On a thunderous monsoon evening in Delhi, Shweta Taneja was playing with her then nine-year-old nephew, Raghav. “We decided to build monsters,” says Shweta who divides her time between San Francisco and Bengaluru. “Having a day job in an environmental nonprofit, I suggested monsters made of trash. All evening, we had a grand time, building different garbage monsters.
Pedal away
Once the monsters were ready, one needed a hero or a heroine to fight them. Nephew and aunt argued on who the hero would be. Shweta was definitely against another Creature-Man. “After much deliberation, we settled on a robot armed with tools, technology, and cool gadgets to zap and smack all these monsters we had created.”
Outline ready
The very next day, Shweta had the outline for Kungfu Aunty Versus Garbage Monsters (Speaking Tiger). The fun novel features a dystopian world ruled by Trash Rajah and his army of garbage monsters. “Two children, Kabir and Lila stand up to this monstrous regime with the help of a quirky cleaning robot, Kungfu Aunty.”
The book cover | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The robot took time to come into being, says Shweta. “For a while, she was human, a middle-aged neighbour who always invites you in for a cup of tea, but secretly is a cleanliness vigilante fighting all those trash lurkers in the night. While writing the story, she turned into a superhero created by Kabir and Lila’s mother to tackle garbage with innovative weaponry and technology. Kungfu Aunty was lying forgotten and unused for years, growing a pacifist personality and a love for Kung Fu movies. And that’s where Lila, finds the robot.”
Eco-punk
Kungfu Aunty Versus Garbage Monsters comes under the eco-punk genre, which Shweta says combines environmentalism, science fiction and punk culture. “The stories written in this genre explore climate change, sustainability and human impact on the planet but emphasize the resilience and determination of characters to create positive change, restore balance to the environment and save the planet.”
It is optimistic, Shweta says, much like solar-punk. “Unlike dystopian fiction, it leaves readers with fresh energy to be positive and resilient and turn into climate warriors. That’s what I’m hoping this book does to young readers.”
Not so Pretty City
The action takes place in Pretty City, which is not so pretty any more thanks to Trash Rajah and his minions. “It is a potluck of all cringe-y parts of various Indian cities. The holy mountain of garbage, Puke Peak, the one where Trash Rajah lives is inspired by the Ghazipur landfill, which is a 20-story tall trash pile in the outskirts of Delhi.”
Bengaluru was at the back of Shweta’s mind when she developed Lethal Lake. “The lake is in the centre of the city, with world-renowned toxic waters where swarms of plastocrocs and oiliguanas swim, waiting for their next feed of plastic muck and oil dump.”
No limits to creativity
Shweta has written fantasy and science fiction for adults as well as children. Writing for children, Shweta says, allows her to bring out the wackiest ideas, unbelievable plots, dramatic characters and monsters and make them work. “There is no limit to creativity when you’re writing for children. They’re open to any kind of species you create, set in any kind of world, doing the craziest things.”
There is a caveat, though, Shweta says. “That’s the challenge of writing children’s fiction. Young readers are tough masters and surprisingly agile critics. They love imaginative, laugh-out-loud, impossible stories, but can get bored fast, find the tiniest of plot-holes and point it out, many a times to your face. As a writer, and especially a science fiction writer, you learn to not only be creative, but also thorough, consistent and entertaining.”
The reason she keeps returning to writing children’s fiction, Shweta says, is that if young readers like what they read, the characters you create become their worlds. “They live, swim, dance in these worlds and that’s valuable to me as a writer. It is also a huge responsibility and I have to be careful about everything little bit I put in that story.”
Action stations
Like any great villain, Shweta says, she has an evil plan. “I want to entertain readers, young and old, through my stories, but at the same time, sneakily turn them into climate warriors. While they’re having a laugh at how Kabir is being forcibly cleaned by Kungfu Aunty’s special lavender nano-scrub, they might start to think and wonder if the trash they’re disposing off today, might reach Puke Peak tomorrow. I hope this book makes readers spring into action.”
In the book, Shweta says, a seven-year-old girl decides to stand up against the forces of trash, while all the adults and children around her, including her dad and older brother, have kowtowed to Trash Rajah’s dictatorship and accepted feeding trash monsters as the new norm.
“Climate emergency is on our doorstep. A lot of us, including me, tend to close the door, turn on the air conditioner and hope it’ll go away. It won’t, even if we’re overwhelmed and feel frozen in inaction and escapist media. Even if we don’t have the time, or don’t know what to do, we can start with not producing waste, recycling, consuming consciously and advocating this to our neighbours, society and authorities. Having said this, young people are way more resilient and optimistic and will be able to overturn the mess we’ve created.”
Sibling saga
The love-hate sibling relationship between Lila and Kabir is Shweta’s favourite part of the book. “Seven-year-old Lila and nine-year-old Kabir are opposites. Lila stands up for her friends, is a true activist, courageous, confident, unafraid, impulsive and as Kabir keeps saying, ‘a rebel’. Kabir, who is also the narrator of the story, is a self-confessed coward, who wants to keep his head down and play trashball. I enjoyed creating the constant tussle between the two siblings, and yes, it’s inspired by my lived experiences.”
Shweta is having an event at the Bangalore Literature Festival. The Ultimate Battle Against Garbage Monsters, is a half- hour activity open to children above the age of 8 and will be held at 1.30pm on December 2, By The River, at Lalit Ashok.
