and within a week you get response from remote parts, praising, criticising, asking this, that.
What are you working on now?
I am translating The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) I Robot (Isaac Asimov) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke) into Tamil. I am also working on a novel about refugee children. My next science fiction for children – Kalpana Chawla Club is due on the Children’s Day (November 14).
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Brief biography
Born on December 8, 1964, in Lalgudi, R. Natarajan (also known among Tamil readers as Era Natarasan or ‘Ayisha’ Natarasan), has done his postgraduation in Physics, Education Management, Psychology and English Literature.
He has been based in Cuddalore as Principal, Krishnasamy Memorial Matriculation Higher Secondary School since 1999.
He was presented the Dr. Radhakrishnan State Award in 2008 for his services to education.
His work Poojiyamam Andu became the first Tamil book to be published in Braille. Natarajan’s lexicon of Scientific vocabulary in Tamil is also one of its kind.
He is the editor of the Tamil literary magazine Puthagam Pesudhu , besides being a regular contributor to magazines since 1976.
