Roald Dahl, the creator of unbelievably believable worlds of magical, wicked, naughty characters, was born in Cardiff on September 13, 1916 to Norwegian parents. His stories, particularly for children, had regular folk, kind as well as strange grown-ups and magical animals that continue to delight and strike a chord among readers.
Dahl, who was also a fighter pilot, wrote macabre stories for adults and a play, The Honeys. He wrote screenplays for Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, with Ken Hughes and a James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, with Harold Bloom.
But it was his books for children that were most popular. His first story for children was The Gremlins, in which Gus, a World War II fighter pilot, finds little-horned creatures called gremlins in his plane. He wrote it for a film for Walt Disney Productions, but it was never made. James and the Giant Peach was his first novel for children. Then came books such as the evergreen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Magic Finger, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twits and Matilda among many others.
Every story has distinct plots, well-rounded and larger-than-life characters. Dahl’s dialogues and writing resonate with readers to this day. His books are studded with legendary lines, such as “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely,” “If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of good books” and “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”.
Yes, indeed there are doses of magic in Dahl’s writing. Readers, the world over, still wonder at his masterful storytelling style.
Arthi Anand, storyteller at Arts Tales, explains what makes Dahl an effective storyteller by quoting one of his lines: “A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it”, adding: “Dahl proved that with his writing, taking us on some heart warming and some crazy journeys with his characters. He did it with aplomb — no apologies, no brakes, be it style or content.”
Well read Sonali Bhatia, who conducted a popular event, Dahl Tadka, earlier this year to celebrate Roald Dahl, explains what set him apart as a storyteller: “His outrageously vivid imagination, coupled with the ability to use just the right turn of phrase to express it.”
Writer and theatre personality, Deepika Arwind, in her characteristic poetic style says, “Constantly the twist. He always interested the reader’s sense of thrill and wonder.
It never seemed forced though; it was something he managed to quite effortlessly. I liked the horror, the madness and the slight wink at the end of each story.”
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Dahl’s DARLINGS
Charlie Bucket (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)- A little boy from a poor family, who is well behaved and loves chocolates. A lucky journey through Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory makes his life!
James Trotter (James and the Giant Peach)-Poor James lives with his cruel aunts, but a chance meeting and a stroke of luck brings a bunch of interesting friends into his life.
Matilda (Matilda)- A very, very bright girl who loves her teacher Miss Honey, who adores her. She also teaches the cruel Miss Trunchbull a much-needed lesson.
The Big Friendly Giant (The BFG)- The great, big giant who collects and gives good dreams to children
The Oompa-Loompas (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)- They are small creatures with orange skin and green hair. They come from Loompaland, and work in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
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Participate in a contest by Amazon.in. If like Matilda, you too have a reading corner, send a picture of your reading corner to books-contests@amazon.com. Ten winners will get a chance to win Roald Dahl’s Scrumdidlyumptious Story Collection Box set and a gift card worth Rs. 1,000 from Amazon. Results will be announced on September 23.
Register and come prepared for a Roald Dahl party with Radhika Menon on September 12 at Green Glen Layout, Bellandur, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. It is for children, aged between seven and 10 years. They must come prepared with their favourite Roald Dahl story. For details call: 9901454788.
