‘I want kids to be a part of the creation process’: Lubaina Bandukwala

For children’s author and former journalist Lubaina Bandukwala, engaging in literature for young readers has been extremely satisfying. In the last decade, not only has she penned Ting Tong and Your Turn Now — True Stories of Kindness For Children among other titles but has also curated literary sessions for kids at art festivals. The writer is also the founder and director of Peek-A-Book — a lit fest for those between three to 15 years of age — that started in Hyderabad in 2015. After a break last year to curate other events, she brings its third edition in Mumbai today. Apart from writers, the day will see partici-pation from illustrators, along with workshops and performances in folk theatre, music and more. Lubaina talks about turning the book fest into an art soiree and more.

What led you to Peek-A-Book and how has it evolved since 2015?

In the last couple of years, several Indian publishers have come up with material that’s interesting in writing, themes and relatable for young readers. Originally, the fest was started in schools with the thought that kids and parents needed a place to explore texts from the country. There are gorgeous books here that you can connect and make lifelong friends with. I was flummoxed with the thought that no one has done a children’s lit fest in Mumbai. So, I decided to stop doing it only at schools and go mainstream.

What can one expect at the event?

I have selected materials based on their uniqueness and ability to open up children’s minds to something new while being popular. The Little Rainmaker (Roopal Kewalya), The Clever Tailor (Karadi Tales) and Rohan Chakravarty’s green humour can be watched out for. Disability architect Siddhant Shah will conduct a tactile art workshop for kids with visual impairment. Usha Venkatraman will tell stories in sign language — to make things more inclusive. We have a Children’s Choice Award where we have shortlisted books in five categories age-wise, with the help of a jury of 15 kids. There’s Join-the-Dots — a story writing competition on environ-mental themes and an illustration competition. I want kids to be a part of the creation process and not just the audience.

How do you look at children’s literature in India today?

There has been tremendous growth not only in terms of numbers but how writers are evolving to their own realities. You grow up on writings of Enid Blyton, graduate to Harry Potter and then realise no one has written anything about your milieu. So, as a writer’s community, you understand children and your own world better and become braver in the kind of stuff you create. If children’s literature in India were a person, I’d say we are past the adolescence stage and more settled now.

What else are you working on?

There always are a lot of editing projects. My most recent release was Let’s Do This Together — Math Stories to Solve with Vineeta Kanoria. We wrote everyday stories and wove maths into them because kids learn better when they bond with parents. So, grown-ups can read stories and the younger ones can do mental maths.

When: Today, 10 am to 6.30 pm

Where: Royal Opera House, Girgaum