CHENNAI : The Ammuchi Puchi is the latest addition to city-based author Sharanya Manivannan’s list of works. The children’s book is partly imaginative and partly inspired by something that happened to Sharanya after her grandmother passed away in October 2008. The author of four other books including short stories and poetry — The High Priestess Never Marries, Witchcraft and The Altar of the Only World — Sharanya talks about her first children’s book.
What did you keep in mind while writing this book?
I had to ensure it was not condescending because children deserve respect as individuals in their own right. They are also perceptive and can comprehend more than adults think they can. This is why my book is wordier than most picture books. I never assumed that kids wouldn’t be able to absorb the story.Since the book has already been released abroad, do you expect cultural differences to play a role in influencing the perspectives of kids?
I always hoped that The Ammuchi Puchi would be released in the Indian subcontinent because the characters are Tamil children. Two of the three words in the title are in Tamil! I’m excited to see what readers make not of cultural differences but cultural similarities. I’m thrilled that Puffin India is releasing it. It’s important to note that the book’s first publisher, Lantana Publishing, creates books for the purpose of cultural diversity so that kids from many cultures can see themselves reflected in their libraries.
Why did you keep bereavement as the key element?
It may be a negative emotion, but it is also perfectly natural. The taboo around it is the reason I wanted to write about it. Many children lose their grandparents — how do they navigate this bereavement? How does art, either making it or consuming it, help them deal with loss? There are many picture books in the Indian market on this topic now, but when I wrote the story in 2010 I had yet to come across any.The book is partly your story. It must have been a cathartic experience.
It’s partly imaginative and partly inspired by something that happened to me for some time after my grandmother passed away. Butterflies followed me everywhere, and for a number of years, every October (the month of her demise), I’d be visited by fruit-piercing moths. They are marvellous-looking creatures, with the lower wings of monarch butterflies and the upper wings of brown moths.
The first time I saw one, I did not even know such a species existed. So the mysterious and magical play a big part in this book. But Aditya and Anjali are also unable to convince their parents about how nature provides solace to their grieving. Grief is a personal emotion and the intensity of it differs in every individual, even when the same person is being grieved by several people. I hope this resonates with kids who read it that they must find a way that works for them to heal their pain and the overwhelming emotions that come with it.
