Inside out

A new "literary breed"—Yari Road-resident and fiction writer, Neeraa Maini Srivastav joins the growing list of Indian young adult authors who have been churning out new-age tales for impressionable minds. Two of her published books, The Adventures of the Bubblegum Boy and The White Crow have been well-received and Srivastav is all set to work on her third book based on social media, starring a 10-year-old protagonist.

"The young adult genre has not really been touched upon and there are hardly any Indian authors contributing to it," says the author who has worked as a senior creative head in agencies like Lowe, Saatchi & Saatchi and Percept.

An amalgamation of real world and fantasy along with a social message, Srivastav's books will make you ponder on certain important issues that we face in our lives. The author attributes much of her books' success to the Indian 'values' she has touched upon. "As these books are for young adults, you cannot get extremely rebellious and scandalous with your text. I chose to dwell more on the value system," she quips.

It was a creative writing course that sparked her imagination and she took to writing novels. "I never thought that I would write fiction," she says. "None of my characters are imported from the West. Indian writers often look to the West for inspiration but I avoided doing so. In India, we have plenty of mythological superheroes but there are no contemporary ones. Through my book, I have tried to create a contemporary superhero."

Srivastav got the idea for The Adventures Of The Bubblegum Boy, when she spotted an extremely bored kid flitting around restlessly from one shop to another in a mall, while his mother shopped.

She adds, "As far as The White Crow goes, I was inspired to write about it when I was living in Dubai. I was at a park once and spotted a Spanish mother stopping her child from playing with a kid of African descent. The book has an underlying theme of acceptance, inclusion, equality, diversity, tolerance and oneness." The White Crow has been included in the school syllabus for ninth grade students of Podar International School.

"Everyone wants to know if I am consciously drawn to writing for young adults; I guess a part of me is still a child. But there's no conscious attempt on my part," she laughs.

"There was a lending library in Yari Road run by a lady; it shut down and has now re-opened. Overall, reading as a culture is on a decline. Kids don't read as often; they need fun thrown in and don't want reading to become a tedious activity," explains the author who regularly conducts creative writing workshops for children.