Book readings are always fun and the reading of Howzzat, Butterfingers! organised by Hippo Campus was no exception. The young ones and their parents were eagerly waiting to hear author Kyrunnisa talk about her book and read out excerpts.
Kyrunnisa, who had come from Kerala for the reading, narrated how she got the idea for a story about a boy, Amar Kishen, who is infamous for his clumsiness, but manages to save the day for his school cricket team bringing home the coveted Col. Nadkarni under-15 cricket trophy plus managing to help the school retain its playground.
The author pointed to a boy seated quietly in a corner and said that he was her inspiration. “That's my son Amar,” she announced. Surely, this wasn't something that the youngster was expecting. “He doesn't like being pointed out in public as the inspiration for the fictional Amar,” Kyrunnisa joked.
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Wanting to create characters that children would relate to, Kyrunnisa explained how all the characters in the book are realistic, especially Amar who is not a first ranker, gets into trouble often and is quite a prankster. He and his friends make a jolly good bunch, whose antics are sure to bring a smile to your face. Her experience as a teacher helped her greatly with the characterisation.
The author also revealed how her characters were originally created to appear as a series in the children's comic book Tinkle . After a time, Kyrunnisa decided to write a book with some minor changes in the preliminary plot borrowed from the series that appeared in Tinkle .
After the introduction, Kyrunnisa proceeded to read excerpts from her book that gave the audience an idea of the protagonist, his friends and the plot. After the reading, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the kids and more so by their parents, the floor was thrown open to questions. The interaction with the kids gave the author ideas for her next book, she said.
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The book reading was brought to a close with yummy muffins with cricket bat and ball icing, in keeping with the theme of the book, and other refreshments.