In India, where the children’s book market is dominated by global bestselling authors, countless mythological retellings, and anthologies of the homespun wisdom variety, the popularity of Bengaluru-based illustrators Priya Kuriyan and Rajiv Eipe seems like an anomaly. Say their names, and parents, librarians and children will beam with pleasure, and rattle off their favourite books by them.
Ever since I became a parent, their books have graced the bookshelves in our home. The first set of picture books we purchased included Dinosaur-As-Long-As-127-Kids by Geetha Dharmarajan and illustrated by Eipe (Katha Books) and I’m So Sleepy written by Radhika Chadha and illustrated by Kuriyan (Tulika Books). Both were their first attempts at picture book illustration and since then, they have gone on to do many books that have delighted readers: at nearly 40, Eipe’s tally is close to 30 books, while 41-year-old Kuriyan has published almost double that.
It’s this ability to look at the mundane with keen eyes, and depict them with a certain fondness and wit that make both their works so memorable. Women wear sneakers with salwars, children have unibrows, and grandmothers have chin hair.
“Drawing is the one thing I can do to be useful in the world. It’s extremely joyful to be a part of book-making, and know that you are aiding the process of enriching someone’s childhood. When you make a book, it exists in the world forever, if not in print, then in the minds and memories of readers,” shares Eipe, who till recently ran his own animation studio. Kuriyan feels that her motivation is sometimes selfish. “I get a big high from creating scenarios, observing people and their lives, and making a story out of it. And it feels like I’m making a difference in some way.”
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