Sneeze like an elephant

Gajapati is back with a whole new adventure

At the launch of Gajapati Kulapati! children sit in rapt attention as writer-illustrator Ashok Rajagopalan narrates the story of the happiest elephant in the world. After the first book, which was a major hit with children, Gajapati is back with a ‘splash’ to take on the summer with a whole new adventure.

Gajapati Kulapati! , being all about sounds, is a pleasure to read aloud to a child over two, and Ashok does precisely that at Hippocampus, Adyar. As he opens his mouth, stretches his arms and narrates the story of Gajapati to the 25 children sitting in front of him, a three-year-old chuckles and tells her mother, “He’s funny.”

The children roar and scream and sneeze with Gajapati, excited about all the noise they are allowed to make, while their parents stroll around the room, browsing through books, patiently waiting for the close of Gajapati’s adventures.

Children make for an unpredictable audience. While some in the group cling to every word and gesture of the author, others look for their parents, stare at the ceiling or try to find something to put into their mouths. Following the reading of the two

Gajapati Kulapati! books, Ashok teaches the children to draw Gajapati, which has all of them engaged for the last half hour of the launch.

The new Gajapati book has been launched in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Hindi and English. Priced at Rs. 135, the books have already sold over a 100 copies since their release. At the launch, the books come with the author’s signature. “Are you sure you want uncle to scribble in your book?” asks Ashok, before writing a personalised note and drawing a little elephant for every child.

An illustrator since 1989, Ashok has written and illustrated around 500 childrens’ books. And yet, he is still excited to talk about his work, stating that his father loves seeing his name mentioned in the newspaper.

He talks to every child who comes to him, but says his chosen profession has nothing to do with his fondness for children. “I started drawing for children because only childrens’ books need pictures,” he says with a laugh. Ashok blushes as a four-year-old girl blows him a kiss right after he signs her book for her. “That’s unexpected!” he chuckles, “I’ve not had anyone give me a kiss just for telling them a story.”