Introducing kids to wilderness and heritage

Deepak Dalal studied chemical engineering in an American University and returned to India to join his family-run company in the early 1990s.

Around that time, he undertook many travels across India and developed an appreciation for the geographical bounty the country had to offer.

“On one of my trips to Lakshdweep Islands, I realised that the coral reefs there could compete with any other around the world,” says Dalal.

But, despite India having its very own coral reefs, Dalal was perplexed that “parents take their kids to Australia or elsewhere to see them.” That’s when Dalal switched gears to become a full-time children’s writer.

“Apart from geography textbooks that at the most display maps, there isn’t too much scope for children to learn about our country’s topography,” says the author.

Whereas, “children’s literature internationally has always taught kids a lot about their own country though their books.”

He goes on to explain, “Even if it’s a small county set as the backdrop for one of Enid Blyton’s adventure stories, it will speak about the place at length.”

But Indian writers had never used the Indian wilderness, country side or heritage sites as a setting for their stories.

“This was missing as far as books meant for children,” says Dalal. So, the idea was to set his stories in the backdrop of India’s beautiful locales, fusing in adventure — that essential element to get kids hooked to the story.

Dalal’s first series of books called the Vikram Aditya series of adventures were set in picturesque Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Ranthambore and the Andaman Islands.

Since they were all location-based, Dalal spent days together in each of these places — doing intense field-research (on the flora and fauna) and interacting with locals and also field scientists to get their opinion.

Now, Dalal is back with two new books titled Sahyadri Adventure — Anirudh’s Dream and Sahyadri Adventure —Koleshwar’s Secret with which he’s decided to tell history through an adventure story.

For this, Dalal spent hours in  the Bombay University  library, going through umpteen books to get a taste and feel of life at that time and get his facts right.

Two constant running themes in Dalal’s books are adventure and ecology. His books are wrapped in adventure quite simply because “it captures kids’ attention”.

“Be it the Harry Potter series or any other YA novel, adventure is the central theme, as it works well with kids,” he says.  And to include an ecological angle was a “conscious decision, as it is the need of the hour.”

“While kids would’ve heard of ‘save the tiger’ campaign, they really don’t know why that’s important or what they can do about it,” says Dalal, adding, “With my books I intend to put a spotlight on such ecological issues and thereby sensitise kids towards the environment.”

Dalal’s books today have become a part of course-books in many schools across the country, since it provides essential geographic knowledge and also has an ecological theme running through them. Dalal often visits schools across the country to give talks and interact with kids. “I have a lot of material and pictures from my travel expeditions. I have converted them into power point presentations, which I present at schools.”

“It is very important for a children’s writer like me to interact with kids to understand their interests and then write accordingly,” says the writer. In Bangalore, Dalal has visited Bishop Cotton Boys’ School and Baldwin Girls’ School so far and is looking at going to many more schools in the next few months.